Author Topic: Andrea Deck Gun (Read 14487 times)

Greif · « **on:** 21 Jan , 2011, 12:40 »

Its been a while since I did a uboot build. Earlier this week the Andrea Deck Gun that I ordered in early December arrived. It is 1/32 scale and consists of mixed resin and white metal parts. The gun looks to be nicely detailed and I am guess I won't have to do a great deal of additional superdetailing through scratch building. The figures are nicely posed with good uniform and facial features.

I plan to make a nice little diorama out of this as a stand alone model. Andrea says it can be joined to their Type VII Conning Tower kit, but at over $450.00 it is a bit expensive for my tastes. This should be a fun little build.

Ernest

conus00 · « **Reply #1 on:** 21 Jan , 2011, 14:14 »

Hi Ernest,
I've been tempted by this kit for a while. Good luck with your build. Please post a lot of pictures, I will be following this thread closely.

Pepper-mint · « **Reply #2 on:** 21 Jan , 2011, 16:21 »

Hmmmmmmmm, very interesting. Great choice !

Greif · « **Reply #3 on:** 23 Jan , 2011, 02:25 »

Dug into the kit last night and started cleaning up flash, resin stubs, etc. I have to admit that I am a bit disappointed at the overall quality of the moulding and casting. Some parts are very nicely done while others aren't done well at all. Three example of the above are:

1) Alot of the rivets on the hull sides are indistinct. I am going to sand all of them away and replace them with aftermarket rivets.
2) The raised detail on the deck strips which surround the gun suffer from the same problem as the rivets. I am still considering options to improve them.
3) The breech of the gun had some nasty casting seams and it had two sink marks which took quite some time to correct.

This model will assemble into a nice representation of a uboot deck gun, but you will have to work to get it to that level. For $165.00 I expected the quality to be higher. Good thing I did not lay out $450.00 plus for the Conning Tower kit and find it in the same shape; I would have been royally pissed!

Ernest

TRM · « **Reply #4 on:** 23 Jan , 2011, 06:35 »

Nice project Ernest. Sorry about what you have run into already. Seems to be par for the course sometimes. I have found some of the resin aftermarket goods I have got, have more "fix-ums" than the kit supplied. Still looking forward to watching the build, if anybody can correct the issues, I know you will.

Cheers!

Greif · « **Reply #5 on:** 23 Jan , 2011, 09:09 »

Thanks for the encouragement TRM. This will be an intensive project for sure.

After several hours of sanding, scraping and fitting I have finished the three major sub-assemblies of the deck gun. The detail is nice, but there is room for improvement; l'll be doing a bit of super-detailing to add a few things. The gun required a good bit of work to get it in presentable shape. You can see on the pictures where a fixed the large sink on the breech side. I also fabricated a new end for the muzzle, the moulded one was mishapen; and I drilled the barrel deeper while I was at it. I still need to clean up a couple of shavings and the muzzle will look pretty good. The rest of the parts were in good condition and construction was fairly straight forward. Now I'm off to gather some odds and ends for the super-detailing.

Enjoy the pictures,
Ernest

conus00 · « **Reply #6 on:** 23 Jan , 2011, 12:53 »

Sorry to here about the troubles. I agree with you that if you spend that amount of money the product should be excellent.
Thanks for pics and keep'em coming.

Pepper-mint · « **Reply #7 on:** 24 Jan , 2011, 01:25 »

Quote from: TRM on 23 Jan , 2011, 06:35

... if anybody can correct the issues, I know you will.

I wouldn't have put it better myself ! The pics are showing a great start. keep them coming, it's a refreshing project. Following with great interest.

Stay on target !
Cheers,
Pepper

rabapla · « **Reply #8 on:** 24 Jan , 2011, 03:19 »

I just like to reminde that there are some 60+ images of an original deck gun (deutsches u-boot arciv, cuxhaven) in the gallery.

Greif · « **Reply #9 on:** 24 Jan , 2011, 13:10 »

Danke Ralf, ich hab die bilder runtergeladen. Die sind sehr hilfreich!

Ernest

Quote from: rabapla on 24 Jan , 2011, 03:19

I just like to reminde that there are some 60+ images of an original deck gun (deutsches u-boot arciv, cuxhaven) in the gallery.

Greif · « **Reply #10 on:** 24 Jan , 2011, 13:22 »

General construction and some minimal super detailing is complete. Once it is cleaned up, the gun looks pretty accurate. I only added a couple of hand holds, levers and a copper line or two, you can see them in the first few pictures. The next couple show the completed gun. I have on set the gun in the trunnions as I plan to paint the gun, carriage and base seperately. I have also finished the figures. They are extremely well cast, with minimum casting lines and the poses/facial expressions are excellent. The went togerther quite well also. As Andrea's bread and butter is figures I was not surprised that the quality was high.

