Thank you Graeme! It's getting there, slowly but surely.

Regards,
Phil W.

Thank you very much Phil! Before i start the interiors, i'll be concentrating on getting the outer hull weathered, fitting the rudders, fore & aft planes, prop shafts, propellers and wooden decking.

Regards,
Phil W.

Thank you very much Al! Lots more updates to come.

Regards,
Phil W.

Thanks Andy!

Regards,
Phil W.

Motor Room. This area will house the main motors which drive the propeller shafts. The main motors are electrically driven, power provided via the batteries. To control the electrical supply there would of been two distribution boards, port and starboard. I will model the port side only to reveal more detail.

Engine Room looking forward.

No.3 MBT [Main Ballast Tank]. This tank was constantly in use, either empty when the boat was surface running, or full when dived. Within it lies the search periscope housing and mast well. I'm thinking I might add a few touches of rust around the housing when i come to weather this section as it would of spent some time empty, possibly rusting, before being filled again when the boat dived.

Above it, the Control Room. This will be painted at a later date when I add the part-works supplied pressure hull sections. These sections have lots of kit supplied details to go on first and as per the Engine Room, I will make a call if further detailing is required.

Forward Torpedo Compartment looking towards the bow. This area will get totally transformed, what with all the pipes and valves connecting the different systems to the torpedo tubes.

I have yet to paint the top of the U-boat hull [casing] which includes the hatches, capstan and eventually the conning tower. The reason is that I want to lay the wooden planking first.

The real U-boats used mahogany planking as it was cheaper to replace a single plank if it was damaged, rather than if fitted with a steel deck. The wood also proved favourable over a steel deck in icy conditions, as the gaps between planks allowed for drainage.

I bought some lengths of mahogany from Cornwall Model Boats. Each length is 0.5mm thick and 2.0mm wide, which at 1/48 scale translates to 1" thick and 4" wide in real life. Perfect size. Although I may have to reduce the width to 1.5mm, thus allowing a 0.5mm gap between planks to simulate drainage. It will be a while before i start this section, but it will definitely add a nice contrast compared with the rest of the hull when completed.

Well that concludes this weeks update.

Thanks for looking in, have a great weekend and happy modelling!

Regards,
Phil.