Francisco's Workbench

2012-03-02T13:09:00.001Z

http://www.uschivdr.com/online-tutorial/

WCM U-boat Type VIIC turm I 1/400

2012-02-07T22:26:00.000Z

Take a look at the photo-etched brass deck: it became deformed like that overnight...

I can only attribute it to the changes in temperature as I think it was actually well glued with Cyanolit (green tube). The solution? Cover it with Dass clay. And it's not the first time something like this happens..

I don't have a lot of experience with PE parts but glueing the deck is a pretty straightforward process, it's just a flat part that wasn't even subjected to any tension, I thought it would just sit there unaltered for the whole modeling eternity with a coat of CA glue bonding it to the plastic part.

Sucks.

2012-02-05T22:45:00.003Z

USS Bataan (LHD-5) is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship commissioned in 1997. She is named to honor the defense of the Bataan Peninsula on the western side of Manila Bay in the Philippines during the early days of US involvement in World War II .

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dylan Miles, USS Bataan Public Affairs
LISBON, Portugal (NNS) -- Sailors and embarked Marines aboard the multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) visited Lisbon, Portugal from Jan. 20 to Jan. 25, as the last port visit prior to their return home from a deployment which started Mar. 23, 2011.

The crew explored the country's capitol city of Lisbon, and experienced the culture of Portugal during their five-day stay.

"The city was amazing; there was so much to do," said Aviation Maintenance Administrationman Airman Eric Tomlinson, a native of Detroit. "I was really surprised by how friendly and willing to help the people of Portugal were."

The ship's Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) office provided the crew with a variety of activities. They were able to participate in tours to the villages of Sintra and Fatima, and a Jeep Safari.

"I think the tours were good for the ship," said Aviation Support Equipment Technician Airman Marcglenn Orcullo, a native of Aiea, Hawaii. "They were great to help people unwind, and I thought they were an excellent way to finish our deployment."

Several Sailors and Marines participated in community relation events while in port. Some of the crew assisted at a women's institute, while other members played a game of soccer against the Portuguese Navy.

"I went to the women's institute to help stock food and I thought it was amazing," said Damage Controlman 3rd Class Patrick May, a native of Nacogdoches, Texas. "Interacting with the women and people that work there was fun, even if there was a pretty big language barrier between us."

Bataan also hosted a reception during their stay in Lisbon, with more than 150 guests including U.S. Ambassador to Portugal the Honorable Allan Katz, Portuguese Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Jose Montenegro, and other distinguished ambassadors from more than 20 nations.

"This was definitely a fitting way to close out a highly successful deployment," said Capt. Erik M. Ross, commanding officer, USS Bataan. "Now we're focused on a safe return home, getting a little time with our families, and prepare the ship ready for our next tasking."

Bataan surged three months early on Mar. 23, 2011, and will have completed a ten-and-a-half month deployment by the time she returns home, the longest deployment for a U.S. Navy ship since the early '70s. Bataan is the command ship of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility.

WCM U-boat Type VIIC turm I 1/400

2012-01-21T19:39:00.000Z

Diorama Tips

2012-01-13T14:35:00.000Z

Taken from: http://www.wamp-forum.com/content.php?267-How-to-use-Real-plants-in-your-miniature-bases

This quick tutorial will show you how you can use real plants in your bases and dioramas and open up a real treasure trove of unusual materials that add interest and are free to use.

Difficulty: Very Easy

Tools and Materials needed:
Plants
Glycerin
Absorbant paper (ie kitchen roll)
Water
Small container

First a couple of little pointers. This technique can be used on any type of plant but results can vary. Generally the more 'woody' the plant the better. Normally once you cut a plant the cutting will begin to dry out losing its water, this kills it and destroys the structure. This process solves that problem by replacing the lost water with glycerin which acts like an embalming fluid and retains the plants structure.
Results can vary even with the same type of plant so I recommend you do this in advance of when you need the plants. I do batches every now and again and keep them in my bit box, no special requirements. Some have been in there for well over a year and are still as good as new. If you do it in advance like this then any plants that it hasnt worked on can be removed. This prevents the risk of using plants then later finding they wither away. If its going to fail it will happen with 48 hours generally so after this your safe!

Step 1
Collect some plants! I like to use mosses as they scale well and you can just pull them from the rock but try anything, small herbs like thyme can be good. For this tutorial I just popped in the garden and grabbed some moss - took me about 1 minute and found a good variety.

Step 2
For this stage you need some Glycerin. It is available from chemists over the counter (its often used as a childrens medicine) It isnt harmful and you need no bio-hazard suit for it!! Its pretty cheap, the bottle pictured was about £1.20 and lasts an age. You will also need a small container and some water.

You need to mix roughly 1 part Glycerine to 10 parts water in the container. Give it a good stir so its properly mixed. Next take your plants and dip them in the mixture, make sure they are well covered then remove and place on some kitchen roll or newspaper. This will soak up the excess. Some plants you may want to turn over after an hour to soak both sides. Then simply leave to dry (overnight if possible) After 24 - 48 hours most plants that didnt succeed the process will have wilted by now so you can discard these. The rest you are free to use. If you do a batch every now and again then you will always have a stockpile at the ready and any that are good by then will remain good.

Step 3
Now the fun bit!! Stick them on your bases and give them a real wow!

Any questions feel free to ask

Brett

HMS Astute - Hobbyboss 1/700

2012-01-01T13:56:00.000Z

The resin shrunk and the heat from the reaction damaged the stabilizers at their thinest edge. I'm guessing the polymerization happened too quickly due to excess catalyst and low ambient temperatures.

I covered these mistakes by creating some cavitation with acrylic gloss gel medium and by pouring another layer of resin, this time half as thick as before.

Please take the time to read this article by http://www.resin-supplies.co.uk about casting resins:

CASTING RESINS

Casting is the process of producing a part in a mould.Resins can be cast as a pourable liquid/or they can be "laid up";laminated by hand with reinforcing cloth of glass or carbon fibre. Here weshall deal mostly with poured casting technique, since lay-up is rarely used byartists. Resin properly filled can cast solid figures 36 inches tall-mostsculpture is within those parameters.

Most resins can be cast in properly-separating flexiblemoulds made of polysulfide and urethane, but the best results are obtained fromRTV silicone moulds, which require no release coat. They can also be cast inrigid moulds that have draft
(without undercuts, and slightly bigger at thebottom than the top) or composed of multiple drafted sections, if the mouldsare properly assembled. Rigid moulds can be of plaster, fibreglass, metal, andeven wood.

There are a few types of resin available for casting:acrylics, polyesters, urethanes, and epoxies are the materials most used byartists. To work with acrylics requires some equipment. Casting acrylic'water-clear' means subjecting the polymer/monomer "dough" to highpressure and high temperature in an autoclave, using special moulds. Because ofthis, and the fact that uncured acrylic is highly toxic, most artists shouldavoid using it and it will not be covered here. Instead, we will concentrate onthose resins easily cast in standard moulds; the pourable resins that set atroom temperature.
Polyester resin is the most common castable resin. It is acatalytic system wherein you add a small amount of MEK peroxide to acceleratethe polymerization of the liquid resin (which would eventually cure on its own,particularly if left in the sun). You can control the curing time by varyingthe amount of catalyst you add. Polyester resin is the resin component of mostfibreglass lay-ups and is normally nearly clear.
Understand that glass is not all that clear— it's actuallygreen, and so is polyester resin. It can be filled for thicker castings and toaffect its appearance. It can be tinted both transparent and opaque usingspecial colour pigments, and, for outdoor use, can have a UV inhibitor mixedin.
Polyester resin comes in laminating (hot-promoted) andcasting (slow-promoted) formulas.
Do not attempt to cast with laminating resin, as it is meantto produce enough
heat to cure in thin section. Also, its surface will notfully cure while exposed to air. In laminating fibreglass, this property,called "tack" ensures the next coat will bond well. So when laying up,the final coat needs wax mixed in it, to achieve a good, glossy cure.

One of the Holy Grails of rubber mould resin casting hasalways been the search for a method of casting an optically clear part. Whilemany resins come in clear formulas, it seems impossible to cast them and havethem come out clear enough to read through. As said before, resins alwaysshrink and the last bit to cure is the surface, this conspires to prevent thereproduction of a glassy surface no matter how perfect the mould. (The oneexception to this is a fully drafted vacuum-formed polyethylene mold, with asimple hemisphere shape- as the resin shrinks the casting slides further downinto the bowl, maintaining contact with the surface of the mold. Alas, moreinteresting shapes lack this
quality. While you can fill resins to minimize shrinkage,filling them will ruin the clear quality you're after. For decades the only wayto get an optical surface was to cast it close, and then laboriously handpolish it to a rouge finish.

All resins shrink when they change from liquid to solid andall generate heat as they polymerize, (an "exothermic" reaction) andthis causes problems. Because heat accelerates chemical reactions, all resinscure from the INSIDE OUT. (As opposed to wax, for instance, which freezes fromthe mould surface inward.) As the setting resin generates heat, the center ofthe mass gets hot faster than the surface, which is transferring its heat tothe mould. As a result, the center hardens and shrinks first, while
the last area to harden is the area in contact with themould. Unfortunately, by that time, the majority of the shrinkage has occurred,and there is no reservoir of uncured resin from which to draw. As the castingshrinks, its tacky surface is pulled out of contact with the surface of themould, leaving a rough and randomized surface, distorted and unfaithful to theoriginal.
These spots are called 'moulding marks' in the industry, butshould be called "shrinkage flaws,' because they are not caused by themould.
Another consideration is that resins are poor conductors ofheat, so they can generate heat far faster than they can radiate it. It doesnot take a very large mass of resin before the temperature it achieves exceedsthe point of pyrolysis (or "burning"). You will know you're therewhen the material starts smoking, giving off clouds of toxic fumes and crackingwildly. (Try to avoid doing this?)
Heat also exacerbates the resin's chemical attack on yourmoulds, I have seen new moulds reduced to a brittle, yellow-cheddar consistencywith one resin casting that got too hot.
Because they shrink, cast resins cannot be easily reinforcedwith internal armatures like steel rod. The resin shrinks around the unyieldingsteel and is split as if by a wedge. Resins can also tear themselves apart.
Polyester resin, for example, goes through a jelly-likestate (gel) before becoming hard. In thicker castings or those catalyzed toohot, the core is already hard when the outer areas gel. The gelled materialmust shrink as it becomes a solid, but when it cannot compress the hard core,it splits on the outside instead. When you see spiral fractures running fromthe surface into the casting, but not all the way through, you know that youare casting too large or too hot.
There are ways to manage this problem in order to achievelarger castings.
The techniques fall into 3 strategies: 1) minimize the heatgenerated, allowing the entire casting to cure without the internal stresses.2) reduce the shrinkage, which lessens internal stresses and keeps the resin incontact with the mould to get a better surface, or 3) cast the surface firstwith a resin that coats the inside of the mould and is then poured out,building up layers until a structural shell is achieved. (These castings can beleft hollow, or filled after the surface is set.)
One way to minimize the exothermic reaction is to slow downthe polymerization. A given volume of resin will generate a given number ofcalories of heat. Polyester resin ordinarily comes "promoted", ordosed with a cobalt dryer which allows the catalyst to cure it slowly. Mixingpolyester resin with the minimum amount of catalyst causes it to generate
its heat over a day or two rather than 15 minutes. This timefunction allows the heat generated to be radiated away, lowering and equalizingthe temperature of the resin. The ratio of catalyst to resin is not,unfortunately, a simple formula capable of being universally applied. Eachmould configuration will require some adjustment of the ratio to optimize theset time without overheating and cracking on the one hand or, on the other,
failing to set because sufficient heat wasn't achieved.Epoxies and urethanes can similarly be ordered in slower-setting formulas,although their exothermic reactions are not as dramatic as polyester's
Filling the resin also helps produce castings with fewershrinkage and heat problems. This works in two ways, first it reduces thequantity of the resin total volume, which reduces the shrinkage and exotherm.Fillers also act as a heat sink basically giving the resin molecules a placenearby to absorb their heat.
While the material still gets hot that heat is expressedpredominatly in the molecular motion of the filler, the fillers capacity toabsorb heat will significantly limit the peak temperature attained.
The filler expands as it heats while the resin shrinks as itpolymerises, so these tendancies cancel one another to some extent, the filleralso creates a rigid matrix in the mass, mechanically preventing excessiveshrinkage.

The specific gravity of the filler will also affect thedensity and weight of the casting.
In giftware, calcium carbonate and talc are often used tofill resin to give the casting the look of porcelain or marble and greaterheft, which equals higher perceived value. Glass beads will add significantweight, while aerosil will make it feather-light. High abrasion applicationswould indicate a ceramic filler, whereas cast parts that will be subjected tohigh temperature suggests metal filler, which will absorb some heat.
Finely chopped fiberglass or Kevlar strand is sometimes usedto give high resistance to breakage.
Bronze or aluminum powder gives castings the look of metal.Any opaque colour protects resin from UV, which slowly destroys castings.(Epoxy is more
vulnerable to this than polyester, but any resin willdegrade in sunlight
given enough time and exposure.) Whatever you use, yourfiller needs to
be bone-dry. Moisture in the filler can cause all kinds ofproblems with
the chemical reactions of resins.