Tomorrow I plan to the gun and figures. I am waiting on a couple of things to improve the hull and deck so it well be a day or two before I start really working on those.

Ernest

Gregor · « **Reply #11 on:** 24 Jan , 2011, 14:29 »

Nice very nice! I also want to purchase this kit

how are you going to fill the gap between the arm and body?

Greif · « **Reply #12 on:** 24 Jan , 2011, 14:55 »

Hi Gregor, I filled the gaps with thin superglue. The filled areas don't show up well on the photos. Thank you for the compliment.

Ernest

Quote from: Gregor on 24 Jan , 2011, 14:29

Nice very nice! I also want to purchase this kit

how are you going to fill the gap between the arm and body?

TRM · « **Reply #13 on:** 24 Jan , 2011, 17:08 »

Very nice progress so far! Looking forward to seeing the deck improvements.

conus00 · « **Reply #14 on:** 25 Jan , 2011, 01:33 »

Great progress, Ernest. I'm still trying to put the kit into scale perspective: would you mind to snap a picture of gun/figures with some common household item (like lighter) or a can of Humbrol/Revell paint?
Thanks!

Greif · « **Reply #15 on:** 25 Jan , 2011, 13:57 »

Thanks for the encouragement TRM, hopefully the stuff I ordered to make the improvements arrives tomorrow.

Conus, ask and yea shall receive! The attached picture should do the trick.

Ernest

Quote from: conus00 on 25 Jan , 2011, 01:33

Great progress, Ernest. I'm still trying to put the kit into scale perspective: would you mind to snap a picture of gun/figures with some common household item (like lighter) or a can of Humbrol/Revell paint?
Thanks!

Rokket · « **Reply #16 on:** 26 Jan , 2011, 01:08 »

looks great, nice to see some gun action!

Battle Stations Surface!

Greif · « **Reply #17 on:** 26 Jan , 2011, 12:47 »

Thanks Wink! I got the rivets today and got to work improving the kit ones. I measured the distance between rivets, looked at a number of references and made a sketch to ensure when I sanded the kit ones away I would be able to replace them correctly. I minute or two of sanding was all it took; I then marked the locations of each rivet and used a needle to make a starter hole. I then drilled out the holes with the pin vise using a .35mm bit. After that I placed each rivet in a hole after dipping the end in super glue. I think the results speak for themselves.

The upper photo shows the kit rivets and the lower photo shows the aftermarket ones.

Ernest

Rokket · « **Reply #18 on:** 27 Jan , 2011, 03:15 »

reelly very clean and nice, wonderful stuff. can you explain in more detail in the TIPS section?

Greif · « **Reply #19 on:** 30 Jan , 2011, 11:56 »

Wink, I will do a short write in the tips section this week.

I have finished general construction and primed the sub-assemblies. For those of you considering buying this kit to build be forewarned that it will not fall together. Rather treat it as a type of short production kit and be ready for the challenges that those types of kits generally have. The kit will build into a nice and accurate representation of a Type VII Uboot deck gun, but you will have to work to get it to a high level. The first picture shows one of the issues I ran into. The holes in the deck for the deck railing are improperly drilled; I had to fill and redrill the third hole from the stern to ensure the railings fit properly. The second shot shows most of the starboard side's new rivets that I installed. The final picture shows off the excellent detail of one of the figures, which really came out when I primed the piece.

Ernest

Pat · « **Reply #20 on:** 31 Jan , 2011, 21:14 »

Looking good Ernest.

I especially like the deck officer with the beard deatail.

One thing makes me wonder though. On the pics with new rivets on the casing, there seems to be one row of rivets that's interrupted by a flooding hole. that doesn't make sense as the rivets of necessity have to have a rib or other frame for them to go into, but said frame would be visible and probably block the hole and make it useless.

The rivets are in the correct location, since you can see the rib showing underneath in the long horizontal gap between the casing and the saddletank, so I think the flooding hole must be in the wrong spot.

Greif · « **Reply #21 on:** 31 Jan , 2011, 23:39 »

Hi Pat, you are undoubtly correct concerning the flood hole being improperly placed. To tell the truth, at this point I have put so much energy into correcting the many faults, which range from fit to improper moulding with nearly everything in between, with this kit that I am going to live with the error. I was focused on getting the rivets placed correctly; this was the first time I have done a rivet job like this, and I failed to notice the fault you pointed out, good catch!

I have to admit that I am disappointed in the quality of the kit, given what I paid for it - I could have bought TWO Revell uboot kits for what I paid for this one. Oh well, live and learn.

Ernest

Quote from: Pat on 31 Jan , 2011, 21:14

Looking good Ernest.

I especially like the deck officer with the beard deatail.

