Back in 2012 I started building Revell's 1/350 German Minelayer Type VII D Unterseeboot or U-Boat. It wasn't until after this model that I discovered Tamiya's Extra Thin Cement and primer. A few parts kept coming off because I had just used CA glue in most areas. The periscope had come off a number of times and after I used Extra Thin, I've had no further problems. After putting down the initial black coat, I started to mask the bottom half when I had some paint pull off near the front and rear of the ship. I was so frustrated I put it down for a while. In March 2014, I got the bug again and set off to work. I cleaned up the problem areas by using a piece of plastic to scrape the paint to the surrounding panel lines. I masked off the areas and re-painted them, removed the masking and blended it into the surrounding area.
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| And here is the result. The front elevators came off, but it was easily remedied. The black I used was Model Master Acryl Flat Black. |
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| I masked off the bottom and sprayed Tamiya's Dark Sea Gray, then masked again for spraying Tamiya's Light Sea Gray. Masking is always the most tedious and time consuming part of the process. It seems like 95% prep, and 5% actual painting. |
The Final Result.
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| After the paint cured, I sprayed it with a coat or two of Testor's gloss lacquer. I added the decals, which there was a grand total of three on the conning tower and three on the base, using Micro Sol and Micro Set. I gave it a coat of gloss again to add the wash. |
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| I really had no idea what I was doing with the wash since it was my first time. I used an acrylic artist paint, Winsor & Newton Burnt Umber, which is a bit difficult to take off once it dries in 20-30 minutes. I used a Mig rust pigment afterwards for some rust effect and at the back I airbrushed some exhaust stains. |
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| After all that was done, I sprayed it with Testors dull coat lacquer. As you can see on this side it fogged up on me. I think it actually adds to the model though, a happy accident. I think I put it on too thickly at first. EZ-Line was finally added for the rigging. |
It was a fun little kit and I really enjoyed its great detail for such a small size. I would definitely consider picking up some more U-boats in this scale as they are easy to build, cheap (around $20) and they don't take up much space after they are built.
