chukw Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 (edited) (Edit) Zactoman had a great suggestion- to keep this shambling series of posts in one manageable mass. Here are links to previous entries in case you missed 'em- I'll keep this thred going with updates. Thanks, Chris! Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 The hull is finally glued together- here's the painted pressure hul before I glue those decks down- take one last look! I futured it after painting the base dark grey and giving it some panel shading of highly dilute black. All glossed up, it got washes of thin black oil paint and green acrylics (for algae), as well as some red-brown rust. I hit it with a flat coat and dry brushed it with deck tan. No paint chips here- but now that I mention it, she's not sealed up yet! <_< Edited April 9, 2006 by chukw Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Phoinix Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 Woha, looks great! Pics like that make me wanna build one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Zactoman Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 <_< Nice! That makes my OOB U-boat look very...well...OOB :P Looking forward to more! Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jamie Cheslo Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Oh my Gawd, that is gorgeous! Looks like she just came out of the deep for an overhaul in drydock! :lol: Wow, very impressive indeed. :lol: J.C. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chukw Posted April 24, 2006 Author Share Posted April 24, 2006 Well, I've been sanding and filling seams- along the keel and around the decks. I dropped a metal c-clamp and broke my glass tube applicator so I switched over to the conning tower with one last section of deck to glue down. Going by the instructions (like a good little modeler) I assembled the periscopes and their housings. Fit here was terrrible- the molds were not lined up for my sprue. Since I don't plan on playing up- and down-periscope with my model, I just cut the long tubes that house the scopes off below deck level. The front scope housing was so poorly molded I built a new one from telescoping bits of aluminum tubing- easy! The best part: the top ring from the Eduard set fit perfectly! Modeling nirvana.... B) I also built a new UZO mount from various crap. It's a bit too tall now, so I have to trim it back. Why is it that this sort of surgery is so much harder than the original scratchbuilding? :huh: The main Pericope mount got the treatment, too- some carefully-bent copper wire and a compass were added. The compass is one half of a 1/35 Tamiya MG 34 ammo drum, while the mount comes from an ancient Tamiya Schimmwagen propeller bracket. My motto? Never, never throw anything away! On to upper segment: Eduard PE replaces the kit's molded-in wooden slats. On the real thing these kept sailors from freezing to steel sides! You can see where I've drilled out the speaking tube, and that there are still some seams to sand down. I'm using Mr. Surfacer for all that. The two units are placed together and on the deck- no glue yet, but the fit here is excellent! New Eduard hatches are evident, glued on with thick CYA, then flooded with Future. It really seals 'em down! Another view into the con... A final pullback- no filler was needed on the outer tower seams. The deck needed a fair amount, but after all the grinding and modifications I've subjected it too, I'm not surprised. It's starting to look like a submarine, kameraden! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jamie Cheslo Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 Sheesh, if I did not know better, I would swear those are pics of a sub in dry-dock! B) Wow, gorgeous, simply gorgeous! Please keep posting the updates. :huh: J.C. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chukw Posted May 27, 2006 Author Share Posted May 27, 2006 (edited) I've turned my attention to the deck gun. With Marcus Nicholls' excellent Tamiya Model Magazine International ( June/July 04) article as inspiration, as well as every photo I could glean I set about detailing this teensy beastie. Still to be added is the tampion line wound around the barrel- I've decided to add it and then paint the whole mess. My Walron punch set earned its keep as the pics show. Another new tool that has become indispensible is the Coleman Cold Heat solder pencil- what a honey! I was able to solder all the new gunners' brace supports frorm brass tubing and music wire with ease. I have a ceiling tile on my desktop to which the bits were pinned over a scrap of wax paper- the pen soldered the joints handily without harming the paper! I've begun the conning tower railings from brass and copper wire and it's going so well I'll only be using the biggest, most complicated kit railings- 4 pieces in all. I can't wait to try it on PE as well! Edited May 28, 2006 by chukw Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bullet101 Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 Wow!! This thing gonna fire real torpedos too! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
David Walker Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 I'm constantly amazed by the level of detail you've put into this kit. Simply incredible. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 Sweet detail job! Lots of little stuff that looks good, great work on the deck and scratchbuilding, that thing's gonna look like a real sub. Man, I wish I could scratch little details like that. Justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chukw Posted July 4, 2006 Author Share Posted July 4, 2006 More progress: time to add all the fiddly bits. Here's the running gear: I've decided to replace as much railing and tubing with brass rod as possible. The Coleman Cold Heat soldering pencil makes it easy, and works on PE, too. Here are the forward railings- got them built yesterday. Note the PE arms for the hatch- 6 parts per hatch These are the rearmost rails- Note the soldered-on Eduard bits, as well as a pice of 1/32 OD brass tubing at the top to take the rigginng. Those bases are floppy as they're just pinned with swaged iron wire (except for the one that has slipped off-grr). They'll get a smidge of CYA once glued in location. 12 parts per unit! My brother-in-law Art Homa is here for the 4th of July holiday and took these sweet snaps- here's a general profile. Gun and conn are still unpainted for the most part. The main rails and a nice shot of the gun. The conning tower rails got the treatment- That's all for now- I'm pushing this boulder uphill slowly but surely. I think I'll use the kit wintergarten rails- too crazy to think of soldering up that mess. On to the remaining fragile details- then to painting! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
