AMP - Accurate Model Parts
SEA => SUBS: Uboats => TYPE VII => Topic started by: Anakin on 02 Dec , 2009, 08:08
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If some one have a surplus VIIC/41 plastic deck, i
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Anyone knows what
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It is the holiday season, he might be on slowdown...hopefully it's nothing to worry about
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Yes, the holidays... I was thinking the same. Little odd that there were no info about delays because the holidays on their web site... Still, three weeks has gone...
But hey, i have no rush for the deck. Just wondering about it..
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Yes, the holidays... I was thinking the same. Little odd that there were no info about delays because the holidays on their web site... Still, three weeks has gone...
But hey, i have no rush for the deck. Just wondering about it..
Anakin:
Being located in the Midwestern USA -thus allowing inexpensive long distance phone calls- I will phone Nautilus on Monday January 4 to see if I can find out what's going on for you.
I have no idea how big or small an operation they are, but I have, in the past, encountered delays from small "mom and pop" aftermarket companies if someone gets down sick.
At any rate, let's see what the Monday call tells us.
All the best,
Don
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Thanks Don!
That would be great. :)
-Anakin-
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Thanks Don!
That would be great. :)
-Anakin-
Anakin:
I spoke to James at Nautilus Models just a few minutes ago. He told me that he has received all of your E-mails and that he has responded to all of them. (The last one he sent just this morning)
For some reason his replys are not getting through to you. He suggested turning off your spam blocker if you have one on. (perhaps the spam blocker is not allowing his replys be received at your end.)
He also said that he will extend the discount to you that was previously discussed.
A few thoughts here:
*First check to see your spam blocker is "off."
*Secondly, have you changed Internet Service Provider recently? If so maybe they have a spam blocker -or some other software blocking his replys to you?
*I'm not all that computer literate, but you may consider checking with someone who is to determine what other reasons his responses are not reaching you.
In Summary, James at Nautilus has gotten all of your messages and assures me he is trying to reach you and wants to work with you.
I hope the above is of some help.
All the best,
Don
PS: If all else fails you can use "snail mail" to the following address:
Nautilus Models
AAA Hobby Supply
1474 Roswell Rd.
Marietta, Ga. 30062
USA
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You can always try this route. (http://models.rokket.biz/index.php?action=profile;u=33)
I know he had the account with us at some point of the life of the forum.
If he is still active i dont know, but worth the try.
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LOL! Again... Thanks Don and Siara!
I
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LOL! Again... Thanks Don and Siara!
I
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Finally i
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Pat - sighs with you
Don - good wisdom!
Greif - looking good!
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Finally i
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Sorry to be jumping into this thread so late, but I just discovered this site a week or so ago. (GREAT site, great discussions, great detail and pix btw)
I can't help wondering why not just scratchbuild the deck?
I had a deck from the kit I'm building (I would have given it to you but sorry, I've destroyed it while using it for templates) and decided that it was easier to scratchbuild a new deck and being made out of real wood, it looks much more realistic than any manufactured deck.
(That doesn't hold true of some of the earlier steel decks of course as PE works better for them).
There are several different methods of scratchbuilding a wooden deck, depending on the level of detail and realism you want and how much work you want to go to.
The simplest is to use a sheet of thin plywood scribed or inked with the plank lines on it and just mark or cut in where the various hatches are. This plywood is available at most good hobby shops that carry materials for sailing ship models. It's only 1 pc, but the advantage is real wood grain (unlike the PE parts) and none of that slight offset that you often get when joining two plastic deck parts.
More detailed is to use the same plywood plank and a tiny Dremel tool with a jig and route out the spaces between the planks to represent the drainage through the deck. But otherwise,this is still like the above method using a single sheet for the whole deck. You need a steady hand and a jig to get the cuts straight, but the result is very satisfactory.
More difficult still, but even more effective, is to put in all the beams (their location can be determined by various methods) and then lay each and every plank as a separate piece. This allows you to space the planks realistically and lets some of the detail underneath show through. It means that you need to put in a lot of filler pcs in certain areas where the planks cross the beams, and isn't for those without a lot of patience, but the result is worth it since every plank will have slightly different grain and colour and look VERY realistic.
