My Italeri 1/35 S-100 Schnellboot Build

Probably one of the fastest WIP posted.....kit just came out....lol

I'll be watching closely as mine was shipped out Friday.

I did notice there were some items molded on that did not have a very 3 dimensional look, see pic below.

I could see a few of these type of items being sanded off and replaced with rod and fiddly bits as they were pretty elementary shapes (don't know what they were supposed to be on the prototype).

And this little bugger of a plug will be hard to deal with, luckily there are some nice 35th scale rivits available on the aftermarlet so you can replace the lost detail....

Nice going James, yes please, photo's and lots of 'em. Sounds like lots of putty and sanding to get the hull all crispy nice (and at a meter long thats a lot of sanding )

cheers,

Julian

Here we go. Piccies of section 1. putting the hull together. All pics resized to 1024x whatever!

You can see here that the sides round the forward superstructure are warped inwards, the starboard more than the port. notice as well the broken part over the top of the port torpedo frame.

This shows the bracing that has metal nuts inside as part of the screw together hull.

Speaks for itself. I'm pretty sure that this was in the box like this, added to the warped sides I think that this hull side was cast on a friday!

This shows the bow view of the starboard hull part. notice how the armoured superstructure side is warped inwards. the tiny knub on top of the (whole) torpedo frame will have to be removed to allow the deck to sit properly at a later stage.

you can see in the centre of the picture the cover that hides the screw. It's a pretty tight fit. notice as well the broken top section of the torpedo tuber frame on the right.

Full view of the complete section. You can see the size of the thing now as it almost (but not quite) fills the table.

I hope these help guys...... more to come! Mwaaaaa Haaaaa haaaaaaa haaaaaaaaaa (Dr Evil laugh)

James

That really is a huge piece of real estate. The damage to to the tube aperture looks like a molding fault to me. Why not try contacting Italeri on this before you go any further? Seems reasonable to me that they supply you with a new hull piece considering the sales price of the beast. The plastic screw cover plates are going to need some rather careful putty work so as not to mutilate the rivets around them.

Julian

I've started masking the hull for painting. now.. my question is, and it is not too clear in section 3 of the instructions if the measurements are to the top or bottom of the black waterline. what to others who have this beast think?

I usually use Vallejo Model colour for painting (no smell... it's acrylic) but the paint numbers are for Italeri's own range of paints - this is something new to me! After much discussion in the model shop Which seemed to include most customers as well, I finally decided on the following colours for the hull:

Black (950) for the waterline (that was easy... black is black

Hull Red (985) for below the waterline

Silver Grey (883) for the hull sides and anywhere else. (should be something called Schnellboot white, but nobody could agree on the shade, so I chose the palest I could get as I reckon that it should be a shade of grey!

now the official book of words and pictures that comes with the kit quotes the following paints:

A Schnellbootweiss ITA MM 2720  ITA MM Scryl 4696 (Hull above Waterline)

B Dark Red ITA MM 1506  ITA MM Acryl 4714 (Hull Below waterline)

C Flat Black - Ha! Got that one!!!!

D Gold ITA MM 1744 ITA MM Acryl 4671 (for propellers? I think I'll use a copper colour, but subject to change)

E Gun Metal ITA MM 1405 ITA MM Acryl 4681 (self explanitory there.... but the torpedoes?? I think I'll stick with steel colour with a gunmetal blue head - Vallejo 800)

F Dark Tan ITA MM 1742 ITA MM Acryl 4709 (Parts of Deck)

G Grey ITA MM 1723 ITA MM Acryl 4752

H Medium Grey ITA MM 1721 ITA MM Acryl 4746

I Sand ITA MM 1706 ITA MM Acryl 44720 (parts of deck)

J Green ITA MM 1524 ITAMM Acryl 4669

K Red ITA MM 1503 ITA MM Acryl 4714

Anyone got a shade card????????????

I'll post descriptions & pictures of sections 2 - 5 after I've had a lie down with a damp towel on my forehead!

James

http://ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/stuff_eng_colorcharts_humbrol.htm

Try this instead of damp towel.

Didn't help much...... but this has....

http://www.shipcamouflage.com/images/kriegsmarine1.jpg

and so has this 

James

Hello ...

I must say, that kit is a lot better than the Revell two offerings ... from what I can see from the photos here ... either that - or you are an ubermodeler sir.

Would you mind contacting me offsite at PTConsultingNHR@aol.com - please?

Thank you,

Garth 

Email sent, Garth.

James

I thought that the Revell S-100 was an excellent kit as also noted in the on-line reviews.......

Another option for the lost (due to sanding etc) rivets is Archer's 1/35th scale dry transfer rivets, I think that these may be a better choice than the glue on type, mainly due to the fact that they come on a sheet that would make it pretty easy to align and look consistant.

 another build update for you all

first the piccies!!!

