Hi Al,

great finish, like the weathering.

Hi Micheal,

looking good, following with much interest.

Si

Hello Simon, Thanks for the kind words, I've had a lot of fun with this one. Al

Michael, Your antenna bracket looks good. I also noticed in the photo that you filled in the slot in the tower where part B22 is supposed to go. Do you have any idea what purpose that part served on the actual boats? I couldn't figure it out. Al

Those're blinds for the navigation lamps ... to prevent both the port and starboard running lights from being seen simultaneously from anywhere other than the centerline. In other words, from dead ahead (standing out in front of the submarine at night), you can see both the red and green lamps ... but as you move to port, for instance, even for a few degrees, the green lamp goes immediately out of view. Moving to stbd, the green lamp comes back into view and the port red lamp immediately goes out of view. That way, a nighttime contact knows beyond a doubt that this submarine is on a dead collision course with it IF it can see both lamps at the same time. This condition of seeing both port and starboard running lights on a contact is called "zero angle on the bow" ... and mariners get really excited when it occurs!

By the way ... those blinds are sheet metal, maybe 1/8" thick, not like armor plating. The plastic parts are way too thick for scale. Render them in very thin brass if you decide to apply them. They're typically painted flat black.

Yes, that were blinds! But again the old theme: not installed on all boats - most were different. U-2336 had no blinds, so I had to fill those holes. Now I'm going to search little shackles. Bought some for the mines on my S-100...


Michael

Just found the shackles:



The little ones should match!

http://www.tl-modellbau.de/index.php?lang=1&cl=search&searchparam=82029


Michael

Thanks for the info guys. I kinda suspected that was the case but wasn't sure. Al

The shackles are excellent Gotrek, only problem is that Tl-Modellbau.de charge 15 Euro's to mail 2 sets to Holland which IMHO is daylight robbery.
I'll pass on this one,

..again some progress: front halves glued. Bow, stern and tower together and for the first time my beast looks like a really sub:





Filling and sanding - maybe tomorrow


Michael

Filling and sanding came to an end, now it was time to take some Dymo as a ruler and a panel-scriber



Evergreen (0,25x2,00mm) was glued into the gouge:



Clearly visible: missing parts of weld beads

A job for Archer Surface Details #88017 to fill the gaps:



Acceptable at close range:




Michael

Looking good Michael. Al

Love the rails, Michael.

Has anybody else noticed just how overdone the kit's welds are? In scale, those would bulge up about an inch and a half! If we sand tham down to scale, then we lose the weld bead texture ... lose-lose situation. Bronco hosed this up pretty badly with the omissions and the oversizing, IMHO.

Do you plan to simulate non-skid paint inside the rails?

Great work here guys...

Coming on a treat Michael.

Al

Geez that's a big sub Michael

Looks great ,well done

Bad last week: stress at work, visit to the dentist and my wife crashed her car - total loss! But again progress at shipyard:
Handrail, steps and hull parts finally glued:

   

       

Nearly nothing to fill and sand, only that little gap at the keel!



As from now a big peace to handle!




Michael

Sorry to hear about your wife's accident Michael,hope she is ok.
Nice work on the XXIII,
Julian

Hi Michael, hope you are recovering from the bad week, stress at work I really understand.

great work on the boat, looking excellent.

all the best.

Si

Glad to hear your wife is okay, Michael. As to dentists, I refer you to the Steve Martin character in "Little Shop of Horrors". After finding him torturing small animals as a very sadistic young boy, his mother recommends he put his 'talents' to work and become a dentist! Great work on the sub, the extra detail really shows. Al

From a not-so-secret base in France (U-models), via Pennsylvania (The Red Lancers), the crew has started reporting aboard.







I think that they provide a sense of scale and emphasize the size of the boat. I still have another 'crewman' to add, and may yet decide to add a fourth, a lookout perched atop the tower beside the periscope. Al

Hi Al,

Looking good. A Chap on the deck would be good and I have seen a fellow designed to climb up the ladder recently. They were U models figs too.

http://www.azimutproductions.com/

Thanks Alan, I was planning to put a crewman on the deck and he's almost ready. I like those new figures from U-model, especially the chap climbing the tower rungs. It's great to see some figures designed for this kit. However, due to very poor treatment from Azimut regarding missing parts, I won't deal with them again, even though I still have a 'store credit' because they over-charged me in the first place! Apparently I'm not the only customer who has received shoddy treatment from them either. Sorry for the rant, but it's still a sore subject. Al

Again some scratching:

In reality; the cooling water intake:



And Broncos solution at this point:



The 3rd trial - 6 resin screws added:



Glued to the hull:



I'm pleased and the little faults will be repaired later.


Michael

The third crewman has come aboard.







Like the first two figures, he also came from U-models. They have announced two new sets, consisting of three figures, specifically designed for this kit.

Set No.1

Set No.2

I particularly like the fellow climbing the tower rungs. The only thing I'm concerned about is the figure shown sitting on the edge of the tower in Set No.1. There is an antenna and a flagstaff that have been omitted from the area where he is sitting. This might be a problem in using him as shown. I do like the figure from this set shown holding a cuppa. These figures are a serious temptation to further man my boat. Al

Hi Al,

Excellent progress and the figures are looking great. Don't make their necks too long, on most people the hair line is just fractionally above the collar. Just have a sideways look at yourself in a mirror with a jacket on for a guide. With a military hair cut you're probably looking at about two/three fingers at most.

Cheers

Al