On the Bench 06/04/2020: Imperial Japan - Special Naval Landing Forces

Haven't had these boys out in a bit. I'll slend some time on them while waiting for my RLM 76 Lichtblau to arrive.

There's 30 of them, so I won't lack for keeping busy ;-).

The Enemy Below 6/4/2020

Well after a day off from the workbench, I'm back at it with some further detail of the USS England, plus a peak at my initial contemplation for a diorama.  But first an artists view of the England:

The Hedgehog projector launching 24 contact rounds.  The ship carries 144 rounds total so it can do this six times.  I would not want to be in a Sub  in close proximity to this "Bad Boy".

I have a piece of spongy foam packing I am going to use as my ocean base.  Here I am setting the DE and half the Type VII-C on the foam.  I have room for a Diorama!!

Cut out for the DE!

I can introduce a list if I wish!  But, let's get back to completing the DE before getting carried away with this diorama business.

Note the start of adding the PE stack ring.  Also note to the left the addition of the first pieces of railing to the bridge area.

Here you can see the stack platform with the ladder added, the bridge railings and even the completion of the 20MM AA behind the stack.  You may also notice that I have given the deck a gray wash as I found this to be the look of the USS Haynes in the movie footage.  To reiterate, my diorama will be an homage to The Enemy Below, so I am doing what I can within the constraints of the kit to make the DE look as much like the fictitious USS Haynes as much as possible.  

That is all for today.

On the Bench 06/03/2020: ME 410

Starting to look a bit like an aircraft. 

Going to need to clean it and spray a bit of RLM 02 in the interior (non-cockpit) spaces before we can assemble much more. Then we can complete all but gear and canopy, which will be painted separately and installed after the airframe is painted.

I think we'll go with Major Tratt's B-1 U2/R4 version, which should give my camo spraying abilities a good workout.

Engines!

On the Bench 06/02/2020: Multitasking

The ME 410 is back, while also making a "muzzle flash" for my MMG Team (thats the bit of yellow dangling from a tweezers on the left).

I used a similar technique to add flame to a flamethrower: we'll see if it scales.

Stay tuned!

Follow-up:

I think it creates the intended effect!

The Enemy Below - Continued

I am actually taking a break from severe Photo Etch frustration.  I consciously chose to use more PE for additional detail (I did need ladders and railings) but the little bits for the 20MM guns are getting to me.  I actually thought of replacing barrels with after market brass, but Bob warned me not to go down that "Rabbit Hole".  Thanks for that advice bro.!  

As you will see later the purchase of an additional after market installation paid off in many ways.  The rather sad two piece 1.1 mount that comes with the kit just is not satisfactory (in my opinion) so I laid out  the extra bucks.  You can make six of the twin 40MM Bofors mount with this kit, that is as long as little bits of PE are not constantly flying off into space from the end of your tweezers.  From a kit of six if figure I could maybe get three.  I'm glad I only need one.

 

One page on the instructions give you some idea of the fiddliness of this construct.  Fourteen pieces for the mount and three more for the accompanying Fire Director (which I was glad of as you will see later).

Here is the twin 40MM.  Two brass barrels into the resin block.

The mount in the tub.  Notice the 3 piece Fire Director in the tub immediately behind.

Twin gun is ready for installation.

Here is the completed Twin Bofors prior to final paint.  Next you will see what this replaced and understand why I bought this extra kit.

YUCK.

I used another Fire Director for the torpedo launcher (as seen in historical photos).  I used one more for the forward FD for the 3" guns.

This shows one of the 20MM with the fiddly PE parts unpainted.  There are ten of these and my tweezers have ejected several of these parts such that I am further glad of the purchase of the Bofors kit.  I am able to replicate the pieces I have lost such that I am hopeful to complete all ten 20MM.  The closeup accentuates the out of scale thickness of the barrel, which is why I thought of brass replacement.  They don't look so bad to the naked eye though, so thanks again my brother for taking me out of it.

Look what else arrived at my doorstep.  I feel a Diorama coming on!

