Revell 1/72 Type VIIC (R/C Conversion)
 

greetings chaps. If you've taken a look at my HMS Poppy build, you'll know that I finally managed to get hold of Revell's 1/72 Type VIIC. I'm gonna be converting her to R/C so I actually have something I can chase the corvette around with :arrgh!: It will only be a surface runner though unfortunately - I was going to make it a dynamic diver, i.e. using the dive planes to force her under at speed, but I just don't think I have the ability to make it watertight enough yet. And as much as I'd love to get a WTC (Watertight Compartment) set for it, I ain't shelling out £300 -£500 for one lol. Maybe one day...

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So I have on order:

2x 2mm prop shafts (half the size of the Corvette ones!)
2x 20mm brass props (left and right handed, as per the prototype)
2x small 360 size motors
1x 3300mAh battery pack
1x itty bitty mini servo

There's plenty enough room in there to fit stuff in, it's just a bit narrow so may be a bit of a faff. I also need to devise some mechanism for the dual rudder too. I'll also be getting a fabric flag and some crew

So! impatient as I am, I couldn't wait for my running gear to come before I got started lol.

First up - obligatory sprue shots!

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As you can see, compared to the Flower there really isn't much to it at all. All the parts look nicely moulded with little flash, the Hull is stamped '2003' so as far as I can tell it's mostly newish tooling. The Hull has plenty of raised and recessed detail which all looks lovely. Can't comment on the accuracy but it looks like a damn U-Boat to me.

I've decided to do the kit U-552 late so I will be using the decals. Not the best, not the worst, fairly typical Revell standard. I have gone ahead and ordered some waterline decals from Australian company AMP as the kit curiously leaves them out.

The crew are rubbish unfortunately. I will be getting an aftermarket set of those, along with a fabric flag as I mentioned in the first post. I was planning on this anyway, but I've realised the sheet of flags is actually missing from my kit lol, not a problem though as none would be usable - I don't think I'll be putting any kill flags on, and the Naval Ensign has no Swastika on anyway.


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I began with about the only thing I can be doing to the hull until the shafts get here, I glued the torpedo tube doors in place and covered the back with epoxy putty to ensure they are watertight.


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I then turned my attention to the conning tower - again about the only other thing I can really be getting on with.


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I thought it would be a shame not to light it up to match my Flower, so I drilled and sanded out the moulded in 'lenses' and then actually sanded the LED's into the rough shape of a lens, something I wish I'd thought of when I did the Flower lol.


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Then, using thick CA glue and some kicker/accelerator, I built up the glass around the bulb, sanded into shape and then polished up.


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All dry fitted - the hull seems to fit together no problem, and the 3 deck parts fit like a damn glove! I think I'll permanently glue the fore and aft decks down, leaving the middle part and conning tower removable.


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Got the Conning Tower all built up. Got to be honest it goes together like a dream, absolutely no fit issues whatsoever, even the railings at the back go in fine.


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All painted up in exactly the same manner as my Flower - primed in Tamiya XF-19 Sky Grey, preshaded with XF-85 Rubber Black, followed by a coat of a slightly lighter mix of XF-19 which will serve as the base colour for all the upper light grey parts. I then post shaded, followed by a drybrush to pick out the rivets and stuff, and finally applied the decals over a coat of Klear. A few details such as the life rings, wooden planking and brass fittings were also hand painted at this point.

To begin the weathering process I started with a very light grey mix and randomly 'chipped' the paint with it using a very fine brush. I then painted over these 'chips' with XF-10 brown, leaving a little of the lighter colour around the edges - this gives a 3D illusion of there being different layers of paint. After that I went round with some Railmatch BR Freight Bauxite and did some rust streaks, then I went over those streaks lightly with Tamiya Dark Yellow. A coat of Klear, then Xtracrylics matt was applied, and a good spray of Dark Dirt wash with a few patches of Mud Brown. Once dry, I went over the whole thing with a soft wet brush, removing quite a lot of the wash but still leaving it around details, and some engrained in the matt texture. This serves to give a really nice grimy look to everything.

A final coat of matt was applied over the wash. I ended by brush painting the periscopes with Mr Metal Stainless Steel, and buffed.

I think that's about all I can be getting on with until the bits I've ordered arrive. I had a call from the very nice guy at Model Boat Bits this morning (yep, half 8 on a Sunday morning! Woke my mum up, haha, she wasn't best pleased...) anyway, he was ringing to let me know that the battery I'd ordered wouldn't be in stock until tomorrow but that he'd get my order sent as soon as it came in, which was really kind of him to let me know, most places wouldn't bother I'd imagine. Also the waterline decals are on their way too!

