May 10May 10 Ok... let's fill some space... So... a younger friend at work gave me this and I decided I had better build it to honor the gift. I do the same thing when I get model gifts from my daughter.After gluing the hull quarters together, I decided to remove all of the oversized rivets... all of the oversized welds and raised panel lines... and then my mind took it one step further and I decided to open all of the permanently open holes made for the water to pass through the external hull of the u-boat.The starboard side closest to you is a lot closer to being done than the port side. Those coffee stirrers next to the hull are my custom-made sanding sticks custom fitted to the open holes you see before you.Some of the areas are dangerously thin. I've been using a Dremel and various engraving bits to reduce the plastic. Of course... the bits can be too aggressive to control easily. So often, small repairs have to be made.These ventral holes need to be made smoother and cleaner. Finding the right tools is proving difficult. I need files that are thinner than 1mm and no wider than 3-4mm. Anybody know of a set?It's dusty work... but once you get a vision in your head, you can either follow it... or have it nag you.But then... you realize you may have stepped in it.u I'm gonna have to do a weak representation of the inner works. I have plenty of materials to work with. I hope I don't get bogged down. It's important that when the model is looked at that no light passes through.I've been working with Copilot (the AI already in my laptop) to design some figures. Here is a funny thing, though: No matter what you tell it, it steers away from WWII German heraldry. So, the skipper looks American. I'm trying to learn Blender. But, it's difficult, and the AI isn't always the best teacher. I think that I will look into that program Jeroen is using and try to make figures from pictures.Anyway... enough modelling for tonight.
May 10May 10 Great start. Opening all of those little holes seems like a serious character building exercise. A will follow with interest. CheersMartin
May 10May 10 Nice one! I have started many u-boat models in the past but only managed to finish one. The 1/32 andrea miniatures resin conning tower. A beast of a model with white metal figures. I did not survive my last house move.
May 10May 10 Author 5 hours ago, Martinnfb said:Great start. Opening all of those little holes seems like a serious character building exercise.A will follow with interest.CheersMartinIt's not so bad. Dremel does most of the work. Clean-up is the big issue. For all of the smaller holes at the bottom, I will have to custom make more sanding sticks to fit the tiny holes. I have more double-sided tape on the way. Thinner tape for easier access.
May 11May 11 This will be a fun build to follow along with. A couple years ago, we saw U-505 in Chicago and my son has wanted to build a model of it since. I was hoping that Revell would do a 1/144 version for him but not yet. As for thin sanders, Madworks makes some PE Sanders that might work. They come in different widths and you apply adhesive backed sandpaper to them. Argama Hobby Ltd.Madworks N012 Neron Sanding Board Photo-Etched ToolsCome with 7 Different Size2 pcs For Each Size Width Size : 1.5mm / 1.75mm / 2mm / 2.25mm / 2.5mm / 2.75mm / 3mmGreat combination with Madworks Self-Adhesive Sandpaper
May 20May 20 2 hours ago, Martinnfb said:this just crossed my mind, randomly :)That’s still the best commercial i’ve ever seen and it still cracks me up
May 22May 22 Author On 5/20/2026 at 9:57 AM, KevinM said:Any rivets popping on this one Gary?😋No rivets... they'd be so tiny in scale.
May 22May 22 3 minutes ago, GazzaS said:No rivets... they'd be so tiny in scale.Well time to get crack'in Gary... action brother action.
May 22May 22 Author 25 minutes ago, KevinM said:Well time to get crack'in Gary... action brother action.I've been working on it almost every day. Because I opened up all of the vent hole, I have to build some detail. But still... no rivets.
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