David Walker Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 Looks like it's almost ready to sail. Amazing detail. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chukw Posted July 30, 2006 Author Share Posted July 30, 2006 It's time to begin painting. I've touched up all the wear and tear on the hull- I had some dark gray left over and before I knew was adding shading. It's coming to life! Here's a shot of the stern- smudges, steraked grime and exhaust fumes were sprayed freehand over the details of the hul and running gear. Bear in mind that there's much more to come- fading, rust, algae, scratches and chips. All in good time! More of the same up front- note the PE bits and diving planes- so easily smooshed and/or knocked off! ;) The conning tower is painted up but no weathering as of yet. How plain it looks in comparison to the hull! I haven't glued the top and bottom parts (or the AA gun) together yet so I can get into that cramped and crowded space to add a myriad of paint effects. Here's a closeup of the wintergarten- I bent that tiny gunsight from a single strand of speaker wire around a fine music wire rod. Up next: a coat of Future and on to washes! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimmy07 Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Wow that is absolutely amazing!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
erwin Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Looks SUPER ! Very impressive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Langton Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 amazing work and detail looking forward to end results Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chukw Posted August 3, 2006 Author Share Posted August 3, 2006 (edited) Sorry to bump this post, but I do need to thank youse guys for all the compliments! She's currently all Futured up and shiney, ready for washes, rust, scrapes, scum and sludge. I doubt if these sleek demons of the deep stayed still long enough to gather barnacles- but I'm SOOO tempted... Edited August 3, 2006 by chukw Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chukw Posted August 7, 2006 Author Share Posted August 7, 2006 More painting! I've given her a coat of Future and let it cure for 6 days- that's the last time I could do any modeling! I decided to go with an oil wash. There's greater control possible, and the Future will protect the acrylic base colors. For my base wash I thinned a mixture of black and burnt umber with Humbrol thinners. Here's a shot of the mix being brushed over the rivets and various details of the stern. After letting it dry for a few minutes (fussing around with another subassembly) I then blended the was around using a Q-Tip (or cotton bud, if you will). A dry one generally does the trick, but if the wash is too dry to blend well, just touch a brush loaded with thinner to dampen the cotton. I'm going for a subtle effect, and the wash gives lends things a nice, greasy atmosphere. Here's the same action at the stern- note the general dribs and drabs of wash on the rudders. Blended in the effect is pleasing. The danged Q-Tips will leave a loy of little fibers that I'll pick out- thiose rivets are sharply moulded and grab at the cotton! It's starting to come to life. Here's an overall shot- there's a lot of aera to cover- best done in thirds of a side at a time. Those big, empty areas of the hull cry out for some variations in color and texture- note the rust patches in the upper right corner. There'll be drybrushing, color washes and aribrushing to come, but the ball is rollin'. I gave the gun the treatment as well- as well as some paint chips. Word to the wise: do the paint chipping first! I'll have to tone those bright spots down. I've added the decals- all three of them. The upper part of the con has been largely un-washed- the lower part shows the effect. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chukw Posted August 7, 2006 Author Share Posted August 7, 2006 Mmmm... grimy! I'll add some warm wood tones on the planking lining the con. It was there to keep the sailors from freezing to the steel. I'll keep my ice in a glass, thank you! I used more burnt umber in the mix when washing the decks. The blue sheen in the photos is from the sunny southern California skies. Blow it out yer hawse-hole! Rust spots are burnt sienna oil paint, straight from the thirty-year-old tube! Dark grey chips are Tamiya- the oils are much easier to brush-paint. She's coming along! Stay tuned for more.... :lol: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nimrod77 Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 AMAZING WORK. What's a cold heat soldering pen? sounds interesting.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 Amazing boat! I just love all those details! Really feels like it would be constructed from welded steel! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chukw Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 AMAZING WORK. What's a cold heat soldering pen? sounds interesting.... Thanks, Nimrod! Coleman markets a handy cordless soldering pen that must use capaciters combined with a graphite tip that heats up immediately upon contact with two pieces of metal. It cools jsut as quickly and runs on 4 AA cells. About twenty bucks US- sheesh, people are going to think I work for Coleman or something, but I highly recommend this gadget. Cheers! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chukw Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 Amazing boat!I just love all those details! Really feels like it would be constructed from welded steel! Thanks, janman- once the oil wash has had a few days to cure I'm going to spray some fade areas to lighten things up, as well as some pale streaks and rust stains. You know, add a little color! probably some more Future and then some color filters like the armor guys use- little dabs of blue and green and so forth to give a subtle variety to the overall effect. Once I get the inner areas of the conning tower painted I'll glue the assembly together and add the circular railings. One bit at a time... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chukw Posted September 11, 2006 Author Share Posted September 11, 2006 I've done some color filters! Using some ancient oil paints (getting the tubes open was a challenge in itself), I daubed straight pigments onto a section of the boat that I'd flooded with Humbrol thinners. I mixed the colors into a thin wash right where they sat, using a patting action with a wide brush. I then brushed the resultant mixture in downward streak to avoid a blotchy look and get a nice, weathered look. I think the results are pretty effective- it lost that "one color" look. What do you think? I've rebuilt the cable cutter from brassrod and Eduard's pe- all soldered. It's just dry-fitted here- I've since glued all the railings on. No washes on it yet. An extreme view- look at the random colors on the hull. I don't usually use the flash to photograph models- it' tends to flatten things out too much- but shows the color filter off in a new light. The conning tower has been flat-coated- the hull needs some time to cure, plus more washes. Iworked in sections, one side at a time. At this point I've added all the photoetch- the only plastic parts left are the periscopes, which I've forgotten to paint. That's all for now- your comments and crits are always appreciated! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
madmike Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 This is jaw dropping stuff. Simply wonderful work! MikeJ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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