PART 4 - THE CAPTURE OF U-505 (Type IXC -Revell #05114 1/72) 25th Jan update.

The image below is a classic and immediately recognisable as the capture of U-505 on the 4th June 1944, near Cape Verde - 10 volcanic Islands off the West coast of Northern Africa.

BACKGROUND
The action above came about when the 'Hunter-Killer' group, Task Group 22.3, led by the USS Guadalcanal (an Escort aircraft carrier) and 5 additional escort destroyers, made their way out from Norfolk in mid May 1944 to the area in question, looking for U-Boats [based on decrypted German messages] that were operating in the area. On the 4th June they made an extremely close sonar contact with U-505, near to one of the destroyers. Planes were launched from the carrier to intercept and act as spotters, while the target was engaged by the destroyer Chatelain. The sub sustained multiple damage and the captain ordered the sub to surface and crew to abandon ship.

The crew set charges and abandoned the sub but it did not sink immediately, as it was not scuttled with only a few valves opened and the engines left running. The sub continued along the surface in a slow circle with a damaged rudder and was quickly intercepted by US Navy crew from another destroyer in the group. They closed the valves, disarmed the charges and stopped the sub from completely sinking.

U-505
U-505 was an early war Type 9C(long range sub), built in 1941 during the early part of the war, when the 'slotted deck' configuration and early small tower were standard features. The U-boat was upgraded in 1943 to a Turm 2 conning tower while in port for repair and further upgrades. It was then upgraded again to a Turm 4 configuration(without leaving) in May - July, before going out on their next patrol. The deck gun was removed at this time and 2 x twin 20 mm guns added to the upper rear platform and 1x quad 20 mm to the lower. This configuration was upgraded again in late 1943 -early '44, when the quad 20 mm was replaced with a single 37 mm. A snorkel was still not installed and probably would have been after patrol 12, if the boat had returned.
(see excerpt from UBOAT .NET page below)

U-505 was on it's 12th patrol and had been an unlucky boat, with many technical failures returning them to port, mainly due to sabotage but some as major damage, as in a Hudson sub hunter aircraft in November 1942, while on its 4th patrol.
While on their tenth patrol the Captain committed suicide. All in all a bit of a cursed boat it seems.

THE DIORAMA/ MODEL

The main photo is just what a diorama maker is looking for in submarine modelling, with the drama and detail all there.
The real challenge for this one will be creating an ocean surface with semi transparent areas close to the hull and blending these with the deeper ocean with no depth, further out.
Of course the late, great diorama modeler, Lewis Pruneau' modeled this exact scene in 1/35 scale back in the day and it has always been a favourite classic dio for me. It was his diorama that inspired me to create my own Type 7C/41 dio in 1/72 scale (the Last Patrol), some 10 years ago now. So in a way, I suppose this will be a kind of tribute to him, from me, for the great models he created and inspired in others.
Please follow and enjoy the build from here' as I will be incorporating lessons learned in my earlier diorama' while incorporating some new ideas that I have formulated since then. There is also a 'ton' of PE and figures that are available now that did not exist 10 years ago.......as well as the kit itself.
I will be using the following :

• Pontos 9C upgrade set
• CMK US Navy figure sets
• Shapeways 3D printed USN surf boat
• Blue foam sheets (30cm x 60cm x 3cm, 30cm x 60cm x 5cm)
• Various new water products from AK.
• Correct tower and water line decal sets from AMP.

 

[moon puppy]

Almost like it was planned!

 

[Steve Ski]

Oh boy! Did ya get the nervous mind bender when you start4ed that carnage? I know ya didn't, but any time I cut into a kit like this it does make you take pause,......................... Ruck On, I say!

Steve,wasn't that conning tower you did in 1/72 ?
That was awesome.

No Brother, that was 1/16th scale. Ian is making this kit look big, real big.

 

[Tim A.]

Which drill? if you pick on the thumg you can zoom in to see the brands.

The Tamaya

Which drill? if you pick on the thumg you can zoom in to see the brands.

The Tamiya trigger drill. Pretty cool

 

[Brokeneagle]

The Tamaya
The Tamiya trigger drill. Pretty cool

I love it! So comfortable and easy to use, and you buy it as a model kit!

 

[Brokeneagle]

CARNAGE PART 2 - the pheonix rises from the ashes
I worked all afternoon cutting out the second part of the deck, cleaning up the mess and triming/ sanding the edges on the PE section for the next bit. A far bit of work was required soldering the 2 brass deck halves together, filing the join smooth, then smoothing the edges and finally super gluing it in the correct position. The brass is very nice to work with and makes it easy to clean-up the excess super glue that gets on the deck surface - I used a chisel to easily remove it after a light sanding.
I also sanded and filed the edges of the brass to nicely transition with the edge of the plastic deck. I planned the deck cut to allow me to have the thicker cross members run underneath the sections with hatches rather then slots. Some slots have a little bit of the plastic deck showing through them but I can solve this with black paint. The water over the deck will also help in some places.
The use of the brass RC Subs deck gives this model the correct slotted deck pattern for U-505 as well as a realistic 3D feel with the slots actually going right through the deck. They represent the drainage slots on the actual sub more realistically now..
As I have said already, Revell have done a fantastic job on all their 1/72 subs but like any major manufacturers model kit, that has to represent a subject that has many variations, they cannot be 100% and have to make these kits viable by making them useful for the depiction of other earlier or later versions, which means compromises. This is fine, as this allows them to give us subjects like this, in large scales, that we can build OOTB or spend time doing a little modifying using a good base kit.
Revell had to bring out U-67 (the earlier version) and a later versioned U-190 using this same base kit, so a generic slotted pattern was always going to be the gameplay. Still , they have managed to provide some uniques details for each of these boats that makes for a good base.
Overall this has been a geat learning experience (my first PE deck and plastic deck cut to leave supports) and has actually been a lot of fun. The real advantage in doing this with U-505 in a diorama scene is that the water dio setting will be very forgiving for any build /PE issues, which allows me to learn for the others without wrecking a model. The water and froth can be manipulated to cover any bad sections as well the figures on deck. I was not going to do this for the first time on a stand mounted model.
That will be a better experience after some practice with this.