Fillers cause two problems of their own. First, they carryair with them into the mixed material. Second, in the amounts that willeliminate the shrinkage and heat concerns, they turn a liquid resin into aviscous porridge, in some cases too thick to vacuum. Both cause or exacerbateair-bubble problems in the casting.
Lets deal with the bubbles first. What you can do about themrequires identifying their cause. The most basic idea you need to understand isthat you are not pouring resin into an empty mould. You will be pouring resininto a mould that is already full to the brim with air.
A good mouldmaker knows that for the resin to go in, the airmust get out. Except for moulds with large openings, never ask the air to comeout the hole the resin is
going in. Engineer the mould with vent channels, and runthose vents to the uppermost surface of the mould so that you won't have to tryand plug vents as the mould fills. Orient the position of the pattern and theseparation planes of the mould so as to reduce the occurrence of air traps, andto facilitate the placement of gates (where materials go in) and vents (whereair comes out). For small pieces that will require the thickened resin to flowthrough tight spaces, gate the mould so that the introduced resin enters
the casting cavity at the bottom, displacing air upward.Think also about what you will be using: some epoxies takes 4 hours to set, buturethanes may go off in 2 minutes. Filling a big horse mould with filledurethane resin through a thin leg may present a problem. Make sure you designyour mould so that you can get the resin you intend to use into the cavitybefore it starts to set. Proper mould design will eliminate all large bubblesand
most medium-sized ones.

By far the biggest source of air bubbles is the process ofmixing the resin.
Careful mixing of pure resins can yield good results, butyou will want to fill most resins, and all powdered materials are full of air.You can subject most freshly-mixed resins to a vacuum to eliminate air from themix, placing the material in a bell jar and evacuating the air to 29 hg (inchesof mercury) or higher.
Realize that the mix will rise like bread under vacuum,easily tripling its initial volume, so don't overfill the container or you willoverflow it.
Urethanes present a problem due to their fast cure time.Even with a fast vacuum system, they will already be setting by the time youbegin to pour. So the use of mixing paddles which minimise air entrainment isimportant, as is the sizing of a batch in relation to the mixer and mixingvessel. Pouring degassed material into a well-designed mould will eliminate 95%of small air bubbles.
Finally: you are down to that air which was not displaced asthe mould filled, or was introduced into the material by turbulence as youpoured.
This is particularly noticeable in materials with highsurface tension, as they can skate right over detailed mould surfaces, trappingair bubbles that will cling in place. This problem is most significant withhighly detailed mould surfaces such as fine hair textures or sharp protrudingpoints.
There are two solutions to this: The first is mould rotationand/or agitation. By sloshing, banging, vibrating and, where possible, stickingyour gloved hand or a brush in there and physically displacing the bubbles, youcan get the air to rise out of the gates or vents of a well designed mould, ifthe resin isn't so heavily filled that air won't rise through it.
The other solution is to apply pressure, and there are 2ways to do that. For slow-setting materials, you can craft a vacuum chamber,big enough to contain your average mould and hook it up to your pump. Do notforget to pre-vacuum your resin before filling the mould. or nearly all yourresin will boil out of the mould and down the sides when under vacuum. Be awarethat some resins have volatile components that vaporize under vacuum and willnever fully stop bubbling, so even with pre-vacuumed material, you may have todesign your mould with a reservoir feature above the gate to contain any resinthat boils out and funnel it back into the gate as the resin settles back down.
What will happen under vacuum is this: any air bubblesentrapped in undercuts or mixed into the material will expand hugely. Thebubbles will become so buoyant that they will rise and burst while most of theair in undercut areas will bleed off as the bubbles expand beyond the undercutarea entrapping them. You still have air bubbles in your casting at this point;in fact, the undercut entrapments are still the same size as they were before.However, the remaining air is at nearly zero air pressure. It is crucial invacuum casting that you release the vacuum while the resin is still liquid.This slams 14 pounds per square inch (atmospheric pressure) against the resinand squeezes the remaining air bubbles either into solution or to a microscopicsize.

This technique does not work well with urethane resinsbecause there is inadequate time to evacuate a chamber big enough to hold anaverage mould.
For urethanes, you have to skip the vacuum part and cutstraight to the pressure, You want to pressure-cast urethanes at 50 to 80pounds per square inch.
This is too bad really because it is far easier to buildsomething to hold 14 pounds psi OUT than to build something that holds 80pounds psi IN. (Pressure vessels can be extremely dangerous, so don't trybuilding one unless you really know what you're doing).
You can use an autoclave (one with no heating system) and abig enough compressor to bring up the pressure in the autoclave within 20seconds or so. For smaller castings some shops use painter's pressure pots.
To do pressure casting you fill the mould, pop it into thechamber, lock it, slam the pressure on and hold it there until the resin hascured. This technique should eliminate
98.5% of all air-caused flaws in cast resin parts.
Polyester resin is what most figurines you see in chainstores are cast in.
Cast polyester resins become rubbery when subjected totemperatures over 200ºF, the resin has quite a strong odour, as do the newly castpieces and your workspace if you use them (although you won't notice it after awhile). Polyester is also quite toxic. The problem is not so much the polyesterresin itself, but the crosslinking agents and catalysts, diluents, andaccellerators which make them work. Cross-linkers include
styrene , methyl methacylate, vinyl toluene, diluentsinclude toluene and ketones, catalysts include methyl ethyl ketone peroxide,benzoyl peroxide, and cumene hydroperoxide. And there are accelerators andpromoters like cobalt napthanate and dimethylanaline.
The styrene is the cross- linking agent in most polyestercasting systems. The initiator, usually an organic peroxide in a solvent base(like methyl ethyl ketone peroxide) is also nasty stuff, which can cause instantblindness if splashed in the eyes. These also convert to an explosive as theyage, and support fires which cannot be quenched, as the material supplies itsown oxygen.
Use these materials only in positively ventilated rooms userubber gloves , goggles, and protective clothing.
Skin and nasal irritation and headaches are common effectsof short-term exposure.
Epoxies are nearly twice the price of polyesters. They are acompounded system, two chemicals that produce a reaction, creating a thirdchemical.
Epoxies have a wider temperature tolerance than polyester aswell as greater strength, and have been formulated to achieve a wide variety ofproperties,
Epoxies are mixed in ratios by exact weight or volume, it'sbasic stickmess makes it good for adhesives and repair applications.
Epoxies have the least objectionable odor of nearly allresins.

HMS Astute - Hobbyboss 1/700

2011-12-30T19:44:00.000Z

Ok, here's the first layer of resin being poured. I chose to build the resin block in 3 layers, adding less catalyst to slow the curing process and avoid shrinkage and overheating, which would probably damage the plastic.

Note the adhesive cork bits added to the clamp. The spring isn't very strong either.

I calculated 250 ml of resin to be adequate for the first layer. I weighted it - it was more or less the same in grams - and added about 2% of catalyst. After an hour or so, it presented the viscosity of a strong gel.

You can see the enormous amount of bubbles formed, even after careful mixing. The good thing is that these disappeared slowly by themselves.

Covered it with cellophane and put it outside because polyester resin is quite nasty!

HMS Astute - Hobbyboss 1/700

2011-12-29T23:37:00.001Z

My first thought was to use this kind of cardboard to make the container. On one hand I wanted to reuse some leftovers I had here, on the other hand I wanted to create a mould with a specific size, closer to what I imagined. This would not have been possible with a comercially available polypropylene mold nor with a tupperware but using carboard has it's disadvantages as well. It's difficult to make it watertight but I think I solved this by coating the interior with latex.

Superglue was used to glue the parts the best I could.

Another reinforcement: hot glue, which is one of those materials that comes handy every once in a while, just like white glue.

The box looks huge but it actually isn't. We'll see it in the end.

This is important: latex easily ruins brushes! What can we do? Have a small container with warm water and dishwashing soap with a sponge inside to clean it before it gets covered in dried latex.

The thick coat of latex still drying - an hairdryer can be used but I chose it to dry naturally.

HMS Astute - Hobbyboss 1/700

2011-12-29T14:42:00.001Z

A couple more links to use as reference. These show experiments with clear resin, the products and techniques involved.

http://www.migproductionsforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3303

http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=167004&page=1

http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=176565&ord=&page=2

Some points to consider, study and plan:

- The container should be non-porous and should not leak.
- Polyethylene molds are recommended but if the size isn't suitable, we should choose another material and run some tests.
- The final piece needs to come off easily. Mold release should/can be used.
- The resin's curing process releases heat.To avoid damaging the parts, they should be coated with an acrylic varnish and the resin should be poured in layers.

HMS Astute - Hobbyboss 1/700

2011-12-22T21:22:00.003Z

For inspiration, found at Armorama :

Uboot im eismeer (U-Boat in the Polar Sea), by Jan Klarbæk

"Background…
This is my first take on making ice in a naval setting – the chosen “victim” is Broncos 1:350 type IX c built out of the box with a crew of 4 figures from Fujimi. You could call this a “proof of concept” as it’s a test for a bigger diorama involving a 1:72 Special Navy II A. Being a test it turned out pretty well, and only time will tell, whether it can be scaled up and still work.

The “groundwork”…
I will not go into much detail on the buildup of the base, it has already been described better than I will be able to by Dade W. Bell:
Dade's Water
And GuidoHopp:Guido's Base
Here is another take on ice by Augusto Martinez: Agusto's Water
I applied local materials, but materials with the same properties is widely available at any “do it yourself” shop or already present in most households – like ours which is constantly undergoing rebuilds and repairs. The great pleasure of

building af base out of scratched materials is the low price and the joy of creating something unique. I will let the pictures speak for themselves and focus on the ice part.

Making ice…
Again following the philosophy of using cheep materials already in the household, I choose to use pure white candle wax – remains from the wife decorating the living rooms. It’s important, I think, to use pure candle wax, if not for anything else then to prevent it from melting in sunlight and lamps developing heat.
Since the scale is rather small, the ice floes should be relatively thin – also because most of the ice is below the water. I chose two ways of “casting” the ice – which apparently gives some variations in surface structure.
First of I melted some candle remains in a little pot over another lit candle. While hot and liquid I removed the wicker and other irregularities so the wax was nice and clean. Melting a larger amount of wax gives a bigger and more even casting than just lighting a dripping the wax.
I casted the wax in a approx 1 mm think layer on both paper and aluminum foil – it would seem that the paper absorbs some of the moisture from the wax, giving the hardened wax a more frosty/flaky surface, whereas the wax hardening on the aluminum foil was more smooth an regular.
I used both results as the variation thus provided, added some visual variation and to further accentuate this, some of the floes were given a coat of glue and baking soda.
While the casting was done on a flat surface, I also tried lying some aluminum foil over the waves to cast the wax in shape – but it was only a limited success, and since frozen seawater should be flat on the surface, it dismissed this method.
The floes where broken up in irregular shapes, taking care that all edges where broke to avoid the smooth rounded edge from the hardened wax. The pieces were glued on using regular white wood glue. Biggest pieces went on along the edge of the base, smaller pieces moving in on the sub, and some small fragments where placed upright at the bow to illustrate the boat moving through the ice.
The semitransparent thin wax lets the colors from the painted water shine through which is further improved by adding a thin layer of clear acrylic gel between the ice floes tied it all together – I also coated the surface of the floes affected by the boat passing trough the water, to illustrate the floes being washed clean with seawater.
I declined giving the finished diorama a coat of lacquer to seal it, fearing that it would spoil the effects of the different casting methods and the added baking soda – so keeping it in a dust free environment is probably much more important.

rap up…
This is both a easy and cheap way of placing your latest vessel in a ice filled environment – although it in its current application probably works best in 1:700 – 1:350 scale. Thicker castings are needed to give sufficient depth in 1:144 – 1:72 scales."

WCM U-boat Type VIIC turm I 1/400

2011-12-21T02:38:00.000Z

HMS Astute - Hobbyboss 1/700

2011-12-20T00:14:00.000Z

Kostas Katseas, inspiration..

http://modelshipwrights.kitmaker.net/user.php?op=userinfo&uname=Angeleyes

https://www.google.com/search?client=ubuntu&channel=fs&q=Katseas+Kostas&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery/users/Kostas-Katseas/user-index.html

The water is clear resin. A quick guide:
resin as it goes is not cheap but i have found it to be ideal in realism when i represent calm waters. I paint the bottom of my base with a dark blue/green color (acrylic) and once it dries well enough i apply the resin on top.The resin comes separate with a very small bottle of what is called a catalyst.It basically controls the rate of reaction so if you pour too much the resin gets hard too quickly and vice versa.I think my type of clear resin is recommended a couple of drops on something like half a pint of resin (again different types of resins different guidelines)-mine is casting clear resin for those who want to know-,which i have found too slow(days!!).Besides when it takes so long to hardened the resin, you have a bigger chance of the resin reacting with the painted base and destroying it.It literally pulls apart whatever it is underneath it ,paint, glue, varnish.So i found that by pouring too much catalyst i accelerate the reaction so much that the resin gets hardened within 10-15 min so it doesn't get sufficient time to react with whatever is underneath it ,plus it saves me time on the model itself.Now resin will spread in a uniform manner and it will create an almost perfect glass-like surface.That is not a calm sea exactly, the sea should still have very subtle riddles so(and thats the trickiest part of all) depending how much catalyst and how fast your mix is getting hard ,take a hair drier and once is like a gel start blowing hot air on it.There are ,depending which way the waves go etc, different approaches to this but generally just to create few riddles keep the hair drier directly above for a few seconds at about 10 cm away and with slow motion move around the surface of the base and once you create the riddles take it off. Repeat every few minutes until you are happy with the effect.After that the resin will never go back to the glass like state, the riddles will subside once you take the hair drier off but they will not disappear ,and depending how much you repeat this process the riddles will be more and more frequent and defined.Word of caution:when you put the hair drier for the first time above the resin do it so by approaching slowly from a safe distance while blowing until the resin starts to shake.If you put the hair drier and start blowing from too close from the start you risking pushing/spilling the resin off the base since you don't know how solid or liquid it still is. When the base is hard apply a bit of resin underneath your model and glue it on the water.Do NOT touch the resin with your fingers as even after days it gets hardened it will still be soft enough and with the heat generated from your finger to leave a very clear fingertip mark.Good luck.

