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I'll toss this question in this forum since I can't seem to find the right area for it. I have been cutting out the drain holes on my Revell 1:72 Uboat. At the aft section by the stern planes is an assortment of drain holes. I had been rather successful at grinding down the insides of the hull halves in order to carve out the drains. Except the dremmel decided to go thru the styrene at the vents by the aft hydroplanes.
I have been searching for photo etched drains for that particular area but it seems Eduard and White Ensign (looking at their PE) didn't offering those particular vents on their sheets. Can anyone direct me to a vendor who might carry such? I know I'd have to buy the whole sheet(s) of PE, but I really would like to have those drain vents instead of puttying them up, as I already done.UPDATE: Eduard replied to my inquiry and they do not make that part for the VII-C. Only the the Type IX. I find that rather odd since they photoetch every other inch of the Type VII-C, except those particular grills. So instead of hoping for the best, I've prepared for the worst and puttied over both sides of the damaged grills. Not about to buy another $200 kit just for hull halves. Nobody will notice it anyway.
That's certainly a tough one. It sounds like you handled it the best way you could, given the circumstances, without resorting to scratching your own.
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Timothy Kidwelltkidwell@firecrown.comEditorScale Model BrandsFirecrown Media
ALARM
In all my days of modeling, I have NEVER had this happen. I'm distraught over this right now. I actually had my Revell 1:72 type VII-C decide to disintergrate right before my eyes. Testors Glue used sparingly putting the hull halves together. Blue painters tape used to hold it together. Then.....POP! Pieces flying off the bow. My eyes about fell out of my head. Then I take the tape off to look at the rest of the hull and there is another spot that looked like it hit a mine. This kit was NEVER mishandled or dropped. The only thing I can say is that the port half of the hull did not line up at the bow properly. With all other alignment pins set, the bow was 1-2mm shy of mating properly and require some pressure to get flush, then taped. I'm sort of devestated over this. $200 shot in the posterior. My only hope is to see if Revell would supply another set of hull halves. Otherwise, I have an underater depth charge dio and to be truthful, I don't think it would survive submerged in resin if it can't even handle Testor glue.
What can I do (just shy of buying another kit which I just don't have the cash for)
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2oaZey3]
Oh no! That's devastating. I suggest you visit the following link and see if you can get replacements from Revell. Explain what happened. I think you have a very good chance of receiving replacement parts.
https://www.revell-service.de/en/
Tim Kidwell Oh no! That's devastating. I suggest you visit the following link and see if you can get replacements from Revell. Explain what happened. I think you have a very good chance of receiving replacement parts. https://www.revell-service.de/en/
Yeah, it's an eye opener. I went to that site and sent a dissertation as well as photos. Fingers crossed.
I really hope this works out. I have a feeling it will.
If I may, a number of tips.
Dremels or other motor tools do not mix well with plastic models. You can hack stuff up, for instance creating a waterline model from a full hull. But totherwise as a time saver they'll generally do more harm than good.
Locator pins have minimal value. Sometimes you are better without them. Any time you force something, it will fight back.
All ship models have a good side and a bad side. It's just a fact.
Good luck with the replacement parts.
Bill
Modeling is an excuse to buy books.
Oho!
I haven't seen that in ages!
When I worked for AVECOR plastics in the late 70's( Just days after Discharge from Uncle Sam's Misguided Children) we did the A/C and Boats for Wen-Mac and another company. They sent the plastic to us, We did the molding. Well, one time we had some problems with barrel heats on some of the number two machine's output. The barrel heat on the machine messed up in the output section next to the mold. So Particles of unmelted plastic got mixed in with the flowing plastic. It was melted, but not the same. Brittle spots and hidden fracture points were the result.
When we got it fixed we had a week's overtime re-doing that order. They sent the others back and we ground the plastic up and re-used it. Remember, this was BEFORE computer sensors and such to control the machines behavior. Mechanical sensors and such weren't that sensitive to those kind of variances. You should hopefully get Revell to replace the aparts or part. Is that Revell of Germany? Oh and whatever you do, use an older dremel with a sewing machine type foot control. The lowest speed is still too dangerous to use around plastic for drilling or sanding. Dremel's are best off for wood and other materials!
Hey Bill!
I will definitely agree with you on this. Unless, it is the older heavy model with a Singer Sewing Machine foot control. Then it's good to go. They do not recommend any other kind of outside speed controller with the newer models! Dremels never go slow enough for plastic as they are. Now as to waterlining a ship I use a 60"x12" belt sander I made from scrap parts from a burned down wood shop myself and a friend Demo'd for another older friend.he said because he couldn't pay much to keep what we thought we could use.The Sander had the motor and belt burn, But,this motor was on some kind of other machine that half melted in the fire!. I think the motor turns a whole 125R.P.M.but it's great for that kind of work. I can actually make it go half that speed!
The shop made furniture and repaired same for local stores! I used to go in with two other fellas and the owner on the wood orders because we were into Cos-play for the civil war re-enacters and built Prop guns and such. Some did fire, But a lot just used a large heavy cap like the kid's "guns" of the time. I also bought ,this way a lot of trim wood for boat restos'( A hobby). Sometimes we needed a larger amount of Red Oak , Birch, And Mahogany! Occassionally Pecky Cypress and Bird's Eye Maple!
