Posted by Matty on January 31, 2009, 7:34:24 Message modified by board administrator February 15, 2009, 23:07:36
--Originally Posted 1/19/09--
Here is the start of my build of U-505, in her fit (and weathering) as captured - for the first time, as an adult - for which I selected from my boneyard a Nichimo 1/200 Type IXC model, picked up (for a pittance, naturally ) on eBay:
Click on Image to Enlarge
Of course, there was a reason why it was so cheap ; going to pieces (left) and heavily painted (in gray, black and tan; the red is the bare, original Nichimo lower hull plasti), the larger assemblies were subjected to experimentation using Chameleon® gel paint remover (bottom). Meanwhile, the smaller assemblies and parts were immersed in a tin of Chameleon® liquid formula, which experience has proven to work excellently.
Although label directions call for removal after 20 minutes, I already knew this paint - ancient and tough, with a texture something like concrete paste - would take far longer. Even after 8 hours (right) - though gel had dried and wrinkled impresively (top) - the paint remained largely secure - while on the smaller parts, such as the conning tower (bottom), 90% was loosened enough to strip.
Thus, I brought out a massive (gallon) quantity of liquid and basin (almost) large enough to fully submerge the biggest parts:
Click on Image to Enlarge
Of course, this expense (and mess) is what the gel was hoped to avoid - but now I encountered a much more serious problem: breakage along stress-lines. This problem had been seen only once before - with my Nichimo Hiryu parts - but I had ascribed it to a resin glue used on it. Now it seems inescapable that it must be a susceptibility of the unique (and, in both cases decades-old) Nichimo plastic. Bummer!
I continued to process the above parts, but called forward my Plan B backup:
Click on Image to Enlarge
A whole 'nother, brand new, Nichimo Type IXC kit! This one, their U-511 mold, is an even closer match to U-505, with her two-tiered "wintergarten" AA platforms, and conning tower portside snorkel trunk.
However neither of these are exact matches to U-505, as captured:
Click on Image to Enlarge
A drawing (upper middle), traced directly from the best of our reference pics (top), can likewise be compared directly to the Nichimo conning tower (lower middle) - revealing that the aft ends of both the lower wintergarten and conning tower proper need to be lengthened (bottom) - by 0.62", in 1/200 scale. (The height of the upper wintergarten is OK as-is; not shown is the platform piece which - although not the right shape - does make for the correct height.) The portside snorkel housing is also insufficient, though parts of it do provide a useful foundation. Note the pipe-like extension down to the deck coincides with the back end of the lower trunk required. And the box on top provides a nice basis to extend further forward, and to fair into the lower portion at the bottom.
This graphic, overlaid on white for (your) easy print-out, is scaled for 1/200 at 211dpi; for 1/700 (Phil, and everybody), print it at 740dpi - or, for 1/350 of course, half of that; at 370 dpi.
Even simpler than modifying the snorkel housing (above) is the lower wintergarten extension, which I've already (mostly) knocked out:
Click on Image to Enlarge
Following the indication of our great reference pic, at left I simply extended the lower wintergarten - using a true, rectangular foot plate (yellow) to keep things aligned - and added extra platform deck with v-grooved plasticard; its groove spacing (roughly) matching that of the Nichimo deck. Note I preserved Nichimo's notch-shaped joint - all the better to disguise the seam there. At right, side plating simply connects the lower and upper levels; ending up forming a true, vertical box - exactly as indicated in our best refence pic of this area.
Allowing that assembly to set up, work then turned to planning modifications for the main deck:
Click on Image to Enlarge
The Nichimo kit foredeck has a very "busy" appearance; containing many features simply not visible in any reference pics - not pics of the capture nor of the museum display, in subsequent years. Not even all of these are shown at top, where I've already removed two prominent, sunburst-like patterns; OOB surrounding the deck gun mounting flange (hole in the square) and capstan mount forward, slightly to port (circle just behind forwardmost bollard). Nor is the large fairwater Nichimo provides as a separate part.
Tracing the remaining Nichimo features (upper middle), and identifying some - along with several new ones - from our reference pics in a new drawing (lower middle), an overlay-comparison can be color-coded (bottom); to show which features need to go (red) and which new ones added (green). For the Nichimo kit (1/200 scale), print this out at 87dpi; for 1/700, 303dpi and for 1/350 152dpi.
