The footing is treacherous on that round hull. The sail rails and these bars are the only place to hold onto when the linehandler lays aft to secure the aft end of the boat. The wet deck would be very slippery and I can't see anybody trying to walk atop that muffler housing.

Hi Al,

Looking good.

Alan

I managed to make some more progress on the tower.









The white ID stripes are for U-2322 and are kit supplied decals. There are four other markings options. If you want to do U-2360, you have to paint the needed stripes. Decal numbers are provided for U-2329 & U-2336, but I think that they represent markings applied by the British after those boats were surrendered and prior to their being scuttled during "Operation Deadlight". The last markings option is for U-2326 and requires a tapering white stripe be painted on the hull, starting at the bow and sweeping up onto the rear hull were it appears to end in a 'V'. Al

Hello Al,
again a nice paint job! Sorry, but I fear that Bronco is wrong with the decal. German Uboats were wearing UAK-signs during commisioning in white or red based on the german semaphore (ten symbols for the letters A-K or the numbers 1-9+0 for type XXIII)
Not to be confused with this visibility and recognition markings applied for acceptance trials are the (individual) boat recognition markings used by training flotillas. And those bands were YELLOW!
Examining several pics of boats with bands and UAK-signs will show a light difference in colour. Broncos error is understandable, because that bands seemed to be white on old b&w pics. Only in comparison with the UAK-signs the different colour is apparent.
http://www.u-historia.com/uhistoria/historia/huboots/u2300-u2399/u2333/u2333.htm
"U-Boot im Focus" - No. 7 is showing all that different UAK-sings for the type XXI and XXIII boats. Btw a very interesting booklet series for uboat enthusiasts - in german and english!

Michael

Thanks for the info Michael, but I guess I'm stuck with Bronco's (and my) mistake, can't do anything about it at this point. Al

Still remains a beautiful piece of work Al, great result.
Julian

Hi Al,

If the strip is a transfer it wouldn't be that hard to remove it, mask the tower and alter the markings would it? Just thinking how it will drive you mad later and you'll think why didn't I fix that at the time.

Either way things are looking good. Impressive build.

Alan

Hello Alan, I think that I can live with it as it is, warts and all. I'd be afraid of fouling things up too much by trying to remove the decal and re-paint the tower. I've been looking at photos of some other Type XXIII models on-line, and apparently I'm not alone. It seems to be quite a common mistake. Al

...again some little progress: the hatch:



and in place - not glued, only a test




Michael

Michael, don't forget the hatch protector. The Germans used them just the same way we used them when I was punching holes in the ocean. When the hatch is open while on the surface, the hatch protector sits atop the exposed metal lip of the hull opening where the hatch's rubber seals contact the lip ... and prevents shoes, dirt, and objects from marring that beautifully-machined, critical surface and giving a bad seal when submerged. Essentially a plasti-coated metal ring with hinges in the middle (so it can be folded in half and passed through the opening), it sat flatly atop the sealing surface, completely covering it (perhaps 3 inches wide), and had an inner lip that protruded down inside about an inch to hold it in place. I'll see if I can pull up a photo for you. They were usually dark green in the USN ... I guess because dark green was the normal color of the plasti-coating the Navy bought. No idea what color the Germans used. You could not shut a hatch with one of these in place, so it had to be removeable in a hurry.

With detail like that in your fantastically-rendered hatch, you won't want to miss this detail, I know.

Oh, and don't forget the hatch lanyard ... which hung down from the inside of the hatch with a wooden toggle ... maybe 18 inches long ... to assist in pulling that hatch down against the spring with one hand (actually hanging with one's weight on the lanyard) until it latches and then rotating the wheel to dog it down with the other hand. All you need is a short length of thread and a small toggle in the bight.

Nice work on the hatch innards, maestro!

Thanks!
This is the only pic of a type XXIII hull opening I know showing that "ring"



Seems to be pure metal (or paint worn off) with small hinges - here visible only on the left side - due to the poor quality of the pic or some refections on the right...
...going to meet this new challenge


Michael

...quick work and problem solved. Btw. there's a small edge arround the superstructure - added, thanks Evergreen!



and in place:




Michael

Very nice work there, Michael. Al

I think that the kit's prop looks wrong. It's too stubby. So, I decided to modify it. I started by removing a 1/16" slice from between the blades and the mounting end of the hub. This had the effect of moving the blades 'forward' towards the hull. Then I drilled a hole in the other end and inserted a piece of sprue to lengthen the 'pointy' end. I still had a tapered piece of tubing that I had 'stretched' in my earlier attempt at making the ship's horn. I slid it over the sprue and cemented it to the hub. Then I used putty to smooth everything out. After sanding and shaping this is what I ended up with.



Here it is painted and mounted.



I think it looks much closer in appearance to the real prop. Here's a shot of the mounted muffler before it disappears forever when the tower is mounted in place.



I'll close with a shot of the boat loaded for bear, the torpedo in its tube.



That's all for now. Al

Michael, beautiful work on the hatch cover ... looks exactly right. One point I should have noted earlier: they were only deployed when in port, as they hamper a crash-dive when underway on the surface. I think you'll probably be posing the boat in port.

On the screw, the profile looks very nice, but the thickness of the edges is way too thick. The only way to really model a ship's screw is to use brass blades and they have to be almost paper-thin and razor sharp. A special jig is used to solder them to a brass tapered hub. Scale Ship Modeler had an article years ago on that jig ... made from a short section of 6" steel pipe with threaded bosses for 3, 4, & 5 bladed screws. Arms screwed into the bosses to hold the blades in place on the hub while soldering.

