Buildingreport of my type VIIC scale 1:35

MFR · May 31, 2009, 05:10 AM

The build of my sub started in 1988, this is the story behind the whole process of building from the start untill now.

In the 1980's some guys from belgium made this mold, i bought one of their products in 1988.

These are the pics of the state on delivery, deck made out of glassfibre just like the tower, complete hull with propellors.
The deck was not used, but used as a example for the new deck, tower was way out of scale, so i had to build a new one.

MFR · Jun 01, 2009, 02:12 AM

These pics are made after the first stage of building, rudders and diveplanes are in their places.

A total view of the inside after one year of building, all the basic components are inside like pressured airsystem, ballasttank, and electronics.

The electronicbay with charchingpanel, wateralarmsystem and electronics for steering the extra devices.

The frontpart of the boat with pressured air buffertank, valves, and 12V compressor unit.
The connections for steering the schnorkeldevice and tower antenna's are already in place.

CaptainNemo12 · Jun 01, 2009, 08:34 AM

That is one beautiful boat! Keep up the good work!

mickm · Jun 01, 2009, 10:20 AM

Hi MFR,
Great craftsmanship!
Would you mind sharing your mechanism for making the perscopes raise and lower? Maybe more detailed pics? I am working on this aspect of my boat now.
Thanks
Mickm

MFR · Jun 01, 2009, 11:45 AM

Hello Mickm,

I don't mind sharing this, give me a PM with your e mail adress, so i can send you more information about this.
For the other members of the forum, they work on pressured air, made the cilinders on the lathe, also the plugs with o rings.
To steer them up en down i use a airswitch controlled by a servo, the same as the guys of modelaircraft use for pulling up their landinggear.
In the thread of the Gato build there is a other way to get the peroscopes moving, to my opinion a much easier system, especially if you have enough room inside/outside your sub.

ThorDesign · Jun 01, 2009, 03:14 PM

Very, very nice!

What happened to the molds for this boat?

MFR · Jun 01, 2009, 03:25 PM

Last time on a meeting i met a good old friend from belgium from that period, i had asked him about the molds.
He has searched for them, apparently they are lost, or someone keeps them in a dusty attic, sofar no trace of them.
It's a shame because for that time (1980's)they made exellent boats from that mold.

MFR · Jun 02, 2009, 12:10 PM

Making the upperdeck was the next logical step, the fibreglass one was usefull for the layout of the slots, it weighted to much to apply it on the boat.

So i decided to use circuitboard, on both side copper and fibreglass between, and much lighter of weight, this a picture of the start.

After one winter work this is the result, the slots are drilled by hand, and than shaped into the right dimensions.

This is the total vieuw of the whole upperdeck.

And than the madness started, all moving parts in the upperdeck had to be placed with minute hindges, took a while to fix that without soldering the hingdes so that the doors would really work.
If you are wondering why the pics appear in such a rate, the model is almost completed, i never had wrote the whole story how the build went.

mickm · Jun 02, 2009, 12:24 PM

Hi MFR,
She's looking goooood

How did you attached the decking to the hull?

I'm really enjoying your build pics. I am wondering if there is a way to post the pics so we can enlarge them for better observation?

If not could I get a set, you have my email addy?

Thanks mate,
Mickm

MFR · Jun 02, 2009, 01:51 PM

The deck is connected to the sub by one screw at the front, hidden under one of the hatches, at the back it is clipped by a special construction.
The front part as well the back part of the deck is detachable, the whole deck consist into three pieces.
The more you pull at the deck the tighter it's getting.
About the resolution of the pics, they are made with a analog camera in the 1980's so resolution is very low, if you blow them up the details are getting blurry.
I'll see if i can make a new set of pics for you by mail, are there some details you want to look closer at?

mickm · Jun 02, 2009, 01:55 PM

Hi MFR,
No particular detail, I want to be able to zoom in an see every detail of your excellent craftsmanship.
Thank mate,
Mickm

MFR · Jun 04, 2009, 02:07 PM

After the build of two years this is the painted result, in front of the boat one of the first build torpedo's.

