Scratch type 17 project begins

[anonymous]

Thanks a bunch guys.

Sam it

Thanks a bunch guys.

Sam it will be an RTV mold made out of BJB 5050. I hope 50 but Matt says I'll be lucky to get 25, We'll see. The BJB is pretty tuff stuff. Nice thing is the original tools will not be destroyed using RTV and can be molding again and again.

Well despite the 108 degrees here I've got the array shaped out of blue foam. A little tape and some light spackle and it's blended to the hull. Once dry I will remove the tool and glass it tonight in the cool. Then sand and primer.

After that's done it will be glued to the hull and preened.

While I wait for this to dry I will start on the appendages. Last of the parts or tools.

Steve

[anonymous]

More progress. I've now glassed

More progress. I've now glassed the array and next I will do a glazing coat. Same old thing.

Using PVC sheets I glued two together, printed out the appendage line drawings, 3M 77 to the sheet and cut them on the band saw. Tomorrow I will shape them and then cut out the planes.

Steve

[anonymous]

Got a lot more done

Got a lot more done last night in the cool of the late evening.

The hull is near done except for a couple of small detaila. Then I can detail the deck. Once that's done then I can finishe the appenedages. Looking to start molding next week. It's great to see the light at the end of this tunnel!

Steve

P.S. Oh and the array is done.

[sam reichart]

Steve-
looking real good!

are you going

Steve-
looking real good!

are you going to add some details to the array?

is that going to be cast as a separate piece?

Sam

[anonymous]

Thanks Sam. A few little

Thanks Sam. A few little details to the array. It will be part of the hull. I couldn't think of a reason why it shouldn't be.

Steve

[Guest]

All I can say is

All I can say is "wow"! It hasn't even been a month since you started from scratch and you're almost ready to start molding!
I admire your talent very much. You've got a handsome looking U-boat there. Can't wait for more updates. Happy building.

a300mech

[anonymous]

Thank you very much my

Thank you very much my friend for the kind words!

I have the array almost done. Needs more sanding to take down the relief. found a new trick. Thread and CA.

Wish I did this on the hull but I used 3M 77 on thread. This allowed me to position the weld line just right. Then some thin CA and it's done. Next boat/ live and learn. This is a really fats way to do it.

Also got the rest of the detail AFT.

Tomorrow I can detail the deck now that Harry has translated the German plans for me. Thanks Harry!

30 days from the start of this thread. I thought it had been longer. After tomorrow all that's left to do is the appendages.

Steve

P.S. This was last night. Aug. 30 th.

[anonymous]

Well today I got the

Well today I got the deck and hull finished. I still need more primer on it before I can remove the limber hole tape. I also have to scribe a slight water line location as this is where the deck will separate from the lower hull and indicate the mold line for me.

Also got the appendages shaped. I will finish the shaping once I cut the planes free. That's the last of it to get the appendages finished off and then next week I'll start the molding process.

I also added some relief to show you where certain parts are located on the deck as well as the sail's location.

Whew! I'm tired. That's it for tonight. Had to get this posted thought so big Dave would have something to enjoy his morning coffee with! LOL

Steve

[anonymous]

I'm still going to go

I'm still going to go back over this hull and point it up a bit more before I mold it as I'm now seeing things that show in pictures but not to the eye in person.

Sand down some more of the weld lines. Point up the torpedo doors. Tweak, tweak. I'll finish the appendages first and make that the last thing I do.

For a month's worth of work I'm happy with it. WW2 U-Boats are not the most easy thing to do for a first effort of a total scratch build. This is my first. I learned a lot from this experience. What works. What doesn't.

And remember on the Washington class boat I had Merriman's fine Skipjack hull to work from as a base. Plus no thousands of details like this one.

It will be awhile before I tackle another WW2 boat again. But if I do I might do an IXC.

Steve

[mylo]

Steve,....ya....a ton of work but,

Steve,....ya....a ton of work but, look how beautiful it is. It must bring you real satisfaction to build something of that calibre.

I really think you should do a type VII or IID, step by step, in a large scale, showing somebody that...say...has never done one before, exactly how to do it. *hint hint* Still educatin' myself and gathering data.

One month.....you burnt some midnight oil.

Myles.

[anonymous]

Myles,

Thanks very much. I'm doing

Myles,

Thanks very much. I'm doing the 571 and the Delta 5 next. Less work and I start back to work soon. Next year though I do want to do the IXC.

Thanks again Myles!

Steve

[mylo]

Steve,

What keeps you motivated

[color=#000000]Steve,

What keeps you motivated to do all these scratch builds ? I can see building one or two, but then I would be playing with them all the time......I mean, .....doing historical naval re-enactments..with them all the time.

I'm finishing up some static U-Boat models that I've had sitting around for a while. I was kind of thinking that even the little models will help me get an idea of what the 3d thing looks like. After that, I'm starting in on the big type VII. Problem with me is....I'm a putz....a slow putz builder. I enjoy the research though. What the ####, as long as a guy is enjoying himself, I guess that's the whole point. I am impressed with the amount you've got done in a month. Anybody who knows anything about scale / scratch building knows how much time the simplist of things can take. For eg, the teeny tiny little hand rails on my 1]

[anonymous]

Myles,

Just passion. that's all and

Myles,

Just passion. that's all and a lot of time on my hands when I'm not working. I can't sit very long before I have to do something else. It helps me keep alive. I'm not good at relaxing or sitting at the TV.

Drives my wife nuts but she understands it.

Thanks Myles and please get busy! You'll love it.

Steve

[mylo]

Steve,

I hear you on

Steve,

I hear you on the T.V. thing. I don't even have cable. 3 channels, that's it, and it's more than I need. We never watch the stupid thing. I much rather prefer spending my free time doing pretty much anything else. Static models, playing Silent Hunter III have been the latest things.

For me though, I can see completing a sub project and then playing with it a lot. When I get tired of playing with it, I'll go back and fiddle with my model railroad......and then back to subs....and then maybe over to doing a static model tank or something, then a 70's muscle car....play SHIII a little.......etc, etc.

Who knows, maybe I'll like this sub building thing so much I'll build a wolf pack...... So far, like I said, just the research end of it alone has been fun and educational.

That's what I should do, take 3 weeks off work and just do nothing but build my sub. Right after that, I can go to the psychiatric assessment that my wife would have surely booked for me. She's the "mature" one in the relationship. As long as I keep my hobby stuff in moderation, she's cool with it. My problem is I want to do my hobby stuff 24/7. Work and life just get in the way as far as I'm concerned. Good thing I've got her around to keep me grounded.

Ja volt Herr Kaleun !!

Myles.

[anonymous]

Well here's an update. Everything

Well here's an update. Everything is ready to mold.

Today I had to make the scribe lines to indicate where to cut the hatch and the mold parting line. Once the hull parts are cast up both sides will have a visible scribe line so you know where to flat sand the half to for joining.

I used a surface tool and marked the parting line first. then I used blue painters tape both side of the line as a guide for the scribe tool. For safety I also used a plastic ruler to keep the tool on track. Worked great.

For the hatch mark I used the same tape. A bit of red putty at the edge and sanded. Once the tape is removed you can see a very clean edge for cutting with the razor saw.

Sail is ready although I need a bit more primer on top before I can remove the tape which will leave a nice depression so you now where to cut things away.

I plan to make an interior for the sail once I cast one up from the molds.

Not much more to tell. Next week bit by bit I will make the molds. So hopefully next week I can start making castings.

Steve