The most detailed method, which is what I'm doing, is to not only install the beams under the deck and individual deck planks, but to make hinges fand frames for each of the hatches so that they open to reveal the detail of the pressure hull underneath. I wouldn't recommend this for everybody since it's a LOT of work and results in literally, thousands of extra pcs., but the result is a deck that if done well, in closeup looks like you're standing on the real thing.
Of course, the last method will add at least a year to the build time, but you end up with a museum quality model.
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Thanks for that Pat, you've made an excellent list and reminded us that we shouldn't be daunted by something or take the narrow-mindset "obvious" approach. I love that list, spelled out nice, and some things I never thought of!
Of course I'm with you on the last one, truly stunning and a great sense of accomplishment in the end. Crazy, but good! Please keep us posted (with pix!) on your build, this is just what everyone is here for, to learn and clap loudly at beautiful work.
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Sorry it's taking me so long to get any pix loaded.
I'm having big time computer problems since my hard drive crashed a month ago, and been too busy to spend a lot of time on anything other than just catching up on all the info in this site.
Pix of my own build will come eventually, but not sure how good the pix will be since my only digital camera is my cell phone. That's what comes from investing so much money in film cameras and lenses back before digital happened. :-S
I forgot to mention WHY I started in on a real wood deck for my U-711.
The Revell kit came with a schnorkel, but I wanted a deck gun. It just looked right to me having the gun instead of the snort. So I researched until I found a boat that fit the description I wanted (VIIC/41 with a Turm 4 and deck gun) and then decided that I couldn't match the kit deck by patching over the schnorkel trench, so I had to build a deck from scratch and once I started on that detail, I might as well do xxxx, which lead to adding in yyyy which meant I might as well do zzzz and my 3 pc plastic deck evolved into what will eventually be a couple thousand pcs.
But don't let that scare you off. To actually scratchbuild a wooden deck is a lot easier than it sounds. I've byuilt so many decks for sailing ships that are far more difficult than a plain u-boat deck (without all the functional hatches that I'm including in this one). Once you get the hang of it, you could probably make a good wooden deck, with all separate planks, in just a couple of days.
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waiting for pix - patiently... hope to see some sailing ship pix in the other sections... ;)
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Pat, I am intrigued by the concept of scratchbuilding a deck and wintergarten floor for a Turm IV VIIC and have been experimenting with using plastic strip as well as HO lumber for the planks and beams. The railroad lumber material tends to become frayed when sanding and not as dimensionally stable as the plastic strip. Having never woorked with wood plank material maybe you could give some pointers. They would be appreciated.
An even more basic question comes to mind. What sizes for your planks and spaces will you be using? After making several review samples. I am considering a width of .040" and a spacing of .015" or .020".
Thanks,
John
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mmmm, standing by too, love to hear more... ;)
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John, I
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Pat...Sounds like a nice deck.. Hatches that open ! A plus..!! My question : How did you hinge them ? (Unless I missed something)
Thanks in advance
Bill
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The concept of the opening hatches is simple. The execution a little more difficult.
Again, it probably helps having my own boat, and being sort of a dock rat in that whatever city I travel to (I used to travel a lot on business too), in my spare time I go down to the docks and look at boats and often talk my way on board. Marine hinges are usually fairly simple, just two parts to each hinge (unlike a house hinge that might have several parts) and the top and bottom hinges are mirror images of each other so that to get the hatch out, you only have to remove one hinge and the other slips out automatically.
It's called a pintle and gundgeon system if you know what that is. Like how rudders are attached so that the bottom part fits into a socket (or another hinge) and the top is just a pin going in the opposite direction. Remove the top cap, and the whole thing comes apart.
If that doesn't help, here's how to make them.
Meterials, brass rod, brass shim.
Cut the brass shim into a thin strip, about 1/2 the width of what you want the finished hinge. Then fold the shim around the rod so that the part that overlaps is approx. the length that you want the strap of the hinge. Now, cut the shim so that both sides are the same length.
Repeat with another strip of shim.
Now you have two bits of shim, folded around the rod. One part is the top strap of the hinge that you attach to the deck (for instance) and the other strap you attach to the hatch. Cut the rod off so that it's inside the completed hinge.
Now, take one strap off, and use CA to glue the rod inside the other strap so that it sticks out. The other strap is glued to either the deck or hatch as required.
