Mylo's 1:25 type VIIc/41 part III

[koeze]

First off Kudos on your

First off Kudos on your build. Can't wait to see something in the water. Looks like that will be a while.
I do have one comment. The colors seem off. At least for U995 at Laboe.
I was there 2,5 years ago and took a *load off photo's. Color representaion on those is good. Photo's were taken in suny weather.






The deck looks spot on. I miss the "hole" at the bow though.
If you want I can uload the photo's to you for reference. You can contact me on how we can get these photo's to you.

Erik Jan

[mylo]

Erik,

I do agree with

Erik,

I do agree with your observations, the colours on my model are not exactly like U-995 as it currently is in Laboe....but 'maybe' it is closer to U-995 as it was closer to the end of the war ? The debate rages on about U-Boat paint schemes. I chose these colours because they were the closest flat colours I could find in a spray can.

Mylo

[warpatroller]

Mylo,

Your boat's colors look just

Mylo,

Your boat's colors look just fine to me. I also agree with not trying to replicate the current colors of U-995. I don't think U-995 looked quite the way it does now during the war either. Below the water line, your model's dark grey looks like it has been lightened some by weathering and the sun, which is good. I think the current U-995 dark grey is too light, unlike yours. Your light grey above the water line looks very similar to the current U-995 color, having that light blue look (either that or you have a blueish color cast in your photos).

The Antennae wiring job looks good too! Your boat is really turning into one kick ass model! One of the coolest Uboat models I have ever seen, to be more specific. This boat should end up as a centerfold in a future Subcommittee magazine..

Steve

[JWLaRue]

I would have to agree

I would have to agree that we need to be careful with using the U-995 as a source for what is correct in a Type VIIC. There are quite a number of readily visible changes to the boat that were done post-war.

As for the color(s), you are right.....the controversy rages. That said, I do like the colors used on your boat.

Keep up the good work!

-Jeff

[koeze]

I posted the remark for

I posted the remark for the colors due to this

I intend on building two complete models, one weathered, and one that is not weathered to represent the actual boat on display in Laboe Germany.

I agree with everybody that the colors looks very good for a wartime boat. I also agree with Jeff. U995 is not the best reference (anymore). The front of the conning tower is horrible and the amount of replaced plating and their quality is also a shame. You can see the difference between the original parts and the mocked up parts all too clearly.


Enjoying the build very much. Can't wait to see one wet.

Erik Jan

[anonymous]

Wow! Wow Mylo. I'm speachless.

Steve

Wow! Wow Mylo. I'm speachless.

Steve

[raalst]

hi mylo,

I posted 2

hi mylo,

I posted 2 pictures of 2cm FlakZwilling (=FlakTwins) in the reference section of the type VII.

it's not much, there is very little to find on the net. this type of flak
was only used at u-boats. I have a very extensive book on german Flak tanks, but no luck there.

[mylo]

Erik,

Make no mistake, I

Erik,

Make no mistake, I appreciate your comments in how they relate to the details and again, I agree with them. My "unweathered" prototype display model is a representation of U-995 as it currently is, that being, an unweathered / non rusted boat ....but it is by no means a perfect likeness of U-995 with the tint on the colours being just one flaw. Long and short is, I'm ok with the colour I painted the model and I will be painting future models the same colour, ....with a little bit of weathering thrown in.

Steve .....whoa..... a real center fold in my house *drool*.


Mylo

[raalst]

gantu has kindly provided a

gantu has kindly provided a very detailed photo of the dual 2cm.
be sure to review it in it's original resolution.

http://s181686668.onlinehome.us/phpBB2/viewtopic.php5?p=39637#39637

[mylo]

Ronald,

That's a twin 37mm

Ronald,

That's a twin 37mm Flak and not the 20mm. I never realized the 37mm was twinned, but that photo (great photo) is evidence that it in fact was. Cool.

Mylo

[mylo]

Step 94 ]


A mold

[b]Step 94 ]


A mold was made for the 20mm and 37mm cannons as well as the pedestals and gun magazines. All other parts would be scratch built out of brass, aluminum, or styrene. To make the masters for the 20mm cannons, I chucked a piece of brass rod into my drill press with the speed on high and then shaped it with a file.....a REAL poor man's lathe but I was able to make a fairly decent master using this technique. (gotta get a hobby lathe some day) The 37mm barrel was made the same way. The 37mm receiver was made from a piece of aluminum square stock that I put a little shape into with a file. Once the rubber molds were made, these parts were cast from the same Smooth Cast 305 resin that I have made all my other casted parts with. If you notice in the photo of this master mold, there are no channels / vents in place for the 20mm cannons. I have discovered that it is much easier to cut these channels / vents into the rubber with a hobby knife once the mold is made. The purpose of the channels is to allow the resin into the mold, the purpose of the vents is to allow the air to escape as the mold fills with resin. There is no need to have these channels / vents a nice shape. The cuts with the hobby knife work just fine. It is very important that no indexing holes are placed where the channels / vents are going to be cut, as can be seen in the photo. I just started using this technique on my last few molds as an experiment. I could have saved myself a lot of time had a done it this way with all my molds.