NEXT ..................the hatches and deck details go on and I prepare the Blue foam cut with the basic hull before all the details go on [that can be broken off).

 

[jknaus]

Oh man but you must have nerves of steel to do this. WOW!!! Loving the adventure.
James

 

[Brokeneagle]

Oh boy! Did ya get the nervous mind bender when you start4ed that carnage? I know ya didn't, but any time I cut into a kit like this it does make you take pause,......................... Ruck On, I say!


No Brother, that was 1/16th scale. Ian is making this kit look big, real big.

Hey Steve, I felt a little nervous but I was confident I had the tools and had planned out exactly what I neede to do and how.

 

[Brokeneagle]

Oh man but you must have nerves of steel to do this. WOW!!! Loving the adventure.
James

Kind of......but its not as bad as you think once you start cutting. The trick is to stay confident and focused on the end game.

 

[Iron Mike]

Yeah, just like a do it yourself appendectomy.
You have got this, Ian!

 

[Steve Ski]

Kind of......but its not as bad as you think once you start cutting. The trick is to stay confident and focused on the end game.

I agree, focus is the key, and a good measure of pre-planning, I'm sure. Now, 35-45yrs ago, not a chance, not me. I gotz plenty of scars on my fingers still today from my beginning days of "sniffin paint". Almost as bad as what Mike just said, lol.

Ruck On, I say!

 

[Rhino]

Will I be the only smart alec that says "But Ian, what about the pressure hull underneath the deck?"

 

[Brokeneagle]

Will I be the only smart alec that says "But Ian, what about the pressure hull underneath the deck?"

yeah.......I am interested in doing that on one of the builds but not this one. All the hatches are closed and the slots will only show blackness through them so all should be OK.

 

[Tim A.]

Fantastic work!

 

[Rhino]

yeah.......I am interested in doing that on one of the builds but not this one. All the hatches are closed and the slots will only show blackness through them so all should be OK.

I was truly only teasing your exacting model-brain about such a thing! Ain't I a stinker?

 

[Brokeneagle]

Some more progress on the forward deck. I still need to attach the PE hatch arms on the Revell kit hatches (grey). They took a bit of cutting and sanding to remove them from the deck and turn them into nice round stand alone parts.

I also needed to darken the supporting plastic left in place from the deck cut. Once the panels are in place I wanted to make sure it would look black through the slots in the panels. I just used a black marker pen to darken the plastic.

The point where the brass deck meets the plastic deck needed a lot of blending to take out the step but this section will have a lot of water effects over it so I am not sweating it too much. I can cover whatever looks bad with white water.

Next up the forward section of the deck needed the PE details added. As I said above I still need to do the hatch arms and a couple of hinges.

The second section required a bit more work with the separating rails between the torpedo covers and the deck. The PE rails are to thin in scale and because I soldered the second section end slightly under the first, the PE rails would not slot in with the slight height difference. I replaced them with plastic strip at the correct thickness. The forward cover style is different from the rear ones and don't have the cross beams on top. These covers change on different type 9C decks, with each boat having various styles and configurations, even when they come from the same shipyard. These changes make each build unique and more interesting.

I also added plastic strip to the forward PE torpedo covers. These were totally flat but they are actually raised wooden planks bolted to the metal cross members underneath. I used the PE for the underlying metal, adding the strip and then applying the bolt detail at each end with smaller holes along the length - this process took ages and cramped up my thumb muscle pessing in the patterns.

I damaged the rear stanchion for the jumping wires coming off the Wintergarten as per the photo taken after capture.

Next up will be the tower. I have not attached it yet but have marked the damage that I will be adding. There are very good references as the sub has been preserved in a Museum in Chicago. Some features have been restored incorrectly from the original but the Conning Tower damage has been left as per the capture. The warping on the torpedo cover is not a worry as it resembles genuine damage and will be under water.

 

[Steve Ski]

The tower damage looks really good, and the deck rework is impressive. The size of the kit looks like there's got to be some pre-planning when just flipping the thing over to the other side, sheesh. I would most definitely have to make major alterations to my bench just to work a kit this size.

Ruck On!

 

[moon puppy]

I can cover whatever looks bad with white water.

Like a tarp for armor stuff.

Looks fantastic Ian

 

[Piet]

 

[Iron Mike]

Pretty awesome, Ian!

 

[Brokeneagle]

The tower damage looks really good, and the deck rework is impressive. The size of the kit looks like there's got to be some pre-planning when just flipping the thing over to the other side, sheesh. I would most definitely have to make major alterations to my bench just to work a kit this size.

Ruck On!

Thanks Steve, however the tower damage is only at the mark-up stage and the tower itself needs to be started. Plenty to go yet. Yeah. the stand that comes with the kit is an excellent holder but is lacking when you need to turn it on its side. I adapted the piece of foam from the packing in the Pontos set to sit on the stand as a curved pad so I can work on the sub at any angle.