Type IIB

[NZSnowman]

Does anyone know any of the three diameters from the picture below?

[Rokket]

Not exactly...think it is more approximate compared to surrounding bits and human sie....

[kagero43]

Hello NZsnowman. That Type II was finished just a few weeks ago, and you will find it coincidentally in the upcoming issue of FineScale Modeler (May 2010 issue). http://www.finescale.com/en/Videos/Issue%20Previews/2010/03/May%202010.aspx
The issue is not on the shelves yet, but should be arriving this week in the US and next week in other countries). The article covers the full building and painting of U-9. I have included templates in the article, but to answer your questions, the diameter on the base is 33mm, while the diameter across the top railings is 47mm. I based my measuremetns on conversion from photos and on the excellent reference of the Type II by Eberhard Rossler. The supports will be tricky but a lot of dry fitting and trimming should get you there. Hope this helps, and do not hesistate to email me if you need any other assitance.

Looks like you are doing U-18? That is a great subject and one that I thought initially I would do too. While I learned a lot about Type IIBs, I am still a newbie in this area but will do my best to answer. Happy U-Boat modelling! I will be at the upcoming BUFFCON Model Show on April 11 in Buffalo NY and entering it in the contest there with all the other great builds I expect to see from others! If you are in the Western NY area, this is a great show put on by the IPMS Niagara Frontier guys!

PS - I put in a plug for AMPS decals in the article which are great! I would have used the new detail set but it was unfortunately not ready when I started this model a while back ;(   Cheers
 
Harvey Low (lowharvey@hotmail.com).
IPMS Toronto Canada

[NZSnowman]

Hi kagero43

I'm not building a Type II (I am drawing a Type VIIC/41 http://models.rokket.biz/index.php?topic=106.0) I was asking for a friend who is building a Type II.

[kagero43]

Have him call on me if needed.

[dougie47]

Hi Harvey,

Congrats on the Finescale magazine. I've been looking out for your build in Finescale these last few months. I'm looking forward to reading it in the May edition. Also many thanks for the mention of AMP - you've made my day!

Cheers,

Dougie

[kagero43]

Thank you Dougie! I also sourced you in your fine on-line article on U-boat colours and markings!

[kagero43]

I got an inquiry off-line but figiure my response to him would benefit others. So here it is. The Question was HOW DID YOU GET THE ACTUAL DIMENSIONS OF THE FLAK TOWER BASE DIAMETER?


My Answer
******
 
Hello. First if you do not have this book, then get it. It is "Vom Original Zum Modell: Uboottyp II DIE EINBAUME" by Eberhard Rossler. The book has many photos that you can use to study the dimensions based on other parts of the submarine. There are also pictures of the coning tower for U-18. Remember that this is a hobby and getting the exact dimension down to half a milimeter is not necessary in my opinion and will prevent many modelers from finishing a model at all! Modelers should be after the "effect" rather than a technically accurate model down to each rivet as this is also an "art".
 
I based my dimension not only on studying the photos and their parts in realtion to each other, but also use the following formula to convert the photo dimensions into scale dimensions:
 
STEP 1:
Take measurements of several parts of the submarine in the photo and the model. So you want to measure the SAME parts on both the photo and the model. For example:
 
Note: these are not real measurements but only examples to show you how this conversion formula works:
PHOTO Conning Tower Horizontal Length = 61.4mm
KIT Conning Tower Horizontal Length =  51mm
 
PHOTO Conning Tower Vertical Height = 118.9mm
KIT Flak Conning Tower Vertical Height = 99mm
 
You can take more such measurements if you wish. It is much better to do a few more as you will need to "average" these out as you will see below in Step 3.
 
STEP 2:
The math formula is:   Conversion Factor (CF) = PHOTO MEASUREMENT (PM) / KIT MEASUREMENT (KM)
Example from step 1 are:
 
CF = PM / KM
 
CF = 61.4 / 51
CF = 1.204
 
CF = 118.8 / 99
CF = 1.201
 
STEP 3:
Average the CFs.  These will all be slightly different due to distortions in the photo.
 
CF = 1.204 + 1.201 / 2
CF = 1.203
 
STEP 4:
Take a meausurement on the photo of the item you want to make (FLAK HORIZONTAL RAILING):
So lets say you get 20mm. Then simply multiply this by the CF:
 
20 x 1.2 = 24mm
 
So do this for each part you want to make.
 
If you dont have a photo of the base, then make other parts and use those dimensions to guess at the base. That's what I did and the model now looks very close in dimension to the photos. Clsoe enough for me! 
 
So this method works when you dont know the scale. it works based on mathimatical ratios, and that's why I remind people not to be too specific in such cases.
 
Harvey Low

[Rokket]

My mate just got his issue of FS in the US, and he held up the spread of your Type II to the webcam, loks great!