Micronaut Only Thread

[tstockton]

Chris,

I knew two or three of them -- but not all seven, so I had to do a little "digging"...

U-46: Commanded by Kapitänleutnant Engelbert Endrass, who won the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, the U-46 sank 20 ships of 85,792 GRT, and the auxilary cruisers CARINTHIA and DUNVEGAN CASTLE (35,284 GRT). U-46 survived until she was worn out and stricken in October, 1943, but Endrass was killed as the CO of the U-567 on 21 December 1941.

U-47: Commanded by Korvettenkapitän Günther Prien, who won the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, the U-47 sank 30 ships of 162,769 GRT. Her biggest victim was the Royal Navy battleship ROYAL OAK, who Prien torpedoed inside the heavily defended harbor at Scapa Flow on 14 October 1939. U-47 was sunk with all hands on 7 March 1941. At first, it was believed she was sunk by the British destroyer WOLVERINE; however, it is possible that U-47 was sunk by one of her own torpedoes running in a circular pattern.

U-48: Her commanders included Korvettenkapitän Herbert Schultze, Kapitän zur See Hans Rudolf Rösing, and Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Bleichrodt, all winners of the Knights Cross. The U-48 was the most successful submarine of World War II, claiming 51 ships of 306,875 GRT, as well a destroyer of 1,060 tons. The U-48 was scuttled on 3 May 1945. All three of her "top commanders" survived World War II; Schultze passed away in 1987, Rösing passed away in 2004, and Bleichrodt passed away in 1977.

U-81: Commanded by Kapitänleutnant Friedrich Guggenberger, who won the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, the U-81 sank 24 ships of 41,784 GRT and an auxilary warship of 1,150 GRT. Her biggest victim was the Royal Navy aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL (22,600 tons), which sank on 14 November 1941, a day after being torpedoed by the U-81. The U-81 was bombed and sunk by American aircraft at Pola on 9 January 1944; two of her crew were killed in the attack. Guggenberger survived the war, passing away in 1988.

U-99: Commanded by Fregattenkapitän Otto Kretschmer, who won the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, the U-99 sank 35 ships of 198,218 GRT, as well as three auxilary warships (including the LAURENTIC and PATROCLUS) of 46,440 GRT. U-99 was scuttled by her crew after a depth-charging by the British destroyer WALKER on 17 March 1941; 40 of her 43-man crew were rescued (including Kretschmer), where they spent the remainder of the war in a British prison camp. After World War II, Kretschmer served with the Bundesmarine, retiring with the rank of Flotillenadmiral in 1970. He died in a hospital in Barvaria in 1998 following an accident.

U-100: Commanded by Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke, who won the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, the U-100 sank 25 ships of 135,614 GRT. The U-100 was sunk on 17 March 1941 after being rammed and depth-charged by the British destroyers WALKER and VANOC; only six of her crew were rescued. Schepke was belived to have been killed on the bridge of the U-100 when she was rammed. The U-100 was believed to be the first U-boat sunk after being located by radar, as she was"caught" during an overcast night which should have kept U-100 safe from lookouts.

U-133: The U-133 sank a single warship of 1,920 tons. There was a myth that the U-133 sailed across the Atlantic, around South America, to the west coast of the United States, where she was to cruise up the Colorado River from the Baja California, and torpedo and destroy the Hoover Dam. Supposedly, the U-133 made it as far as Laughlin, Nevada, before being grounded on a sandbar and scuttled by her crew. However, the truth is that the U-133 was sunk with all hands after striking a mine on 14 March 1942 near Salamis, Greece.

Many, many thanks to the excellent website uboat.net for this information!!!

uboat.net

Regards,
Tom Stockton

[av8rmongo]

County class DDGs now available on ebay. Search 1/2400

Paul

[SeaHarrier2006]

Hi everyone,

I have finally finished my first attempt at a WW2 ship. She is H.M.S. Ajax, one of the 3 Cruisers which took on the Graf Spee at the River Plate.

Having seen some of the Ships on view lately, I just hope i've done justice to her. Anyway here she is for better or worse







More to come soon,

Mark (SeaHarrier2006)

[cbovill]

Mark,

I was beginning to think I was the only one left building ships! Beautiful job on her. Having built a couple in this class, I know you had to build those masts from scratch, and you did an excellent job on them! ...and then you had to go and raise the bar and rig your ship! I'm not sure if I accept the challenge, so many ships to build and rigging too? Out of curiosity what did you use to build the masts and what did you use for the rigging?

...again, she looks great!

Chris

[SeaHarrier2006]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for that. I’ve been watching you work on the Belfast and your German fleet, which you did a great job on. Rigged or not, you always do a great paintjob on your ships, which has inspired me to have a go at a few WW2 ships myself.

I’ve been busy building, converting and painting some modern ships, so it was a nice change to try my hand on a WW2 ship. I have another Leander class Cruiser to make as Achillies, Exeter, a Suffolk to make as Cumberland, and the Graf Spee as well. So I will be quite busy once more painting those as well.

