Nice one Guido.

Interesting subject & great little dio

Si

Getting on a bit further with the base.

I am adding a set of bits from the MAS Boat crew and did think about the Gangway. The bits are just in place to show where they will go.



looking at it I don't think i will use the Gangway, but the third figure (Pinched from the Biber) works quite well.

Si

Guido - congrats on the finish! neat little scence and boat!

Si - Looking good; neat construction, I like the "thinking out of loud" aspect of the composition. Looking forward to the rest!

I hope to start my entry soon, cheers

HI James!

What do you have in mind for your contribution?

--Karl

A bit more progress, mainly on the figures. and the base is undercoated.



Si

Nice work Simon and Guido !

I have now had the Italeri Biber up and down the box 4 times, each time putting it away in disgust! - its simply not getting build for this campaign - sorry.

I hope to find something else to build within the timeframe, otherwise I have to pull out.

Cheers/Jan

I am "jumping ship" here as well. The Italeri Biber isn't very inspirational and I am enjoying working on the Fletcher at the moment. My apologies,
Cheers,
Julian

Jan

Thanks for kind comments, been playing about with a bit of weathering & cleaning up the front of the base. No new pics

Sorry to hear you & Jullian are have inspitation issues with the Biber. good luck on your other projects.

si

Great build, Guido! A dwarf indeed.

Sounds like I should stay away from the Biber. Jan and Julian, I hope you find something else for this campaign.

Looks good with the diorama, Simon. It will be a nice little scene.

I have made some progress on my 1/35 Seehund. I will post a picture later today.

Thanks Jesper

I don't think the Biber is an intrinsically bad kit, I didn't pick it for the campaign as it seemed a popular choice so as I had the Mailiae in the to do pile I went for her instead.

Also with the wealth of detail that has promolgated on this site since the Biber was released and access to the real thing in the Imperial War museum in London, it is my intention to put some detail into the Biber and I want to do that without the time constraint of a campaign.

Si

The main construction of my 1/35 Seehund is done. It is much more simple to build than I anticipated. The torpedoes are really the main building stages in this kit and they seem nicely detailed.

I am toying with the idea of showing a Seehund beached somewhere on the German, Danish or Netherland coast, but I have not really found any good references or photos. In the end I might just put it on the display stand included in the kit.

More to follow.

Good work on the Seehund Jesper, you should consider changing the front and aft handle for some wire - I have to agree with you, the boat in itself is only 40-50% of the build time.

The Biber is not really a bad kit ... for the eighties ... , no honestly, I am probably just spoiled from the fit from the Seehund - and i find the fit and general breakdown of the biber kit a troublesome affair...

Good luck with the painting, spotted or one colour ?

Cheers/Jan

Good start Jesper

look forward to seeing more.

Si

Thanks for the comments, guys.

Good idea on the wire, Jan. The back handle was actually broken on mine, so it could do with some brass wire instead.

I will probably go for the markings from the boat below although I suspect Bronco got the markings from the museum and not from an original source like a WWII photograph.

If the museum has the markings from a reliable source is a whole other issue. Again I suspect the markings are choosen bacause they are colourful - I am especially sceptic about the big balken cross.

So in short I think the markings are not entirely backed up by historical data, but I could be wrong. Anyway, I will use them because they are colourful and look good.
I might use some artistic license of my own and use a spotted or wavy line camouflage on my Seehund. Sort of like the picture below. Although if I go for a wavy line it will probably be sprayed instead of brushed lines as in the picture.

Jesper, I think you are right in assuming that the markings on that "museums"boat is mildly overdone

Remember to inclued a figure in your display, otherwise the scale is hard to judge.

I have decided to build "propably the most boring submarine kit in the world" TM.

Its the Fine Mold type "A" - basically a long black cigar ... review by our own Jim Adams (Goldenpony) here. Jim, you where right - seams do take some attention.

Display ? - mayby if I have the time..

Pictures soon - cheers/Jan

Moving along with my entry, but I am having a bit of a research snag...it is the Type VIIC U-230 in May 1943.

My problem is the layout of the conning tower. Did she have an extended wintergarten or not?

Although several on-board photos of her are on the web and in the classic book Iron Coffins, they don't resolve the issue. Since she retained her 88mm deck gun forward, at this point I am inclined to think she had a standard single level wintergarten.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks!

--Karl

Karl, I have been looking trough some of my VII C stuff, but I can´t help on the U-230 so far, but I will keep looking.

Been working on my type A - its basically just a black cigar, but black can be a pretty bad colour to make attractive and good looking on a model.

I have aimed at not making it black, but more a lightly mottled black gray with som variation and discoloration - including a light green overspray on the lower half of the hull.

Heres the progress so far:

Light gray basecoat to show any imperfections:



Black preshading:



Dark gray overspray:



Even darker gray in uneven layers:



Greenish finish - ready for future and weathering:

I,m moving along with my build I have not forgot about this one Karl but cant up load any photos just yet as having some computer problems, using my sons laptop this week while he is home from Uni for half term. Hope to have things sorted by weekend.

It may be a boring build, but it still a nice sub, Jan! Are you going to beach it?

Looking forward to your sub, Keith!

Cheers,
Guido

After looking at Jan's progress photos, mounting the kit on a scale flatbed trailer and producing a Stateside war bond tour diorama would open up a lot of modeling possibilities like producing civilian figures in various ages.

--Karl

Thanks Guido and Karl, both are great and attractive projects, but I am afraid they will collide with the deadline for the build.

I think it will be almost "as new" - but lets see how it develops, got some windows to replace and a complete re-do of our living room, so I am a bit pressed for time.

Cheers/Jan

It would be bad form to jump ship
I have pulled the "Beaver" off the shelf and will try to make something of this little guy:

Somewhere down that manhole there is a detailed instrument panel and chair


It really is an ugly pointy nosed little guy
That is nice work on your "Pearl Harbour intruder" Jan.
Julian

Way to go Julian, maybe I should get myself together and get it done too

I have decided on a simple wooden base for the A type, added decals and are now ready for a bit of weathering.

Must be a curse on this build The "Beaver" fought all the way but I have her pinned down and sitting pretty in a grey ground coat:


Now the real paint job
Going for a "Baltic Leopard" look:


Julian

Looks good, Jan. Almost there. You are right about the colour scheme (or lack thereof), but at least the markings break the overall tone a bit.

Nice progress on the Biber, Julian. It looks good so far.

No more progress on my Seehund so far, but I expect to give it an overall grey coat tonight. Still hope to make it to the finish line.