If you look into the R/C realm, you can find brass 3-bladed screws which fit the bill and are nice and sharp. That's what I'm in the middle of doing right now and I'll post when I find the right candidate.

Watching Eduard's closely to see when they come out with a proper PE kit for this Bronco ... they already have one in 1/72 that looks great.

Nice job, gentlemen!

Only little progress today: the step on UZO-plate



Assembled on the plate:



...just very little cement



movable!

Total view:




Michael

Won't that block the view from the UZO? Also, can it be thinned to scale thickness; it looks almost like armor plating perhaps an inch thick. The tread pattern seems too big, also. I'll probably be looking to use thin brass for that step and just cross-hatch the pattern ... and there may actually be a PE of 1/35 tread. Hinges look really good to me. Also, I'd expect a latch of some kind to prevent it from flopping back in heavy seas and damaging that UZO.

The hatch also probably had an upright to hold it to vertical when open to prevent it from flopping back and forth in seas. Most hatches opened to the vertical and contacted an upright support behind them that had a latch on it to secure them ... a very simple latch that one could release with one hand while pulling the hatch down against the spring.

The finish on the hatch's sealing edges is also very finely polished like the periscope tube is ... and is best modeled in polished metal to a chrome-like finish. Love what you're doing with this boat!

I Emailed Eduard about the Bronco PE plans, but the address [email protected] turned out to be bogus.

Also, I'd like to ask Al Bubnis about the dark highlighting on the hull welds. Is that for contrast when the final coating is sprayed on?

I'd like to ask Al Bubnis about the dark highlighting on the hull welds. Is that for contrast when the final coating is sprayed on? [quoted text]

It's just a wash applied to highlight the welds. In the photos it appears darker than it is. Al

Al,
Thanks for the reply. So you will spray over that, then, with the final coats, I imagine?

I plan to model the boat snorkeling at PD underway, so no deck timber. The problem I have is the lack of weld lines where those walkways go. Pretty cheap of Bronco eliminating them, I think! Anyway, I'll probably have to invest in some of those transfer weld lines and continue them over the top ... and then install the topside rails that supported the walkways. I'm thinking Eduard will pretty much duplicate their PE set for the 1/72 model and that set provides the rails. Here's a comment on those:

The Eduard PE kit has interrupted rails spaced 5mm apart (for water drainage) and the photos of the boats all show continuous rails topside. Has anybody seen a detail of those rails in any photos?

Thanks for the reply. So you will spray over that, then, with the final coats, I imagine? [Quoted text]

No, that is the final color coat with the exception of some weathering still to be done. Al

Here's an old Bundeswehr movie showing U-Hai; ok this 2 boats (Hai + Hecht) were rebuilt, but in the movie we can find some nice detail of a XXIII type boat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qDs1Kv7kZE

The boats had 2 different types of rails: continuous or interrupted! U-2336 with U-2341:

(http://www.u2359.com/?p=770)

I'm going to build U-2336 with the long rails and Evergreen 291 or 292 (1.5 and 2.0mm) angle will be a good choice to represent them.


Michael

My thoughts exactly; continuous looks better. I think I'll perforate the bottom of the continuous rail with scupper holes for water drainage, though, and probably simulate a non-skid paint inside the rails. The sailors would mix sand with the paint for that topside surface ... and around the sail as well.

As the boats were somewhat non-standard, the rails will all probably be custom and different from boat-to-boat. I'm thinking "I" profile plastruct may be the ticket. Thanks for the reply!

Yesterday I managed to accomplish my least favorite shipbuilding chore, masking & painting the boot topping stripe. It turned out better than I expected and there wasn't too much need for touch-ups. Before....



After....













I'm quite happy with the results and SWMBO is happy that it was done with a minimum of wailing and gnashing of teeth! Al

Al, nice job on the boot topping.

Michael, excellent resource in that video; thanks for that. After watching it, I realized the rails on the Hai are horizontal pipes on vertical brackets. It appears that very short & wide vertical brackets could easily be glued into the indents on the upper deck for the treadways ... and then brass rod laid right atop those with epoxy (which simulates welds quite well). After gluing on the brass rod, put some very, very subtle droops into them between the brackets with the thumb to simulate fatique from being stepped on, especially near the capstan/cleats ... and scuffs & rust on the upper surfaces of the pipes.

The walkway from the kit completely covers the capstan, by the way ... and I rather doubt that would be the case. There will also be a small recessed deck fitting near the capstan for a long deck T-wrench to snub into and rotate it ... for controlling the capstan. Usually a hydraulic capstan, but this one might be electric. Dunno where that fitting is either, but it's definitely something that's missing. It would probably be a recessed stud, perhaps square, within an indentation in the deck.

To raise the capstan, first start it spinning CCW and then move the T-wrench onto the center stud of the spinning capstan and engage it to hold the stud from spinning. Brace yourself; that thing's strong and it'll be all rusty inside. The capstan will screw itself right up out of the deck into position ... and when it hits the limit, you WILL be jolted around until you pull up and release the T. Lot easier than manually cranking it up into position. Stowing is the reverse.

A contrasting anti-skid paint applied between them, perhaps a shade darker gray, would work too.

I'm visualizing this and it looks very good in my mind's eye.

Looking excellent Al, nice paint job. The weathering on the screw works a treat, muting down the brass colour.
Julian