U-45 WIP - Completed October 2019

[UrpoK]

Hi Pat,

Good points and interesting facts!

I

[bracco_n]

Mr. Bill! Any progress to report over here?

[Mr. Bill]

Hello!

It has been ages since I posted anything!  Where did the time go???  U-45 remains as it was - I have done nothing of any consequence since my last post many months ago.  Other projects have been completed, but U-45 has remained dormant.  Don't really know why.  Some kind of horrible mental block/aversion to working on this project, I just can't seem to get going again.  My son has gone away to university which has left my bride of 27 years and I to experience a second kind of honeymoon which has intruded on time available for other activities!

I look at u-45 almost daily sitting there on the workbench gathering dust, but every time I reach out to make a start I recoil - sometimes I feel like Dracula trying to grab a bulb of garlic!

Fear not - I will continue this project.  Soon.  No more excuses. 

Cheers,

Bill

[Rokket]

when the time is right..just make sure you make the time right sometime!

[Greif]

Hi Bill, I am hoping my bride of 24 years and I will be having a second honeymoon next year when my youngest leaves the home.  And if I can push the right buttons maybe she will turn the clock back to that first honeymoon for certain activities.    

If all works out like I hope modelling will be put on a back burner - for a couple of weeks at least.  (HaHa)

I'm sure you will find the magic at the workbench again for this model.

Ernest

Hello!

It has been ages since I posted anything!  Where did the time go???  U-45 remains as it was - I have done nothing of any consequence since my last post many months ago.  Other projects have been completed, but U-45 has remained dormant.  Don't really know why.  Some kind of horrible mental block/aversion to working on this project, I just can't seem to get going again.  My son has gone away to university which has left my bride of 27 years and I to experience a second kind of honeymoon which has intruded on time available for other activities!

I look at u-45 almost daily sitting there on the workbench gathering dust, but every time I reach out to make a start I recoil - sometimes I feel like Dracula trying to grab a bulb of garlic!

Fear not - I will continue this project.  Soon.  No more excuses. 

Cheers,

Bill

[NZSnowman]

Hi Bill

Going back to the hatch question on U-45. http://models.rokket.biz/index.php?topic=162.msg5395#msg5395

While doing some research on the under decking piping I found a plan for the Steam heating system from www.uboatarchive.net http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-570Plate24.htm

You can clearly see the in/out pipes for the system. However, from these plans it look like that the hull opening is in the Petty Officers Room. This hatch is location at either frame 30½ or 31½ which are next to the Engine Room, So I next checked the hull openings in the ‘U-Boat Training for U-Boat Type VII C’ also from www.uboatarchive.net. It says there no opening for these pipes in the Petty Officers Room but in the Engine Room.

So it seems that the pipes join up before goings inside the hull pressure in the Engine Room

[NZSnowman]

Also Bill, here what looks like the base support plate for the connect points for the pipes.

Link to full size image http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/3823/new1ja.jpg
Image from http://town.ural.ru/ship/war/ub1944.php3

[Mr. Bill]

Hello Simon,

Many thanks for the details on the steam heating pipes.  Incredible how you can unearth these very obscure details on U-Boats!  I am planning to scratch build the hatch for these pipes in the closed position, so the inner details will not be shown (the deck is already permanently in place anyway).  I have recently sat down with U-45 again and am dusting things off and going over the major assemblies to refresh myself on where I left off.

I have set up the conning tower so it will be fastened to the deck with a fine thread machine bolt and matched nut under the deck. The bolt head is recessed and hidden under the base of the periscope mount.  This way, no cement is required and I can take as much time as I want to align the conning tower without having to worry about any cement drying.  

After a very long time underwater, my U-45 project seems about to surface from the deep once again!

Cheers,

Bill

[Pat]

Your idea of how to attach the CT is very close to what I was planning for the capstan on my U-boat. 

I wanted to make it revolve like the real one, but be detachable to be able to portray it either on or off as the real ones, and I figured that a fine machine screw inside, mounted so that it can turn and matching with a nut under the deck would look and work just about like real.

But I'm at a loss as to where to find such a screw and nut.  The screw has to be at least 1.25 cm long to give enough support under the deck and inside the capstan, but I don't know where to find one like that.

Any ideas?