Make another hinge the same way for the other end of the hatch, ecept that the pin (brass rod) sticks out the opposite side of the hinge. The pins on the two hinges should both point to towards each other so that all you have to do to remove the hatch is to take out one strap.
I used the same method to make the splinter shield for the 37mm FlaK hinge in two places, except of course that each side has a locking pin behind it, just like the real ones in the U-boat pictures. (Makes for less drag when folded). The only difference is that the splinter shileds have 3 hinges instead of 2, and that all the pintles stick up so that the moveable shiled is lifted straight up when taking off.
The hinges for the outer torpedo doors are are simpler, but even more difficult to make because they have to be very tiny. I drilled a small hole at the forward end of the door, and glued a brass pin in the hole, sticking out on the inside of the door but filed smooth on the outside so that when painted, it wouldn't show. Then I took a hollow brass tubed and srilled a hole in it the same diameter, and glue the brass rod with the door onto the side of the tube. Then I simple put a brass rod in the bow of the boat vertically, and slid the tube down over it and voila, a hinge that the door roatates around the rod.
The difficult part here is to get the location and the angle of the tubes and rods correct so that the door hinges smoothly. Plus, it's got to be very tiny because there's not much room to work with up there.
The honge for the main man-hatch in the CT is even easier. Just drill a hole through the centre of the spring the same diameter a brass rod. Bend the rod into an "L" shape and push it through the hole. Then bend over the opposite side of the rod in the same direction as the leg of the "L". Now, drill 2 holes in the deckto push the brass rod through and when painted, you can't even see the brass rod. (Of course, this also means that you have to put the wheels and locking dogs on the inside of the hatch, and paint the rubber seal, and then put a ladder going down inside the CT, then put in equipment inside the CT, another hatch to the control room, another ladder, etc. This is where I started to get carried away on my own boat)
With the deck gun, the plastic pivot point for traversing should be cut off, it's too short. Drill a hole where the pivot point was, and replace it with a brass or aluminum rod as thick as you can fit. The rod should project down under the deck an inch or so.
Drill a hile in the deck plate the same size as the rod.
Get a wooden dowel just slightly shorter than the rod and drill a hole through it the same diameter as the rod. Glue this as firmly as possible underneath the deck. When the gun is put into the hole in the deck, the rod should project a little past the dowel. Drill a hole in the end of the rod and put another brass rod in the hole as a stopper so that the gun will not lift out without removing it. The reason for the length of dowel is that the longer you can make this pivoting rod, the smoother the gun will rotate on its axis. If you're building a pressure hull as I am, the dowel will fit inside the hull when assembled and it will be hidden by the gun mount under the deck so you can't see it anyway.
The 37mm pivots the same way, and it elevates by another brass rod going through horizontally like the trunnion on an old muzzle-loading cannon. Again, this is all hidden inside. (I did this part a couple of years ago and can't remember if I had to cut some of the plastic with a hot knife. A hot knife is essential for doing a lot of fine carving into the plastic to make some of these hinges, mortices and tennons, etc. that I do.)
The 20 mm Flaks are pivoted in the same way, only I replaced the plastic post with an aluminum one, which is stronger and works much smoother than the plastic would have. Again, there's a stopper under the deck to stop it from lifiting out, but in this case because of size constraints, the stopped was some scrap plastic sprue drilled through to the same size as the aluminum and glued on like it was a nut on a bolt.
The elevation for the 20mm's was a brass pin going horizontally through the platform that the guns were mounted on. Again, I did that part about 2 years ago and don't remember if I'd replaced the plastic with brass rings made out of bent rods. It's been painted and I can't tell if it's original plastic or brass now. (That's another way of making hinges, by putting a rod through several rings made of other brass rods. You can make them all identical by bending them around a rod.)
All the antennas, RDF and periscopes are "hinged" by replacing their shafts with aluminum tubes and rods that fit inside each other so they telescope in and out and rotate. Again, a stopper of some kind is made inside at the bottom. I use aluminum here again because it shows when extended and looks like the hydraulic cylinders.
It's a lot of work to make all these hinges and working parts, and very challenging (you can see why my model has taken a couple of years and the pressure hull isn't even in yet), but it's a lot of fun to have everything move that moves on the real one.