Dremels were used a lot on these items!
Tanker-BuilderThe Sander had the motor and belt burn, But,this motor was on some kind of other machine that half melted in the fire!. I think the motor turns a whole 125R.P.M.but it's great for that kind of work. I can actually make it go half that speed!
Tanker-Builder Unless, it is the older heavy model with a Singer Sewing Machine foot control. Then it's good to go
Point well take Bill, as well as others who have replied to my misfortune. I can say though, that even when dry fitting of the hulls, the port half was indeed just a tad shorter for some reason; perhaps shrinkage? The Dremmel. This was something used on the inner side of the hull to grind away excess styrene to make it easier to carve out the drain ports. Seen this on You Tube with other modelers who worked on this. Works well for the larger drains. Smaller ones I used a pin vise and cleaned those out. Trust me, I realize the damage that can be done with the dremmel and discovered that when my neighbor snuck up on me in the shop and the dremmel went right thru the lower aft grills. Hence, my original question in the first post at top. You say it will fight back when you force it. Yeah, it appears that this might be the case on the bow. I actually drilled a hole thru the bow and placed a brass pin thru it to hold it in place. But the actual "melt" and brittle appearance still has me scratching my head. The styrene is sort of thick where it broke. And the Keel section fracturing like it did; now that really has me buffaloed. Friend of mine who build studio replicas thinks there was a styrene mix issue with the kit with certain parts shrinking and brittle areas with others. He even agreed that there very may well have been some very small stress cracks that had contributed to the failure. What he found peculiar is that it is on that half on the port side which failed.In the interim, I'm going to regroup and clean up this hull and do some serious bodywork to the bow and keel section, while waiting for Revell's reply. I'm certain Revell will have the hull halve replacements - at least I'm hoping.
Jack
Update
Revell replied and unfortunately denied my request for the hull halves because the kit is out of production and there are no spare parts for the Type VII-C. They said even if there were, the cost of shipping such large component would equal the cost of a new kit. I somehow had a feeling.
On to Plan B - Body Work. I'm going to use "Apoxie Sculpt" to do the hull repairs. I've worked with this medium before with sci-fi models and it's good stuff. So, wish me luck on this repair. Hopefully it won't take too long to repair.
THE REPAIRS
All I can say is Apoxy Sculpt saved the day! Stuff works great and sculpts nice with tools and fingers when wet. I've used this stuff when I was building Starships after the turn of the century. All of this will sand down nicely. The bow will be contoured just a bit more. Glazing putty will be applied afterward and then wet sanded. For decades I found using Bondo glazing putty, along with wet sanding with 600 or 800 paper, work very well at hiding minor imperfections. Just glad I was able to salvage this one. Here are the pics:
Looks like you've worked out an acceptable remedy. By what I see so far this should still come out nicely.
Sometimes taking the long road can be more rewarding than taking the shortcut.
That is called experience.
disastermaster Looks like you've worked out an acceptable remedy. By what I see so far this should still come out nicely. Sometimes taking the long road can be more rewarding than taking the shortcut. That is called experience.
The place to go is RCSubs. He has the PE panels in 1/72
Martin9428 The place to go is RCSubs. He has the PE panels in 1/72
Sanded and wet sanded and the two major areas turned out very nice. So happy now, especially after seeing what the bow looked like when it fell apart. 95% smooth. Just another wet sand or so and she'll be ready for primer.
Incredible recovery, I have a 35th scale Schnellboot with a chunk broke from the freeboard/ superstructure section of the hull. Oddly enough it has a second hull however in one of my lesser moments of lucidity I fell and broke almost the same exact spot on it. Seeing that you repaired crazy damage inspires me that my boats can be salvaged. Thank you good sir.
we're modelers it's what we do
Sneek Peek of the build since the last post. Just about finished. Still need to run the cable from bow to tower to stern, add the crew to the conning tower, decal, and a few more micro small hatch hinges to deck. Final photos with a kit review coming soon.
Das Boot doch drubin.
armornut Das Boot doch drubin.
You have me on "drubin". Was ist das?
Probably misspelled but I was trying to say " over there" . Love der unterseeboot mein herr.
And that is about the end of my German vocabulary LOL.
Cables run through the blocks. Used fine pin vise to drill the holes, then threaded the lines. Some additional touch up, weathering, and decals today....I hope.
UhOh!
Das is vun large U Boot Modell ya? Very nice too! Do Not hide the Zee Volfe, ya heah! Nice open harbor for unforgettable viewing. I like your weathering. This is the way most of them looked after a patrol! Das is Goot!
See!
I knew you could handle it. Now, You know what I am slowly dealing with on a 1/72 Schnellboot! It spent over forty unprotected years in someone's attic! Nice save!!
Tanker-Builder See! I knew you could handle it. Now, You know what I am slowly dealing with on a 1/72 Schnellboot! It spent over forty unprotected years in someone's attic! Nice save!!
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