1/48 scale Type VIIC U-201 build

[Monahan Steam Models]

Nick,
if you need to get warm, come to Las Vegas. We can go out and run a sub or two.

Thank you Tom that is very kind and generous and I would like to take you up on that some day because it sounds like a good time for sure. Under the current conditions we would be somewhat weather refugees and I would enjoy a visit with the conditions being to meet up and have fun doing what we enjoy.

One a side note I’m going to warn the rest of you reading this thread it’s going to go a bit off topic and into a bit of a hopefully brief rant.

So we got hit by a historically big snow storm. It was forecasted so we weren’t caught off guard. Had time to prep for it. Power was knocked out and lots of destruction occurred to the power distribution system. Trees were down every where and roads blocked by either snow or trees or both. You come to expect these situations when living in rural mountain areas like we do so you adjust and plan ahead the best you can.

That being said, we have proactively invested and installed a crazy large solar system a few years ago and spent the last 6 months designing the battery back up system and redundant last ditch back up generator system for when the primary grid system goes down and it does frequently. All the engineering and plans were finally approved and the hardware and teams were assembled and scheduled.

Each team (solar, battery and generator) were organized and supplied with what they needed to make everything to complete the final project with ease. The prior dirty or hard work was done months in advance by me. The digging of the trenches. Laying the buried conduit. The excavation of dirt and concrete work to create the basements and pads for the gear to be installed.

Well the solar and generator crews appreciated the ground work that was already in place and the foresight of the planning which made their tasks much less intense and worked with integrity to complete the task at hand. The battery crew not so much. They missed days and left early.

The completion of this whole project would’ve been finished 2 weeks ago prior to this storm but was delayed by the short comings of the battery crew.

Yesterday I spent a great deal of time with the VP of the company and the main scheduling manager to make sure we were all on the same page to get the final work done to complete the generator instal and battery install today. I warned them of the recent conditions that were the result of the storm and we both agreed and guaranteed one another of the responsibilities we would take on to make the plan happen to stay on target and achieve today’s goals. Outside of that, mine have been waking up every couple hours during the cold freezing night to keep the wood burning stove fueled to keep the family warm. At 5am I was in the tractor in the clearing the roads for 3 hours so the crews could get through easily.

No one called except for the main generator guy. He was a 100 of miles away doing another job. The schedule manager, although we spoke yesterday had rescheduled him to be on another job. I had just spent 3 hours plowing the roads and many hours the day before to make this morning go smooth.

Having realized all of this, the gentleman who was originally planning to be here to bring the generator system online finished his work and drove 100 miles back this direction to get our equipment working. He and I then worked together the next 4 hours to get the well water system to be backed up off the generator. We were both tired and our toes were frozen solid from each being out in the snow for so many hours but it goes to show the integrity of team work and working together. He didn’t have to do any of this and i as customer didn’t have to spend hours plowing roads or pulling wire in freezing snow but we both did because we respected the other and realized what needed to be done and the team work to make the goal happen.

We are now fully powered with working electricity and water again and can help our neighbors. Tenacity and perseverance is what gets the job done.

[trout]

Nick,
if you need to get warm, come to Las Vegas. We can go out and run a sub or two.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Picture-Postcard stuff till you got to the felled trees. Be safe, you nut!

David

[Monahan Steam Models]

Hunker down Nick. Stay warm and safe.

Will do, thanks Steve!

We expected this storm so I prepared and brought up the fire wood supply to the house and fuel for the equipment.



The shop, field and road covered in snow.





The back pond about 6:30am. Still lots of sounds of trees and limbs falling from the heavy wet snow in the background going on.

Cutting one of the many downed trees out of the road and off of the lines later Monday morning.



One of the downed big oaks we cut through. Monday morning was a mess.

Another storm is coming in tonight but it shouldn’t be as bad. I just want to get back to where I was with the build before all this crap.

[SubDude]

Hunker down Nick. Stay warm and safe.

[cgbillb]

Good morning crew, I just order the 80mm from Bob. Will let you all know how it works in my ArkModel 1/48 scale Type VII.
Bill
Athens Ga.

