SEARCH FINESCALE.COM

Enter keywords or a search phrase below:

Type VII U Boat References:

1761 views
4 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    February 2004
  • From: Michigan
Type VII U Boat References:
Posted by gawrycht on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 2:52 PM

I am attempting my first u-boat model ... an old (very old!) Revell kit that actually works out to be 1/125 scale.  It is the inaccurate representation of the U-505.  Since I am in the process detailing, mostly to fix the errors of the kit, I thought I would scribe the lines to represent the various sections, panels, weld seams, etc.  I can't find any references, thought, that show where any of the lines are.  Does anyone out here have a good reference that would show me the locations of the main panel lines?  Or, do you have any photos of one of the 1/72 kits on the market today that show where the major lines would be?  I would really appreciate any help you can give me on this one.  I'm stumped!

 

Tom

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Mansfield, TX
Posted by EdGrune on Wednesday, February 28, 2007 7:12 PM

Lets make sure we are all singing from the same hymn book.

The U-505 was a Type IX U-boat, larger than the Type VII. 

Revell made a couple of 1:125 scale Type VIIB U-boats,  sold as the U-47 (Gunter Prein) and U-99 (cutaway).   The Type VIIB had a single-level conning tower.   The U-505 had a two-level tower with a 37mm on the lower.  A VIIB can be easily differentiated from a VIIC by the direction of the slant of the trailing edge of the conning tower.  On a B it slants forward top to bottom.   On a C it slants aft top to bottom.   There are also some minor length and torpedo configurations to deal with.

IIRC,  Monogram made a "Wolfpack U-Boat" which they sold as the U-505.   I forget the scale right now.   Any resemblence it bore with the real U-505 was purely accidental.  Revell may have obtained the molds to the kit when they and Monogram merged a dozen or so years back.   Regardless, the kit is 60s technology.

Your best bet for the sort of detail drawings you seek may be contained in "The Anatomy of the Ship - Type VII U-Boat"  by David Westwood or in the Scheiffer Publications title on the Type VII U-Boat 

  • Member since
    March 2007
  • From: Atlanta, Ga.
Posted by MrSquid2U on Friday, March 9, 2007 5:48 AM

A great source of info is http://www.uboat.net and it's links.

 

Good Luck

       

 

  • Member since
    February 2004
  • From: Michigan
Posted by gawrycht on Thursday, May 31, 2007 10:25 AM

Thanks for the detailed info on this; especially the tips on telling a VIIB from a C (regarding slant on the conning tower).  I have been able to get a couple books on U-boat variants since my first post, one of which is the book you mentioned as well as one in German that have scaled-down blueprints. 

 Being an armor/figure modeler for the most part I should have known that the boats would have as many variants as tanks but am still surprised by just how many there were and the small details that changed!  It will be a test of my research skills jumping into this new realm and your post has definitely helped!

  • Member since
    February 2004
  • From: Michigan
Posted by gawrycht on Thursday, May 31, 2007 10:27 AM
Thanks for the link!  Definitely helpful and it looks like it will give a few hours of details to go through!
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

SEARCH FORUMS
FREE NEWSLETTER
By signing up you may also receive reader surveys and occasional special offers. We do not sell, rent or trade our email lists. View our Privacy Policy.