Revell 1/72 U Boat 552 (Early) saddle tanks paint line question... Please?

The guy (Siara) on AMP that is building this sub and is scratch building almost eveything. (incredible build)

I think he would be the one to get the colors correct.

Midway down the page are pix of his boat.

Here is a link to his build blog.

 

There are a lot of reference pix and research being done on the forum so it would definitely be worth the time spent going through it all. 

 

Eric... 

First thanks for the response.I had already gone through every post on this and every other U-boat related forum

 That is the site that confused me. He has the early 552 hardware on the boat and the paint job from the late version (from all my research).

I have a large investment in this model and although I'm not a rivet counter, I do want the glaring fundamentals to be correct.

 

I have e-mailed him to ask. He could be right. There are also many great builds linked from his site whose paint job contradicts each other and or the intructions, and or the research availaible.

Thanks

I had a look in my Squadron 'U-boats in Action,' and besides a number of photos, there is a nice color drawing of U-552 in Summer 1943, with a light gray topsides, and the dark gray bottompaint extending to the top of the saddle tanks (along with waht appears to be a black boottop on the hull fore and aft of the saddletanks themselves).  Not sure how accurate that is, because the drawing above shows U-596 in a Mediterranean scheme that shows the bit covering the top of the saddle tank to actually be a wide black boottop, with the bottom being anti-fouling red!  But assuming the red to not be accurate, at least, I don't think it so for later in the war (and I still don't know the definitive answer to this), all the Type VII photos i have seen indicate the dark bottom paint to go to the top of the saddle tanks

CMK Interior? Please, link me! =)  Sounds very exiting... I got the boat in the stash myself.. Wont do the 552 tough... too overmodeled in my opinion... 

Just google "CMK VIIC interiors", (you can't cut and paste here to put the link)

They are $60 US dollars each or $240 for all of them plus the kit. You may get a better price in Europe with the dollar getting killed. They have been out for a couple of years. I don't know if they are still in production.

 They are a lot of work. 

Have you seen the pix on this site?

 

Eric... 

I have seen that before, its a great site, thanks,

however my question is still up in the air.

I don't see what the problem is.  Here is U-552, in the early war, and the dark bottom plainly comes up over the saddletanks....

From all reference material I know of, that conning tower in that photo clearly has the late war rim.

Try and get hold of Robert C. Stern's "Type VII U-boats", ISBN 1 86019 8554. Check out appendix A: General appearance.

Well, how about this one then... U-552 WITH early war rim, AND dark to the top of the saddle tanks...

 

Well I guess that does it. Thanks! The saddle tanks on my boat have been painted dark gray to the top.

You've got to admit it isn't easy trying to get these things correct, in the context of an expensive build, and black and white wartime photos. It looks like the rim (for instance in that photo is dark gray as well, and that the rails are lighter gray.

 

 

 

 

 

Wasn't it so that every U-boot got repainted after every patrol?  It varies alot in colours, you know

I was going to say the same thing... Sometimes even during a patrol, if the sea is calm and they are dead bored in the middle of nowhere, a slap of paint here and there doesn't go amiss, which is probably what happened to the rim..... It's not always exciting dives and dodging depth-charges, even iin the North Atlantic!

Post some progress pix when you can, we'd love to see your 552!