thats right boys and girls! a project ive been planning for years! i am building a 1/32nd scale WWII german u-boat. i will be building the largest u-boat from germany, known as the IXD2 long range attack sub. these subs were designed to sail to the indian ocean, and once there, stay on patroll for a loooong time. i will be building the most sucsesful of this class, U-181. the sub when complete will be 1 inch short of 9 ft long. it will also be R/C, be able to dive with its ballast tanks, and mabey fire torpeados... not sure if i will do that just yet... any who, here is a pic of a real IXD2 (this is U-181 in drydock for repairs)
and pics of the master plug so far...(it is laying on its deck with the keel up in the photos. basicly its upside down.)
you can use small co2 cartridges to fire off your torpedos!!! just look out for McHales navy.....
Peace is a lie; there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall set me free.
that is what most do. however, the torpeados never move fast enough, and air usualy ends up traped in the torpeado tubes causing an imbalance.. my buddy jeff has CO2 torpeados on his IXC/40 and runs into this issue... since electric motors and batteries are so small now, i could build scale electric G7e torpeados. just not sure yet, its not like ill be short on empty space in this hull!
on another note, hull is roughed in! next ill sculpt the front of the bow, and stern. then smooth out the plug.
soo, sorry for not posting progress pics. but i have been a busy boy. first up is a couple pics of the hull plug. i am using drywall compound to help shape the plug. im hoping this will reduce the amount of work ill have to do later on. we will see.
and my modified conning tower based on the lengthing the tower and making it match the photos i have of the real deal. so far im pleased with the over all shape im seeing.
Peace is a lie; there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall set me free.
yeah a crater maker may not work so well underwater, but on the other hand what about one of those model rocket engines like A's or B's? Not for sure what the right size would be...
lol. thanks.... the IXD2 has been on hold..... i ran into some issues casting the tower..... so i started another test bed submarine, this one is a 1/72nd scale soviet era alfa. the alfa is the fastest and deepest diving attack submarine (reaching over 40 knots submerged).
here is the plug before fiberglass
here is the plug with protective duct tape coating to prevent the fiberglass from eating the foam
here is where it sits now with two layers of fiberglass on it
thank you greg! some guys over at the subcommitte have been trying to convince me to make a mold of this hull. one is a man named Matt Thor. Matt is the king of accurate kit submarines, and his subs are affordable. after talking to him, i decided to mold this bad boy. i will be offering a limited run of these alfa submarines, and will try to keep prices low.
back to the sub..... yesterday i sanded most of my defects out, and applied another coat of resin
then i got lazy and started using bondo instead of resin.
primer time! my favorite part of a project! means im almost done....
here is what is left..... i have to apply a few more coats of primer. then i will scribe the hull lines, free flood vents and hatches on the sub. then i will try molding this bad boy. the first one out will be a test hull. if it turns out, production will start asap.