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U-2540

U-2540 is a Type XXI U-boat of Nazi Germany's navy (Kriegsmarine), completed shortly before the end of World War II. It was scuttled at the end of the war, having never gone on patrol. In 1957, it was raised from the seabed off Flensburg Firth and recommissioned in the West-German Bundesmarine in 1960. Finally decommissioned in 1980, it is the only floating example of a XXI U-boat.

U-2540 Build Story

I had bought the Revell 1/144 Uboat XXI kit with full interior online at a bargain price several years ago. Being an Armor modeler, I always like to experiment with new subjects in between armor builds.

I always try to make every build customized by some special additions, in this case I decide to light up the interior of the Uboat, I had purchased a lot of led bulbs and wire but always found that there was no space inside the Uboat to mount such complex light system. Until one day my son got a gift with a "kid's meal" of a light glowing shoe lace. once the batteries were dead he asked me to fix it and inside it I found this amazingly small led lights fixed on a wire. the whole thing seemed to fit the Uboat as if it was made for it.

I used glass transparent colors to give each white led a different color to provide the needed effect for each compartment of the sub. This being my first ever submarine, I did a lot of studying on the weathering techniques. I hope it came out OK for a first build. Hussein El Kaissy

Model Shipwrights would like to thank Hussein El Kaissy for providing photos of his U-2540 build.