A Type XXIII in Ireland

[The Boattrainman]

Thanks Manfred, advice much appreciated.

So that's it for now.




A subtle wash to add salt staining and a drybrush around the darker parts with metallic colour to finish.




Less is more, and as I'm not great at weathering, that's the sub finished.

You can just see the torpedo bay as I hoped...........




..........and the the rigging is the final piece of the puzzle (temporary for the moment till ballasting is finished).



Here is the sub with the intended target, my 1/32 scale Steam Coaster (with working lights, sound, smoke and steam engine sound), hoping they will be chasing each other around the boating lake soon.





I'm setting the model aside for a while, getting frustrated with so much time on the ballast issue, will return to it in a few weeks when the enthusiasm returns.

Over and out!

The Boattrainman

[MFR1964]

Yeah, she is a little bugger, the tower is the main issue, i would try some less lead, and re-do the session with the foam, it took me a few days to get the balance right between the lead and the foam.

Manfred.

[The Boattrainman]

On another note.

It's proving to be a pig to get the submerged balance right, plus it's hard to get it to re-surface at exactly the same trim as before diving.

I think the water in the ballast tank (even with baffles) is moving around a lot and given it's such a small sub it's causing problems.

Been adjusting bits of foam all day and it's defeated me for the moment.

Rob

[The Boattrainman]

Got that Manfred.

I didn' fully understand the banding on the tower, I figured it might be a training mark. So it is in ready to be commissioned state, won't be heavy weathering it anyway.

Thanks.

Rob

[MFR1964]

She looks good in her new skin, only remark i can think of is, that white marking on the tower has t be yellow, why?, in this configuration the boat is at the UAK, ready to be tested before delevery to the kriegsmarine, only there she will be taken in commision, once this done the yellow markings will be overpainted.

Manfred.

[The Boattrainman]

The main painting is finished.




I used Humbrol acrylic spays over their fine primer and for a small model the finer sprays work well.




The tower was a challenge, the snorkel was finished in matt black and drybrushed in metallic silver.



To see the fine plate lines, I scraped the paint off with a round scalpel revealing the grey primer under, and the hydrophones were brush painted in Humbrol brass.



The inside got a coat of the dark hull colour as well and the ballast weights are painted in heavy enamel to stop them rusting. The brass prop will tarnish over time.


So just some mild weathering on the upper hull and the rigging to go.




The Boattrainman

[The Boattrainman]

Hi Manfred,

Hopefully not, but I will keep you posted when it goes to open water.

Rob

[MFR1964]

Nice Rob,

Since this is by nature a static kit she can be build fast, slap some paint on it and you will be amazed how good she stands, one question, that open torpedohatch, won't this give problems since it can act like a scoop underwater?

Manfred.

[The Boattrainman]

To my great surprise this little sub is finished the build phase.

The last item was the life raft door which I made functional so I could get at the collars holding the flotation foam on the periscope.



The rigging isn't attached as is streteched from the ceiling on weights for four weeks so that it won't sag on the madel.



So off to the paint shop!

The Boattrainman

[The Boattrainman]

The aerial rigging is as per my Type VIIIC, good quality black rigging cord from scale ships.




The insulators are small walnut blocks sanded to a lozenge shape, with shrink wrap tubing. As per a photo I've seen two near the tower, and three near the deck.

I've gotten quite good at making these, pity I won't be making any more WW2 subs for a while!

The Boattrainman

[The Boattrainman]

I dislike messy interiors, spagetti wiring and lumps of ballast all over the place.

After endless tricking around with metal weights, the result is this.....

ic

........four metal strips fitted into styrene keepers, just a press fit no glue, I got really lucky it's balanced with no offset ballast needed.

Now having seen how little weight buggers up the submerged trim on small subs, I added this adjustable bar, it's overall weight is used to keep the boat at the waterline on the surface, but when the submerged trim is just about right using flotation foam, I have about an inch of travel fore and aft to get the sub balanced.






The submerged trim is up next.

[The Boattrainman]

The light connectors are 12V Planet automotive items.....




.......I cannot praise these highly enough, they are cheap and very robust, but I've found a drop of epoxy around the wire inlets and plenty of silicone grease on the yellow banjo ensures waterproofing.

[The Boattrainman]

So that wasn't any fun.

This little sucker needed so much foam, I had to remove my carefully cut small pieces and whack in loads of solid pieces.....



...........including a huge block in the nose, it's just press fit so I can get at the front dive planes linkage.




I managed to get some down into the rear as well.




But at least it floats on the waterline with around 200 mg of metal in the keel.

Just waiting for the battery packs to test the dive function.

[The Boattrainman]

Thanks guys.

Can't put the batteries under the WTC, they are in the forward part in a custom made tray.

So I've gone with whacking a load of foam around the waterline, 26 thin pieces between the internal ribs, I can remove pieces if it's too much.

Plus I cut up a 450g metal bar into six pieces, is that a coincidence the pump tank hols around 450ml? May not need them all.




I also balanced the WTC itself first, by adding a 150g lead block under the servos (just enough space), the block offsets the weight of the batteries at the other end. The WTC now sits level in the water, I found it easier in the past not to be fighting the boat and the WTC when ballasting.




Rob

[Subculture]

With a figure of eight hull design, you should have enough depth to whack the batteries underneath the wtc. Also has the advantage of centralising the weight around the boats c.g.