...and more techniques for making water:

http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=37923

HMS Astute - Hobbyboss 1/700

2011-12-18T20:31:00.000Z

FBMinis Road Block with Dragon Teeth diorama

2011-12-12T12:42:00.000Z

DRAGON'S TEETH - Department of Defense 1963 - PIN 30141 - GENERAL J. LAWTON COLLINS TELLS OF THE FIGHT TO TAKE THE SIEGFRIED LINE IN WORLD WAR II, AND OF THE CAMPAIGN TO CROSS ONTO THE SOIL OF GERMANY.

Don't forget to check my other posts on this subject, so you can see the diorama I'm trying to create.

WCM U-boat Type VIIC turm I 1/400

2011-12-07T15:09:00.001Z

I've been keeping this one in a Vodafone plastic box for a while, at least until the inspiration comes again. Yesterday, I realized the tower was broken as you can see on the photo. It's odd because it wasn't hit by anything and those aerials are actually nylon strands taken from women pantyhose, they're not causing a lot of tension. I believe the changes in temperature might have cause the cyanoacrilate glue to brake off from the photo-etched bridge. Some surgery is in order...

Untitled 1

2011-11-26T16:23:00.001Z

Figure Sculpting in 1/72

2011-11-11T20:29:00.001Z

http://bennosfiguresforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4535

The Great Wave off Kanagawa Diorama

2011-11-05T12:49:00.000Z

The will to try Rasterbator in conjunction with the interest in ukiyo-e, gave way to this new project. Rasterator is a popular free program that enables anyone with an internet connection and a printer to create a poster through "tiled printing". A tiled printing program overlays a grid on the printed image in which each cell (or tile) is the size of a printed page and then prints each tile. A person can then arrange the tiles to reconstruct the full image. Tiled printing has been widespread since the days of mainframe computers. Programs were available to convert images to ASCII art that, when printed large enough and viewed sufficiently far away, appeared to be smoothly shaded. Modern software may use halftoning to achieve a similar effect.

The Rasterbator is very easy to use. You can either upload a file from your computer or use any file that is publicly available in the Internet. After you have cropped the image and selected a desired size, the rasterbated image will be sent to you as an easily printable pdf file. They won't look precisely like the original, and will instead have a kind of "arty" feel with a very moody, atmospheric look.You'll then have to assemble the final image by pasting together the individual pages.

Run the program, choose the photo you want to print, and then select your options, such as the number of pages you want the image to be composed of. (The more pages, the larger the image.) The Rasterbator then goes to work, and launches Adobe Reader so that you can print out the pages. Select your printing options in Adobe Reader, print out the pages, and then assemble the final piece.

When printing the pages in Adobe Acrobat, make sure to choose "Fit to paper" in the Page Scaling options; otherwise it won't work properly. And if you decide to print using horizontal alignment, make sure to select "Auto-Rotate" and "Center" Again, though, you'll need to test the settings yourself, to see which works best for your printers and images.

Paper models

2011-10-09T18:23:00.000+01:00

Have you watched Blade Runner? If you have, the chances are you'll love these works!These are free Blade Runner Spinner paper models (paper craft), built by very talented people:

http://rons-page.yolasite.com/blade-runner.php

http://longtailscafe.com/papermodelworld/papermodelworld_01.html

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/244648-post6.html

Airbrushing

2011-10-06T12:27:00.001+01:00

This post is about Aztek airbrushes.

I have owned one since 2002 but little have I used it, in favour of a Badger 100G. The Aztek A470 broke after little use, due to my poor skills and Testors misguiding advertisement and I ended up buying a Badger.

Only recently I decided to contact Testors to activate the warranty, leading to a direct replacement of the damaged airbrush by a new A470 (great service!). This means I'm going to give it another try, this time backup up by the experience I gained from using an airbrush for all these years.

I googled a bit, searching for tutorials and how-to's, wanting to see some other people's works done with this airbrush. I ended up on this Youtube channel with a great set of videos demonstarting the potencial of it:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ArtosArtsGraphiques#p/u/14/TlZRMs3pfvU

FBMinis FB72015 Kubelwagen Barricade

2011-09-18T00:11:00.001+01:00

Academy kit and accessories, Magic Sculpt sand bags, tissue paper put in place with diluted white glue and a soft brush in downward strokes (to respect gravity and achieve a natural look):

This is how it looked after holes were covered with plasticine (to optimize the moulding process) and a coat of primer:

...moulding...and copies:

I'm selling copies of these as I usually do through my FBMINIS blog.

Mould Making Resin Casting and Others

2011-09-13T21:15:00.001+01:00

http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/

There is a pretty cool place up in the web for all our french readers - the Tutotheque - a place where a lot of tutorials are linked up in categories - take a look here, its all in french but it is a very good idea and i think a cool miniature related site for the future ... here is a little preview on what awaits you behind the upper link:

Tutotheque

Mould Making Resin Casting and Others

2011-09-08T16:26:00.000+01:00

Small scale to help me measure the quantities of silicone rubber and catalyst (or A and B parts of the polyurethane resin mixture), in terms of weight (as they're supposed to, instead of in volume). The scale measures a max of 1000g in 0.1g increments. I cost me 7 euro online, cheap and funcional.

I usually make the framming of the mould with cardboard (glossy side in). This way I can reuse cardboard boxes and safely dispose of the leftovers.

Cut out yogurt bottles are used as containers to mix the silicone or the resin. They are made of a plastic that doesn't melt when in contact with any of the A or B parts. Again, a way to reuse, recycle and reduce the amount leftovers.

HMS Astute - Hobbyboss 1/700

2011-08-31T16:32:00.000+01:00

This is how it looks after painting and decalling. Not how gritty the surface looks like: had trouble working with Vallejo Model Air Gloss varnish. Need to practice more...

1/72 Cararama Subaru Impreza Monte Carlo 2001

2011-08-30T16:08:00.002+01:00

Well, I ruined this. The Mig Thinner penetrated the layers of paint and melted the foam core, warping everything. I thought this only happened with stronger solvents, I should have given everything a thick coat of primer instead of white glue :\ This was a waste of my precious time, it's really frustrating.

Stupid mistake! Look how warped it got as the core melted because of the oil wash. The top-left corner of the wall also warped..

Mould Making Resin Casting and Others

2011-08-29T19:11:00.001+01:00

Ah! Silicone...

Well, here's another video that shows the way I usually make silicone rubber molds. Instead of making a two-part mold, I cut it in half afterwards...

Great site: http://www.youtube.com/user/brickintheyard

HMS Astute - Hobbyboss 1/700

2011-08-28T20:09:00.000+01:00

Assembly was easy but I had to use a little bit of Tamiya putty. Decals will be next.

HMS Astute - Hobbyboss 1/700

2011-08-27T19:48:00.000+01:00

Another 3.5 euro kit by Hobbyboss, this time the HMS Astute.

HMS Astute is a nuclear-powered submarine in the Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class. Astute was ordered from GEC's Marconi Marine (now BAE Systems Submarine Solutions) on 17 March 1997. She was laid down on 31 January 2001, 100 years to the day since the keel was laid down for Holland 1, the first Royal Navy submarine. Astute was built in Barrow-in-Furness and launched on 8 June 2007 by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. Now that she has been commissioned, Astute is one of the most 'advanced submarines in the world'.^[3]

http://modelingmadness.com/scotts/misc/ships/hobbyboss/87022.htm

As usual, the sprues are in separate poly bags with some of the finer bits wrapped in foam sheet. There really isn't much to this one though the builder will have to break out the drill twist set. The various antennas and things on the bridge will need to have their mounting holes drilled by the modeller prior to installation.

The rest of the build is simply assembling the hull halves, the upper and lower stabilizers, the dive planes and the rear prop housing. Those particularly unmotivated can leave off the upper bridge stuff as those would be fully retracted when under water. A three piece display stand with the boat's name already printed on it and a nicely done decal sheet (not shown) complete the kit.

Airfix Mk II Male Lusitania - Arras 1917

2011-08-26T20:06:00.000+01:00

I polished the frame with 2000 grit sand paper and applied a couple of coats of Pledge/Future, to seal everything.

1/72 Cararama Subaru Impreza Monte Carlo 2001

2011-08-24T20:04:00.000+01:00

The base was covered with a mix of wall spackling compound, water and a bit of white glue for extra strenght. After it dried, I gave it a black undercoat with Tamiya XF-1.

Tamiya's Desert Yellow, White and Black were used for the earth tones:

The road got a few veils of well diluted Tamiya German Grey and, after that, I covered everything with Vallejo Gloss

Oils paints will be used next. This is more or less how it looks now, as the photos were taken with my mobile phone.

Wood Grain Techniques

2011-08-23T13:31:00.001+01:00

Click on the image:

And more:

http://www.aeroscale.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=753

1/72 Cararama Subaru Impreza Monte Carlo 2001

2011-08-16T19:00:00.002+01:00

Styrofoam and carboard glued with white-glue. The tarmac surface was replicated with 320 grit sandpaper.

1/72 Cararama Subaru Impreza Monte Carlo 2001

2011-08-12T14:57:00.011+01:00

More photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/capella62874/page141/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/capella62874/4262350936/sizes/m/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/capella62874/4262350778/in/photostream/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/capella62874/4262350936/sizes/m/in/photostream/

And a slotcar track with the same theme:

http://homeracingworld.yuku.com/topic/21266/Pont-des-Miolans-Stage-Rally-Track

1/72 Cararama Subaru Impreza Monte Carlo 2001

2011-08-11T10:48:00.001+01:00

I have a couple of these 1/72 cars made by Hongwell/Cararama/Schuco, and I decided to make some small display stands after coming across these awesome creations by a japanese modeller:

http://www.digitalkoubou.com/diorama/tkoike/library.html#boxLink

The first miniature I'll b working on will be a replica of the Subaru Impreza used by Petter Solberg in Monte Carlo, in 2001.

Here's a cool site to see the changes on the Subaru Impreza World Rally Car, throughout the years:

http://drischnie.homeip.net/www.subaru-impreza.de/RALLYEuebersicht.htm

And here are a few photos of a section of the race course, near Aiglun, that has been inspiring me:

http://www.photos-rallyes.fr/rallyes-wrc/championnat-monde-rallyes-wrc-2002/

http://www.impreza-gt-club.de/treffen/club_treffen_paessetour09.php

I'll update this project soon.

Airfix Mk II Male Lusitania - Arras 1917

2011-08-09T20:57:00.000+01:00

The frame is ready, I was able to achieve what I intended and I'm happy with it.

So, first of all, I used some cheap acrylic colours to get the redish-brown paint I wanted as a base coat.

Then, I mixed some yellow and burnt sienna oil paint to make the streaks that imitate the wood grain flow. WingnutsWings explains this method on their site and so does Rato Marczak on his:

PM Model DFS-194 in 1/72 - simulating the wood grain

Finally, I gave it a wash with burnt umber oil paint that is now drying, after which I'll overcoat everything with a semi-gloss varnish. Note that I brush the frame heavily with a stiff brush to give it an worn-out look.

The tank and it's base still needs a few touch-ups too.

Kumamoto Castle Canon Papercraft

2011-08-08T19:44:00.002+01:00

Some more photos that have been helping me and, hopefully, will help you if/when you decide to build yours.

Airfix Mk II Male Lusitania - Arras 1917

2011-08-05T19:32:00.000+01:00

Well, I've decided to change the base of this model so it becomes easier to ship by mail.

Here is how it all looked before disassembly:

I used floor trim to make the frame, as usual (it it the correct name for this)?

Balsa wood for the top section:

Cut a hole on the base, placed a screw and covered it with plaster, so it sticks firmly to the wooden frame:

Kumamoto Castle Canon Papercraft

2011-08-02T15:55:00.002+01:00

Some photos that have been helping me build this paper model of Kumamoto Castle.

Kumamoto Castle Canon Papercraft

2011-07-28T22:47:00.001+01:00

Another 4 pages to go, although the last 2 compose the rocky section, which is the easiest part of this build.

Not really in the mood for Moody's

2011-07-28T13:32:00.000+01:00

Osaka Castle Main Tower - Paper Model

2011-07-27T18:17:00.000+01:00

Osaka Castle (大坂城 or 大阪城,, Ōsaka-jō?) is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

Originally called Ozakajō, it is one of Japan's most famous castles, and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka_castle

Located near the center of Osaka Prefecture, Osaka Castle was built on flat land on the Uemachi Plateau, on the former site of the Ishiyama Honganji Temple. In 1583, Toyotomi Hideyoshi completed construction of this magnificent and splendid castle, which took three years in total. The castle fell in 1615 during the fighting known as the winter siege and summer siege of Osaka. Later, Tokugawa Hidetada rebuilt and greatly remodeled the castle. However, most of this remodeled Osaka Castle was destroyed during the Boshin War. Today's castle was restored in 1931, based on paintings of the original on folding screens. Together with those in Nagoya and Kumamoto, Osaka Castle numbers among Japan's three most important castles.

http://www.ukiyoe-gallery.com/detail-mm34.htm

Kumamoto Castle Canon Papercraft

2011-07-22T00:55:00.000+01:00

Click on the image to maximize it and see how detailed the structures are.

Kumamoto Castle Canon Papercraft

2011-07-20T22:46:00.001+01:00

This website deals mainly with castles that were built in the late 1500's - early 1600's as it is from this period where castle construction was at its peak. Even if you have seen just a handful of images of Japanese castles, it is almost a certainty that they originated from this period.

http://www.japanese-castle-explorer.com/

Kumamoto Castle Canon Papercraft

2011-07-19T14:30:00.003+01:00

Following the Osaka Castle, here I am starting another paper model of a Japanese Castle (or at least a section of it), this time Kumamoto Castle.

Kumamoto Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle located in Kumamoto in Kumamoto Prefecture. It was a large and extremely well fortified castle. The castle keep is a concrete reconstruction built in 1960,but several ancillary wooden buildings remain of the original castle. Kumamoto Castle is considered one of the three premier castles in Japan, along with Himeji Castle and Matsumoto Castle.

Again, this model is offered by Canon Japan, in the Papercraft section of their site.

