Revell 1/72nd Type VII U-Boat. - Page 2

**Bunkerbarge** · 27-02-2006

Thanks Magpie, I am very impressed with both the PE set from White Ensign and the wooden deck. Both make a dramatic improvement to this kit, which is not too bad straight out of the box.

The PE set also includes all sorts of radar gear which would look pretty amazing on a static model but wouldn't last five minutes on an RC version!

Mankster · 28-02-2006

Aye, coming along nicely Richard.

magpie · 27-03-2006

Hey Bunk, have you had a look at Steve Neils Revelle 7 Uboat? Here's a link to the page on his site's RC subs page that has a few pics of it. It has a Dave Welch WTC with RCABS etc. Not a bad looking boat. He said that it handlers very nicely too. A great little pocket RC sub that can fit in a suitcase etc. I hope you have as much fun and luck with yours as he did.
http://sneill.com/2005/sub_page_one.html

I'm raped in the look of the U-boats!
Jason

**Bunkerbarge** · 27-03-2006

Thanks for the link Magpie. Very interesting model and a lovely dive module. It would take a bit of care and attention to get that in to the hull but a very neat and tidy job there.

I hope my surface runner ends up as good looking as well as the detail and finish has also been done very nicely.

I can't wait to get home and progress it a bit!!

**Bunkerbarge** · 21-06-2006

Well after a period of settling in at home I decided to turn my attention to progressing the Revel U-Boat.

I had, of course, made a rod for my own back by using a PE set and a wooden deck set for the model, both of which ideal for a static model but both presented their own challenges for a working model.

The PE set proved to be very intricate but did enhance the detail tremendously on the bridge. It also meant that I had to then be extremely careful when handling the pieces during construction.

The wooden deck was a whole different ballgame though. Firstly I decided to use the original plastic deck ends where the original is steel as painted up the plastic would be far more realistic than the wood. Then the wooden deck was split in the middle however the arrangement I had gone for required the ends to be fixed to the hull and the centre section, complete with tower, would need to be removable. I arranged this by fitting the centre section with a tongue at the aft end and used a screw below the 8.8 cm gun to hold down the front. The other main consideration with the wood was that the laser cut holes had to be sealed at the back so that water washing over the decks would not enter the hull. I did this by fitting lengths of stripwood to the back, glued in place with waterproof PVA, and varnishing the surface with yacht varnish. The backing had to go close enough to the edges to seal all the holes yet leave a small step and enable the deck to locate in the step in the hull.

The next stage was to start the weathering process. I wanted to use a wash so first I painted the entire hull and tower with a coat Future. Once that was dry I applied a wash of pigment mixed with water and a spot of washing up liquid. Unfortunately the majority of the detail is raised and not recessed however washes can still be used to give a degree of shadow to raised detail. When the wash was dry I removed it with a dry paper towel, taking care not to remove too much around the raised detail.

The attached pictures show the wash process and some of the deck construction detail.

rjwood_uk · 21-06-2006

look very nice so far Richard!!

how easy does the pigment-wash wash off? do you have any pics after you had wiped off the excess to see the affect?

so this is going to be a static dive sub or just a surface?

**Bunkerbarge** · 22-06-2006

Pictures Number six and seven show the wash after it was wiped off. it removes very easily so the trick is to take care that you don't remove too much.

You don't get the final effect though until the matt varnish is applied.

This is only a surface running model as I am going to fit flags and figures for the maximum detail effect on the bridge plus I want it to sail at a normal draught rathetr than the decks awash level that you need for a diving model.

**Bunkerbarge** · 22-06-2006

The next step in the process was to try to simulate paint chippings, which I did on the light grey finish only.

Unfortunately I still feel that I have a lot to learn with this technique and I am not happy with the finished effect. When I look at how they do it in Tamiya Model Magazine International I think I need to use an even smaller brush than I did. Modelling is a continuous learning process and this is something I need to do a lot better with.

Anyway it stands as I it did as a part of the learning curve and I moved on to adding some rust effects. I am a lot happier with this and decided, based on the scale, to use a dry brush technique. It is very difficult to decide just how much to do with rusting, particularly with U-Boats, which seem to range from freshly painted to absolute wrecks in my photo archives. I went for something that I hope is somewhere in the middle and I hope it doesn’t look too much.

Anyway after the paint chipping was done and the rust added it was time to coat the entire hull and tower with a matt clear topcoat. I used a large spray tin on a waterproof Acrylic matt varnish and put three coats on. Taking care to get the varnish into all the recesses where the wash was residing.

The next couple of pictures show the hull at this stage before moving on to adding the remaining detail to the tower.

rjwood_uk · 22-06-2006

that look lovely richard! to be honest i think you have done the paint chip effect very well, you see normal boats in a dock with more paint chipping away and rust so for a sub i think it looks brilliant and just right!!!

do you use pastel pigments or special pigments (as in you use one called rust)??

**Bunkerbarge** · 22-06-2006

I use MIG pigments in a range of colours such as Dark Earth, Light Rust, Dark Rust etc. and mix as I go along.

The paint chipping effect was Tamiya acrylics and the rust was Tamiya acrylics in Purple, Orange and Earth colours.

Thanks for the comments.