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From the primordial slime emerges a shape.
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Looks good!Comment
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The opening for that forward Monster ECM mast sized & positioned. It will make the retractable doors soon.
Awaiting 3/8-inch k & S foil shaped tubing now for the other masts. Redoing top of snorkel head from flat to faintly curved top match the sail. I look forward to making pericopes, enjoy making those. A radar mast, two more ECM masts. two center line periscope masts search & attack. port starboard lights, counter measure ejectors (on the starboard side the four openings).Last edited by Albacore 569; 01-15-2024, 10:51 AM.Comment
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Counter-measures hid in the sail? Makes re-stocking an easy matter. No punts, no cranes, no Diver's. I like it. Of course... German's!
DavidWho is John Galt?Comment
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That was my thought too Dave. Looking to see if the other HDW designed subs the 214, 212, the Ula's. the future German & Norwegian 212CD's a much bigger & longer (similar in size the Dolphin 2 & 3 will have too?
These boats probably don't do many high-speed transits so flow noise isn't probably much of an issue I would think. If so, then why not make restocking of the countermeasures easily accessible. Practical Germans, or the Israeli Navy their client requested this way.
I watched a fascinating YouTube video on the French Mirage III fighter in Israeli service. Fortunately, for the Israelis and the French too, the Israelis really test their aircraft as practical weapons. The Israeli discovered the cannons gun radars where a mess & so inaccurate shooting was almost impossible. One Israeli pilot and their airspace industry resolved the issue in months fortunately in time before the 1967 war. It shows the great pragmaticism with their modifications and shared it back tot the French. An Israeli Sarhak Zeroing Team in the ir Air Force came up with a simple effective solution.
Why didn't the French realize this? In their defense, the original French radar sight had been designed to take out larger bombers and ground targets.
The French Chauchat machine gun in WW1 was such a piece of ****, Americans hated them There were piles of them abandoned along roads ditched by the Americans, They jammed constantly, too delicate to operate in the mud, they were built by hand and replacement parts never fit together. Fortunately, the Yanks had the BAR!
On the other hand, the French 75 mm artillery gun was one of the best in the world at the same time. Reliable accurate, high rate of fire.
The French battleship Richelieu was a brilliant efficient design, better gunned arrangement, concentrating its citadel armor efficiently. Far better protected, faster. Compared to her German contemporary Bismarck, the German ship was an inefficient design, Overweight, Its anti-aircraft was terrible with too many different calibers of secondary guns, (they couldn't even shoot down a single very slow swordfish torpedo plane attacking it. The armor was distributed less efficiently. Rodney's 16" shells blew clear through Bismarck, and the dives on the wreck show it. This was a lot due to the treaty of Versailles. Germany's WW1 battleship designers' skills and experience was gone and had to be brought back from scratch. The white supremist websites talk about how the Bismarck was superior to everything! She was a formidable ship, but in a 1 on 1 fight the Richelieu would kick its ass. 7 out of 10 times I'd put my money on Richelieu....lol.
Contrast the French super destroyers, still the fastest destroyers ever built 45 nots in combat displacement! Still wow me. But 45% of the vessel's tonnage was devoted to fuel! The square cube law, a lot of shaft horsepower to say the least. But their powerful 5.5-inch guns were single purpose weapons, overly designed & complex, and a slower rate of fire. 5.5 shells are heavy to lift.
Anyway, like I said, hit and miss.
Last edited by Albacore 569; 01-15-2024, 01:30 PM.Comment
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Steven,
Most likely one of my real stupid questions! Where it says "No Tug" What would be the reason for no tugs at those two points?
Your progress really looks great!
Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat."Comment
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Torpedo tube shutters
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Bob is creating for me a 3d printed scribing template expected next week. In mean time starting on the masts (fun!). Bob printed the two largest masts, a humongous ECM mast and a snorkel mast. Now starting on the observation search scope. made of brass rod and rectangular tubing, CA Glue, Aluminum 3/8-inch foil sharp tubing, Bondo.
I will finish with 600 fine sandpaper n the morning, (this was posted last night) and give it final coat of primer.
Then liquid mask the leopard spots. Paint the turquoise mast color overall. Then remove the mask exposing the gray splotches, Paint lens a dark ink blue, then a final clear flat coat then on to next mast... Measurment's in photos in millimeters. Blue tape around mast fairing just a guide in shaping the top overhang to correct shape and size.
Last edited by Albacore 569; 01-19-2024, 03:38 AM.Comment
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Starting on the attack scope next. 1/8-inch brass rod.
A lot more shaping ot get the flat fairing smaller.
Starting to make some sense.
Watching the weight of my brass aluminum masts. It I sense too much top weight (like the top top ) I'll use as master's and mold up resin copies if they arent too brittle for action in the field (pond). (Collisions with skimmers).Last edited by Albacore 569; 01-19-2024, 09:06 PM.Comment
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Applying liquid mask to finished masts for painting. Making the attack scope. More masts to come.
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More today.
The now dry Bondo neck taper sanded down. later primed sanded again and painted.
Sprayed with a rattle can Rust-Oleum 'Vintage Teal' over the thick liquid mask. If you go this way, be sure you layer on 2 coats minimum. so, it might be easier to peel off later.
I plan to paint the attack periscope the reverse motion. I.E. Paint teal over all first and add the spots in gray after. I want to experiment & compare.
Rubbing off the mask is a bit of work. It int a worry if te masts are plastic. You can't really scratch away the gray undercoat. If te masts are brass and aluminum, then yes you may have a problem. The use a toothpick and pry it up and rub with your fingers and fingernail. I then wash off the mats in soap and water. When dry, I paint the lens and the top of the streamline foil in a Rust-Oleum 'Midnight Blue' spraying into the cap and use as a on the spot pallet and with a tiny hand brush paint these by hand.
I also masked and sprayed the tear drop mast top of the snorkel head in Midnight Blue also.
Then I used a Testors clear flat overall and te look is remarkable (to me anyway).
Below is the comparing Reality check...lol. Interesting to note the absence. of much of the antennas on the forward mast in the top photo below. Either it was censored, or based on the crew on the bridge, the photo may have been taken on HDW sea trails in the Baltic prior to sailing to Israel. There doesn't seem to be an pixilation distortion that would have revealed it being censored. I guess one small bonus from my training doing photo analysis as a UFO investigator and spotting fake photos. My guess it's a HDW source and taken on sea trials.
Last edited by Albacore 569; 01-23-2024, 06:07 PM.Comment
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Good job, Did you use Vallejo masking fluid? I think I recognize the color...Comment
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The liquid Mask used is called 'SPAZ STIX' Shaking my head about the name. lol.. It was bought years ago and was only one available locally at the time. It works, 'suitably blobby'. Cutting individual shaped tape masks would work as well. I have Vallejo paints and they are good.
Last edited by Albacore 569; 01-24-2024, 01:51 AM.Comment
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Another day another mast.
I will keep the three mast components separate for painting as the top of the streamlined fairing will be a dark blue. Ones all primmed sanded painted will complete this ECM mat aft. What looks like a mast light will be added forward. The aft small mast is offset to starboard.Comment
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