I resized the .pdf print to half the size of the original, loosing some detail and making the build process a bit more difficult, as I prefer smaller scales.

I cannot figure out what's the scale of the original model. If any of you know, please leave a comment.

Here's a japanese woodblock print featuring this castle:

FBMinis Road Block with Dragon Teeth diorama

2011-07-09T14:40:00.006+01:00

Some help for when I start painting my bikes:

http://www.chmelar-diorama.cz/bmwr75-muzeum/

Mould Making Resin Casting and Others

2011-07-08T23:49:00.002+01:00

Sculpey and Polymer Clay Videos

Dragon Head Video Tutorial by Cyril Roquelaine

Sanding and Smoothing Polymer Clay Demo by Janis Higgins

Part 1 of 7 by Amanda Day

Amanda Day

Part 1 of 2 by Solo Kiyoshi

The Making of Noel Gallagher from Liz Lomax on Vimeo.

More Video Clips from the Shifletts

Shiflett Bros. Live Sculpting Webcast

Smoothing Monster Skin by Erick Sosa - Part 1 of 2

How to work with polymer clay

How to Sculpt a Superhero Action Figure

Mould Making Resin Casting and Others

2011-07-07T23:44:00.008+01:00

Sculpey and Polymer Clays

Resource of Tips, Tutorials from Sculpting through to Moulding/Casting and Painting compiled by Noadi

Tips and Tutorials Resource from Polyermer Clay Fan

Creature Maquette Tutorial by Peter Konig

Wrinkle Texture Tutorial by Peter Konig

Sculpting and Design Tutorials by Simon Lee aka Spiderzero

Tutorials by Dan Perez

Werewolf Sculpey Tutorial by Shawn Nagle

Sculpey Action Figure Process by Mike Leavitt

Sculpey 3D Illustration Process by Bethany Culp

Sculpey Demos by Bill Basso

Wolf Fenrir Ornament by Teresa Dietzinger

Historical Bust Step by Step 1/8 scale by Roy Hunt

1/16 scale Figure Step by Step by Garyjd

Ponytail Tut by Andrew WiernickiPart 1 Part 2 Part 3

Quick Face Tutorial by Walter O'Neal

Motti Maquette Sculpt Step by Step by Alena Wooten

Wall Decoration and Spiral Pillar with Skull Base Tuts by Brian Hirst

Demos by Heidi Maiers

Sculpting Tut: Tools by Autumn Sims

Maquette Tutorial by Tim Baker

Maquette Sculpting Tutorial by Goblin Queeen

Figure Tutorial by Hellpainter

How to Make a Figure by Matsumura Katsuya

Old Man Head Tutorial by Cyril Roquelaine

Sculpting Hands by Deb Wood

Sculpting Feet by Deb Wood

Working with Polymer Clay by Martin Canale

Sculpey to Wax Likeness Bust Demo by Andy Bergholtz

Irene Matar’s Sculpture Tutorial Blog

Sculpey Tutorials by END

Keylon Bust

BatBoy Figure

Making El Diablo

Makin Moola

Makin Destroyer

Basic Sculpting Tutorial by Rennard

Part 1 – Mixing Sculpey

Part 2 – Armature & Stand

Part 3 – Head Sculpting

Part 4 – Body Building

Part 5 – Body Details

Part 6 – Finishing Touches

Summary

Predator Head Tutorial by Diego Gonzalez

Part 1

Part 2

Shiflett Brothers Tutorials

Basic Arm

Body

Angry Man

Fixing a Crack in Sculpey

Mould Making, Resin Casting and Others

2011-07-06T23:34:00.003+01:00

Taken from: http://sculptingtutorials.blogspot.com/p/moulding-and-casting.html

Matrix Mould Tutorial by Ivar L

Creating One and Two-Piece Silicone Moulds by Ian Brennan

Silicone Mould Making by J6Studios

Mould Making and Resin Casting by Steve Sherman

Pressure Casting Resin by Matthew Quiroz

Mould Making Tutorial by Sharpenr

Moulding and Casting Tutorials by Shalon Palmer

Moulding and Casting Tut by Randy Hand

Silicone Mould and Polyester Casting by Roger Andrews

Tutorials by Richard Starke

Silicone Mouldmaking

Casting and Assembly

A Rough Guide to Making a 2-Part Mould by Okkle

Moulding and Casting by Teresa Dietzinger

Latex

Insta-Mold

Silicone

Mould Making by Dave Pressler

More Mold Making

Mould Making and Casting Videos from Freeman Manufacturing (Over 2 Hours worth of free instructable vids)

Mask Making Tutorial by Evan Campbell

Part 1

Part 2

Mould and Cast Videos from Brick in the Yard

Mould and Cast Videos from Smooth-On

Vacum Chamber Tutorial by Gary Overman

Mould Reducing Technique by Alex Dumas

How to make a 2 part plaster mould by Ron Cole - Part 1 of 3

How to Mould and Cast a Resin Figure Kit Video Series by Jayco

Airfix Mk II Male Lusitania - Arras 1917

2011-06-28T09:33:00.000+01:00

Compilation of photos of British MK II tanks, thanks to "philthydirtyanimal" . Don't forget to check his Youtube channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/philthydirtyanimal

Airfix Mk II Male Lusitania - Arras 1917

2011-06-27T10:40:00.002+01:00

Some more information about this Tank, taken from: http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/Lusitania_-_Story_of_one_Tank

Lusitania - Story of one Tank

The LUSITANIA was a Mk II Tank used at ARRAS in 1917. Briefly, after attacking the Railway Triangle and Feuchy Redoubt (despite mechanical problems), she was abandonned due to magneto failure in front of the British positions on the evening of the 9th. It was destroyed by the British barrage on the 10th, before the crew was able to return with a replacement. Lt. Weber was awarded the MC, and Sgt. Latham the MM.
"C" Battalion's war history, quoted by David Fletcher in " Tanks and Trenches", lists Lusitania as C.47, belonging to 9 Co. "D" Battalion's war diary lists tank 798 as D.21, involved in the Bullecourt attack on April 11.
The Australian official history (C.E.W. Bean, The A.I.F. in France, Vol IV) show wrecked tank positions at the end of the battle. Of the eleven tanks engaged, one was hit and disabled prior to starting, another soon after. Five were disabled in no-man's-land or the German trench system. Four tanks returned to the Australian front line, of which, two were disabled there and the other two disabled some distance to the rear.
Bean conducted extensive interviews and a review of German records after the war, and established that no tank reached the objectives of Riencourt and Hendrecourt; none had advanced past the second trench in the Hindenburg Line. Maj. W.H.L. Watson, of D. Co., wrote an account in his book "A Company of Tanks".
The 27th (Wurttemberg) Division had standing orders to concentrate their fire on tanks, and had been supplied with AP machine gun ammunition. The volume of fire which the tanks drew can be judged from participants' recollections of their shapes outlined in the darkness by sparks from bullet strikes.

Frank Mitchell, MC, (of the first tank vs. tank battle fame) wrote an account of Lusitania's action on April 9, 1917, in his book "Tank Warfare" (1933, Nelson, London):
"The Mark II.'s put up some wonderful fights, the most interesting being the Bank Holiday cruise of the Lusitania, commanded by Lieutenant Weber. When zero hour came, this officer was in a state of great anxiety, for his tank developed trouble in the secondary gears. The crew grimly set about trying to repair it, and after a three hours' struggle the good ship Lusitania was ready to put out to battle. No sooner had they started than an urgent message came from an infantry colonel: "A machine gun is holding us up. Please investigate." The tank crawled slowly towards the stubborn machine-gun position, .opened out with 6-pounders, and soon silenced its spiteful chatter. Then the infantry went forward with their new friend, following so closely that when the tank ploughed through the wire, and poked its wicked nose over the German parapet, it could not treat the trench to a dose of 6-pounder medicine for fear of hitting our own troops. But the remedy was not necessary, for the Germans, thoroughly scared at the sight of a 6-pounder gun wag- gling about in threatening fashion over their heads, threw up their hands and surrendered forthwith. The Lusitania then steered along the railway, treating a stronghold known as the Feuchy Redoubt to broadsides of 6-pounders and Lewis guns. Here the enemy decided not to wait for the tank's call, and quitting the redoubt, went to earth in a dug-out near a railway arch. This only made the Lusitania more determined. It made for the arch, but was so keen on the chase that the Commander overshot the mark and ran into our own barrage. Shells were falling thickly, and in a few minutes a British shell would probably have put an end to a British tank, so hastily it turned round and ambled back again until it came in touch with the advancing infantry. Then returning once more, it stood patiently by whilst the bombers ferreted the Germans out of their burrow. A high bank came next, but the Lusitania had become so hot with its exertions that it refused to take the steep slope. Lieutenant Weber decided to stop his vessel and give the engine a chance to cool down. Hardly had he heaved- to than the crew flopped down to sleep, completely drowsed by petrol and cordite fumes, tired out with lack of rest, and enervated by the great heat. When the engine became cooler, and the sleepers were aroused, the Lusitania clambered up the slope and, putting on speed, plunged into battle once more. Passing the infantry, it battered its way through more barbed wire and, blazing away with its guns, chased the enemy from another redoubt and rounded up two troublesome snipers. A little later on in the day came another S.O.S. from the infantry. Once more the Lusitania cruised up to an enemy trench and swiftly settled accounts with two machine guns. But by this time the battle-scarred ship was growing weary, petrol was running low, the magneto failed to function, and the tank came to its journey's end. This did not dishearten the crew, for they still fired away incessantly, causing heavy losses in the German ranks. Darkness came and they were still stranded; the engine could not be coaxed back to life. Against the steel sides the German bullets pattered like hail. Switching on their small cabin lights the crew strained again and again at the heavy starting handle, but without result The Germans redoubled their fire, aiming at the loopholes and chinks, through which the light gleamed treacherously. Soon the splash from their bullets became so un- comfortable that all lights were switched off. It was 9.30 p.m.; for twelve long hours the Lusitania had been cruising in troubled waters. Its petrol tanks being almost dry. Lieutenant Weber decided to abandon ship and return to our lines. But first of all it was necessary to find out where our lines were. The gallant skipper did not know if he was entirely surrounded or if the Germans were only immediately in front of him. Sergeant Latham volunteered to spy out the land Earlier in the day this sergeant had shown himself to be a man of great courage. Barbed wire, becoming en- tangled in the tracks, had dragged the camouflage net over the outlet of the exhaust, and in a few seconds the whole net was blazing fiercely. Without waiting for orders, Sergeant Latham got out of the tank, climbed on top under heavy machine-gun fire, and managed to throw the burning mass overboard. Now, creeping out of the sponson door, he crawled warily mto the darkness. Over his head British and German bullets sped their different ways. He came at length to a trench and, listening anxiously, heard the welcome sound of English voices. Softly he called, waited for a reply, and then clambered quickly over the parapet. The troops in the trench were astonished; they had only just taken over, and had not been informed about the tank out in front. Sergeant Latham told them to fire high, as the tank crew would be coming m shortly. If the sergeant had not managed to give a warning most probably they would have been mistaken for German raiders and shot dead. Next day, still keen on getting his landship safely back, Lieutenant Weber obtained a new magneto and set out with some of his crew. On their way they met a battery commander, who eagerly questioned them about the derelict. Not know- ing about the Lusitania, he had been heavily shelling that part of the front, and having made a direct hit on it, realized too late that it was a tank. He was much relieved to hear that the crew was not inside. Thus perished the Lusitania after an exciting and memorable maiden voyage. The commander and crew had done their best to avenge the foul torpedoing of their illustrious namesake,* and for their strenuous and gallant efforts Lieutenant Weber was awarded the Military Cross, and Sergeant Latham the Military Medal. April 9, 1917, is memorable, moreover, for something even more important than the Lusitania's adventures. Eleven tanks, operating with the Fifth Army, were due to attack Bullecourt on nth April, but on 9th April it was suddenly suggested that the tanks should go over without a preliminary bombardment. Only when they reached the German front line would the barrage come down to protect the advancing troops. This idea of a surprise attack without a warning bombardment, with tanks concentrated on a narrow front instead of being scattered in pairs over a wide front, was the first attempt to introduce those tactics which afterwards surprised and overwhelmed the German armies. It is a landmark in the story of tank warfare. The attack was fixed for the morning of the loth April, but on their way to their starting-points the tanks ran
The giant Cunard liner, Lusitania, was sunk by a German
submarine off the Irish coast on May 7, 1915, with a loss of i,X98 lives, including 124 Americans. This atrocity aroused the horror of the civilized world."

Airfix Mk II Male Lusitania - Arras 1917

2011-06-25T10:31:00.025+01:00

Recently, I was contacted by the grandson of the commander of this WWI tank! Coincidently, he found the step-by-step construction report I left on Landships Forum and asked me about the provenience of the reference photos I used (I found them through Google Images therefore I'm not able to give credit to the owners).

chrisweber
Private

Status: Online
Posts: 3
Date: 2 days ago

I have only just found this old post of yours, but am so glad I did. The Lusitania ( or the avenging Lusitania, to give her her full name was commanded my grandfather, at the time temporary second lieutenant Charles Weber. He received an MC for his actions at Vimy Ridge. ( see http://www.tankmuseum.org/shop/photo.php?photo_id=9 ) The first of your two photos is available from the Tank museum at bovington, but I've never seen the second before. Any idea where I can get a quality print ?
Regards
Chris Weber.

Hi Tank3
I'm a little light on good information, but I'll tell you what I can.
My Grandfather was a member of the Welch regiment on secondment to C Battalion Heavy Machine Gun Corps in April 1917 ( The Royal Tank Corps did not come into existence until July ) His sergeant was Sgt. Latham, but I have no other crew details. On April 9th the Lusitania assisted stalled troops at Railway Triangle east of Arras, enabling that objective to be taken. The Lusitania broke down with a magneto failure, and had to be left on the battlfield, where she was destroyed by British gunfire the following day. Excellent description of the action in "The shadow of Vimy Ridge", and another at http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/Lusitania_-_Story_of_one_Tank
Regards
Chris.
I have his sword, recently restored to parade ground condition.

