Mirage Hobby U-176 Type IXC (Sturm II) Submarine 1/350

[zak]

Another underwasser miracle again.

[Bigkev]

Hi Zak,
Thanks for that, it is beginning to take shape now, and I have had a go at attaching the railings on the side of the deck tonight.
Haddock makes it look easy, it isn't.........................
After one and a half hours I managed to get one side stuck into place. It is a mix of kit etch parts and some generic stuff Haddock gave me.
He was right about sticking bases of upright rails, that it wouldn't work he was right, several attempts and the swear box a pew pounds richer I decided to use generic for the main rails, and the front and rear parts from the kit etch. You can see that they are 'heavier' in appearance.
Tomorrow, I'll give the other the other side, a little wiser and little practiced now.
Some pictures of my attempt so far.
The conning tower and main gun are only in situ in a few of the pictures for photo purpose only.
Cheers,
Bigkev   

[bridlufc]

Looking good Bigkev, when I did a sub, a Revell kit, it wasn't blessed with etch railings. I had it in my head to make my own from brass rod and copper wire, big mistake.  The plan was to use the brass rod as posts and insert the posts into the hull then solder the copper wire to the posts.  Soldering meant I would need a heat sink but the size of the posts made me abandon that idea as impractical and I ended up using nylon thread on the posts instead.

Bridlufc

[MSea]

The joys of the "dark side"  hohohoho

[Haddock]

Once you've done this one, it will all have been a bad dream.
Next time you can charge in with gay abandon.
Haddock.
Keep up the good work.

[Bigkev]

Hi All,
Thanks for your kind words and encouragement.
Tonight I had a go at the other side, and like Haddock points out it didn't fill me with as much trepidation. Still need to refine my glue type and application, but things went smoother tonight in less than half the time before.
Once attached I have dry run placed in situ the conning tower, deck and small guns, and periscopes.
Can see a problem with small guns as they are too close to the railings and periscope and could not actually be used in real life. I think a little juggling will be necessary to give a better sit/look.
Now need to touch in all the paint work around railings, the railings themselves, and a little additional weathering at the post bases.
Some pictures of it so far,
Cheers,
Bigkev

[MSea]

Look out SMW another one for the comp

[Bigkev]

Hi Msea,
Thanks for the compliment.
Not sure good enough for SMW, but maybe will spur me onto to make something again for SMW 2018 in this category.
Will post some more pictures as build continues
Cheers,
Bigkev

[Bigkev]

Hi All,
A little more progress on the painting stage.
The railings have been painted to match the deck and then given a coat of Kleer to match finish.
Noticed during all my handling getting the deck rails on that I rubbed off a lot of the weathering I had applied. so this has now been reinstated. It will be further 'toned down' once it has dried a little bit, in places it is a touch too heavy for my liking.
It all looks very shiny at moment due to the Kleer, but hopefully all will be toned down with a coat of matt varnish near the end.
Some pictures follow of the weathering redone on the sides,
Cheers,
Bigkev

[Bigkev]

Hi All,
Well its now finally finished. I looked at the weathering on hull sides and toned this down a bit, to look more in scale. I also added the few decals there were, mainly flags and victory pennants the Sub No. and ship marking on conning tower.
For the flags I find it easier to attach them to a very thin piece of plasticard, as by themselves they don't want to behave, folding up on themselves, tearing, etc. I use a piece of 5 thou plasticard, and then sand it down until its almost transparent. I then give it a coat of Kleer on both sides, before then applying the decals one side at a time.
Once dry, a coat of paint on the edges to match the decal design, then another coat of Kleer to seal it in place.
The flag pennant can now be given some folding/curves if required before attaching with 'Kristel Kleer'
The model name sign comes in the kit. I painted it Tamiya gloss black and then allowed it to dry hard for a few days. It was the rubbed over a fine sanding pad to reveal the embossed name.
Finally the model was given a Satin/Matt mix of Vallejo varnish to seal everything in and give a uniform finish.
Happy with the result, but need to get more practice in on the etch brass.
Hope you like,
Cheers,
Bigkev   

[MSea]

I like lots.