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When
UPS delivered this thing, my first thought was "My God, it's
big. Where am I going to put it?" I'd already built the Revell
1:125 VII B. It's 21' long. The
1:72 is over 3'. Knowing that I had more builds planned, my daughter
and son suggested that I start hanging them from the ceiling.
Good plan.! There
are over 150 parts on the early model, 190 parts on the later VII
C/41. I'm doing the 41. Daunting, but intriguing.
Click to enlarge
First,
I cut out all the free-flow holes. The plastic
is quite thin for these, and easy to remove with a Dremmel and needle
file. I added the 3 holes at the rear of the saddle tanks that Revell
forgot. Then I put supports in the long free flow center slots.
  
Although
the pressure hull can barely be seen on the complete build, I am
going to be using the Nautilus wooden replacement deck(1),
and with that and the free-flow holes to see through, I didn't want
just an empty hull, so I used the U Boat bibles (2)
and a
picture of the Yankee Model Works pressure hull(3)
as
guides to scratch-build one.
I used toilet paper tubes and paper
machett for the structure, the
kit sprues, electrical wire and and anything else
I could get my hands on for the detailing.
  
Click
to enlarge
Then
a few touches to the forward torpedo tube section and: viola!
The guts are done .
  
(Pictured
with the model sub bibles)
I
realized that before I could start the camo paint, I had to assemble
the con tower, so that all the lines would be right. The Nautilus
deck and Eduard detail set(4) got here, so I
could get
going on that.
 
A
word of caution here if your going to use the Nautilus set; the decks
for the con and wintergartens don't fit, and the panels for the con
are too short.
 
For the panels I
filed down the kit parts and inserted the Nautilus
panels, filling in the plastic parts with putty to smooth them. As I
bought the kit primarily for the main deck, I just didn't use the
wintergarten parts. Instead, I weathered the kit decks with burnt
umber, light wood and a black wash, then sanding.
A
lot of scratch-built detail went into the con, including the uzo
binoculars, hatch chute and ladder, hatch cover wheel, compass and
periscope protection bracket , as well as the rings and vibration
wires on the attack periscope. I weathered the panels by smearing
with flat black then sanding. Also added greasy foot prints on the
side steps.
 
Click to enlarge
Now
the fun part; painting. I wanted to do a boat that had some patrol
success and also had an interesting paint job. U 997 fit the bill. 7
patrols with 2 ships sunk & 1 damaged and one of the few that
survived the war. Of course, the camo paint job had a lot to do with
the decision. Also, the decals came in the kit and there are only a
few builds of it that I've been able to find.(5)
So
first; the top with the camouflage.
I
hand painted all the lines, then airbrushed the dark parts, then had
to paint the whole thing over again because I over-sprayed
everything. I've got to learn how to use an airbrush.
Next;
mask off the top, shoot the bottom and add the props, rudders, dive
planes and all the little detail parts from the Eduard kit.
I
took some liberty with the colors for aesthetic
purposes. I mixed OD green 50/50 with battleship gray
for the camo lines, and blue(6) and
with the gray for the lower hull. Not completely accurate, but adds
a little extra contrast.
Onward to the deck. The
combination of the laser-cut wood and the 3D effect of the Eduard set
makes it look great. I did manage to break it in a couple of places,
but it's easily repairable due to the long grain.
Nautilus has cut-outs for the schnorkel
section and the life raft
containers, but
there's no suggestion in the instructions as to how to attach them. I
cut them out of the kit deck, leaving a small lip to glue on
underneath. These had to be thinned and formed to be able to fit the
hull. Lots of file work, but worthwhile results. I also had to trim
the ends, as they were too wide and cut 1/2" off of the prow. It
was about 3/16" to short so I used the end of the kit deck. Also
had to file out the periscope holes as they were off center.
Considering that this is a real wood deck, a certain amount of misalignment is to be expected and
can be
easily dealt with. All in all, I feel that the Nautilus deck is a
good addition for historical accuracy, and worth the money.
I
did have a problem getting the Eduard parts to stay on the wood with
regular model cement. Going to be using Loctite "No Mess"
from now on. Holds good and stays flexible.
As to the photo etch kit, I highly reccomend it for 3D detail and
realism. I'm glad it used it, but won't use another one. Many of the
parts are so small that I couldn't use them due to restricted vision
and arthritis in my hands.
When
fitting the deck, I found out that I had some width problems; a
little wide in the middle and narrow at the front so I put a spreader
in the hull at the forward bulkhead and some clamps half way between
that and the bow. Finally ended up gluing 2 bars across the very top to
hold the width. While that was
reshaping, I finished the con tower
(or sail, as it is more frequently called).
Click
to enlarge
I didn't put on the flag yet, as I decided to make my own. The one that
comes with the kit doesn't have the swastica in it. This kit comes from
Germany, and I believe that the swastika is outlawed there. I printed
mine out at 15mm high; slightly larger than the kit flag.
Click
to enlarge
Feel
free to copy it, if you want. It is a JPEG, and scales nicely.The kit
flag is 13mm X 24mm, with no center stripe. I glued mine around the
flagpole, instead using thread for a rope. I diluted some Elmers glue
and brushed it on the inside, then formed it for the curl.
So...install the deck and con, rigging and the final detail parts have
a little fun with the stand, and
here is my VIIC/41. Hope you like it. Lots more in the gallery!
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