The Internet is just fantastic on how it brakes the limits of time and space : )

Abandoned Kubelwagen

2011-06-24T07:30:00.001+01:00

Still about mold making and resin casting, check the more advance methods shown in these videos:

Abandoned Kubelwagen

2011-06-23T07:30:00.003+01:00

And the figure, which I had forgotten about!

Abandoned Kubelwagen

2011-06-22T07:30:00.004+01:00

First copies of the final mold. They came out almost perfect, now it's time for painting!

Abandoned Kubelwagen

2011-06-21T07:30:00.004+01:00

Photo of the molds:

Abandoned Kubelwagen

2011-06-17T14:52:00.000+01:00

This is approximately how I make a simple silicone mold and cast resin copies (without mechanically degassing or applying pressure):

I buy my supplies from here (Portugal):

http://www.dinissantos.com/Scripts/default.asp?=Resinas

Also:

http://www.hbquimica.pt/

This store in Germany carries a great variety of products too:

http://www.kaupo.de/

Abandoned Kubelwagen

2011-06-17T14:43:00.000+01:00

Gave everything a base-coat of Motip car primer (cheap and effective, compared to other primers sold exclusively for modellers like Tamiya and Vallejo primer); Molded it with silicone rubber and cast a few copies with polyurethane resin.

Abandoned Kubelwagen

2011-06-17T14:28:00.000+01:00

So, this is what I did with the Kubel: styrofoam covered with PVA glue and sprinkled with fine dust and grass-like foam used by railroad modellers; vehicle and other parts put in place; tissue paper brushed with PVA glue onto the vehicle as well.

Abandoned Kubelwagen

2011-06-17T14:21:00.000+01:00

This new project is based on some left-over parts and it's meant to be a base for a small diorama or vignette including other vehicles and/or figures.

The Kubelwagen came from Airfix German Reconnaissance Set and I had it laying around, since I had only built the SdKfz 222 and figures that came in the box.

USS Gato SS-212 1941 1/700 Hobbyboss

2011-05-13T22:19:00.000+01:00

The end.
The Wildcats were airbrushed with a gray base-colour, then I paintbrushed the blue-gray, covered it with Pledge floor wax (cheap alternative to gloss varnish), placed the decals with the help of MicrosSol by (Microscale), "washed" them with dilueted burnt umber oil paint and they're now drying, waiting for a last cover of varnish (just to seal everyting).

So, in retrospective:

USS Gato SS-212 1941 1/700 Hobbyboss

2011-04-27T11:53:00.000+01:00

Varnished the submarine with Modelmaster Semi-gloss Lacquer (plus a couple of drops of Testor's Dullcoat), diluted with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner.

Gave the sea a coat of Pledge.

Painted the frame with Vallejo German Uniform and gave it a wash with raw sienna oil paints diluted with Mig Productions Thinner for Washes. Wiped off the excess oil paint with tissue paper.

All that is left is to paint the Hellcats .

USS Gato SS-212 1941 1/700 Hobbyboss

2011-04-25T12:02:00.000+01:00

USS Gato SS-212 1941 1/700 Hobbyboss

2011-04-24T13:21:00.000+01:00

Ok, I've painted the sea already, all that is left is the overall weathering with oils, varnishing and painting the frame.

The following acrylic colours were used:

- Phtalo Blue;
- Sap Green;
- Crimson Red;
- Titanium White;
- Black.

USS Gato SS-212 1941 1/700 Hobbyboss

2011-04-16T20:51:00.000+01:00

Slight change of plans: I decided to simulate the sea with spackling compound instead of paper. I tried using paper but it didn't work out properly - a mix of lack of experience and the feeling that it didn't look right in 1/700.

The spackling compound was applied with a paintbrush and worked around while still damp. We'll see how it'll look after painting..

The submarine was painted with Tamiya Black+White diluted with their thinner, X-20A. Once dried (20min), it received a brushcoat of Future (Pledge) acrylic floor wax that was left to dry for 30min or so, before applying the 4 decals. A second coat of Pledge was brushed over the decal to prepare everything for some aging techniques using oil paints.

So far it's looking right from my perspective. I was able to achieve the results I imagined, we'll see how it goes along...

USS Gato SS-212 1941 1/700 Hobbyboss

2011-04-09T23:16:00.000+01:00

USS Gato SS-212 1941 1/700 Hobbyboss

2011-04-09T22:29:00.000+01:00

http://www.shipcamouflage.com/

Measure 9
Black System for Submarines
(Source: Ships-2 January 1941 and Ships-2 Rev. 1 September 1941)

Vertical Surfaces:

Paint entire submarine above the waterline black, formula 82. The painting shall be carried over all parts which are visible for the air including the numbers, capstan and running light boards and bridge rails. The radio insulators shall be dark. The shall be no boot topping. The underbody shall be painted with the current issues of bottom antifouling paints.

Horizontal Surfaces:

All horizontal surfaces except wood decks shall be painted Dark Gray 5-D. The systems differ only in the painting of the vertical surfaces. In case of doubt, as on sloping surfaces, use Dark Gray 5-D.

Notes:

The camouflage painting need not be exact or carried into corners. Small gear, wires, rigging, and areas permanently in shadow, as under boats, etc., need not be painted with the camouflage colors. There is no objection to exact or careful painting which may be desired for the sake of good appearance at close range.

All bright or shiny objects, no matter how insignificant, shall be painted, covered, or removed.

Glass windows shall be covered or removed, especially during the day in sunny weather, and at night when anticipating searchlight discovery. Insofar as conditions permit, similar precautions shall be taken on airport lenses.

Hull Number	Name	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	Notes

212	GATO	MS 9	MS 9	MS 9	MS 32/9SS-B	MS 32/9SS-B

USS Gato SS-212 1941 1/700 Hobbyboss

2011-04-09T21:19:00.000+01:00

http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=38284

USS Gato SS-212 1941 1/700 Hobbyboss

2011-04-09T16:47:00.000+01:00

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10126547z3/70/3

USS Gato SS-212 1941 1/700 Hobbyboss

2011-04-09T12:28:00.000+01:00

U.S. Naval Historical Center

USS Gato (SS-212) is launched at Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut in August 1941. The Gato class was the last pre-war submarine design.

USS Gato SS-212 1941 1/700 Hobbyboss

2011-04-09T11:55:00.000+01:00

http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08212.htm

Sub History
The first ship to bear the name, was designed and built by the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut. She was the first ship of her class and the prototype for the major portion of the submarines constructed by the United States for service in World War II. Gato was christened on 21 August 1941 by Mrs. Royal E. Ingersoll, wife of then Rear Admiral Royal Ingersoll who was Assistant Chief of Naval Operations. GATO commissioned in Groton on 31 December 1941 and shortly thereafter left for service with the Pacific Fleet.

Wartime Service
From April 1942 until June 1943 GATO saw continuous service in the Pacific Theater. During this period she conducted five war patrols ranging from the Kuriles and Aleutian Islands in the Northern Pacific, duty in the screening force during the Battle of Midway in the Central Pacific, and finally to patrols around Truk and the Solomon Islands in the Southwest Pacific. During these later patrols, GATO supported Australian coast watchers and intelligence services, making several landings to deliver supplies and personnel to isolated posts in the rear of Japanese-held areas. On one of these operations, in addition to Commandos, GATO evacuated twenty-seven children, nine mothers, and three nuns from a mission on Bouganville.

During this same period GATO conducted reconnaissance of many Japanese-held atolls, including Tarawa and Makin, later to become famous as the site of the first amphibious assault over enemy held beaches. During these operations GATO sunk five enemy ships totalling 41,000 tons.

Following an overhaul in Mare Island Naval Shipyard GATO returned to the Southwest Pacific where she conducted three more war patrols in 1943 and 1944. On her seventh patrol GATO took a prisoner of war from a life raft off the Admiralty Islands. Two weeks later, after sinking the cargo ship TSUNESHIMA MARU, the GATO was subjected to a severe depth charging by several escort vessles. Following the depth charge attack, GATO surfaced and found an unexploded depth charge lodged in the rudder. With the help of the Japanese prisoner, the ship's Gunnery Officer dislodged the charge and lashed it to a rubber raft which was set adrift with a slow leak.

On February 5, 1944 USS Gato surfaced in Open Bay near the village of Maitanakunai, and dropped them at Finschafen. The group included: Gordon Manuel, Owen Giertsen, Carl Planck and Edward Czarnecki. A second group is also rescued consisting of William Townsend, David McClymont and Fred Hargesheimer

Gato's vigilance in patroling the north entrance to Bouganville Sound and her aggressive attacks during her Fourth through Eighth Patrols in the Solomons, Bismarck Sea, New Guinea and Truk areas earned for her a Presidential Unit Citation and the nickname "The Goalkeeper" from Admiral William F. Halsey, the area commander. During these patrols GATO was credited with destruction of 13 enemy ships totalling 69,400 tons. One of those vessels, the 3,781-ton OKINOYA MARU was destroyed during a daring daylight attack in which GATO used only her deck guns to sink the armed enemy vessel.

In May 1944 GATO was transferred to the Central Pacific Theater. Her ninth and tenth patrols were primarily reconnaisance and lifeguard missions in the vicinity first of Truk and later in the Bonin Islands. Upon completion of her tenth patrol GATO returned to Mare Island Shipyard for overhaul.

The last three war patrols of GATO were made in the Western Pacific during 1945. Departing from Pearl Harbor in January 1945, she conducted her eleventh patrol in the Yellow Sea sinking two ships including one destroyer escort. Her twelfth and thirteenth patrols were conducted off the coast of Japan as a lifeguard in support of air operations over those islands. During this duty ten U.S. Army avaitors were rescued from the waters of the Pacific. At the end of her thirteenth patrol GATO anchored in Tokyo Bay to witness the signing of the documents aboard USS MISSOURI which marked the end of World War II.

Following the war, GATO served as a Naval Reserve Training Ship at New York, New York and Baltimore, Maryland. She was stricken from the lists, sold and broken up in 1961.

GATO earned thirteen Battle Stars and five Presidential Unit Citations. She participated in the Midway Operations, the Capture and Defense of Guadalcanal, the Asiatic-Pacific Raids of 1944, the Marjanas Operation, the Western Caroline Islands Operation, the Iwo Jimo Operation, the Okinawa-Gunto Assault and Occupation, and the Third Fleet Operations Against Japan.

http://www.pacificwrecks.com/ships/subs/SS-212.html

http://modelingmadness.com/scotts/misc/ships/hobbyboss/87012.htm

http://www.ratomodeling.com/wip/gato/

German Ammunition Bunker Attack

2011-02-12T18:33:00.001Z

Czech Bunker "Light object mark. 37 type E"

2011-02-12T18:27:00.000Z

Finito!

Belly Tank Wacky Racer Hot Rod

2011-02-04T01:11:00.001Z

The end! I've just finished applying some dry-pastel dust and that is it!

Airfix Mk II Male Lusitania - Arras 1917

2011-02-03T17:38:00.003Z

I have developed a growing interest in the Airfix kits box-arts since I bought their 1999 catalogue during one of my first “modelling incursions”. The British Mk I box-art has been a long time favourite off mine, and when I came across the Landships site, I just had to get myself one and actually build the model.

The Airfix kit isn’t really a Mk I, it’s mostly a Mark II fitted with the tail wheels of the Mark I tank, so, some conversion work was in order. I ended up deciding to try to depict the British Mk II (male) nº 788, nicknamed Lusitania, from C Battalion, that saw action during the Battle of Arras, France, in 1917. As you probably know, Lusitania was an ancient Roman province that partly consisted of what was to become Portugal, my country, and gladly the Landships decal sheet provided the needed markings for this project.

The assembly of the model wasn’t difficult and, even with its limitations, it was very pleasing to build. The tracks are a bit short, so I hid the gap with “mud”, and used superglue to fix them to the kit, there was no adverse reaction with the Airfix plastic tracks unlike other soft plastic tracks from other manufactures.
There are some sink holes here and there but these are easily fixed with some putty. For more detailed information about converting the Airfix kit to an Mk II or Mk III, I suggest you browse Landship’s articles.
I decided to apply Tamiya Putty during the initial phase of the construction to simulate mud. This is not very usual nowadays but my goal was to create more of an “old school / artistic” finish rather than a “realistic” finish, as you usually get by using pigments to weather your models.

Humbrol primer was used as a base coat and some pre-shading done with Tamiya Black too. The brownish base colour was achieved by mixing some Tamiya Earth, Flat Brown, Desert Sand and Buff, and the flat surfaces were highlighted with Desert Brown and Buff. This was then protected with a coat of acrylic floor wax (Jontec, our Future equivalent), and left to dry until it was ready to get some oil washes on.
Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Yellow and Green were used to give the model a worn look, and after letting it dry for a few days, everything was sealed with Model master Flat Lacquer. The tracks received another wash with Burnt Sienna that was left to dry overnight, and some dry brushings with dark earth pigment and graphite to simulate the polished metal. The stowage on the roof was created by rolling a bit of tissue paper around a rectangle of Styrofoam, and brushing it with a mix of water and white glue to seal it in place.
The rope was made from copper wire and everything was painted with acrylics, sealed with floor wax, washed with some oils and finished with a matt coat.

The base was created by casting a block of plaster using a cylindrical mould, made out of a rolled rectangle of cardboard from a cereal box, and was then sculpted with a needle mounted in a modelling knife handle.
It was primed with automotive primer and then a coat of Tamiya Black, followed by Sky Gray for the pavement, a bright red-brown for the wall and Earth, Desert Sand and Buff was used for the rubble, which was made with bits of plaster, fine sand and some little chips of balsa wood.
Everything was again sealed with floor wax and some oil washes were given to help enhance the details. After a matt coat, some dark brown pigments were brushed on the road and fixed in place with white spirit. Some minor dry brushing with oils here and there was done to bring out all the detail. The sign was made out of plastic card that was painted white and protected with floor wax, so I could clean it up every time I made a mistake while trying to brush paint the letters on.

