Metal Finishes

Not sure if you guys have ever used Alclad metal laquer finishes - I find they are the most realistic if applied properly - check out the sample pics here Alclad

Hi Brian, yes we can get hold of Alclad here in Holland. Great stuff if you build a lot of model aircraft but of limited use for ship models. The torpedoes would probably look fantastic in alclad but the price tag would be 3 times what I paid for the Vallejo liquid metal. Thanks for the pointer though and I probably will get around to trying alclad as I have the 1/24 Airfix Mustang in my stash (Big beautiful doll version).
Cheers,
Julian

Hello Julian,
I was wondering what reference was used to come up with green tipped torops? I like the idea of the color difference between the all the grey tones. I have only seen gold/brass or slate grey/black. Any info would be great. Keep up the great work, Ryan

None, I just liked the green colour and it breaks what would otherwise be a rather grey piece of work ( sorry, I build for fun, not for museums ). Don't let this stop you going for grey though
If you want 100% accuracy follow Arjan's build, He is researching his build really well and the rivet work he has added is beautiful (and beyond me with my 52 years old eyesight. I wouldn't even be able to find the rivets he used, let alone glue them)
cheers,
Julian

It's fun to see that there are different ways to approach a build. I would like to see some pics from others, who have no doubt by now started on their kits as well (Keith, Michael ). I'm 50 years old, so I doubt if Julian's eyes are any worse . One of the advantages of the Archer rivets is that they are black which contrasts well with the grey plastic and white styrene. Applying and aligning the homemade styrene rivets I began with, gave me a splitting headache (in both a literal and figurative sense).

Cheers,

Arjan

Here is some of my work on my S-100.

Nice work there Ryan, I am just pulling to reach of the wheelhouse and bridge and am looking forward to that. I notice that a lot of you (in general sense) build large assemblies and then paint it, while I favour the paint as I go along style. What are the advantages of working "your "way? Surely this makes painting details more difficult ?
The eyesight thing has been making detail paintwork more difficult for me for the last 5 years and I have one of those headbands with magnifying lenses to help me. My sons used to find this hilarious and would make up some excuse to drop into my hobby room, look at the glasses and run into the hall hooting with laughter
cheers,
Julian


p.s Has anyone tried using "rosie the riveter" on aluminium foil strips and using them to detail the wheelhouse? Trumpeter has a rather cheap rivet maker so I might give this a try myself.

Thanks Ryan, great pictures! I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one whose hull has some blemishes near the pilothouse. I hope to finish the windscreen by the end of the day. I decided to separate the frame-halves because that makes glueing easier as well. I've been wondering if there was a windowpane in the centre window of the Kalotte. I think there must have been one, why else is there a ventilator (unless it's simply meant for ventilating the wheelhouse). At least I assume that the ventilator is meant to get rid of the condensation vapour on the glass ? The early Vosper MTB s had two similar things in the the front windows of the wheelhouse, these however, were mounted in the centre of the windowpanes and each was connected to an electric motor by means of a drive belt. The S-Boot fan must have been mounted on a frame of sorts or a glass pane. As it is now the Italeri fan appears to be floating in the air. I also wonder why the centre window has this typical funnelshape, anyone? The general shape does remind me of the light traps present on late U.S. PT boats, so perhaps this might be the answer.

Cheers,

Arjan

Hello Arjan, the round frame in the center window is probably a "clear view screen" the same as used on the Vosper boats. It is a round pane of glass set in a frame that is spun by an electric motor to keep the glass clear of spray. They are used instead of the more conventional windshield wipers. Al

No, not a clear view screen, a clearview screen wouldn't have a shutter in front of it. Definately a ventilator:

Seeing the size of the wheel house and the equipment with two crew members in there it probably got very warm, hence the ventilator. Just my 2 cents................
Julian
ps: this is a clearview screen

Hi Julian,
I most often paint interiors first and then move on. I am only a wee 36 years old with 20/10 vision, so painting this way is ok for me. I did the wheelhouse and flying bridge so that I could put some wood grain in (Hard to see) I use an oil pencil to add the grain. I also painted the torp tube launchers and weathered them when I put the skull cap on. I have another S-100 that will be converted to a S-38. I can't wait to paint the camo on that! Ryan

Yes, loved the cammo version :


I completely ruined the Revell s-100 trying this cammo, Maskol just wouldn't work for me.
It would look good in this scale.
(Hope Garth forgives me for putting up a colour print (if not mail me and I will remove it)

Keep your photos coming Ryan.
cheers,
Julian

Hi guys,
I think, that "device" in the middle of the Kalotte isn't a vent; it makes no sense running with 42 knots...
Look at the window of the early S-38 type:



there's definitely glas!

Michael

PS: "German S-Boats by Steve Wiper is a nice book with a short disquisition on the different S-boat-types, plans and coloured camo-profiles.
Most of the book-content is about the different model-kits; there are only S-100-pics, we already know! So, it's nice to have in your collection, but not a must-have!

Er, humble pie in big amounts for me. Al appears to have hit the nail on the head, it is a clearview screen. Thanks Michael and a big apology to Al: you were right there and I was wrong.
Julian

Thanks Al and the others as well. I noticed this afternoon that the the "merc logo" is always in the same position hence these couldn't be fanblades, instead it had to be the frame of the mechanism itself. I couldn't figure out though why I didn't see fans in the Vosper pic I have (it's a pretty sharp close-up), I didn't realize that the whole glass circle could spin. Well this means that we will have to cut out a round bit of transparent plastic.This afternoon I finished the windscreen, it was one of the fiddliest jobs in my whole modelling career . I'm about 80 % satisfied but that's probably the best I can manage. I will now start on the speech-tubes.