[Mr. Bill]

Hi Pat,

A possible source for the hardware you are seeking may be a well stocked electronics supplier, like Radio Shack in North America.  In the past, they had a good selection of fine thread nuts and bolts in various sizes, but I don't know their current inventory status.  Another source may be an upper end model railroad parts supplier, in the past I remember a brand (Grant???) with a line of very small precision brass hardware - some being very small.

To better illustrate what I did, here are some photos:

The first shows the bolt just by itself passing through the hole in the deck and threaded a few turns into the nut under the deck.  The nut was secured with a few pieces of styrene and superglue before the deck was cemented to the hull.  This is a simple rig intended for a minimum of threading and unthreading only - it is not a robust design, just enough to secure the conning tower properly in place without using any adhesive.



This next image shows the bolt fully threaded in place with the conning tower (still in primer).  A thin nylon washer helps to more evenly spread the pressure of the bolt to the conning tower.



The last image is of the set up from above.  The head of the bolt sits flush with the deck and will be covered by the periscope housing.


I still need to fill in the old Amati conning tower outline in the brass deck as it does not exactly conform to the modified Revell conning tower footprint.  I think I will try some very thin styrene strip and superglue, then carefully sand it level with the rest of the deck.

Cheers,

Bill

[DB Andrus]

Your idea of how to attach the CT is very close to what I was planning for the capstan on my U-boat. 

I wanted to make it revolve like the real one, but be detachable to be able to portray it either on or off as the real ones, and I figured that a fine machine screw inside, mounted so that it can turn and matching with a nut under the deck would look and work just about like real.

But I'm at a loss as to where to find such a screw and nut.  The screw has to be at least 1.25 cm long to give enough support under the deck and inside the capstan, but I don't know where to find one like that.

Any ideas?

Pat, will these bolts/screws work for you?

http://www.micromark.com/ROUND-HEAD-MACHINE-SCREWS-00-90-x-1and2-PKG-OF-10,7295.html

http://www.micromark.com/HEX-HEAD-MACHINE-SCREWS-00-90-x-1and2-PKG-OF-10,7327.html

http://www.micromark.com/NUTS-00-90-PKG-OF-10,7340.html

If too small they also have 0-80 sizes.

HTH,

D.B. Andrus

[Mr. Bill]

I remembered the correct name of the manufacturer for small precision hardware, it is the Grandt Line.  They have several items listed under their "Complete Product Listing" section of their website:

http://www.grandtline.com/product_listing.htm

Cheers,

Bill

[Mr. Bill]

Hello!

I have been working on u-45 lately and am starting to paint the conning tower.  I want to complete this as a subassembly before completing the hull.  I was trying to select an appropriate black paint colour for the conning tower deck and decided to check the photos.  Well, after studying the photos of U-45, I am now confused about the deck colour.  It is generally accepted that the wooden decks on U-Boats were initially stained black and would fade / weather quickly.  Since I am doing U-45 at the time of her commissioning, I was going to go with a new black deck look, but after staring at the photos of U-45 on commissioning day I am beginning to wonder about the black deck colour.

Here is the dilemma.  The photos seem to show the deck being noticeably lighter in colour than the black stripe around the base of the conning tower and the top of the compass housing.  Although the photos are black & white, they are very clear and sharp without any odd shadows or lighting that I can discern.  The deck appears to be much lighter than the known black areas - maybe not black at all, but a dark gray?  Like the saddle tanks?

Please have a look at this photo - what do you think?  This is driving me to distraction and I would greatly appreciate any help in interpreting the deck colour on this photo.

Cheers,

Bill

[Pat]

The picture you have of U-45 is a pre=war picture.  They repainted the boats when the war started.

There are at least 4 items that give it away as pre-war.

1. There is a big white number on the side of the CT

2. There is a bronze eagle at the front of the CT

3. The hi-press oxygen connections marking is (the "+" sign in a square) os painted (red and white?)

4. The red and white rescue marker buoy is clearly visible behind the CT

And the following are not necessarily only pre-war, but usually

5. There is a red horshoe ring at the side of the CT

6. There is no spray guard around the lower part of the CT

7. There is only a very small deflector at the top of the CT

8. The 20mm gun is on the deck behind the CT instead of on the back part of the CT

All that being said, the pre-war boats did not have wooden decks but were all metal.  So instead of being stained black, they could be painted.  And yes, it does look like this deck is the same colour as the topsides of the boat.

[Rokket]

That seems completely thorough, accurate, and excellent logic. I'm just wondering about all metal deck...there was wood in the early days, and then they switched to crap wood...so why all metal pre war?