Where I am now is practicing the deck corrections above, on both the new kit decks and those of the boneyard kit. Whichever attempt works out best, I will copy it in resin, to outfit two models. Because at this point I am considering building a second U-505; depicting her in an earlier exciting episode of her career. But that's a whole 'nother story, for a later post...
Click on Image for FULL-RES (All assemblies [dry-fitted], just about ready for casting, December 2010)
Coming off the final weeks of 2009, this build was competing directly with ongoing Matt Stein Models projects for a place "under the rubber": the three hull pieces and conning tower all to be molded for casting in resin. That's a competition my personal-build projects will always loose, to the (themselves often backlogged) commercial priorities - and this proved to be no exception, throughout practically all of 2010.
That prolonged delay, however, gave me sufficient time to clarify/decide some key issues which had been straddling the fence for some time: 1) What, exactly, was the completion plan for the conning tower, and 2) Will these masters really be used to develop bona-fide, commercial parts for Matty's Models or not?
Regarding the first one, the decision to mold and the construction strategy leading up to it can be complex, depending on which features are best added before casting, and which will be best carved directly into the resin, after casting. In almost every case, however, overall proportions of the master have to be correct before casting in resin, and I still had nagging questions about whether the conning tower assembly was somehow too long:
Click on Image to Enlarge
This appearance despite the inserted length (white) having been explicitly determined based on a profile earlier traced directly from a historic photo-reference. Originally, I met this concern with the casual idea that, if I ever did discover (how much) it should be shortened, I would simply do that by chopping- and pasting one or two (of many) resin castings back together into the correct proportions - however this would mean major loss/reworking of much surface detailing, whose addition was accordingly put off:
Click on Image to Enlarge
Except for the remaining Nichimo details, note how bare the (silver-painted) master looked, at the end of 2009 here, with how it would come to look exactly a year later (see below).
12/5/10 While the extended delay throughout 2010 killed all building momentum, it did provide time finally to locate additional conning tower profile-reference pics (more than) sufficient to enable a definitive finding, resolving once and for all the question of whether the conning tower - specifically, the lower-AA "wintergarten" platform - was or wasn't correctly proportioned:
Click on Image to Enlarge
At left, against both of two, near-perfect side views at the Chicago Museum, the match (when fitted to total length) looks near-perfect. At right - though harder to make out - the matches against both a (thumbnail of a) profile drawing by Great Plans (top) as well as against a greatly-enlarged, historical picture from her capture (bottom) appear likewise to be very close.
The above clearly confirms the original profile was good - and thus the master should be, as well - but was it, really? I traced pics of its profile to find out:
Click on Image to Enlarge
Compositing tracings from both the above side-veiws, I obtained the "average" profile, shown at bottom...
...and compared it against the original, working drawing:
Click on Image to Enlarge
What was discovered was that neither the lower wintergarten, nor upper AA (machine-gun) decks were too short, nor mislocated, but the forward conning tower was (slightly) too short. And the main discrepancy: the upper-AA deck was too low - a fault noted earlier in the unassembled Nichimo pieces, but expected to be largely corrected by addition of the machine-gun deck piece - obviously not the case, as it turned out. The forward conning tower would easily be lengthened (see below) - but at this point, the only practical fix for the upper AA deck is to stack additional casting(s) of it - so further proportioning of this feature must wait for availability of the casting(s).
12/19/10 However there was significant detail to be added, pre-casting, to the now-validated wintergarten - and here and there on the conning tower, as well:
At left, surface-checked with silver paint, and at right, (re-)stripped back down to reveal its composition, note the conning tower has been greatly further detailed - particularly on the wintergarten, in the central area (white plastic) where its length had been extended. Note the upper conning tower proper has been lengthened as indicated, with strips of (white) plastic. Brass PE provided hand- and climbing rungs - the latter cut in-place from 240-scale, 2-bar railings left deliberately over-long, to provide for optional position-adjustment (removing excess from one- or both ends) by the builder, to match openings in the railings he supplies. And additional doors were added deliberately in the style of the existing Nichimo depictions - even though the latter are overscale, particularly their hinges, to maintain a consistent "look and feel" throughout.
This master is now absolutely ready for casting - and, with any luck, completion - in 2011, as are the 3 upper hull/deck pieces (not shown), as well.
In addition to modifying/adding details, the entire deck and hull, above the waterline, have now been engineered for modular reproduction, in a U-505 conversion set:
Click on Image to Enlarge
The build is now going to provide masters, consisting of forward (left) and aft (right) hull halves, with a central deck section 100% compatible with the oringinal Nichimo part, plus of course, the replacement U-505 conning tower (not shown).
Note several "L"- and "I"-beam strakes give support for a (semi-) hollow casting; while serving also as interlocking guides to reliably and easily mate the fore- and aft pieces, which are split just at the unique, shorter limber hole (middle); helping disguise any discontinuity of the joint, if necessary.
Any or all of these pieces will be able to substitute to upgrade part(s) or all of the Nichimo kit, above the waterline - or, all of them used for a stand-alone, waterline build. Such modularity lends itself also to future conversions to different Type IX u-boats, though of course, the forward and center deck areas currently have detail specific to U-505, as captured:
Click on Image to Enlarge
A good look at these modifications reveals, at top-left, the prow has been reworked to include the bullnose typical of the later-model Type IXs, and forward hatch added, with hinge detail 100% compatible with the one aft. At top-right, note the hatchway is bored out, and hatch has a form-fitted plug., to be further detailed/refined. Also to be reduced/refined after the first casting are large bollards (top- and bottom-right). Note these, as well as the forward capstan are circumscribed at the base, so that they can be chopped off flush with the deck, to depict them retracted - as must be the case in many of our reference pics. I had considerable trouble with these bollards, and particularly with the ones near the deck edge (bottom-right), so that all these are presently oversized and will be reduced/refined on the first round of castings.
Note also the deck-edge rails (bottom-left), and detail in the rectangular well (bottom-right), both of which are porminent in our reference pics. Much of the deck planking has had to be re-scribed, with some areas, in the above, still indicating further re-scribing required. Other than that (minor) work, though, all these pieces are very nearly completed.
Recall, at left, the planned modifications to deck (bottom); where the red-outlined features were to be removed, and green-outlined ones added.
One type of feature - (inaccurately) high-relief, starburst patterns around the base of the forward capstan and deck gun, on the Nichimo mold (right) - had already removed. In fact, on the real thing, these radial patterns (of nonskid strips) were among the least prominent features, on the real thing:
Click on Image to Enlarge
Again from a clip in the Victory at Sea disc II, Episode 7; Killers to the Kill, the above pic shows the foredeck of a Type IX u-boat with features identical, as far as I can tell, to those on U-505, as captured - in fact, the movie could well have been shot from U-505 herself. In any case, note how delicate is the radial non-skid stripping around the capstan, compared to the deck planking, grating, etc. At a distance, these star-like patterns would practically disappear - and accordingly, that's exactly what I made happen to them, on the build.
I also relocated another, very prominent feature, which I had positioned incorrectly: a large, rectangular depression - perhaps a seawater chest intake, or recessed housing of some sort - right in the middle of the foredeck:
Click on Image to Enlarge
In this (part of a) mosaic I am putting together from another Victory at Sea clip, from the same episode as above, note the square hole in U-505's deck, just aft of the boarding party.
None of the reference pics reveal what lies in the bottom of this rectangular well; I guessed it was a grating, and outfitted it accordingly:
Click on Image to Enlarge
Already slightly out-of-date, this pic shows most of the corrected/added features on the foredeck. Note, in addition to the rectangular well (center), I have also added an open hatch, forward (left), and sculpted further detailing into the conning tower (right).
The latter has received yet another "pass" of adjustment/refinement:
Click on Image to Enlarge
The port side of the conning tower (left) finally has the precise shape and detail which are accurate, as best I can determine. Some confusion about the width of the upper wintergarten deck was also resolved, with the (re-)addition of plasticard (white), as shown. Just a few details have yet to be added to the starbaord side (right).
Again, the above pics are already out of date; this build has become much more involved than originally planned (surprise, surprise! ), and I should be able to post pics showing further progress, already made, hopefully by the end of this weekend.
That's "Working Over" as in a thoroughgoing work, as I'm really been digging into all features of the conversion now:
Click on Image to Enlarge
At top, I think I've finally gotten (about) the correct shape for the portside conning tower trunk(s); after re-examining all the reference pics - and finding several which simply do not appear to agree on specific details - I have settled on the construction you see here. Though practically guaranteed to be inaccurate in some minute detail(s), it is nevertheless absolutely more accurate for U-505, as captured, than either the Nichimo U-511 or the venerable Aurora kit, modeled directly after U-505 herself.
And my intent is to make the foredeck - the only deck area clearly displayed in our reference pics - likewise more accurate than the above kits, as well. Thus, at bottom, if the foredeck looks a bit less "busy" than the typical Nichimo kit - many of whose details were overstated (for any U-baot) to begin with - it's because I have carefully chiseled off a couple exaggerated radial tread patterns, as well as a far too proud and coarse diamond-star texture, originally at the tip of the bow. Already she looks more like a real U-boat, IMHO.
But the deck has gotten major, additional work as well:
Click on Image to Enlarge
At top, superglued (white) seams indicate where deck sections have been spliced together from both kits; which have significant differences in deck feature locations, and details. More careful pre-planning could have avoided much of this - in fact, all the main features desired were originally on the deck of the earlier, "Type IXC" (short conning tower) model.
In any case, I had always planned to copy one accurized foredeck in resin, for two (in fact, unlimited) builds, and the above is all working out well. Note the much-subdued radial anti-skid patterns around the deck gun mounts top and bottom-right, as well as around the forward capstan, at bottom-left. Even using the sharpest, brand-new chisels, it was impossible for me to shave these down without some slight damage to the deck in these areas; it may be possible to mitigate this - somewhat, at least - by scribing some of the (actually raised) planking detail back over these areas. However the deck already looks quite acceptable, IMHO, even as-is.
Which is not to say, however, that the deck is finished, by any means:
Click on Image to Enlarge
In addition to removing (i.e., filling) many hatches, several new ones are being transferred from sections of the unused deck (top), to the new one (bottom). Note the technique is to carve out their edges as much as possible (top-left), and attach dowel "stalks" to their undersides (top-right), before detaching them completely. This provides the cleanest cut-out of these plastic chunks - some of which are exceedingly tiny - and at the same time provides for easy handling and manipulation, once detached. After similarly painstaking cutout of the receptacle space in the new deck, the hatches, etc. then inserted and attached from below (bottom); using ample adhexive for a well-secured placement yet showing little or no glue in its seams. on deck.
This is slow work - but well over half of it has been knocked out now, by the end of the weekend. And it's looking great, IMHO. You'll see...
After extending the lower wintergarten aft I returned forward, to work on the conning tower:
Click on Image to Enlarge
At left and center, note a heavy (white) plastic block was laid in as a foundation for extending the conning tower aft (and raking it forward slightly). The "V"-groove plasticard extending from underneath and ahead of it was just inserted to complete the last bits of lower wintergarten planking; I am getting down to my last scraps of this stock, and didn't want to cut out any more than absolutely needed. Likewise, the desired expansion of the upper wintergarten platform was cobbled together as a fringing prosthetic, seen only dry-fitted here. Note how well the coarse "V"-groove approximates the planking texture of the kit platforms.
At right, plating for the conning tower's new aft end was laid in first by tacking thin plasticard with superglue, bending and securing it into position, as shown on the shadowed side, and then back-filling with putty, as on the lighted side, at top. The aft peak was then trimmed and shaped slightly to finish it. Again, the upper wintergarten platform extension (bottom) was still not yet glued down. At the same time, note extraneous holes are being puttied; for later smoothing.
The new conning tower aft end can also be seen very well in this next pic, of continuing work:
Click on Image to Enlarge
Extension of the conning tower shielding aft - likewise to be (later) given a slight rake, similar to that of the aft end of the tower, just below.
Following which, correction of the boxy, side-housing was begun:
Click on Image to Enlarge
The bigger part of which is simply installing the large (white plastic) slab, as you can see - but then the chest at the top is a bit more complex, so I'm laying in thinner plasticard and putty to initiate a decent construction/sculpting of it.
This may all look quite straightforward - as I suppose it was - but still very time-consuming to mate everything as much as possible with the Nichimo platforms, as well as simply to plan for each step in the right order. In fact I realized it would have been (slightly) easier, actually, to have converted straight from the earlier-style conning tower - however by now I have plans for that assembly, exactly as-is, which I will be posting shortly. So, I am very happy with how this is all proceeding.
I also got in a little more work on the deck - but no pics, pending completion of a little more which I can show you...