Cheers,

Arjan

Fellow S-Boot builders, I would like to raise two more theoretical questions, perhaps they are connected. My first question is about parts 52 D, ( I think they are firehoses) they are fitted to the sides of the foremost engineroom roof (deck?). On the Lürssen drawing they are described as "Brennl. Saugschläuche". The confusing thing is that an abbreviation was used, what does the "l" stand for? Either it could mean Lösch or Luft. As far as I know the Germans use the word "Feurlösch" and not "Brennlösch" when firefighting is referred to. Perhaps Michael could help out here with his native knowledge of German. My other question refers to the square object (hatch/lid ?) which is on the side of the hull (near the tip of the panther's tail on the Lang boat). My theory is that it has to do with the handwheels on the inner side of the hull (at the rear end of the torptubes). Could it be that both the square object and the handwheels tie in with what I think are firehoses? At any rate, the ends probably should be drilled out to give them a hollow appearance.

Cheers,

Arjan

Postscript: This morning I happened to find this picture, perhaps the "merc logo" is just a porthole that can be opened (although in the S-Boot pics there seems to be a "dot " in the centre) :
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Bullauge.jpg/120px-Bullauge.jpg

The mouth/ear piece of the speech tubes should be different from the funnels visible in the picture of the Ha-Jü boat. These funnels were definitely non-standard (probably just funnels bought at a local shop). Page 62 of the Frenchman's book provides a good picture of what they should look like.This is what I made of them (I didn't really try to get the shape of the mouth/ear piece right):

A pic to show what they should look like:
http://www.unterseeboot-hai.de/images/img_haisued2.jpg

Hello Julian, no problem, everybody makes mistakes. If they didn't we would probably be speaking German . I wasn't a hundred percent sure myself. Al

Hi Al,
Talking about mistakes. I'm pretty sure by now that the German who made the drawing made a typo (or a letter vanished in the copying process). The description should no doubt be Brennöl instead of Brennl. The hose I mentioned, therefore, was used for filling the fuel cells... A misleading mistake because in the same drawing they use the word Treiböl for the fuel filler openings. As far as I know both words are synonymous.

Regards,

Arjan

Hi Arjan,
I was very irritated till I took a magnifier to examine the S-100-plans in the Wiper-book; on that Lürssen drawing they are NOT described as "Brennl. Saugschläuche" the naming is "Brennst. Saugschläuche"! That means "Brennstoff Saugschläuche" or translated "hoses to draw fuel"
So I hope our confusion with part 52D will come to an end.

@ Al: I'm sort of glad that NOT everybody is speaking german - have you ever tried to understand pure saxon or bavarian....

bye
Michael


edit: "Brennöl" isn't a term used in german; the accurate word is "Treiböl" that means bunkers, or "Brennstoff", a word that also means coal, gasoline, charcoal, wood or what else can be used for a nice fire...

Hi Michael,
I used the Lürssen drawing in Die Deutschen Schnellboote 1914-1945 by Harald Fock. This drawing is twice the size of that in Wiper's book but I used a magnifying glass as well. The description reads as I wrote down "Brennl.".The description is even repeated on the other side. So there appear to be two different versions of the drawing, at least as far as the descriptions go. My German dictionary also has the word Brennöl in it. But this is academic since we both arrived at the same conclusion. I'm glad that one more S-Boot riddle has been solved

Cheers,

Arjan

Howdy All,
Question on the mine rails. What type of mine was used on the long rail(seen in photos following the conture of the deck)? And, what type were used on short?
I also am looking for a photo/line drawing of a S-38 deck. Is it set up like a S-36? I know there was a 40mm bofor or single 20mm. I need a better idea of what goes where in place of the dual 20 mid deck and how the the rest of the deck was set up. I have photos, I looknig for a line drawing or plans. Thanks, Ryan

...by the way, Mr Schatton told me this evening that the depth charges will be ready for delivery next week.
But the mines...
He will meet his caster at the toy fair in Nürnberg to control the master pattern, so the production is ready to start after the fair.
That means, we have to wait for the Ankertau-Minen till the mid of february!

Michael

Hello Arjan, If you look closely at the picture of S-38 that Michael posted, you'll see that the "dot" in the center is not flat like the photo-etch piece Italeri provides. I think that it is the motor housing for the clear-view screen, instead of having a belt driven by a motor mounted off to the side like on the Vosper boats. Al

Thanks Al,
I think you are right, the Frenchman's book has a colour pic of two early boats that also have this mechanism (page 55). The pic was taken from a 45 degrees angle and it would indeed appear as if a motor was mounted in the centre. In other S-38 pics one can also see that the (plexi) glass disk stands proud of the windowpane in/on which it has been mounted. I've just noticed that the Wiper book even has a pic (page 16) that shows the reverse side of the contraption (the centre window is fully opened upward, exposing its reverse side). These are the former Dutch S-151 type boats, which had 15mm Drilling mounts amidships.

Cheers,

Arjan

gentlemen -

I am also building an Italeri S-boot and I have found this thread very helpful. It seems the more I get into this kit, the more extra detailing that I want to do! I have a couple of questions that I would like some input on:

1. I notice that the wood (I assume) deck portions are to be painted deck tan according to the instructions - is that correct or would they be painted a dark grey color as they were in U-Boats?

2. I am seriously toying with using plastic strip to enhance the photo-etch wood deck pieces since I am not satisfied with the relief of these parts as compared to the injected portions - has anyone else had similar thoughts?

Thanks,

Chris