[rwtdiver]

Rob,

Not that one. That’s the R&R WTC that Bob also stocks. The one I am referring to is his new 3” sub driver. The 80mm one. It’s available as a early release to dive tribe members.

We got walloped last night by a heavy snow storm. Trees and power lines down every where. Snowed in for the next few days at least. Can’t use the 10’s of thousands of dollars in back up power gear we just installed because the county hasn’t done their final inspection on it yet. Was scheduled for this coming Friday but that ain’t gonna happen now. A number of the local neighbors and I spend all day with chainsaws and 4 wheelers and winches trying to cut access and re open up the roads for repair crews and emergency vehicles to get through.

Had to break out the smaller back up generators for the time being and of course they didn’t want to behave. Spent hours troubleshooting and rebuilding the main one. Got it running just in time as the sun set. More storms inbound. Oh the joys of living in the mountains.

Nick

Nick,

WOW! Sorry you are having all these issues in your area with the big snowstorms .and power outages! Arizona is getting hit hard as well with lots of rain and flooding. And the way it looks all of next week is going to be rough as well! Hang in their Nick, and take care of yourselves!

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat"

[Monahan Steam Models]

Rob,

Not that one. That’s the R&R WTC that Bob also stocks. The one I am referring to is his new 3” sub driver. The 80mm one. It’s available as a early release to dive tribe members.

We got walloped last night by a heavy snow storm. Trees and power lines down every where. Snowed in for the next few days at least. Can’t use the 10’s of thousands of dollars in back up power gear we just installed because the county hasn’t done their final inspection on it yet. Was scheduled for this coming Friday but that ain’t gonna happen now. A number of the local neighbors and I spend all day with chainsaws and 4 wheelers and winches trying to cut access and re open up the roads for repair crews and emergency vehicles to get through.

Had to break out the smaller back up generators for the time being and of course they didn’t want to behave. Spent hours troubleshooting and rebuilding the main one. Got it running just in time as the sun set. More storms inbound. Oh the joys of living in the mountains.

Nick

[rwtdiver]

Rob, good morning and Merry Christmas!

The Arkmodel type VIIC is a great kit by itself. Especially for the price it is available for. The instructions aren’t great but not terrible either. I haven’t had any real difficulties assembling the model as it was designed.

As far as the WTC that is available for this kit from Arkmodels goes, I have it and the design and quality of it suffers from multiple issues that are not easily resolved. On top of that the piston tank volume seems to be under sized by about 200ml or more if I recall correctly (it has been awhile since I attempted to work with it before ultimately abandoning it).

Bob’s new 3” WTC would be absolutely perfect for this boat if you plan on building it in the future.

The reason I split the hull the way I have is personal preference. Using the kit’s original split sections, is perfectly fine. The choices that I have made on how I’m going about building this boat have added a lot of complexity and having the hull split the way that I have helps gain additional and much quicker access to the complete hull. There was other factors in choosing to split the hull this way. Such as being able to reduce the final number of parting line seems visible once the build is completed. Also with all the small parts that can easily be broken off a WW2 boat such as this one, I felt making the hull sections separate the way that I have would help reduce the inevitable chances of parts being knocked loose during routine access to inside of the hull.

In my pre and early teen years growing up, I spent a lot of my time watching WW2 movies. I’d almost always have one playing in the background will I was assembling plastic ship or submarine models from that background or while I was building RC boats also from that era. After many unsuccessful attempts in the early nineties, my first successful submarine build was a dry hull dynamic diving 1/125 scale Revel type VII. Around the same time of that build Das Boot had become one of my all time favorite movies along with a handful of others.

Fast forward to present day, building this type VII for me is somewhat of a nostalgic throwback to the much smaller one I built all those years ago. The big difference is, in the years since, I’ve continued to learn and refine my skill sets and now get to apply a lot of that to this build.

Nick

Hi Nick,

Can I pester you again?



I took a screen shot of Bobs (Nautilus Drydocks) new line of WTC. (I do hope Bob will not be angry with me for taking the screen shot) But buy chance is this the WTC you are suggesting would be a good set up for my Arkmodel Vll?