Some pics of the boat during one of the first trails.

During one of the submeetings we met a sportsdiver, he invited us for playing around in a swimmingpool.
I'ts awsome to see were your sub is going especially under water, the result were some nice pics made by the divers in the swimmingpool.

Jadoube · Jun 06, 2009, 12:35 PM

Great work! The submarine have got great details, and, where did yu find the brass for it? I have been looking for one for a long time, and I can't

MFR · Jun 07, 2009, 03:20 AM

Hello Jadoube,

The brass i use is from the local hobbyshop,they sell small diameter tubes and wires and thin copper plate, the upperdeck is made from circuitboard the same as they use for building up electronics, there is a dumpstore overhere that sells it.

This was the first start to the new tower, first i've build from plastick plate a dummy to check if the dimensions were right from the drawings.
Then the work started on the real thing, i've use copper plate 0,1 mm thick, molded it across a frame made from the leftovers from the circuitboard.

Sorry for the bad quality, the camera was a old analog one, but it still gives a impression how the result is.
This gave me also the oppertunity to fit the AA guns, standard tamiya 20 mm one's.

MFR · Jun 10, 2009, 04:59 PM

Now we jump to some years later, had build the peroscopesystem, prayed the tower and made some webbing on it.
Here the result of building the Hohentwiel radar antenna.

Made the gripper for the schnorkelunit, as well the housing of the Askania compass, also the antennawiring with the insulators.

The total vieuw of all the work that has been done, started also with the placing of the ammo containers on the upperpart of the tower.

Here the work is getting started on the socalled wintergarten part of the tower, also the placing of the ammo containers, and a sockett to place the flakvierling.

May 31, 2009, 05:10 AM	#1
MFR Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Netherlands Posts: 76	Buildingreport of my type VIIC scale 1:35 The build of my sub started in 1988, this is the story behind the whole process of building from the start untill now. In the 1980's some guys from belgium made this mold, i bought one of their products in 1988. These are the pics of the state on delivery, deck made out of glassfibre just like the tower, complete hull with propellors. The deck was not used, but used as a example for the new deck, tower was way out of scale, so i had to build a new one. Last edited by MFR; Jun 01, 2009 at 03:08 PM.

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Jun 01, 2009, 02:12 AM	#2
MFR Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Netherlands Posts: 76	These pics are made after the first stage of building, rudders and diveplanes are in their places. A total view of the inside after one year of building, all the basic components are inside like pressured airsystem, ballasttank, and electronics. The electronicbay with charchingpanel, wateralarmsystem and electronics for steering the extra devices. The frontpart of the boat with pressured air buffertank, valves, and 12V compressor unit. The connections for steering the schnorkeldevice and tower antenna's are already in place.

Jun 01, 2009, 08:34 AM	#3
CaptainNemo12 RC sub dude Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Montreal, Quebec, CANADA Posts: 202	That is one beautiful boat! Keep up the good work!

Jun 01, 2009, 10:20 AM	#4
mickm Registered User Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 18	Hi MFR, Great craftsmanship! Would you mind sharing your mechanism for making the perscopes raise and lower? Maybe more detailed pics? I am working on this aspect of my boat now. Thanks Mickm

Jun 01, 2009, 11:45 AM	#5
MFR Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Netherlands Posts: 76	Hello Mickm, I don't mind sharing this, give me a PM with your e mail adress, so i can send you more information about this. For the other members of the forum, they work on pressured air, made the cilinders on the lathe, also the plugs with o rings. To steer them up en down i use a airswitch controlled by a servo, the same as the guys of modelaircraft use for pulling up their landinggear. In the thread of the Gato build there is a other way to get the peroscopes moving, to my opinion a much easier system, especially if you have enough room inside/outside your sub.

Jun 01, 2009, 03:14 PM	#6
ThorDesign Registered User Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Wichita, Kansas Posts: 126	Very, very nice! What happened to the molds for this boat?