All in all, it was a very pleasant project and I’m sure I’ll build some more variants of this famous tank, using the Airfix kit.

Belly Tank Wacky Racer Hot Rod

2011-02-02T19:41:00.001Z

Ok, one more step towards finishing this one, this time was the base, which is almost finished. The photos aren't great but hopefully you'll get the idea..

Balsa wood for the stand, painted it with a wood-staining product and sealed it with Pledge. Spread some spackling paste, textured it with aluminium foil, airbrushed it with Tamiya paints and "washed" it with oils.

DKM U-Boat Type VIIc 1941 - Hobbyboss 1/700

2011-01-31T22:30:00.001Z

Finito!

Belly Tank Wacky Racer Hot Rod

2011-01-31T22:13:00.000Z

The engine was given some very diluted coats of Vallejo black with a bit of red-brown, just to make it dirty-looking. Some oil washes followed and this was how it looked:

This is how it looks now with some more oil washes and general weathering using dry pastel dust.

It still lacks a pilot, the steering wheel and a base.

Belly Tank Wacky Racer Hot Rod,

2011-01-30T23:41:00.001Z

http://bringatrailer.com/2009/11/25/there-aint-no-rules-1948-era-bellytank-lakester/

DKM U-Boat Type VIIc 1941 - Hobbyboss 1/700

2011-01-28T19:43:00.000Z

Base colours have been airbrushed. I've used Tamiya german-grey, red-brown and white. Now I'll have to paint some details with Vallejo and weathering with oil paints will be next : )

DKM U-Boat Type VIIc 1941 - Hobbyboss 1/700,

2011-01-28T18:40:00.000Z

The Wolf Pack: A Collection Of U-Boat Modelling Articles Presented courtesy of Accurate Model Parts, The Wolf Pack is a collection of research articles by AMP’s Dougie Martindale. Each article covers a subject of specific interest to a modeller building the 1/72nd Revell U-boat. Topics range from U-boat colours to insignia to the multitude of modifications made to the Type VII U-boat. Also included is a build article by AMP’s Wink Grise*. Contains:

Kriegsmarine U-Boat Colours & Markings
Type VIIC Free-Flooding Vent Patterns (updated version)
Type VII U-Boat Modifications
The Snorting Bull Insignia
U 96 & The Laughing Sawfish
German U-Boat Victory Pennants
U-Boat Model Kits & Accessories
Super-detailing Revell&rsquos 1/72nd Type VIIC U-Boat*
Revell Type VIIC Checklist

http://amp.rokket.biz/docs/the_wolf_pack_compr.pdf
http://rapidshare.com/files/445025211/the_wolf_pack_compr.pdf

http://www.rokket.biz/models/modelsweb/rokket/u557/paint.shtml

DKM U-Boat Type VIIc 1941 - Hobbyboss 1/700,

2011-01-28T02:20:00.000Z

Built using the spare tower that came in the box:

DKM U-Boat Type VIIc 1941 - Hobbyboss 1/700,

2011-01-27T15:12:00.005Z

Kriegsmarine U-Boat Colours & Markings (Part 2) - Doug Martindale

http://web.archive.org/web/20080605035502/uboatcolours2.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/

http://www.rokket.biz/models/modelsweb/rokket/u557/images/uboat_colours.pdf

Camouflage patterns

Camouflage schemes were applied to a number of U-boats. Though it was not common, camouflage had been used in the U-boat fleet before the outbreak of war (U 25, U 33 and U 40 are three such examples). Though the use of camouflage gradually diminished during 1943, when U-boats were forced to spend most of a patrol submerged, a few still sported schemes in 1944.

Often this camouflage would consist of dark grey stripes, bands, patches, lines or jagged splotches over a lighter grey. Sometimes the camouflage would extend over the whole of the upper hull and conning tower, whereas in other cases the camouflage was limited to the conning tower only. Though feathered edges were used in the sprayed-on wavy striped camouflage schemes, it was much more usual for hard edges and straight lines to be used. Below is a list of the assorted styles of camouflage schemes that were seen upon U-boats of differing types. All schemes, other than those specified, had hard edges.

U 9
May 1943 - Middle section of hull plus lower area of tower dark grey; other areas light grey; edges feathered

U 25
Late 1939 - Zig-zags on tower, plus shark’s mouth

U 40
September 1939 - Splinter scheme of small triangles on tower

U 81
13th Nov. 1941 (sinking of HMS Ark Royal) - Squiggly lines on upper hull; two dark areas with jagged lines at top on port side of tower; weird shape on starboard side of tower
28th July 1943 - Triangle on tower, triangular-shaped lines (plus one round shape near bow) on hull

U 82
Late 1941 - 22 wavy feather-edged stripes on port side; 23 on starboard side

U 83
February 1942 - Mediterranean jagged splotches over tower and upper hull

U 119
Early 1943 - False silhouette deceptive camouflage

U 123
Sometime in 1941 - Assorted jagged shapes on tower, none on hull
June 23rd 1941 - Wavy stripes sprayed on with very feathered edges
Christmas 1941 - No camouflage

U 141
Sometime in 1941 - 8 straight feather-edged stripes on starboard side and tower; unknown number on port side

U 160
19th April 1943 - One line on tower, irregular shapes on upper hull

U 183
Summer 1944 - Three wide bands per side, plus one on either side of tower

U 201
8th June 1941 - 14 wavy feather-edged stripes on port side; 13 on starboard side
21st May 1942 - Similar but not identical to June 1941 pattern

U 204
Spring 1941 - Diamond on either side of tower, plus V at front of tower; some areas of upper hull also camouflaged

U 253
April/May 1942 - 3 irregular-shaped areas with sharp edges in RAL7016

U 453
1943 or 1944 - Inverted V on tower with patches on upper hull

U 556
30th May 1941 - 5 slightly wavy, feather-edged stripes of variable width on starboard side; unknown number on port side

U 561
5th September 1942 - Wide dark band on tower

U 596
1942 or 1943 - Mediterranean jagged splotches over tower and upper hull

U 711
30th July 1944 - One thin, very dark wavy line on tower, plus two similar lines on upper hull, over white or light grey

Standard camouflage schemes could be found in some theatres of operations. The schemes found on some Atlantic U-boats were often dazzle-type schemes, which used wide stripes to disrupt visual rangefinding. A few Atlantic boats sported the attractive wavy striped camouflage scheme. The Type IIs serving in the Black Sea often had the lower half of their conning towers, and a middle section of their upper hull, painted in a dark grey. The edges on this scheme were sometimes feathered, and sometimes hard-edged.

In the Mediterranean, the theatre where camouflage was most commonly found, a pattern of dark grey jagged splotches applied at regular intervals over the upper hull and conning tower was commonly used. Sometimes, as on U 453, there were patches with hard edges rather than jagged splotches. As the waters of the Mediterranean are much clearer than the Atlantic, U-boats could be seen from the air at a greater depth. A U-boat at periscope depth could be clearly seen from the air in daylight, so the pattern of dark splotches or patches was intended to break up the U-boat’s shape sufficiently to prevent detection from the air.

False bow and stern deceptive camouflage was used on several Kriegsmarine battleships. The “Baltic scheme” included a false bow and stern wave painted in white, and the dark grey Dunkelgrau 52 on the hull at the bow and the stern. The latter was intended to fool the enemy into thinking that a vessel was shorted than it actually was. Such was the intention of the deceptive camouflage on the large Type XB U-boat U 119. A false silhouette was painted in dark grey upon the Hellgrau 50 hull.

Camouflage colours

It is exceptionally difficult to tell what colour was sprayed on over the light grey Hellgrau 50 or medium blue-grey Dunkelgrau 51 in the wavy striped camouflage schemes. The three most likely candidates would be Schlickgrau 58, Dunkelgrau 52 and Dunkelgrau 53. The 3-part decal sheet by U.L.A.D.-decal for the Revell 1/72nd Type VIIC U-boat kit suggests Dunkelgrau 52 for U 201 and Dunkelgrau 53 for U 82. However, on both these boats there is quite a contrast between the lower anti-fouling dark grey and the darker camouflage grey. This suggests to me that Schlickgrau 58 (which was lighter than Dunkelgrau 52) was used on these boats. As Schlickgrau 58 was slightly greenish, this accords with some reports (unfortunately of unknown origin) which state that green was used in U-boat camouflage schemes.

Sometimes the dark grey RAL7016 was extended up over areas of the hull and the tower, as was the case on U 81, U 253 and the Type IXC U 163. The question of whether this was the anti-fouling Schiffsbodenfarbe III Grau or Dunkelgrau 53 is irrelevant for modellers as both were RAL7016.

On several of the photos I have seen of Mediterranean-based U-boats, the dark splotches look the same colour as the lower hull, RAL7016. But according to Robert C. Stern in "U-Boats In Action" (Squadron/Signal Publications, 1977), Italian blue-grey (Blu Scuro, Colourcoats RM03, FS35109) was used over the Kriegsmarine light grey (Hellgrau 50) on boats serving in the Mediterranean theatre. Not knowing Stern’s source, I am unable to confirm or deny this assertion. But as some of his comments on paint colours are inaccurate, I am not convinced that we can rely upon this contention to be accurate. I do acknowledge, though, that the use of a blue paint within a Mediterranean setting does make a lot of sense.

Insignia & tonnage markings

Many U-boats had insignia (bootswappen) painted on their conning towers. These insignia are often referred to as emblems. It appears that the first insignia was a metal Iron Cross mounted on the conning tower of U 9 during the pre-war period. This was applied to carry on the tradition of the famous U 9 of the First World War. As this was a plaque, it remained visible when it was over-painted at the start of the war. The first insignia to be painted on a U-boat conning tower was applied to U 30 on the 10th September 1939. It was a painting of a fox terrier called Schnurzl, who had often been on board during pre-war times.

Despite orders from the High Command for these insignia to be removed, no real effort was made to end this practice. As they had a morale-boosting effect for the crews, they became universally tolerated by the High Command. The insignia differentiated a boat from others in the U-boat fleet, so allowing the crews to have identification with their U-boats. Many crews even had metal insignias made, which they attached to their caps or uniform jackets. The use of these insignias was so widespread that boats without one were considered odd.

The insignias were inspired by a variety of sources. These included –

- Personal references to the commander. Examples include the “Snorting Bull”, which depicted the character of U 47’s commander, Günther Prien, and the snowman insignia of U 201’s commander, Adalbert Schnee (schnee means “snow” in German).
- Civic heraldry. Many German towns and cities sponsored U-boats, contributing money towards their construction. This scheme was called patenschaft. These boats often had the town’s crest painted, or mounted on a plaque, on the tower. U 201 had the crest of Remscheid on its tower, which indicated that it was sponsored by that city. Most of the boats in the series of twelve boats following U 201 were sponsored by cities. Often other personal insignia were applied in addition to these crests.
- Class symbols. A commander who had graduated from the Kriegsmarine’s Naval Academy would often choose insignia representing the graduating class. The Olympic Rings on U 20 and U 23 indicated that the commander of the boat had graduated in 1936. This was in reference to the Olympic Games held in Germany in 1936.
- Drawings mocking the enemy. U 34 had an elephant stomping on Churchill’s head and U 94 had a little animal taming a British bulldog.
- Patriotic imagery. Only in rare cases would swastikas be used as part of the insignia (U 123 and U 132).
- Good luck signs. U 99 actually had horseshoes welded onto both sides of the tower. U 48 had the opposite of having a good luck insignia – a black cat with “X3”, meaning “three times” - below.
- German folklore.

Some of the more famous insignia, or those belonging to the most famous boats and/or commanders, are as follows -

U 9 Black Iron Cross with a crown, W and 1914 in white
U 19 Rat with umbrella riding on torpedo
U 23 Olympic rings denoting Naval Academy class 1936
U 30 Fox terrier called Schnurzl
U 34 Elephant stomping on Churchill’s head
U 46 White outline of snorting bull (U 46’s commander Engelbert Endrass had designed this insignia when serving as IWO on U 47)
U 47 White outline of snorting bull (the Bull of Scapa Flow, became 7th U-Flottille insignia)
U 48 Black cat with 3X below
U 57 Red devil (Erich Topp)
U 69 Laughing cow with “La Vache Qui Rit” / Horridoh
U 82 Crest of Coburg – a sword on a shield divided into black and gold halves
U 83 Viking ship
U 94 Green creature tugging at roaring British bulldog
U 96 Laughing swordfish, created after 3rd patrol (became 9th U-Flottille insignia when U 96’s commander Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock took over the flotilla)
U 99 Real bronze horseshoes welded onto either side of tower
U 100 Large panther
U 107 Four playing cards
U 110 Fox terrier called Schnurzl (Fritz-Julius Lemp had commanded U 30)
U 123 German helmet with swastika / kettledrum
U 124 Edelweiss
U 141 Devil riding on torpedo
U 183 Japanese rising sun flag and Kriegsmarine flag
U 201 Snowman (Schnee) / Crest of Remscheid (sponsoring city)
U 203 Red turtle / Crest of Essen (sponsoring city)
U 253 Blowing man
U 333 Three white fishes
U 377 Laughing swordfish (9th U-Flottille insignia)
U 404 Large stylised Viking ship prow (became basis of 6th U-Flottille and 23rd U-Flottille)
U 441 Ladybird
U 505 Scallop shell
U 552 Red devil (Erich Topp had commanded U 57)
U 556 Parzival towing battleship Bismarck which it “sponsored”
U 564 Black cat with 3X below (U 564’s commander Reinhard Suhren had served as IWO on U 48)
U 995 Two figures from Fang den Hut game

Insignia & tonnage markings (continued)

One of the most famous insignia was the white outline of a snorting bull, which had been painted on U 47’s tower upon returning to Germany from its successful Scapa Flow mission. Following this, other U-boats belonging to the 7th U-Flottille (of which U 47 was a member) began to sport the snorting bull insignia. This identification symbol received an official sanction, and from April 1941 onwards U-boats of the 7th U-Flottille were requested to paint Der Stier von Scapa Flow – “The Bull Of Scapa Flow” – on their towers. Later stencils were produced to aid the application of the bulls.

