Thanks Phil. Merry Christmas to you and your family too!

Hi Graeme,

Yes, there's lots of readjustment required. Waiting until you have all the parts is a good shout as you can then plan your build more methodically rather than 'put this in a safe place for later' scenario as the part-works keeps telling us.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.

This is really coming together nicely Phil, great work

Hi All,

Not long until the Christmas break starts! Woohoo!!

There's a couple of sites I've found that you might find of interest regarding the U-boat build. They are both for Type VIIC 1/72 scale U-Boats. Some of the skills and ideas found on these sites could easily be transferred over to the larger 1/48 scale.

http://www.dargies.de/Mo...au/BilderU564/u564.html

The first link will take you to is a German site by Frank Dargies; I couldn't find the translate button but who needs words when you have great pictures to look at right? Frank has really gone to town with his 1/72 build of Type VIIC U564 with some very impressive modelling. Granted he has made extensive use of after-market parts, of which there are many for this scale. I only hanker for more AMP's in 1/48, which is why I will have to scratch-build most of the parts for my U230. Anyway, I digress, the reason I attached this link is that it shows a lot of interior detail; something for me [and others]to take inspiration from during our build. The other thing I noticed about Franks build is the quality of his painted figures. Painting figures is a skill in itself and one I'm comfortable with and Franks images give you a flavour and atmosphere of what the 1/48 build could potentially look like with carefully painted figures in place.

Regards,
Phil W.

ooh makes me nervous cutting all that plastic away in case i mess it up but very impressed with this guys work great find Phil regards Phil

Hi Everyone and Happy New Year to you all!

I enjoyed a relaxing break apart from suffering from cold and flu. I managed to get a little modelling done; fixed the rivet strips to the stern and fabricated ribs for the aft torpedo compartment. Photos of this part of the build will be posted soon as there are a lot more to come before I post these. Images follow at the weekend when my internet is sorted [I'm at work on my lunch break at the moment].

During my holidays I managed a bit of research too which has confirmed a few things for me regarding modifications to U230.

I found three images of U230; one of which showed her in pristine condition and what looks like a Turn 0 tower [conning tower]. The next two images showed U230 sporting a Turn IV tower and camouflaged paint scheme.

When did she have the modifications done and when? Which was the correct configuration and how I could I rely on the provenance of the photos? Time to start a little digging into the history of U230 and see if I can piece it all together......

For nearly a year [essentially Jan to Nov 1943], U230 was part of the 9th Flotilla [laughing swordfish emblem] running out of Brest, then later moved to the 29th Flotilla [kicking mule emblem] running out of Toulon from Nov 1943 onwards operating in The Med.

This piece of her history had me confused as the two images of her with the Turn IV tower, armour-plating and camouflaged paint scheme operating from Toulon showed the laughing swordfish emblem on her tower when she had in fact transferred across to the 29th Flotilla. By rights, when U-boats changed flotillas they changed their emblems too, which meant she would of had the kicking mule and not the laughing swordfish emblazoned on the side of her tower. After reading Dougie Martindales "Wolfpack" modellers guide he mentions that although this was true for most U-boats, some kept their original emblems even though they operated for a different flotilla including U230!! Hahaha. We are now making progress!!

One of the images showed U230 with a Turn 0 tower. The later images [Toulon] showed a very different beast. When did this happen?

First a little insight; Turn 0 towers [as featured on U96] had the configuration of a platform behind the bridge sporting a 2cm anti-aircraft gun. This was often known as the 'wintergarten'. Improvements later on saw an additional lower platform added to the existing one allowing for an extra 2cm anti-aircraft gun to be mounted. This modification was known as the Turn II tower. Further improvements saw the bridge widened allowing for 2 x 2cm guns on the upper platform and a solitary 3.7cm gun the lower platform. This design was known as the Turn IV tower. All sea-going U-boats had to have this Turn IV tower fitted before being allowed on operational patrols from Sept 1943 onwards. This would explain why the U230 looks so very different in her later pictures to the earlier ones.

As a 'stocking filler' my missus bought me 'Iron Coffins' by Herbert Werner. 'Iron Coffins' is his post-war memoir recalling his time serving aboard u-boats. Herbert was the XO [Executive Officer - 2nd in command] on U230 during 1943. Reading through his memoirs while he was on-board U230 revealed some vey interesting facts regarding her time in the docks for repairs.

During January 1943 after a Baltic patrol and on return to her base port in Brest, U230 had work carried out on the tower. I can't recall the exact quote Herbert cites in his book but he mentions the bridge being widened and an extended lower platform added to the tower. Excellent! It was at this point then that U230 went from having a Turn 0 tower to a Turn IV one. Later on in his memoirs while still serving aboard U230 he mentions that in August 1943, U230 was fitted with armour-plating around the tower. Brilliant. This all ties in nicely with the photos shown of her sporting these additions which had me perplexed for a while.

Seeing these changes written down in Herbert's memoir confirms what I see in the photos of U230 and the stark difference between her earlier and later self.

To summarise: I will be modelling U230 in her later life showing all the modifications I have mentioned previously. Turn IV tower, armour-plating around the bridge, camouflaged paint scheme while still retaining the 'laughing swordfish' emblem.

Picture of U230 prior to modifications [pre-1943].
http://www.brendtandbren...amp;back=germansubs.php

Picture of U230 with a Turn IV tower, armour-plating, camouflaged paint scheme and 'laughing swordfish' emblem operating from Toulon.
http://www.u-historia.co...200-u299/u0230/u230.htm

Picture of U230 in modified guise. You can just make out the 'laughing swordfish' emblem on the tower.
http://uboat.net:8080/flotillas/bases/toulon.htm

Thanks for looking in! Photos of my build will be posted at the weekend and on a regular basis from then on.

Regards,
Phil W.

Good Evening from 'The Dockyard',

The following posts show some of the exterior tank details I built to add further interest to the U-Boat. I took my references from pictures of U995 as alternate images showing these details are few and far between.

The parts I added include the Port Crash Dive Tank vent and a couple of different discharge ports which were probably used to pump bilges overboard.

The image below shows the Starboard Crash Dive Tank vent on the U995.

I then cut and filed to size all the individual slats from 0.5mm plastic sheet. Because I wanted the vent to give the appearance that you could 'look through and beyond it', I didn't add a supporting piece at the back of the vent to aid the fixing of the slats.

The photo below shows the vent from inside the submarine. This will be hidden by the bulkheads of the Control Room [partworks supplied] when fitted.

The following pictures show the discharge ports on the U995.

Using the same method to mark the positions of these ports as i did for the Crash Dive Tank Vent i.e. a lot of cross-checking / referencing of the U995 photos, I marked out the port and starboard sides. As I have a lot of cut-outs on the starboard side, only one discharge port was required while the port side had three; one larger and two smaller.

I drilled out a 3mm hole into the hull for the largest of the ports so that I could dry fit a piece of 3mm aluminium tube cut to length. Once happy I then removed it and fitted 3 tiny slats cut from plastic sheet into the tube so that I looked similar to the port on the U995.

The pic attached shows a close up of the finished port prior to fitting.