Stay tuned for the next chapter of The Enemy Below.

On the Bench 06/01/2020

Here is a WIP: A medium machine gun team for tabletop (Bolt) Action made from parts in the Warlord Late War US Airborne Infantry set and some DIY basing. And tell that ammo bearer to double time!

Getting there....

The Enemy Below

I enjoy submarine war films.  Some are a bit cheesy propaganda type, but there was a war on in the 40's so it is understandable and they were terrific.  But one of my favorites is the subject of this and future posts.  
While searching Hobbylinc for a spring "lockdown" project I came across the USS England, a Buckley Class Destroyer Escort (famous in the Pacific for sinking 6 enemy submarines).  This Trumpeter Kit was less than $25.  Great, but you get what you pay for-more about that later.  Anyway I thought about "The Enemy Below" because the fictitious USS Haynes - 181 - is a Buckley Class DE (identified as such by  the crew of the U-Boat they chase).  The actual ship used in the movie is the USS Whitehurst, Buckley class DE.  For those familiar with the plot the Haynes gives chase to the U-Boat with the climax of the Haynes being torpedoed, but fooling the U-Boat to the surface and ramming the sub.  Destroyers ramming subs actually did occur!  The most notable is the USS Borie which rammed the surfaced U-405 in 1943.

Back to the model.  I thought of an homage diorama to the movie, so I plowed ahead and ordered the kit.

Upon it's arrival I soon realized that to put the kind of detail into it that I wanted I would need to add Photo etch parts.  the kit came with only PE for the depth charge racks and nothing else- no ladders, railing etc.  Another couple sawbucks later, the "Tom's Model Works" PE for the USS England arrived.  Now I was set, or so I thought.  Again, more about that later.  As Chef Robert Irvine says "Let's Get To Work"!

I did not take many photos initially.  But my brother (Littlebro) thought I should join the Atom Furnace as an author and Blog the building of the USS England aka USS Haynes.  The kit comes with a two piece hull above and below the water line.  All of the photos are of the above the waterline hull construction. Here the single piece steel deck is on the hull along with the forward 3" gun tub and the "Hedgehog Projector" right behind the tub.  What is a hedgehog projector?? I had never heard of it until I found out on line during my research of the DE's armaments.  A Royal Navy invention, it is a forward firing 65LB contact projectile weapon of 7 inch diatmeter.  The projector tosses these "bombs" about 900 yards in front of the ship and they explode on contact with an object, unlike depth charges which explode at a set depth.  Amazingly the Hedgehog has a 5.7 to 1 kill ratio as compared to the 60 to 1 ratio of the depth charge!!  Who Knew??

A few other assemblies are started.

Here we begin to see the extra detail the result of the extra purchased PE.  The 20MM AA go from the simple two piece in the kit to a 5 piece construct with the PE added.

This is the aft 3" gun in it's tub with ammo lockers, PE floor grating and painted.  I paint all assemblies as I produce them.  Many parts I paint while still on the sprue.  Note that the side depth charge projectors are also installed and painted.  

The painting of the ship is simple as compared to my previous Dreadnought builds.  Navy Blue (my mix), Gray, Silver and a thinner/black weathering wash.

This shows the installation of the PE depth charge roll off racks at the stern.  The PE provided in the kit was used for this since it was Trumpeter and not after market.

Likewise for the depth charge projectors.

This shows the extra PE used for the life raft mounts.  The inside of raft is cut out and replaced by PE along with delicate support.  I did not use this procedure for the forward rafts as they lent themselves to pin drilling out the raft bottom grating as seen below.

A progress photos, aft.

As with the previous Dreadnought builds I use the PE Bins (for flotation ropes and devices); however due to photographs viewed I noted that the Bins have knee bracing.  I cut up extra pieces of PE to add said bracing.

These Bins are on the tub for the eventual twin 40MM Bofors mount that comes later.

Here the Bofors Tub is installed.

Stayed tuned as this build continues.  It gets even more fiddly and I am compelled to spend more $$.  As I related early on, you get what you pay for.