Many of the U-boat flotillas developed their own insignias. Often a U-boat’s tower displayed both a personal insignia and a flotilla insignia. U 552, for example, had a red devil personal insignia next to the snorting bull insignia of the 7th U-Flottille.

If a U-boat survived until it was relegated to training duties, the insignia would often remain in place. Sometimes this would be seen next to tactical markings. However, the flotilla insignia would be removed, since the U-boat was being transferred from an operational flotilla to a training flotilla.

Sometimes insignia would be transferred from one boat to another. Reinhard Suhren spent a year as First Watch Officer aboard U 48, which had a black cat with “3X” below as its insignia. In April 1941 he took command of U 564, and used the same insignia on this U-boat. When Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock left U 96 to become the commander of the 9th U-Flottille, U 96’s laughing swordfish insignia became the insignia of the 9th U-Flottille.

The colour of U 96’s laughing swordfish is difficult to determine. Red, blue, green and black have all been cited as possible, with white painted around the border. The metal swordfish pennant which was sometimes attached to the top of the commander’s flagstaff of U 96 when the U-boat was in port is still in existence, having belonged to Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock until his death in 1982. This metal pennant is a lime green colour, and can be viewed at http://indigo.ie/~pauldar/page11.html. As it would not make sense for the painted insignia and the metal pennant to have been different colours, then the swordfish painted on U 96’s tower may also have been a lime green colour. This assumes, of course, that the pennant is still the same colour as it was in 1942. Since this is a very large assumption I offer this information as a matter of interest rather than proof.

The numerous laughing swordfishes used as 9th U-Flottille insignia may not necessarily have been the same colour as U 96’s swordfish, and there may have been variations in colour between these swordfishes. The colour guide in Georg Högel’s comprehensive book on insignia indicates blue as the colour of the 9th U-Flottille insignia. Also included in this book is a Canadian report stating that U 659’s swordfish was blue.

When conning towers were repainted the insignia were often slightly altered. U 47’s snorting bull, for example, was altered at least six times during the 18-month period when it appeared on U 47’s tower. Not only were some insignia designs improved, but on occasions they were replaced by completely new insignia. A change of commander was often the reason why a change of insignia occurred. When U 566 was commanded by Dietrich Borchert, a polar bear (due to U 566 being the first U-boat in the Arctic Ocean) and the crest of Lindau were present. Later, in 1943, when Hans Hornkohl was in command, U 566 had the head of a suckling she-wolf painted on the conning tower rather than the polar bear.

Crews took great pride in awards received by their commanders. When U 48’s commander received the Knight’s Cross, a cross was added around the black cat’s neck. Oak leaves were sometimes painted upon conning towers to celebrate that the commander had been awarded the Oakleaves to his Knight’s Cross. This was taken one step further by the crew of U 201. When Adalbert Schnee was awarded the Oakleaves to his Knight’s Cross, the crew celebrated his award by placing real oak leaves around the conning tower bulwark. (The placement of flowers and greenery on the conning tower bulwark or the railings behind was a traditional part of the greetings ceremony for a returning boat)

The total amount of tonnage sunk during a patrol or during a U-boat’s career so far was often painted on the tower during the early years of the war. Slogans were another feature that were sometimes added to the tower. At one stage early in its wartime career, U 48 has the names of the ships it had sunk pasted on its conning tower. Other examples include the motto On les aura – “we’ll get them” – on U 204 and messages painted on the tower of U 201.

The practice of displaying victory pennant flags (erfolgswimpeln) when entering port after a patrol was extremely commonplace. Crewmen would often paint the tonnage of a vessel they had sunk during that patrol upon a white pennant. Each pennant would denote a ship sunk, and they would be hung in a line from the attack periscope to the tower railings behind. White signified a merchant ship, and red signified a warship. Usually the number of flags indicated how many ships had been sunk during the patrol, but sometimes a flag was flown for each ship sunk during the boat’s career. This practice originated from the First World War, when on one occasion 23 pennants were hung from Lothar Von Arnauld De La Periere’s U 35, which had sunk 23 vessels on a five-week mission. U 177 celebrated their victories with a cane inscribed with rings indicating each vessel sunk. Another celebratory feature that was sometimes displayed on U-boat towers was the hanging of trophies. For example, the lifering of a sunken vessel was hung upon U 124’s tower at one stage.

Lastly, pennants were sometimes attached to the commander’s flagstaff. U 203’s pennant had “MUBU” below the crest of Essen, the sponsoring city of U 203. The four letters were derived from the commander’s surname, Mützelburg.

Tactical markings

U-boats that were involved in training had yellow (Deckfarbe Gelb, RAL1003) identification bands around the conning tower (just above the spray deflector) and across the deck. In some cases red (Deckfarbe Kaiserrot I (RAL 3010) or Deckfarbe Rot (RAL 3011)) was used rather than yellow. U-boats that belonged to training flotillas each had an individual marking which would identify them from another boat.

Around 1940, U-boats began to have tactical markings applied to both sides of their conning towers during their trials at the Ubootabnahmekommando – UAK – (U-boat Acceptance Command). These were unnecessary during the pre-war period because the U-boat’s number had been painted on both sides of the tower. Tactical marks for Type VIIs originally consisted of four symbols – a circle, square, triangle or two small triangles; they were white if the boat had been built by Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft or black if it had been built by Deutsche Werke. As more shipyards were drawn into U-boat construction a variety of bars were added to distinguish U-boats built by different yards. Type IX U-boats used diamonds, hearts, clubs or spades as a means of identification, and the small coastal Type IIs used another totally different set of symbols. The same symbols were re-used by a number of U-boats. Colours included black, white and red.

Many men disliked the presence of the tactical identification marks as they distinguished a U-boat as a training boat that had seen no action. These signs would be happily and swiftly removed by the crew upon completion of training. At that point, a small Frontrief - “ready for the front” – symbol, with a red V underneath, was added to the conning tower to signify that the U-boat had completed the Agru-Front training programme (The name Agru-Front derived from Ausbildungsgruppe für Frontunterseeboote (operational training for boats going to the front)). The practice of applying the Frontrief was common, but not universal.

The following book includes a large number of personal and flotilla insignia, UAK and training symbols, and other drawings associated with the U-boat fleet –

"U-Boat Emblems Of World War II 1939-1945" by Georg Högel
Schiffer Military History, 1999
ISBN: 0-7643-0724-X

N.B. This book is an English translation of "Embleme Wappen Malings Deutscher U-Boote 1939-1945" by Georg Högel
Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH

Miscellaneous colours

The colours of the following parts are suggestions only. Given that there were so many U-boats and that different metals were used at various times, it is not possible to state that certain parts were always one particular colour.

Conning tower

Horizontal surfaces – The horizontal surfaces such as the spray deflector and the upper half of the fairing in front of the conning tower (which housed the magnetic compass) were sometimes painted black or dark grey (regulations state black) for camouflage purposes. On rarer occasions the wind deflector was also painted black or dark grey. The dark grey, on occasions, may have been Dunkelgrau 53 (RAL7016), as it was common practice to paint the horizontal metal surfaces of Kriegsmarine warships with this paint (see Lfd. Nr. 31 and 31a in the July 1944 painting regulations). It could also be possible that the anti-fouling paint Schiffsbodenfarbe III Grau (RAL7016) was sometimes used.

Wooden tower floor – The floor area behind the UZO was wooden, and coated with black wood preservative. The area of the floor which was ahead of the UZO was metal, and painted black or dark grey.

Wooden slats – The vertical wooden slats on the inside of the conning tower bulwark prevented the crewmembers from sticking to the bulwark metal in freezing temperatures. These were coated with the black wood preservative used on the wooden decking. Wooden slats were often also fitted to the periscope supports and UZO column.

Inside of bulwark – The inside walls of the tower bulwark were usually the same grey as the outside of the conning tower. However, in rarer cases (such as on U 552 at some point in its career) the inside walls were painted black or dark grey.

Vertical stripe behind rungs – A rectangular area surrounding the area behind the rungs on the tower sides was very often painted black or dark grey on training boats. This practice may have been in place because the toes of the sailors’ dirty boots would smudge the grey paint when climbing up and down the rungs. On U 751 this area was silver in colour. This practice was less common on frontline boats, perhaps because the dark stripe would be visible against the lighter grey background of the tower.

Conning tower base - A thin black or dark grey strip was painted around the base of some U-boat conning towers.

Lifebelt – This red horseshoe-shaped lifebelt was held in place by a bracket on the outside of the tower bulwark. Front boats on patrol did not carry this lifebelt - only when a U-boat was manoeuvring in port would this be seen on the tower. Often U-boats did not sport these lifebelts even when in port.

Starboard navigation light – Clear green.

Port navigation light – Clear red.

Rear navigation light on tower – Clear white. On frontline U-boats the lenses and bulbs were removed.

Tower railings – Usually painted the same grey as the conning tower. However, in some cases (such as on U 552 at some point in its career) the tower railings were painted black or dark grey.

Tower railing seats – These seats were made of wood and usually coated with the wood preservative. The inside edges of the seats were prone to wearing away and revealing the wood underneath.

Insulated conduits for aft antenna wires – Located at the rear of many VIIC towers, these were grey up to the level of the tower deck, and black above. The very top, from which the antenna wires exited, were silver.

Periscopes – Grease marks (usually vertical) from the raising, lowering and swivelling of the periscopes were often visible on the stainless steel shafts. The tops of the periscopes were grey.

UZO – Uberwasserzieloptik (torpedo aimer) – From bottom to top - the base was grey, the compass heading ring was bronze, and the azimuth ring was black. Above this, the top removable part upon which the removable binoculars would sometimes sit was grey. Since it was removable and often kept inside the U-boat, this top part was usually less weathered than the tower bulwark.

Inside of tower hatch – White with a red circular handle. The circular rim which is visible when the hatch is open was bronze.

Commander’s flagstaff – This was often located on the starboard bulwark of the tower when a boat was in port, and would have varied in colour from boat to boat. The commissioning pennant, which was a thin white piece of material, was attached to the top of this flagstaff.

Flagpole – The flagpole holding the Kriegsmarine flag, which was situated at the rear of the tower railings, would have varied in colour from boat to boat.

DF aerial – The circular direction-finding aerial was located on the top of the right hand bulwark of the tower. It was black with a grey top and bottom, and an unpainted bronze stem.

Engine repeater dial – This dial was located at the front of the tower bulwark, ahead and to the left of the UZO (the torpedo aimer). It had black outsides and white insides.

Megaphone – A megaphone can sometimes be seen sitting on top of the UZO in some photos of U-boats. This seems to have been silver in colour.

Guns

88/105mm deck guns – The colours used upon the deck guns were not particularly consistent, and variations were common. The barrel, breech housing and main mounting body of the deck gun were often painted the same grey as the conning tower, but sometimes a darker grey colour was used. The base of the barrel (this was above the recoil tray), which slid back into a sleeve when the gun was fired, was heavily greased. The ring behind this, which acted as a guide for the barrel when it recoiled, was an unpainted metal which may have been bronze. The U-shaped padded gunlayer’s harnesses were either artificial leather painted black or waxed canvas. The adjustable stems below were stainless steel. The circular control wheels were often painted black on the outside and grey on the inside. The handles for the control wheels were wooden, and presumably coated with black wood preservative. The ring above the base (below the main mounting body), upon which the compass headings were marked, was an unpainted metal, perhaps bronze. The upper half of the barrel was sometimes painted black or possibly dark grey for camouflage purposes (just as the horizontal surfaces of the conning tower were painted black). Even though the regulations called for “gradual transition” ie. feathered edges, the horizontal divide between the two colours had hard edges rather than feathered edges. Sometimes the top half of the mounting upon which the removable elevation and traverse sights sat, the top half of the controls and gearing arms, and the horizontal surface of the breech housing, were also painted black or dark grey.

20mm Flak gun – The adjustable stem, which allowed the height of the gun to be altered, was stainless steel. Grease marks from raising, lowering and swivelling would be visible. The padded shoulder supports may have been artificial leather painted black or grey or waxed canvas. The barrel was gunmetal, and everything else was grey. The earliest U-boats, which had the 20mm Flak gun mounted on the aft deck, sometimes had a thin black strip painted around the 20mm mount.

Hull

Diesel exhaust outlet – An area surrounding the diesel exhaust outlet, which was located along the free-flooding holes at the top of the stern casing, was sometimes painted black or dark grey to disguise the staining that occurred due to the dirty exhaust gases which exited this outlet hole. The Type VIIs which had this feature tended to have the dark-painted areas around and below the exhaust outlet. On Type IIs and IXs this dark-painted area was very common, and was usually painted around and abaft of the exhaust outlet.

Depth markings – Three sets of depth numerals were marked upon both sides of the hull. These small white numerals were aligned vertically. The top numeral, 9, started roughly at the division between the two greys, and the markings continued down the hull to the bottom numeral, 0. They were situated a few feet aft of the bow, on the saddle tanks, and a few feet forward of the stern.

GHG (Gruppenhorchgerät – group listening apparatus) - These were acoustic listening devices that looked like a series of dots arranged in a semi-circle above both of the bow plane guards. They were bronze and usually left unpainted.

UT (Unterwasser Telegraphie - underwater telegraph) – The underwater telephone transducers consisted of two circles above the hydrophones, and two a few feet to the rear of the first pair. There were eight in total - four on each side of the hull. As with the GHG, they were bronze and usually left unpainted.