So fingers crossed I should be able to make a good start by the beginning of this week.

Off to a great start! :sunny:

Hi, Steve! I asked on another thread a while back whether anyone had got this kit as it's a "must-get one day" for me, so thanks for posting these photos: I can at last see what's in the box. I had no idea you get a 72nd scale u-boat crew too: fantastic!

If it's not too late, how about regular bathroom silicone sealant around the inside of the seams to make it watertight?

Umm...not my thread. :sunny:

For a different take on this model, see here:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=123846

Awesome work going on there rimmer :sunny:

Thanks chaps! I got all the running gear installed this weekend, and got the hull together and ballasted. Pics to follow soon.

Hi mate, I used some epoxy putty around the prop shafts to seal them in, and tbh the hull seam is watertight just having glued it together with Mr Cement S and clamping it, however as with my corvette, I will be using some polyurethane furniture varnish I have. I coat the inside of the hull really well and it dries to a hard, durable coating.

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Got my stuff from Model Boat Bits last week :D


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Installed the prop shafts no problem, I wanted to use the kit 'fairings' which the shafts emerge from through the hull but the holes through them were about half the size they needed to be and due to the angle I just couldn't get them drilled out. Instead I cut out the whole area of the hull, placed the shafts where they needed to be and covered them with epoxy putty. This was then sanded into shape.


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A rubbish picture of the rudder mechanism (see the vid below for a better view). This was about the 3rd or 4th attempt but it seems to work alright now. The only thing that's worrying me is how secure the actual rudders are on the shafts, I've used some 'shoegoo' to stick them but I'm not convinced they'll be ok so I'll have to check in the morning once the glue has set properly.


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Finally, I installed the fore deck. You can also see the bowplanes which went in no problem. Must say the fit on this thing is exceptional.


A quick vid of the rudders and props in action: http://youtu.be/ySXvovPTwwc

I've ordered a fabric flag, along with one for my Corvette, plus I decided to push the boat out a bit, if you'll excuse the pun, with the figures. I've ordered these beauties from Andrea Miniatures

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They look stunning and I can't wait till they arrive.

I use JB Weld for when strength matters. I can't wait to see this asea.

Coming along nicely :cool:

Wish I still had my RN S-Class boat :hmmm:

Thanks fellas. I ended up using thin CA for the rudders, I think given the tight fit they should be ok.


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Got the boat all together ready for paint. It's a doddle after the Flower Class!


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Primed in XF-19 (I ran out around 95% through haha)


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Preshaded in XF-85


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First grey on. A custom mix of XF-19, maybe a little lighter. Similar to what I used on the Flower. Post Shaded with lighter mixes.


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That was then masked off.


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Ready for the deck and underside!


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The deck was painted with essentially the same mix that I used for the dark grey on the Flower Class, I'm afraid I can't remember what I used. The Antifoul paint on the hull was again a custom mix of XF-85 and white, with a splash of blue. Both were postshaded with lighter mixes.

She's had a coat of Klear and just need the waterline decals applying tomorrow before weathering can begin!

Not far off done now!

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First up, the decals from A.M.P. They are very nicely done, ALPS printed so they are very sharp despite being so small. I think I paid between £5 and £7 for them, can't quite remember as it was in Euros, which is perhaps a little steep given just how tiny they are, however I'd still recommend them as technically no Type VII is complete without them.


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Once the decals had been set and given a matt coat, I began the chipping process. To do this I actually started with not far off pure white, although it's an older bottle so was more of an off white. This would normally be too light really but given the weathering process I will be using, it will darken them down a lot.


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I then went round with some Tamiya Brown and filled inside the white chips leaving some white around the edges to give a 3D effect. This is an armour trick I've learnt very recently, but it's something I wish I'd known years ago lol.


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I then did the usual rust streaking using Railmatch Bauxite followed by some Tamiya Dark Yellow staining.


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I randomly applied some patches of Mud Brown wash, followed by an overall coat of Dark Dirt.


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This was then repeatedly streaked downwards with a large, soft, wet brush. Takes a while but really works nicely. It also gets caught in the matt texture to give a nice grimy look.


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I then finally added a few streaks of Light wash to give the effect of salt staining.

Super pleased with the outcome, it just needs a final coat of matt, then I can start on the guns. My crew has also been dispatched so hopefully they'll be here next week.

Coming along very nicely matey :cool:

Beautifully done.

Another great one!