One thing makes me wonder though. On the pics with new rivets on the casing, there seems to be one row of rivets that's interrupted by a flooding hole. that doesn't make sense as the rivets of necessity have to have a rib or other frame for them to go into, but said frame would be visible and probably block the hole and make it useless.

The rivets are in the correct location, since you can see the rib showing underneath in the long horizontal gap between the casing and the saddletank, so I think the flooding hole must be in the wrong spot.

Helmut · « **Reply #22 on:** 01 Feb , 2011, 10:53 »

Ernest:

Great job with this kit!!! looks great!!! one cuestion, the rivets are made for you or are from some brand...? and if they are from some brand, where I can buy on the web??? I told you this because I bilding the same kit from Andrea.

Many Thanks!!!

Greif · « **Reply #23 on:** 01 Feb , 2011, 13:33 »

Hi Helmut, thank you for the kind words. The rivets are made by the firm Calibre 35, I used the 7mm sized rivets and I rodered them from an online store in Germany called Modellbau Koenig. I am sure there is an online store in either Mexico or the USA that sells them. Good luck with your build. One certainly gets to work on alot of different techniques with this kit, that is for sure.

Cheers,
Ernest

Quote from: Helmut on 01 Feb , 2011, 10:53

Ernest:

Great job with this kit!!! looks great!!! one cuestion, the rivets are made for you or are from some brand...? and if they are from some brand, where I can buy on the web??? I told you this because I bilding the same kit from Andrea.

Many Thanks!!!

Greif · « **Reply #24 on:** 01 Feb , 2011, 13:47 »

I have finished the base painting of the hull and deck and also got some painting done on the gun. I am going to give the uboot and gun a medium worn look, or at least try to. I sprayed the deck with a mix of Tamiya NATO black and Red Brown at about a 65/35 ratio. I then lightly airbrushed a few areas with a lighter brown and finished by "dusting" a coat of the first deck color onto the brown areas to blend everything.

Next I sprayed the hull sides DKM 50. I then sprayed a portion of the hull sides with Schlickgrau 58 to give a bit of contrast to the overall scheme. The saddletanks were sprayed Schiffsbodenfarbe III. The slit, which as you all know, should be open was sprayed black originally, but the contrast was very strong and not at all pleasing. So, I resprayed it DKM 52 which looks much nicer to the eye. By the way, I wanted to open up the slits, but I could not figure out a way to do so and still have a stable base for the gun, which is fairly hefty.

Finally, the gun was sprayed DKM 50 and the dark area on top was sprayed a dark grey.

Ernest

conus00 · « **Reply #25 on:** 01 Feb , 2011, 20:23 »

Looks very good, Ernest.

FoxbaT · « **Reply #26 on:** 01 Feb , 2011, 20:37 »

Very nice

Karel

Pepper-mint · « **Reply #27 on:** 02 Feb , 2011, 05:25 »

I love this unconventional subject ! Enjoying a lot
Greif i'm just wondering how is the deck looking from under... Would you take a pic for me please ?

There should be a law against models smaller than 1/32

(don't kill me guys it's a joke...i think...).

cheers Mate,
Pepper.

Pat · « **Reply #28 on:** 02 Feb , 2011, 21:24 »

Ernest, not sure if it's too late now or if you really do want to open up the slits in the side of the casing, but I've done similar projects before and found them to be quite solid.

Since you already have the location of the ribs marked by the rivets, you could just cut out the area where the slits are.

Then I'd use an appropriate metal 'rod' and drill or glue it in place between the saddletank and the upper casing at each row of rivets. You should be able to find small brass angles or T's to fit. Although it looks like the edge of a plate, the rivets actually have to go into a flat spot so those ribs have to be either 'L' or 'T' shaped to give a landing for the rivets and the casing and still have a projection inside to give strength to holding the casing in place.

Using several brass or aluminum 'ribs' on each side of the model should be strong enough, especially if they're well drilled and sunk into the saddletank.

Of course, then you might also want to drill out the flooding spaces in the deck too, and complete a section of pressure hull underneath since it would be VERY visible with this method and would make it much easier to show and explain how real U-boats were built.

Rokket · « **Reply #29 on:** 03 Feb , 2011, 03:37 »

really looks nice, wonderful stuff and rivets

Greif · « **Reply #30 on:** 05 Feb , 2011, 11:52 »

Thanks Pepper! I will make a photo from underneath the model and post it tomorrow.

Ernest

Quote from: Pepper-mint on 02 Feb , 2011, 05:25

I love this unconventional subject ! Enjoying a lot
Greif i'm just wondering how is the deck looking from under... Would you take a pic for me please ?

There should be a law against models smaller than 1/32 (don't kill me guys it's a joke...i think...).

cheers Mate,
Pepper.