The remainder of the 37mm Flak gun was scratch built as I could not cast these parts given their shape. For the most part, all the scratch building on the 37mm is out of brass with the exception of the shield, which is styrene of the right scale thickness. I used a template for the seats and cut them from brass sheet. After the basic shape of the seat was attained by filing, I gave it that "seat" shape (kind of, more or less), by hammer/dollying it with a piece of brass rod that I put a rounded shape on the end.....in other words, I pounded this rounded brass rod onto the flat seat shaped piece of brass until it rounded a bit. (important to put a self healing mat underneath to allow for some "give"). A little bit of tweaking with some plyars and the seats have a reasonably convincing look. Putting some foot rests, aiming wheels, and gun sights on gave these 37mm crew positions some nice detail. The 37mm Flak was sprayed with the same grey primer as was used for the upper colour of the boat. The barrel was hand painted with Gun Metal Blue.

The mounts for the 20mm were made from styrene while the shaft up from the pedestal is aluminum round stock. The mount was attached to the shaft by drilling a hole through the side of the mount and through the shaft in order to insert a brass pin, or hinge...basically. This allows the mount to pivot up and down as well as making for a very secure attachment. The counter weights, shoulder rests, and adjustment wheels were added to complete the detail of the 20mm Flak. The mount, shaft, and pedestal was painted grey, the upper part of the mount, and 20mm cannons painted Gun Metal Blue.










My goal with the Flak is to have them be a "reasonable" facsimile, and not a perfect 1:25 scale model. To model the Flak with any kind of scale detail would take a whole other build thread.....I just didn't want to invest that kind of time. I believe I accomplished my goal. The Flak look pretty good from......oh.......3 feet away or so. They do compliment the conning tower nicely.

Much thanks to raalst for providing me with some real good 20mm and 37 mm Flak pics for me to use as reference. I had to use a lot of "artistic licence" to come up with my model pieces, but the pics that raalst sent me were instrumental in building them. Again, thanks Ronald.


More to come.

Mylo

[raalst]

Thanks.

But I must

Thanks.

But I must pass the credits on to Gantu and Peter Vill,
who provided me with that data.

It was enlightening for me too, never knew a 2cm from a 37mm

[mylo]

Step 95 ]


The main

[b]Step 95 ]


The main deck stanchions (tie downs) were cast from a mold. 1/4 " styrene rod was sanded and shaped for the masters. Nothing magic here.


Mylo

[mylo]

A small celebration is in

A small celebration is in order.......... In 2 days, it will be 15 months to the day that I started this project, and a "documented" 790 hours. Not bad since I thought initially I would have an r/c boat in the water after 6 months and 200 hours. I still have many hours ahead of me before I reach that point.

This concludes the production and assembly of my 1:25 VIIc/41 prototype, which I feel makes for quite the unique mantle piece. I have invested as much time/money as I possibly can to get it to this point. The only detail I would like to add is the conning tower emblems, perhaps someone out there has the ability to produce those for me, ....I would pay money. That, and I'm waiting on brass props. As I have mentioned, this prototype is a static display model only due to some of the constuction materials / techniques used.

Making this prototype was a real good idea for me as I learned a lot in terms of what techniques will work, and which ones won't, when it comes time to make my r/c version. My prototype also gives me a very good reference to work from and "reminder" on what things to do differently, kind of like having a 3D instruction photo in front of me. There will be a number of improvements on my next r/c version of this boat. I'm curious to see how long it will take me to make another sub now that all my molds are made. I'm also curious as to whether there is any interest out there for kits of this boat ? Price ?? ....right around $750, but I'll have a better idea once I finish my r/c one.

I hope everyone who followed this build gained some value from it. I grew in leaps and bounds as a model builder given this, my first crack at scratch building. I shall fear not any scratch build project after this baby and will definately be taking on future projects.

Some final photos: The first one has the 1:72 Revell Type VIIc hull in front to give an idea of scale.





















Happy sailing.


Mylo

[raalst]

just one more question :

just one more question :

how do you move it around safely and without breaking off the details ?
it does not offer a lot of places where you can grab it tightly.


Ps : Congratulations !