Here we have the stern and rudder section. no real problems encountered BUT make the stand first as it is very possible to break off the rudders. I would also recommend masking off the hull for painting (section 3 in the book of pictures) BEFORE adding the rudder section. and then paint the hull once the section has dried and you've done any cleanup needed. I didn't and found painting the rudder/prop section hard once it's all on place.

Can this model be R/C'd? I think that it MAY be possible, but it would take some modifications for the prop shafts. I leave this to someone with much more experience than me.... and I'd like to know how they did it.

coming up..... torpedo tubes.

Torpedo Tubes.

Now then. This could be a potential sticking point for those who are not careful. It becomes apparent that the tubes are not reversable. there are definatly left and right tubes. Careful dry fitting is needed and I would advise putting the photo etch ring around the tubes exit before fitting into the hull. It does make this step easier to do rather than fiddling around after the tube is fitted to the hull.

A word about the etched brass. It is very thinn and easily bendable. Parts were becoming detached in the bag, especially parts like the depth charge racks and the footplates for the armoured bridge.

It doesn't look like it, but there is a left and right!

Here you can see the photo etch ring (sort of). Once again there's a left and right, I can't remember is the parts on the sprues match the instructions as I though they were the wrong way round (it's probably me), but check twice and glue once!

This shows the starboard tube dry fitted into the hull. it's quite a snug fit. So far the part fitting as been very good.

This shows the port tube  fitted into place. You can see the broken part.

Torpedo tube door. It is possible to make this moveable. take care about placement of the hinge as there is a part on the top yet to be placed. Once I've painted the hull and the area I can put that part on.

Torpedo tube door. This picture shows the inside detail. The instructions call for the inside part to be painted gunmetal, but i think that a dark sea gray would be more appropriate. The inside of the torpedo tubes I have painted in steel.

Torpedo door in place..... and it moves/!!!

I'm enjoying this build. I think that it's a great kit packed full of detail (more than you realise untill you get going. There's scope for all you expert builders to potentially improve and superdetail this kit. As an overview now that I'm building, Italeri have done (for me) a superb job in this kit. I'm sure that another will find its way onto my bench soon and my learning experience in this build will make for a better one next time.

Once again, Italeri have done a superb job on this kit - it does have some drawbacks - but as there are no surviving S-Boats available to crawl round, photograph and measure and only photos and possible draught plans available then builders can't really complain about this offering (some will, but I won't)

Congratulations Italeri. Another superb offering.... What's next????????

Hey! Looks Great!

Didn't even know a 35th. scale was available. I'm doing a 72nd. scale Revell right now (really enjoying it) and planning the 35th. scale Italeri Elco in January (is winter time up here).

You may have seen this, but type in "Schellboot index page" for a very cool website. Magnificent photos, especially of the sunken "S - Boat."   

"What next from Italeri?"

Higgins 78 footer in both 72nd. and 35th. scales?

Ooooh Please, please, please.

B.P.

Calgary, Alberta Canada

Beaver Pilot wrote:

! Didn't even know a 35th. scale was available.

 it just was released like 2 weeks ago.......

WELCOME to the FSM forums!

Well I had the same problem with the port hull piece with the broken piece at the top of the torpedo opening.

Looks like Italeri did not package / protect these pieces from shifting around in the box. They better get their act together or they are going to have a lot of ticked of customers that just spent $200 (or more) on a kit that comes out the box BROKEN!

Wrote to MRC who is supposed to be the US inporter according to the Italeri website, also fired off an email to the webstore I purchased it from, because I don't feel like waiting for a part coming on the slow boat from Italy. I have had this type of service from other European companies that have US importers and the wait is 3-9 months.

It's more principal than anything, they chose to package it that way (shoddy) they need to make it good.

seems you've got the same problem that I have Joe

Are the armoured sides on your hulls (where the armoured supersturcture fits) warped inwards?

I'm off to my hobby shop today (LOTS of oodle to spend over the next few days - I need to replenish my stash. I'll ask to look in any surviving S- Boat boxes to check the left hull.

ooh! nearly forgot... is the broken bit in the box anywhere? 

James

James, yes, there were 2 pieces floating around in the box. Haven't fiddled with them yet to see how or if they'll line up. Italeri needs to take a few lessons from Trumpeter. They wrap pointy ends, fiddley bits and delicate protrusions on a lot of their aircraft kits in foam padding to protect them.

Another issue I have is that apparently the sprue tree that the hull was attached to was basically RIPPED off, leaving gouged craters in the hull parts  that will now need filler(came this way from Italeri, they took the hull parts off the tree). Why couldn't they have left it attached to the tree, or at least cut them off an inch or so from the hull and let us saw or cut off the hull part cleanly? My take is that they were in a hurry to get this kit out. 

I don't know if I would go so far as saying the hull sides on my kit are warped, just leaning inward slightly is all that I can tell.

Didn't mean to hijack your build thread James, but figured that all interested in the kit would be checking in here anyway.

