I'm back at my U-673 build, having spent recent days working on finishing hull detailing, saddletank inner extensions, and flood channel ribbing.

Check out my updated U-673 site at: http://www.travel-net.com/~gcauley/U673/ and go to the new "Saddletanks" section.

Ahoy, Glenn!

Nice to see you back at it, mate...progress looks great, my friend, thanks for the update, we'll be watching!
Cheers,
~Gunny

Finally, the hull is together!!!
Break out the champagne.

Check out my U-673 site and go to the "Hull Assembly" section.

Hi Glenn

This one will have a battered look - and so far, from what I can see, it's going to be a(nother) jewel!
Keep up the excellent work


Rui

Beautiful work !

Cheers/Jan

It must be post-motorcycling season... cause I'm back at the modelling again!
The U-673 project has been resurrected for the winter season... although with a mending collarbone ( souvenier of the last motorcycle race ) the workbench sessions are short.

The deck is now on the boat and the bollards are made... check it out

Nice to see some progress again, I have the VII so I will be looking for tips and tricks

For anyone interested, I've made some progress on my U-673 build.
Actually that's not QUITE true... it's really that I've managed to document and POST my progress.

I've found a lot of inspiring U-boat builds out there and so have benefitted from the ideas of others. There are some very talented modellers out there.

Check it out at:
www.travel-net.com/~gcauley/U673

a balance betwen cycles and boats!

Very solid progress, and the detailing coming along nice. Exhaust looks good, hull halves went together nicely, your interior p-hull and baffle/piping looks sweet!

One good thing about having to spend time at home for surgery recovery is that it gave me time to work on U-673. Even though 1 arm has been in a sling, I still managed to get a lot done! LOL

I have posted all of my latest progress on my U-673 build site at:
http://www.travel-net.com/~gcauley/U673
updated as of April 18th.

I'm nearly at the point of priming the hull and ... GASP ... replacing all of my lost rivets!!!
woo hoo!

Well, I am finally starting to prime my U-673 hull... and of course finding out all the tiny things I need to refill & putty! I found Tamiya Surface Primer or Mr. Surfacer 500 are great pre-thinned putties that are SO easy to use.

Thank you to everyone on their advice for primer. The issue was kind of decided for me when I discoverd I had several new cans of Tamiya Fine Surface Primer (grey). So far it is working well, though it does not really bite well into some of the PE pieces (esp. the lower bow vent pieces). I may try using the Alclad II Grey Primer/Microfiller or Mr. Surfacer 1000.

I must say that I am relieved that all the puttying & sanding work on the bow section has resulted in a fairly smooth surface. Once I'm happy with the finish, I'll be putting a gloss on the hull and then adding my Archer rivets. I'm VERY excited about that!!!

I started to replace the lost rivets on the bow yesterday.

I can honestly say that all the time & effort spent on creating the Archer Surface Detail Set for the U-boat was well worth it! Wow... so easy to replace the rivets.

1. Determine the area where you are going to put the new row of rivets.
2. Look on the layout diagram to determine which "rivet group" to apply.
3. Measure the length of the rivet row that you need.
4. Cut out the appropriate length of rivets from the appropriate "rivet group" on the decal sheet.
5. Apply the rivet row like a regular waterslide decal.

I have updated my U-673 build site.
Go to the "Rivets" page.

Probably one of the coolest "special patterns" included in the set is the 1-piece pattern for the forward edge of the bow... check it out!

Nice work, never thought one could get some detail on a UBoat!

Call me silly, but I still wasn't happy with the new bullnose (forward upper tip of the bow) that I made for U-673; the inlet is still too small. I found some really good reference pictures in my Type VIIC "Warship Pictorial" book.

Attempt 1:
http://www.travel-net.com/~gcauley/U673
(bottom of page "Hull Detailing 2")

Of course I decided to change it AFTER the nose has been completed for a while (including being all filled and primed). To remove the brass tubing I had CA'd through the plastic hull, a bit of force was required, and I ended up cracking the top part of the deck at the nose. Arrggghhhh! Luckily, application of epoxy putty gave me a fresh surface to start from again.

I'll be reconstructing the bullnose this week, using a much larger inlet depicted in reference photos. The bullnose inlet on the stock VIIC kit is about 1/4 the size it should be, and is too far back from the tip of the nose.

Nice work Glenn.

Another update... bullnose!

I tore apart and redid the bullnose on U-673 ... again... and posted the information on my build site.

http://www.travel-net.com/~gcauley/U673
go to section "Hull Detailing 2" and go to the bottom.

Here is a pic of the not-quite-finished bullnose, but I'll post additional pics when it is done:
http://www.travel-net.com/~gcauley/U673/images/channel_sculpting2.jpg

Interesting - one of the impressions i have of submarines from my II A, XXIII and Gato build is, that things are only certain until the next photo shows up

I like what you are doing on your 673 - and follow your build and your tecniques with interest as I am in the planningphase on my own U-201.

Cheers/Jan