As for the masts and rigging, I used 0.6mm and 0.5mm Plastruct Round Rod for the masts, with a very small piece of 0.25mm Plastruct Sheet to hold them in place. For the Rigging, I used 0.10mm Fishing Line, and painted it black to give a bit more contrast the model. It was pretty tricky scratch building the masts, but I prefer them with the masts than without. So then I thought as I went to the trouble of making the masts, I might as well have a go at some rigging as well.

I have just started work on the Graf Spee, and looking at some pictures, it look like I’m going to have to make a mast for her as well, so I can do a bit of rigging on her too.

I between all this I have another of my shipyards building my own 1:2400 Leander Class Frigate, which I will post pictures of once I have finished it.

Well that’s my yards tea break over so back to the painting for me. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to you next pics from your yards.

Happy painting,

Mark (SeaHarrier2006)

[jb]

Mark,
Jolly good Show,sir!

[cbovill]

Mark,

I had thought of using plastic rod but had decided that metal rod (brass and steel) would hold up better in use. However, in using metal rod to build masts I have noticed that the glue does not bond as well and the spars tend to flick off if hit just right, easy to repair but a nuisance. I will have to give plastic a try on my next batch to see how it goes since the adhesive bond becomes very strong, of course it will still be breakable.

When I was a kid I built a few plastic model ships and was never able to master the rigging, I suppose I am overdue to give it another try 25 years later.

I've included some close-ups of the pocket battleships I have built to show the configuration of the masts as best as my research could take me in this scale:


Graf Spee - she was the first ship I built back in the 90's. She has been rebuilt a few times to improve her looks as my skills have improved, but she still lacks some of the quality she needs (part of her mast isn't even painted).


In comparison, this is Admiral Scheer, notice the differences in the main mast abaft the funnel as compared to how Graf Spee appeared. Unfortunately, this is not an Admiral Scheer model but a modified Graf Spee, so the rest of her is not accurate.

Also, take note that the ships of Harwood's force all had pole masts at this time, they were later rebuilt with tripod masts as the war went on. Look forward to seeing the rest of your magnificent ships!

Chris

[tstockton]

Chris,

However, in using metal rod to build masts I have noticed that the glue does not bond as well and the spars tend to flick off if hit just right, easy to repair but a nuisance.

I add / enhance / replace masts occasionally on my 1:1200 / 1:1250 scale ships, using mainly brass rod. Here's a little "trick" I've learned -- I use my needle files to cut a small notch in both the mast and the yardarms in the appropriate places -- then super glue them together at that junction. I usually "start" the notch with a "sharp-edged" file, then "round it out" with one of my round ones. (I have a really nice set of needle files I inherited from a cousin who made jewelry as a hobby.) That "notching" adds to the "surface area" abutting each other, and seems to give my glued joints a better hold.

From what I've learned from our model railroading friends, using solder would be better... but I've never perfected my soldering skills. So for now, I just "stick" with super glue. (pun not intended, believe it or not! )

Regards,
Tom Stockton

[cbovill]

I've never been any good at soldering either - that would be the way to go but the parts are so darn tiny and when I shopped around for a soldering iron with a fine enough tip to do the job it was just way too expensive. The $15 irons either have tips that are too big and clumsy or are not powerful enough from what I've seen.

Now cutting a notch is definitely an idea - between that and the plastic rod I think I will be trying all of these options on my next batch and see what works. A friend of mine bought a large number of merchant ships (the other leading brand) and they don't come with any masts or cranes, so we need to come up with a fast and effective way to build dozens and dozens of these masts for these ships.

[SeaHarrier2006]

Thanks for the pictures Chris, it has proved very useful for me, to make sure I get them right, and also a help when I try to do some rigging on her.

I have to agree making a notch is the best thing to do, because it helps the 2 serfaces bond better. I made a mall notch in the Plastruct Rod before bonding the to pieces togeter, and had no problems with the two pieces becomeing unstuck.

I thought about using metal rods, but my Soldering skill are not too great also, and i was worried about melting the model as well. So it will be Plastruct Rod for me, for the time being at least.

I have notice one thing about the GHQ version of the Graf Spee, her main Guns seem too big for the model. Either that, or the gun mounts are positioned to close to the superstructure, because I have had to make some modifications to the Gun Turrets to enable them to turn properly. A small problem I know, but a problem never the less.

Any how, back to the painting,

Thanks alot again gent's,

Mark (SeaHarrier2006)

[Jmrino]

Well, first picture posting. Please be gentle........















Thanks

[SeaHarrier2006]

Hi JM,

I think you have done a great job on them, especially Bismark, Hood, and KG5. it's good to see the art of ship painting is still as great as ever, and look forward to your next posts.

Keep up the great work,

Mark. (SeaHarrier2006)

[cbovill]

Jmrino,

Those ships are looking good! I especially like the ocean on your bases - very realistic looking. Looks like you're ready to go to the next level and add the missing masts/spars and paint the upper decks. The camo schemes look great!

Chris

[av8rmongo]

Damn! My fund is down another $1.68 there goes my retirement. Oh yeah, nice ships

[chrisswim]

Paul, check your message in PM.