Don't worry about hi-jacking the thread, Joe. All this discussion does relate to the build as it is information that I reckon other prospecting builders need to know.

I managed to check out 2 schnellboot kits at the hobby shop and I found that both hulls were complete but the section over the torpedo space was damaged. Those of us who were peering into the kit were in agreement that it was Italeri's poor packaging that is to blame.

So... It is a really good kit, let down by poor packaging ( Italeri folks... check out trumpeter's packaging of their M16 Half Track and Up and coming Tiger II THAT's how to package a kit, not just throw it into a large box, slap a lid on and send it!) Also there's the empty depth charge racks....

For Schnellboot owners... if you have the same damage as Joe's photo above, and mine in an earlier post, stick a message in here and I'll have a bash at Italeri over the phone.... or you all can

Apart from the obvious damage and omissions, I'm really enjoying this build and I've got the modelshop saving me another and getting hold of some schnellbootweiss paint. I have some more pics (got some paint on the sucker!) which I'll post soon.

James, I just got an email from MRC, Italeri's US importer. I advised them of the problem (recommended better packaging and protection for the hull parts) and sent pictures. They replied that they had replacement hulls coming from Italy, so hopefully it won't be as long as I have had to wait (going on 3 months now) for a replacement deck from Revell of Germany!

Well done, Joe

I spoke to the UK distributor on the phone this afternoon and told them about the hull problem and a recommendation for better designed packaging instead of just throwing it into a huge box. They offered me a replacement side, but seeing that I have already joined the hull I politley declined, saying that the UK post would probably break it as well. They said that they would forward my comments to Italeri.

I also praised the kit and remarked on the empty depth charge racks. I have now located the broken off piece lurking in the box and will fix it on tonight. I'm learning alot about this kit, and my next build should be better

now that you've had a look round the kit, what do you think??

James

http://www.sockelshop.de/catalog/deutsche-seemine-wwii-p-13832.html?language=en

Check this out Snap, I have ordered onr to see if it's any good and if it is I plan on ordering a couple to fill the empty DC-racks. Expensive solution but hey, how often do you build a ship model this big?

Julian

That's an interesting find and thought. I reckon that 2 sets should fill both racks.

I'm getting another S-Boat in about a week so I'll be able to do a full review and build for Garths'  website.

I also have tamiyas quad 20mm AA mount. I hope to be able to mount this on one of the boats. What do you think???

James

If I had a website it would be tempting Snap old chap. I don't though but thank you for the very kind offer. I have started my S-boat build as well now (just couldn't wait to get into that box). No damage, no warping and fit is perfect so far.

Cheers,

Julian

haaa Haaaa .... just edited my post. It's Garth's site!

I too just had to jump in and start. t was easy to clear my bench.... just a sweep of the arm! How you doing with your build? have I shown the way??

James

Fun to see the same thing being done by someone else. Always good to see how other modelers approache kits, so yes, in a way you are showing the way. The Tamiya quad is another mod I have been pondering but the detailing on the 37mm is very nice and the quad is a few years old now. Still, it only costs €6,- at Moduni.de so no problem in buying it and comparing the two before final assembly.

cheers,

Julian

One of my favorite interations of the S-100 is the one that has the red and white diagonal stripes on the front deck. Thought I had some pics of the Revell 1/72 decorated in this way but they have disappeared from the old computer!

Well, I got to thouroughly inventory the kit today, and found a few more parts to send to the damaged parts graveyard. what is really strange is the fact that much more delicate and finer parts were not damaged, while others were. Broken were both ladders, and 2 of the 4 torpedo props. Bad thing is that the broken off pieces of the props are MIA. Apparently slipped out through a slit in the bottom of the box. Looks like I'll wait till brass is available.

No other broken pieces than those above, and the hull, which to me is the biggie. Since mine and James' were both port sides it appears that there might be a packing issue.

Of the parts that were broken, I feel again that it is a packaging issue as the hull pieces and the parts bags are not very secure, so the slide around in the box latterally.

As much as I want a second kit, I am VERY leary of getting one unless I can have it opened up and and checked, and if OK, have the parts secured before shipment to prevent the same type of damage that mine suffered.

Otherwise, it is a beautiful mold and has some great detail. I can't wait for Lion Roar or someone else to come out with a full brass etched set, although expierence tells me it will take 6-12 months before we see a set for this kit. Also looking forward for some other aftermarket goodies.

On another note, what other guns can be utilized on this craft that are available maybe by Dragon or Tamiya?

I found references to the following armaments for the S-100

Torpedo... goes without saying. mounts for 4 ( I suppose that 6 COULD be carried if the tubes were preloaded before sailing)

1x20mm bow cannon

1 or twin 20mm mount

1x37mm AA mount

1x40mm Bofors AA mount

quad 20mm AA mount

also 8x 7.92mm Machine guns (either MG34 or MG42 I would have thought

6 mines may be carried also

How's That?

James