Greif · « **Reply #31 on:** 05 Feb , 2011, 11:57 »

Good suggestions Pat, unfortunately it is too late to put them into practice. I would have to cut through the metal ends of the model with damaging or destroying it, and doing so would be quite a trick to pull off. I will have to do the best I can as is.

Ernest

Quote from: Pat on 02 Feb , 2011, 21:24

Ernest, not sure if it's too late now or if you really do want to open up the slits in the side of the casing, but I've done similar projects before and found them to be quite solid.

Since you already have the location of the ribs marked by the rivets, you could just cut out the area where the slits are.

Then I'd use an appropriate metal 'rod' and drill or glue it in place between the saddletank and the upper casing at each row of rivets. You should be able to find small brass angles or T's to fit. Although it looks like the edge of a plate, the rivets actually have to go into a flat spot so those ribs have to be either 'L' or 'T' shaped to give a landing for the rivets and the casing and still have a projection inside to give strength to holding the casing in place.

Using several brass or aluminum 'ribs' on each side of the model should be strong enough, especially if they're well drilled and sunk into the saddletank.

Of course, then you might also want to drill out the flooding spaces in the deck too, and complete a section of pressure hull underneath since it would be VERY visible with this method and would make it much easier to show and explain how real U-boats were built.

Greif · « **Reply #32 on:** 05 Feb , 2011, 12:04 »

I've finished general construction and painting of the hull and gun. Everything is sealed with Future and I am about 2/3 done with weathering. The decals do not come with the kit. They are some old one I had lying around and I decided to do a bit of "kit bashing" in the hope they would add a bit of realism. The rust is from both Tamiya's weathering kit and ground pastel chalk. SO far things are looking ok.

I have also finished general and detail painting of the figures. The faces, hair and shading/highlighting remains to be done.

Enjoy the pictures!
Ernest

TRM · « **Reply #33 on:** 05 Feb , 2011, 13:22 »

Looking great Ernest! Love the weathering so far. Those are some nice figures they produce. Really fun seeing it all come together!

Cheers!

FoxbaT · « **Reply #34 on:** 05 Feb , 2011, 17:21 »

Wow! it`s looking really good Ernest, can`t wait to see the end result.

Karel

Rokket · « **Reply #35 on:** 05 Feb , 2011, 23:43 »

very good indeed

conus00 · « **Reply #36 on:** 06 Feb , 2011, 11:52 »

Looks great!

Greif · « **Reply #37 on:** 06 Feb , 2011, 13:49 »

Thanks for the comments guys! I have finished the weathering on the gun, hull and deck; sealing everything with a dull coat, which had a nice blending effect. I am now working on the figure's faces, always a tense time for me! Pepper, I forgot to take a picture of the bottom of the kit. I promise I will take one tomorrow.

Ernest

Rokket · « **Reply #38 on:** 09 Feb , 2011, 01:40 »

Beautiful paint/weather...open the breech and load up a shell!

Pepper-mint · « **Reply #39 on:** 09 Feb , 2011, 11:04 »

Greif,

What i see is very clean as always... don't worry about the pic, the day after tomorrow is also good

Wunsche dir viel spass !

Pepper

Greif · « **Reply #40 on:** 17 Feb , 2011, 00:17 »

Hi Pepper, sorry for the delay in sending the picture, but I was sidetracked by work the last several days. Below is a picture of the bottom of the kit after the sides and ends have been installed.

Ernest

Quote from: Pepper-mint on 09 Feb , 2011, 11:04

Greif,

What i see is very clean as always... don't worry about the pic, the day after tomorrow is also good

Wunsche dir viel spass !

Pepper

Greif · « **Reply #41 on:** 17 Feb , 2011, 00:24 »

The deck gun is finished except for the name plate which I am waiting on from the engravers. The artist's gel that I use to simulate depth and sheen for water is still drying. Attached are some close up shots of the scene. Once the gel is dry I will shoot some overall photos. I almost hate to say this but..... The kit turned out ok; however, considering the price I paid for it and the quality of the components - with the exception of the figures - this was not good value for the money. For me at least.

Ernest

TRM · « **Reply #42 on:** 17 Feb , 2011, 04:19 »

From here, everything turned out great! Looking forward to the over all shots as well!

FoxbaT · « **Reply #43 on:** 17 Feb , 2011, 04:39 »

Ernest,

It may have been an expensive model, but the end result is beautiful, it is a joy to look at

Karel

Johann Vilthomsen · « **Reply #44 on:** 17 Feb , 2011, 05:41 »

Wonderful and nice job!!!!

Pepper-mint · « **Reply #45 on:** 19 Feb , 2011, 07:58 »

Thank you

Quote from: Greif on 17 Feb , 2011, 00:17

Hi Pepper, sorry for the delay in sending the picture, but I was sidetracked by work the last several days. Below is a picture of the bottom of the kit after the sides and ends have been installed.

Ernest