I really appreciate all the help and great information you give me!

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat"

SPECIAL NOTE 12/27/2021: I sent Bob an email asking the same question, and he verified what you said. His new 80mm double shaft WTC would be perfect for the Arkmaodel Vll Boat!

Thanks again for all your great advice Nick!

Rob

[Monahan Steam Models]

It’s 32 degrees out and dumping snow. Thankfully the Irish whiskey keeps me warm and salty during these times. I haven’t been sitting on my hand since the last post.

With the aft assembly almost there, I needed to focus on the forward section again with all its junk crammed up there.

Since we’re going one piece hull with the cut at waterline, all the work I did last year needed to be redone.



This is what I came up with for the forward planes using the original model part lines



The torpedo launchers were made to drop right in to the original cast abs molds.



A sneak preview of the new junk that will fill that area.



More to come

[rwtdiver]

Rob, good morning and Merry Christmas!

The Arkmodel type VIIC is a great kit by itself. Especially for the price it is available for. The instructions aren’t great but not terrible either. I haven’t had any real difficulties assembling the model as it was designed.

As far as the WTC that is available for this kit from Arkmodels goes, I have it and the design and quality of it suffers from multiple issues that are not easily resolved. On top of that the piston tank volume seems to be under sized by about 200ml or more if I recall correctly (it has been awhile since I attempted to work with it before ultimately abandoning it).

Bob’s new 3” WTC would be absolutely perfect for this boat if you plan on building it in the future.

The reason I split the hull the way I have is personal preference. Using the kit’s original split sections, is perfectly fine. The choices that I have made on how I’m going about building this boat have added a lot of complexity and having the hull split the way that I have helps gain additional and much quicker access to the complete hull. There was other factors in choosing to split the hull this way. Such as being able to reduce the final number of parting line seems visible once the build is completed. Also with all the small parts that can easily be broken off a WW2 boat such as this one, I felt making the hull sections separate the way that I have would help reduce the inevitable chances of parts being knocked loose during routine access to inside of the hull.

In my pre and early teen years growing up, I spent a lot of my time watching WW2 movies. I’d almost always have one playing in the background will I was assembling plastic ship or submarine models from that background or while I was building RC boats also from that era. After many unsuccessful attempts in the early nineties, my first successful submarine build was a dry hull dynamic diving 1/125 scale Revel type VII. Around the same time of that build Das Boot had become one of my all time favorite movies along with a handful of others.

Fast forward to present day, building this type VII for me is somewhat of a nostalgic throwback to the much smaller one I built all those years ago. The big difference is, in the years since, I’ve continued to learn and refine my skill sets and now get to apply a lot of that to this build.

Nick

Good morning Nick, Thank you, and a very "Merry Christmas" to you and your family.

Thank you for the input on the Arkmodel Vll. It is appreciated and very helpful in my possible jumping into a German type submarine build. Speaking of Das Boot, my wife down loaded the film last night and we watched it. Needless to say, it certainly opened her eyes!

I think the history behind a lot of our submarine building is the history itself that makes it such a great hobby!

Thank you again Nick, for taking the time to answer my questions!

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat"

[Monahan Steam Models]

Nick,
Do you still have that 1/125 dynamic diving Type VII U-boat? If not, can you describe how you made it. Was it RC?

Romel

Romel, good morning and Merry Christmas!

I still have the RC 1/125 dynamic diving Type VII U-boat. It is in a box, stored in my shop currently and was taken apart many years ago to repair it. My build of it was inspired by and was a direct copy of how a gentleman built his 1/125 revel type VII U-boat and his build was featured in a RC model boat magazine back in 1989 or so.

