With the exception of HMS Prince of Wales and the Halifax GR II, my Battle of the Atlantic effort has been mostly about the small stuff — Destroyers, U-Boats, and supporting aircraft. Okay, none of these are small in our real world, but in 1/700 scale they range from 1/2 inch (Spitfire PR IV) to 6 inches (O Class Destroyer). I signed myself up for no less than 3 destroyers, 2 U-boats and 10 aircraft (11 if you count the Walrus on the Prince of Wales).
This update will be about the U-Boats.
The Subjects
If, as a modeler, you have not heard about German U-Boats in World War II, then you must be one of those modelers that refuses to look at anything military in the catalog, and you failed history in middle/high school. Okay, that latter may be a bit harsh, but even people who know nothing about our hobby seem to know about the U-Boat peripherally. They DO know they are submarines, and they were German and either think of them regarding World War I, or II or possibly from the movie Das Boot!.
At any rate, Germany began the war in 1939 with about 65 submarines of various types. Only 21 of them were operational and this generally remained the case for the first year of the war. Admiral Donitz was clear to Hitler that he could not start a war with Great Britain until he had 300 submarines, with about 200 operational. Hitler agreed with his Admiral and started the war anyway…
Most of those initial submarines were Type VII U-boats. 703 were made/used before and during the war and it was considered a workhorse of the German Submarine Fleet right up until the end. It, and it’s larger sister the Type IX, were based on the Type I. The Type I was built before the war and only 2 were made, mainly to get the German submarine capability restarted after the World War I ban. Some of the other 65 boats at war’s beginning were Type IX long range boats, Type II coastal boats and Type III minelayers.
Gunther Prien was the most successful Type VII commander in U-48, with 55 ships sunk. The most famous is U-96, the boat used in the movie Das Boot.
A number survived the war and were used by other navies post-war.
The Type IX was a larger boat to allow longer range. It’s maneuverability suffered as a result of its size so not as many were made. 195 total were made before/during the war.
U-505 is a Type IX, and is probably the most famous, whereas U-123 was the most successful boat under Reinhard Hardegen.
The Models
These are not supposed to represent any specific boat, just one each Type VII and IX. The Type VII is the venerable Tamiya kit; the Type IX the relatively new Hobby Boss kit.
The Tamiya Type VII holds up well. The plastic was still crisp and no flash. The kit comes with a half sunken merchant as well. I am going to finish that and include it with the vignette.
The Hobby Boss Type IX can be built either as a IXb or IXc. I chose IXb, frankly by accident. I simply put the IXb conning tower on the hull, not considering there was enough difference in the two. Sacrilege, I know!
The Hobby Boss kit can also be built either as a full hull or waterline, and even comes with a display stand if you choose to make it full hull.
There are lots of info out there regarding how to finish a U-Boat. I found this site to be the most comprehensive. In 1/700 scale you can almost choose any grays so long as you DON’T paint it overall gray. I’m simplifying of course but a nice U-Boat results by simply using the paints you have and not trying to find that perfect match. www.uboat.net is great resource, I found everything I needed just by searching their site/forums.
For the Type VII, I used an overall light gray. The bulges are a dark gray (Tamiya XF-54) and the decks are Gunze Tire Black. The effect seems a bit too much contrast, but according to uboat.net this was effective in the North Atlantic, as a lighter scheme from the sides made the boats less visible in the foggy early mornings, when they liked to attack. Because it came out so dark, I decided for the Type IX I’d use a lighter gray for the decking. The overall light gray is USN Gull Gray.
For the Type IX I used a scheme popular during the latter part of the war, 1943-1945. This consisted of a neutral gray hull, blue-gray conning tower and the same dark staining for the wood decking. I simply used the primer as my overall gray, and painted the conning tower and deck guns FAA Extra Dark Sea Grey. The deck is Floquil Grimy Black, which is a lighter color that Tire Black and has a slight brown tinge to it. Much better to my eye, but then again I’m no U-Boat color expert!
Overall I enjoyed these, not too many parts and they went together quickly. The basic schemes made them a quick build.
Thanks for reading…