Revell 1/125 U-47 Guenther Prien (Closing up the Hull)

[handiabled]

Originally they were used as anti-sub net deflectors but the insulators show it's antenna wire. The "blobs" you made are actually insulators and they use the hull as a ground plane. HTH

I'm looking forward to seeing color on this it's looking fantastic!

[Mike]

Son of a gun, I guessed correctly? Cool! Thank you for answering that, and I'll be getting paint on this as soon as I can!

[406 Silverado]

I missed the last few updates on this one but am getting all caught up now Mike. I've gotta say man.......you've done a bang up job of filling in that hole on the side of the hull and with the body work afterwards. I'm looking forward to seeing paint on this one too bud. Good show.

[tcoat]

Mar 13, 2024 1:47:43 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Originally they were used as anti-sub net deflectors but the insulators show it's antenna wire. The "blobs" you made are actually insulators and they use the hull as a ground plane. HTH

I'm looking forward to seeing color on this it's looking fantastic!

This^ 
Some were white or brown ceramic and some were clear glass. They were never painted so should not be grey though. I used to have link to a website with good pictures of them but it seems to be broken now. 

I used globs of Testors clear for mine.

[Mike]

I'll be getting primer on it today. Then I can check for spots I've missed or overlooked. Paint should be real soon.

For my isolators I used the only pot of Citadel paint I have in my inventory, Mechanicus Standard Grey. It's been the only paint I have that barely shrinks when it dries and I've been using it for small knobs in aircraft cockpits for years. I first tried some gel super glue but that didn't work out. The Citadel worked perfectly though. Gotta give them credit for being exceptional technical paints.

[Steve Zuleski]

Pretty awesome rework, excellent!

[Mike]

First wet coat of primer is on and it looks like there is still quite a bit of work to do on the port side of the hull.

Edit:

Okay, so it's not nearly as bad matte, as it was fresh and glossy. Just one trouble spot to deal with and another layer of primer after I make sure there isn't anywhere else to tidy up.

Revell 1/125 U-boat by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Revell 1/125 U-boat by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Revell 1/125 U-boat by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Revell 1/125 U-boat by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Revell 1/125 U-boat by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Revell 1/125 U-boat by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

You might notice I added a few more isolators to the aft of the boat and there's a patch of grey near the bow. That patch was only to added to denote the location that needs attention later. Pay it no mind. Overall there are a few minor defects (small scratches) in the Bondo layer, but I think I will do more harm than good trying to polish them out when a couple more layers of paint might cure the problem. After all, Bondo is quite soft compared to the plastic and the Milliput. Otherwise I'm very satisfied with my efforts. For a basic "kiddy" style model of a Type VII she's not too shabby once she's cleaned up all proper-like. Once again this isn't something I'd try to compete with, but I will be quite happy to have it on display for my own satisfaction.

[Steve Zuleski]

That work blended right in, excellent!

[Mike]

Thanks, Steve! I wasn't sure I could do it as effectively as I did. It's far from perfect, but it's nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. So I've learned some lessons and I'm happy for it.

Painting is on pause for another day, maybe. After watching some documentaries about U-boats I realized I needed more isolators on the radio lines. Also the stupid Rustoleum doesn't dry as fast as the Krylon did and it likes to remain a bit tacky long after it shouldn't be. I still don't know why Krylon's ultra flat spray paint has vanished from my area.

Anyways I have an unspecified time delay involved with my excitement to start getting color on this model.

[stikpusher]

This is shaping up nicely! Looking pretty mean now in overall black!

[dodgy]

Lovely work mate and I agree with stik, looks mean as in black.

[Mike]

Thanks, Carlos, Dodgy!

I'm having a tough time being patient.

[Mike]

One color on: Vallejo Granite Grey

Revell 1/125 U-boat by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Revell 1/125 U-boat by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Second color on: (50% Vallejo Neutral Grey + 50% Vallejo White) Medium Grey-ish

Revell 1/125 U-boat by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Revell 1/125 U-boat by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

It feels great to have the two primary colors on this model finally! The deck is going to be Tire Black as that's the closest color I have to the Dark Grey mentioned in the instructions. I will be using the ol' hairy stick for that and I'll be doing some touch-ups as well. I got the water line as close as I could by eye, but it looks really dang close lol.

Thank you to all for the encouragement.

[lyle]

Man, that looks sharp!

[buddho]

One fantastic build here...wow.

[kyledehart5]

Oh man. You’re doing great work with this one. Brilliant

[Mike]

Thank you very much, guys!

[handiabled]

Color on the hull shows the fantastic job you did closing this up!

[Mike]

It's not so good looking when the paint is wet and still glossy. The flaws show up extremely well in that condition, but they're mostly under the saddle tank.

Matte paint and poor lighting hide them really well.

As I said before, this isn't something I'd want to compete with lol.

Edit:

I was about to start painting the deck when I noticed the conning tower isn't flush with the hull. All of that sanding to make sure things were level and the kit shows it's age lol.


Revell 1/125 U-boat by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Revell 1/125 U-boat by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

No problem. Just a bit of watered down Perfect Plastic Putty (PPP) should fill the gaps nicely.  I told you guys it wasn't perfect lol!

[kyledehart5]

I have no doubt you’ll take care of that without issue. Still looking good from where I’m at.

[dodgy]

Looking bloody marvellous if you ask me!

[Mike]

I started applying the deck color with a hairy stick but I didn't get far. Shakey hands.

[dodgy]

Mar 21, 2024 21:08:42 GMT -5 Mike said:

I started applying the deck color with a hairy stick but I didn't get far. Shakey hands.

Yeah, I know all about that. I have been diagnosed with a thing called 'essential tremor'. Although what's essential about it is beyond me, because I could bloody well do without it!!!

[tcoat]

For anybody not familiar with this old kit and just how momentous a feat Mike has pulled off here this is it built OOB:






I don't thin I could pull off filling in those hull section no matter how hard I tried!

[406 Silverado]

I've missed the last couple of updates to this beauty of a build and am glad I'm getting caught up in the action here. Good catch on the conning tower and I'm sure the paint work will be just great with the dull coat applied. You are giving this one the frickin' WORKS.

[dodgy]

Nice work on that tcoat, I always wondered what that would look like when built.

[tcoat]

Mar 22, 2024 21:18:33 GMT -5 dodgy said:

Nice work on that tcoat, I always wondered what that would look like when built.

Well they had loads of space to practice their ballroom dancing. I didn't have the guy's to try what Mike pulled off and hadn't started scratch building at that point. May pull it apart an do up a better interior someday. STILL not going to try what Mike did though.

[dodgy]

G'day Mike, how's the U Boat coming along? I'm about to start work on mine again.

[Mike]

Oh, it's still just sitting here waiting for me to finish painting it. What are you going to do with yours?

[dodgy]

Jun 14, 2024 15:42:14 GMT -5 Mike said:

Oh, it's still just sitting here waiting for me to finish painting it. What are you going to do with yours?

I actually started work on it a couple of years ago and apart from painting and fitting the conning tower it's nearly finished. I enjoy the building process, not so much the painting, but I built the full hull version.