Jun 01, 2009, 03:25 PM	#7
MFR Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Netherlands Posts: 76	Last time on a meeting i met a good old friend from belgium from that period, i had asked him about the molds. He has searched for them, apparently they are lost, or someone keeps them in a dusty attic, sofar no trace of them. It's a shame because for that time (1980's)they made exellent boats from that mold.

Jun 02, 2009, 12:10 PM	#8
MFR Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Netherlands Posts: 76	Making the upperdeck was the next logical step, the fibreglass one was usefull for the layout of the slots, it weighted to much to apply it on the boat. So i decided to use circuitboard, on both side copper and fibreglass between, and much lighter of weight, this a picture of the start. After one winter work this is the result, the slots are drilled by hand, and than shaped into the right dimensions. This is the total vieuw of the whole upperdeck. And than the madness started, all moving parts in the upperdeck had to be placed with minute hindges, took a while to fix that without soldering the hingdes so that the doors would really work. If you are wondering why the pics appear in such a rate, the model is almost completed, i never had wrote the whole story how the build went.

Jun 02, 2009, 12:24 PM	#9
mickm Registered User Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 18	Hi MFR, She's looking goooood How did you attached the decking to the hull? I'm really enjoying your build pics. I am wondering if there is a way to post the pics so we can enlarge them for better observation? If not could I get a set, you have my email addy? Thanks mate, Mickm

Jun 02, 2009, 01:51 PM	#10
MFR Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Netherlands Posts: 76	The deck is connected to the sub by one screw at the front, hidden under one of the hatches, at the back it is clipped by a special construction. The front part as well the back part of the deck is detachable, the whole deck consist into three pieces. The more you pull at the deck the tighter it's getting. About the resolution of the pics, they are made with a analog camera in the 1980's so resolution is very low, if you blow them up the details are getting blurry. I'll see if i can make a new set of pics for you by mail, are there some details you want to look closer at?

Jun 02, 2009, 01:55 PM	#11
mickm Registered User Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 18	Hi MFR, No particular detail, I want to be able to zoom in an see every detail of your excellent craftsmanship. Thank mate, Mickm

Jun 04, 2009, 02:07 PM	#12
MFR Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Netherlands Posts: 76	After the build of two years this is the painted result, in front of the boat one of the first build torpedo's. Some pics of the boat during one of the first trails. During one of the submeetings we met a sportsdiver, he invited us for playing around in a swimmingpool. I'ts awsome to see were your sub is going especially under water, the result were some nice pics made by the divers in the swimmingpool.

Jun 06, 2009, 12:35 PM	#13
Jadoube Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 8	Great work! The submarine have got great details, and, where did yu find the brass for it? I have been looking for one for a long time, and I can't

Jun 07, 2009, 03:20 AM	#14
MFR Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Netherlands Posts: 76	Hello Jadoube, The brass i use is from the local hobbyshop,they sell small diameter tubes and wires and thin copper plate, the upperdeck is made from circuitboard the same as they use for building up electronics, there is a dumpstore overhere that sells it. This was the first start to the new tower, first i've build from plastick plate a dummy to check if the dimensions were right from the drawings. Then the work started on the real thing, i've use copper plate 0,1 mm thick, molded it across a frame made from the leftovers from the circuitboard. Sorry for the bad quality, the camera was a old analog one, but it still gives a impression how the result is. This gave me also the oppertunity to fit the AA guns, standard tamiya 20 mm one's.

Jun 10, 2009, 04:59 PM	#15
MFR Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Netherlands Posts: 76	Now we jump to some years later, had build the peroscopesystem, prayed the tower and made some webbing on it. Here the result of building the Hohentwiel radar antenna. Made the gripper for the schnorkelunit, as well the housing of the Askania compass, also the antennawiring with the insulators. The total vieuw of all the work that has been done, started also with the placing of the ammo containers on the upperpart of the tower. Here the work is getting started on the socalled wintergarten part of the tower, also the placing of the ammo containers, and a sockett to place the flakvierling.