At the time these sort of miniature builds was pushing the limits of the available RC gear of the time. I’ll try my best to explain how it was built. The twin prop shafts were driven by the single motor and guts of a modified standard servo. Old servo gears were used to drive the counter rotating props. Two micro servos placed inline in the hull under the conning tower. One controlled the rudders. The other controlled the forward and aft dive planes. NiCad C-cell batteries were placed ahead and behind the micro servos. A on/off switch was glued under the conning tower hatch. Two 1/8” brass charging pins protruded out of the bottom of the keel. A three channel AM receiver taken out of its plastic case was also stuffed into the hull. The very forward and aft ends of the boat had styrene bulkheads and were filled with petroleum jelly to try to keep water out. The antenna from the receiver was used as the cable running from the bow to the stern. The whole hull was permanently glued and sealed up creating the dry hull. The boat would sit in the water with the decks almost awash. It took 5 attempts with 5 model kits before I finally had a successful working build. The model lasted for a few years of a couple dozen runs before corrosion from water ingress finally took its toll and the deck was cut back open and the guts of the sub were removed. Lost interest in repairing it and it now sits in a box along with the other 4 previous build attempts as well as 3 fresh kits that were for future builds. Maybe some day I will build another but use the experience that I’ve gained since.

Nick

[redboat219]

Nick,
Do you still have that 1/125 dynamic diving Type VII U-boat? If not, can you describe how you made it. Was it RC?

Romel

[Monahan Steam Models]

Nick,

I have a question about the Arkmodel Vll C that you are building? I am thinking about building this boat, and I am wondering about the WTC system that can be purchased with this kit! Can you give me any input on this system? Also, how come you decided to split the hull rather than build it as per it's original design?

After seeing Das Boot three times (great movie) I am hooked on that submarine. I do not have any working models of any U-boats. I did look at the 3D STL files that Nautilus Drydocks has, and they looked a little rough to me, or I may have tried to build a U-boat with those files, plus the fact it is not the Type Vll C.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you! (By-the-way, your build is looking great!!)

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat"

Rob, good morning and Merry Christmas!

The Arkmodel type VIIC is a great kit by itself. Especially for the price it is available for. The instructions aren’t great but not terrible either. I haven’t had any real difficulties assembling the model as it was designed.

As far as the WTC that is available for this kit from Arkmodels goes, I have it and the design and quality of it suffers from multiple issues that are not easily resolved. On top of that the piston tank volume seems to be under sized by about 200ml or more if I recall correctly (it has been awhile since I attempted to work with it before ultimately abandoning it).

Bob’s new 3” WTC would be absolutely perfect for this boat if you plan on building it in the future.

The reason I split the hull the way I have is personal preference. Using the kit’s original split sections, is perfectly fine. The choices that I have made on how I’m going about building this boat have added a lot of complexity and having the hull split the way that I have helps gain additional and much quicker access to the complete hull. There was other factors in choosing to split the hull this way. Such as being able to reduce the final number of parting line seems visible once the build is completed. Also with all the small parts that can easily be broken off a WW2 boat such as this one, I felt making the hull sections separate the way that I have would help reduce the inevitable chances of parts being knocked loose during routine access to inside of the hull.

In my pre and early teen years growing up, I spent a lot of my time watching WW2 movies. I’d almost always have one playing in the background will I was assembling plastic ship or submarine models from that background or while I was building RC boats also from that era. After many unsuccessful attempts in the early nineties, my first successful submarine build was a dry hull dynamic diving 1/125 scale Revel type VII. Around the same time of that build Das Boot had become one of my all time favorite movies along with a handful of others.

Fast forward to present day, building this type VII for me is somewhat of a nostalgic throwback to the much smaller one I built all those years ago. The big difference is, in the years since, I’ve continued to learn and refine my skill sets and now get to apply a lot of that to this build.

Nick

[rwtdiver]

Nick,

I have a question about the Arkmodel Vll C that you are building? I am thinking about building this boat, and I am wondering about the WTC system that can be purchased with this kit! Can you give me any input on this system? Also, how come you decided to split the hull rather than build it as per it's original design?

After seeing Das Boot three times (great movie) I am hooked on that submarine. I do not have any working models of any U-boats. I did look at the 3D STL files that Nautilus Drydocks has, and they looked a little rough to me, or I may have tried to build a U-boat with those files, plus the fact it is not the Type Vll C.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you! (By-the-way, your build is looking great!!)

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat"