Construction U-552 Type VIIc Trumpeter 1:48 [ COMPLETED BUILD ]

[Henk Liebre]

The PE of the aft deck fits perfectly

 

[Henk Liebre]

And then sprayed with primer to make any imperfections clearly sealable

 

[Henk Liebre]

January 2021

Gun gates
A lot of delicate work, with a lot of time spent opening gun gates, which will hopefully look like a real Type VIIc submarine afterwards.
In the are the gates to glue them shut in sealant.
They are now used to show the openings

 

[Henk Liebre]

Finished inside for reinforcement and to seal miniscule passages

 

[Henk Liebre]

Started with 1 of the 12 between bulkheads and the torpedoes.

I spray everything with a black primer.

Despite the fact that the paint dries very quickly, I let it cure for 24 hours.

After which I spray the walls and ceilings, I do this several small layers, and then give a look of walls that are dirty and weathered.

 

[Henk Liebre]

The ribs of the the pressure hull were covered with small planks of wood and varnished, to protect the head of the sailors and prevent injuries when touching the hull in very cold waters. I have painted these with raw umber acrylic to imitate the wood and coated them with high gloss varnish.

 

[Henk Liebre]

More work on the torpedo bulkhead and on the tubes

 

[Henk Liebre]

Torpedo opening doors

Not an easy task. Keep in mind that there are a few parts to be fabricated as nothing is provided by Trumpeter in the kit.
Again, RCSUBS PEs nicely complement that delicate part of the Type VIIc

 

[Henk Liebre]

February 2021

Painting of 1 of the 48 supplied figures.
I'm not going to use them all ...

 

[Henk Liebre]

Module 1 of 6
Beds added
The instructions indicate that only two cylinders are mounted,
Self made a platform to allow the cylinders to be enclosed

 

[Henk Liebre]

According to the instructions, a torpedo is attached to the ceiling.
I added the hoist and chains

 

[Henk Liebre]

When everything is confirmed it is a dark hole to look inside ....

 

[Henk Liebre]

Holes drilled for lighting white, blue and red.
The white lights applied have been provided with Transparent yellow, for a yellow glow.
With the final confirmation I will add more lights later

 

[Jimsky]

Incredible kit! PE additions make it very detailed and greatly presentable. You are doing a fine job assembling. Very accurate!

 

[Henk Liebre]

Incredible kit! PE additions make it very detailed and greatly presentable. You are doing a fine job assembling. Very accurate!

Thanx Jim

 

[Henk Liebre]

March 2021
Front soldiers living room

 

[Henk Liebre]

The complete module looks like this in the drawing

 

[Henk Liebre]

The continuation of this module

 

[Henk Liebre]

Now that the Port side is more or less completed, it is time to work on the starboard half-hull. This piece is made of acrylic or plexiglass and is a nightmare to rework. My tools although running at the lower possible speed (5,000 RPM) tend to melt the plastic if you stay too long on one spot. You have to keep moving, stop frequently, cut the melted blob around the bits, and start again, a tedious and delicate cutting. In addition, the part is not as resilient than the regular polystyrene and I am always concerned of risks of shattering the part. Not a pleasant section of the construction. It is nerve wracking and my teeth are clenched way too long. How much I wish they had provided two starboard hulls: one transparent and one made of regular polystyrene that you could cut to your desire. Also, working on a semi-transparent part is not exactly easy and I cannot wait to prime that section. It is truly difficult to see your mistakes.

First, the torpedo doors:

 

[Henk Liebre]

And an aperitif of what the end result will be.


My plan is of course not to use the transparent hull as provided in the kit. Let's face it, you don't see much through that plastic, even though it might look a bit better with the lights on. Instead I want to paint the hull and leave some sections open that show all the action taking place in the submarine