Propellers – Early U-boat propellers were made of bronze. Bronze propellers are bright and shiny when new, but turn darker and lose their shine with age. A slight greenish tint can accumulate in the corners. From about January 1942 the propellers were made of steel.

Propeller shafts - Anti-fouling dark grey.

Deck parts

Bollards – When a U-boat was being moored to a harbour or pier, ropes were attached to extended bollards. The sides of the bollards were usually grey, and the tops were the same black or dark grey colour as the metal parts of the deck. The sides would often be rusty because the ropes would wear away the paint.

Capstan – This retractable electrical winch was situated on the forward deck casing. The sides were often grey and the top was the same colour black or dark grey as the metal parts of the deck. The sides would often be rusty because the ropes would wear away the paint.

KDB – (Kristalldrehbasis Gerät – rotating hydrophone array) – The stem was usually grey, but sometimes red.

Wooden poles on deck – These would usually be painted with the same black wood preservative as was used on the wooden deck.

Rear navigation light – Clear white. On frontline U-boats the lenses and bulbs were removed.

Inside of galley hatch – White with a red circular handle. The circular rim which is visible when the hatch is open was bronze.

Insulators – These porcelain insulators were attached in groups of three to the jumping wires, and prevented electricity in the wires from short-circuiting on the metal parts of the deck. They were either brown or bottlegreen. One either side of each group of three insulators were tension adjusters, and these were grey.

Jumping wires – Unpainted steel. In port, the wires were sometimes charged with electricity. When the wires were carrying current, a yellow plate with a red lightning flash hung from fore and aft cables to warn of the threat of electrical shock.

Wooden deck

The colour of U-boat decks has been a puzzling subject for many modellers. The horizontal deckcasing was made of thin steel, over which wooden planking was applied. The primary reason for using wood was that a metal surface ices up much more quickly in freezing weather than wood. Teak was too expensive to be used, so cheap local wood was used in its place. This explains why the wooden decks on U-boats did not exhibit the silvery appearance of weathered teak.

The painting list for U-boats in "Anstriche und Tarnanstriche der deustschen Kriegsmarine" (Painting and Camouflage of the German Navy) by Dieter Jung, Arno Abendroth and Norbert Kelling (Bernard & Graefe Verlag, 1997) states that the wooden deck was treated with a black wood preservative (Teerfirnis Tf 99). A U-boat deck started out as jet black in colour then quickly became charcoal in colour. As it was exposed to the elements, the deck developed a brown tinge. The more the deck was subjected to weathering, the lighter and browner it became. On the surfaces that were frequently walked upon, the wood preservative would wear more heavily and reveal more of the natural wood beneath. The deck would also become bleached by saltwater and the sun, causing small patches of white to appear. If a U-boat had not been serviced for many months, green algae would start to grow on the deck. As this plantlife was slippery, and therefore hazardous to the sailors walking on deck, the algae would not have been allowed to accumulate. It would have been removed before any serious built up took place.

The watertight ready-use ammunition hatches and some of the square-shaped hatches on the deck were not wood but metal. These were usually painted black or dark grey to match the treated wood. For the possible colour of the dark grey, see “horizontal surfaces” in the miscellaneous section. In rarer cases the square-shaped hatches were painted the same colour as the conning tower. The extreme bow and stern sections were also not covered with wood; they were either painted the same colour as the conning tower and upper hull, or they were painted the same black or dark grey colour as was used upon the watertight hatches and the square-shaped hatches. These metal areas were prone to rusting, whereas the wooden areas obviously were not.

During the loading of supplies before a patrol, numerous boxes would be seen on deck. The careless manhandling of these would have scraped and scuffed the deck. Also, when U-boats were in harbour or in dry-dock, their decks would be prone to paint and oil spills.

It is very important to recognise that a U-boat deck changed colour as it became more weathered. U-boats lying side by side would often have decks displaying different colours. These colours varied due to the conditions a deck had been exposed to, and the time since it had been last coated with preservative. This makes it difficult for a modeller to determine what a deck looked like at a certain point in time. The modeller must judge how weathered the deck had become by trying to establish when the U-boat was last given a major overhaul. A large degree of guesswork is required in this exercise.

An interesting point raised by Jeff LaRue is whether the colour characteristics of the deck preservative changed over the course of the war. Another related question is whether preservatives produced by different companies varied in terms of both colour and consistency. Yet another consideration is whether, late in the war, the supply difficulties reduced the availability of specified preservatives, and lesser quality alternatives were used in their place. Being unable to answer these questions, I can only speculate as to the variations between the preservatives used upon U-boat decks. But if there were variances, might the differences in the colour of U-boat decks in colour photos be due not only to weathering but the type of preservative itself?

Another aspect to consider is that a wet U-boat deck looks much darker than a dry one. A B&W photo of a weathered deck that is wet would look uniform and very dark – close in fact to the appearance of a clean, recently maintained dry deck in a B&W photo. This may confuse someone into believing a U-boat’s deck had recently been scraped and coated with wood preservative, when it actually was a weathered deck that was merely wet.

Weathering below the waterline

The question of what U-boats looked like below the waterline after they had been exposed to the sea for a period of time is a difficult one to answer. Many of the illustrations depicting the lower hulls of U-boats are inaccurate. Rust, dirt and paint peeling can be completely out of scale, and barnacles and other plantlife can be completely neglected. The black and white photos of U-boats in dry-dock do give us some clue, but it can be difficult to tell what we are looking at. The following points should give a modeller a starting point from which they can weather the lower hull of their model. Though this requires thought and imagination, it does benefit from the fact that a great deal of artistic license is allowed in such an endeavour.

Anti-fouling paint - As the primary purpose of anti-fouling paint is to inhibit corrosion, the main ingredients in these paints are rust inhibitors. The secondary purpose is to discourage the growth of marine organisms such as algae and barnacles. Lots of this growth can actually reduce the speed of a ship by a few knots, thus reducing the vessel’s fuel economy. This is addressed by the inclusion of a poison, which gradually leeches out of the paint and kills anything trying to live on it. The poisons used in the Second World War were mainly suspended tin or copper particles. U-boats were often put straight into the water after a quickly-applied coat of anti-fouling paint so that the paint had not had enough time to dry. This was because a hardened coat of anti-fouling paint would inhibit the release of the poisons. When anti-fouling paints lose these poisons to the water, they tend to fade, often quite quickly. Therefore, the hull of a U-boat that has been in the water for a period of time would be lighter than RAL7016.

Grassweeds line - Algae, moss and seaweed often float on the surface, and tend to attach onto hulls at the waterline more heavily than elsewhere on the hull. This creates a “grassweeds” line (or “grass-skirt”) for up to a foot in width just below the normal waterline. It takes about a month or two in warm water, and perhaps six months in cold water, for a foot-wide fringe of algae to appear at the waterline. The Type IXs that sailed to the Indian Ocean on patrols which lasted several months would have accumulated a wide grassweeds line on each side of the hull by the conclusion of their patrol. By way of contrast, early war U-boats returning from the more usual five or six week duration Atlantic patrols would only have had a little amount of plantlife on their hulls.

The grassweeds line can vary in colour from green to umber (dark-brown to green-brown) to ochre (moderate yellow-orange) or even white. As this line accumulates more plantlife, strands can hang down the hull in varying lengths. In very general terms, warmer waters produce greenish colours (algae) and colder waters produce whites and browns. Also, a grassweeds line that has built up in salt water will fall off in fresh water, and a grassweeds line that has built up in fresh water will fall off in salt water.

Algae and barnacles - If a U-boat was immersed in water for a long enough period, algae would also accumulate on other areas of the hull. Generally, there would be no algae on the bottom of any horizontal surfaces or the dive planes.

U-boat hulls also attracted barnacles. These are round-shaped shells of white or brown-white colour. They are usually ¼ to ¾ inch in diameter but can grow to up to two or three inches in diameter. Since they feed on plankton, barnacles like to be in an area where there is current. They don’t attach to a ship much while underway unless a boat is travelling at a slow speed. When this happens, the barnacles attach randomly to a boat’s hull almost anywhere except the propellers and the leading edges of the rudders, dive planes and bow, where the passage of water is too fast for them to hold on. Whenever a boat is in port barnacles will attach onto the hull. When dead they tend to fall off the hull, leaving a faint white ring where they were located.

Paint peeling - As with the paint above the waterline, the anti-fouling paint was prone to flaking or peeling away when worn. This would to expose the older paint or even the anti-corrosion undercoat beneath.

Dry-dock - When a U-boat returned from an operational patrol the Engineering Officer passed on a list of defects to a representative of the shipyard, who would then see to it that the defects were rectified. The amount of time that this would take would be one of the most important factors in deciding when the U-boat would depart on its next patrol. If there was any damage to the hull through grounding, or any damage to the hydroplanes, UWT, hydrophones, diving valves or propellers, this would necessitate work being carried out in dry-dock. The harbour locks and U-boat pens allowed for regular dry-docking opportunities. That said, dry-dock facilities would only be made available if work had to be carried out on lower sections of the hull.

Since algae and barnacles can actually slow ships, all the plantlife would be removed when a U-boat was in dry-dock. This would be done as soon as the water was pumped out of a pen or harbour lock because once a hull becomes dry, the algae and other forms of plantlife are much harder to remove. A fresh coat of paint would usually be applied during a visit to dry-dock. However, the anti-fouling paint, being much more expensive, would only be applied if necessary.

Since dry-docking facilities were not always available, maintenance and repainting were sometimes carried out when a U-boat was still in the water. The cleaning of a scum line or the removal of plantlife at the normal waterline level could be done by trimming the U-boat to a high level, thus raising the normal waterline clear of the water. The lower hull, still being in the water, would not be available for maintenance at this time.

Interior colours

The 1/125th Revell Type VIIB U 47 kit has cutaway sections that reveal the interior of the U-boat. Modellers of this kit may find the regulations in the following addresses to be of use since they include details of which colours were to be used on U-boat interiors –

http://www.u-boot-archiv.de/dieboote/farben_maerz_1940.html
http://www.u-boot-archiv.de/dieboote/farben_juli_1944.html

A brief summary

Wartime Kriegsmarine U-boats were painted in two greys. The lighter grey was painted on the conning tower, the upper hull (above the waterline). The second anti-fouling dark grey was painted on the lower hull, below the waterline. The horizontal division between the two greys took place just below the free-flooding holes on the hull. Some boats had the tops of their saddle tanks painted in the upper colour, whereas most had the whole of their saddle tanks painted in the lower anti-fouling colour. The steel horizontal surfaces at the extreme bow and stern were either painted in the upper lighter grey or black. Bootlines were not applied, and the wooden deck was coated with a black wood preservative.

Adherence to the RAL or Federal Standard codes are not necessary by modellers because the Kriegsmarine paints varied in colour. The weathering suffered by a U-boat would further alter the colour.

Acknowledgements

I would specifically like to thank David E. Brown, Falk Pletscher, Hans Mair, Jeff LaRue, John Snyder and Randy Short of Snyder & Short Enterprises, Dr. Helmut Wigger of the RAL Institute, Pat Crowley, Sam Reichart and Rainer Bruns for their assistance in matters pertaining to this article. I am also grateful to all the modellers and enthusiasts who offered their advice in a series of highly informative discussions.

Primary sources

Allgemeinen Baubestimmungen (Building Regulations Order) Nr. 31 (March 1940)

Allgemeinen Baubestimmungen (Building Regulations Order) Nr. 31 (November 1941)

Allgemeinen Baubestimmungen (Building Regulations Order) Nr. 31 (July 1944)

Secondary sources

7th U-Boat Flotilla by Jak P. Mallmann Showell
Ian Allan Publishing, 2003
ISBN: 0 7110 2957 1

Anstriche und Tarnanstriche der deustschen Kriegsmarine (Painting and Camouflage of the German Navy) by Dieter Jung, Arno Abendroth and Norbert Kelling
Bernard & Graefe Verlag, 1997
ISBN: 3-7637-5964-6

Black May by Michael Gannon
Aurum Press, 1998
ISBN: 1 85410 588 4

Iron Coffins by Herbert A. Werner
Cassell Military Paperbacks, 1999
ISBN: 0-304-35330-2

Luftwaffe Colours 1935-1945 by Michael Ullmann
Hikoki Publications Ltd., 2002
ISBN: 1 902109 34 1

Second U-Boat Flotilla by Lawrence Paterson
Leo Cooper, 2002
ISBN: 0850529174

Type VII U-Boats by Robert C. Stern
Brockhampton Press, 1998
ISBN: 1 86019 8554

U-Boat Emblems Of World War II 1939-1945 by Georg Högel
Schiffer Military History, 1999
ISBN: 0-7643-0724-X
N.B. This book is an English translation of Embleme Wappen Malings Deutscher U-Boote 1939-1945 by Georg Högel
Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH

U-Boats In Action by Robert C. Stern
Squadron/Signal Publications, 1977
ISBN: 0-89747-054-0

U-Boats In Camera by Jak P. Mallmann Showell
Sutton Publishing, 1999
ISBN: 0 7509 1557 9

Kriegsmarine Camouflage 1939-45 by Daniel H. Jones (from http://smmlonline.com/)
http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/helpdesk.asp#color_charts
http://www.shipcamouflage.com/

Photograph source

The photograph on the main menu of Part 2 is of U 253 and U 335 during their training period at Hela in the Baltic at the end of April or the beginning of May 1942. U 253 (front left) is painted in Hellgrau 50/RAL7016 camouflage, and U 335 (front right) is painted in Dunkelgrau 51. The light grey Hellgrau 50 paint on U 253 is shining almost white under the strong sunlight. It has been scanned from -

Vom Original zum Modell: Uboottyp VIIC by Fritz Köhl and Axel Niestle
Bernard & Graefe Verlag, 1997
ISBN: 3-7637-6002-4