Bronco Type XXIII in 1/35th scale

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Of holding fixtures; assembly; hand vices; sanding tools; sanding machines; machine tool specialization; centering foundations; jigs; and shop notes and product manufacturing specifications.

Some of the shop gobble-de-gook involved in fittings kit production.



M

[ffr2608]

Dave,

Based on this image, I think my S class waterline is pretty close...I do agree a bit more hard edge defined waterline would feel more correct.


D

[greenman407]

This may or may not have a bearing on this discussion. I just noted today a photograph of U45. Behind the ladder rungs looks like a loose fitting sheet of something, I dont know.

[Warpatroller]

But it was also still in use post war - the first photo is from unknown date (but it is after being raised) and is of the Hecht or Hai. We could assume they used conservative colors (grey or black) and all photos I have seen were a grey or black paint used. Clearly, on this one, you can see that a stripe is there.
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That is the Hecht, S171 probably from around 1961.

And here is a another photo of a modern Type XXIII (Hecht after modification 1961) with a protection showing the boot markings, but also protecting the paint underneath.
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This photo of the Hecht is from around 1965. They have some sort of protective strip hanging down the front, light in color, which shows the scuff marks instead of hiding them..

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U2321 here, again, probably is sporting a yellow band. The UAK mark, above it, is stated in "U-Boot Im Focus", as having been either white, black or red (which includes those painted on XXI boats). In that photo, there is no way the Mark could be red or black, so that leaves white. The band beneath it is clearly a darker shade than the UAK mark, so most likely the band is yellow.

These are my conclusions from all of this in regards to painting a war time XXIII (your mileage may vary):

1) UAK markings should be white. So far, in all the photos I have seen of XXIII boats sporting a UAK mark, the mark is far too light to be either black or red (black and red may have been used on XXI boats, or a photo of such has not been seen of a XXIII, at least by me). Maybe it's time to dig up some XXI photos..

2) Training bands on tower sides should be yellow, not white. A desaturated yellow, according to the Type II and VII color photos we have seen of these bands.

3) If you choose to add a dark stripe under the ladder rungs on front, it should be black or dark gray (red if you want to be a rebel).

4) If you paint your training bands white, you will be zapped by a lightning bolt from HWSNBN! In addition, you'll be bringing bad luck upon your boat and increase the chances of it sinking or having a catastrophe at sea. In general though, I expect most Bronco XXIII models to end up with white training bands applied to them, except perhaps by the few and the brave who tread the waters of this Sub-Driver forum..

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Nice! Great research.

Yes, Tom. Good stuff. Thanks.

David

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Gotta get off my ass and send Mike the ad copy so he can present it in the catalog. Thanks for the nudge.

David

[celticwarrior]

Where can one buy this fittings kit? I haven't seen it for sale as of yet.

[greenman407]

Nice! Great research.

[trout]

Oh, I missed this one of U-2321 (one of the 6 that actually went on patrol) from 1944. The first two photos from the group of 26 on the last post show u-2321 supporting a yellow? horizontal stripe.

[trout]

I read the comments about the dark stripe, up the front of the 23 tower, in that photo I posted. Could be dark gray, black or red.. No way to really prove one over the other. Plus how do you tell apart, for sure, post-war colorized photos versus actual war-time color photos. As far as to hide scuff marks from climbing up and down the ladder rungs, doesn't seem like it would be the specific reason for it to be there. Most photos of boats with training bands don't have the dark stripe. Front boats on active war patrol would not have any bands or stripes on the tower, or markings of any type (except for the boat emblem if it had one).

Thanks for the unwitting challenge and quest to see what I could find.
I have a lot of pictures of the stripe under the rungs. And I read somewhere that it was for smudges from the boots, but since I cannot find my reference on that to quote from, I wanted to present my thoughts. I think we can establish that different subs had the dark stripe under the rungs, not just the Type XXIII. So, the stripe was in use and could be considered a practice during WWII - for whatever reason. But it was also still in use post war - the first photo is from unknown date (but it is after being raised) and is of the Hecht or Hai. We could assume they used conservative colors (grey or black) and all photos I have seen were a grey or black paint used. Clearly, on this one, you can see that a stripe is there.

Just as easily, I can show photos of the sub with out this stripe too. So why the difference? I don't know for sure. Could be where it is being built or in dry dock.
Here are different subs from WWII that had the dark rectangle patch under the rungs.



Here is a unique one - it shows a small rectangle above the rung (see inset)

And here is a another photo of a modern Type XXIII (Hecht after modification 1961) with a protection showing the boot markings, but also protecting the paint underneath.

This would indicate that there was concern for protecting the finish from boot scuffs.
There are color photos of u-boats and these show either black or a grey (faded black probably).


So, if we accept the premise that it was a general practice to put grey or black stripes under the rungs, then the probability of it being red is unlikely.
As another interesting point not all XXIII had the rungs in front. Some had cut outs on the sides. Here are the photos of Type XXIIIs that I have. Maybe they can help in detailing out the model.

[goshawk823]

... which, reminds me: I better get some ad copy off to Mike so he can list this thing in the catalog.

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And, yes, the fittings kit is a stand-alone product.

David

I want. How much?

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Is there a possibility to buy only the fittings kit? :wink:

... which, reminds me: I better get some ad copy off to Mike so he can list this thing in the catalog.



And, yes, the fittings kit is a stand-alone product.

David

[celticwarrior]

Is there a possibility to buy only the fittings kit? :wink:

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

******. someone buy my Type VII. I want this SD and fittings kit!

Boat looks awesome David.

Someone buy the guy's boat, damit!

[goshawk823]

******. someone buy my Type VII. I want this SD and fittings kit!

Boat looks awesome David.