Profile Photo
Ulf Lundberg
73 articles

Revell’s S-Boot in 1:72

January 4, 2015 · in Ships · · 16 · 2.2K

Revells is an excellent kit of the best motor torpedo boat of the WWII.
The S-Boote were developed by the german navy in the twenties and were built by the Lürssenwerft. Their long hulls with rounded bottoms gave them sea keeping abilities superior to allied boats, their diesel engines were rugged and reliable and the diesel fuel was much less of a fire hazard in action than the gasoline used by the allied boats.
They were successfully deployed in the North Sea, the English Channel, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and in the Baltic.

The S 100 series was the last development of the S-Boot with an armoured bridge and a top speed in excess of 42 knots.

I built the kit mostly out of the box and intentionally abstained from detailing her with PE. There were more important improvements to be made. The stanchions, railings, grabhandles etc. were about 1 mm thick and looked very clumsy, so I replaced them with 0,5 mm piano wire. I made the canvas along the railings from aluminium foil. The figures come from Airfix old E-Boat kit and are remarkably good considering their age.

The water was sculpted from styrofoam and wall putty and the spray was made from cotton and baking powder.

I finished the model in January 2004 and she won the ships category in Stockholm and Gothenburg that year, the first two competitions I took part in, which was a great inspiration to me.
The model is currently displayed at the “Modellbau-Meile” Karl-Marx-Allee 138 in Berlin.

Epilogue 2017
The Modellbau-Meile has fared the fate of so many other modeling stores. It was forced to close because of high rents. There is now only three modeling stores in Berlin.

Reader reactions:
8  Awesome

8 additional images. Click to enlarge.


16 responses

  1. Aside from the excellent boat build, that's one of the most convincing water bases I've ever seen. You've captured the essence of speed perfectly. I'd be interested in knowing your techniques for achieving such a masterful diorama.

  2. I agree with Craig, the diorama is very impressive!

  3. Here I thought you just display you workmanship on stands. This has to be the best representation of a wake I have ever seen.
    The "outstanding" side of your balance sheet must be getting full.

    • There's a Korean or Japanese modeller on UTube who did something similar with a US patrol boat in a Vietnam setting. He just took thin wires shaped to the shapes water makes in a bow wake and then applied resin. He also added colour to simulate muddy water. It took him about an hour I think. Highly realistic effect.

  4. Very nice work. I've often thought of getting that kit. Yours is inspirational.

  5. Very nice Ulf, the sense of power and speed is well replicated.
    Well done sir.

  6. said on January 4, 2015

    Excellent model in a very realistic setting, and some interesting history background information.

    Regards,
    Dirk
    The Netherlands

  7. That's amazing Ulf! The wake on the water is awesome. Cool model as well!

  8. Thank you all.
    Actually it's not so much how I did the water. The water itself is not very impressive when you see it live. It's more about angles, wave patterns and photography.
    Notice that the boat is steering a course diagonally across the baseplate.
    It's also heeling a little and is a bit up by the bow, so that nothing is level, or parallel to the edges of the base plate.
    The same goes for the waves. There are two layers of waves, long swells going in one direction and shorter waves in a different direction. I planned the waves, so that they would be parallel neither to the sides of the baseplate, nor to the course of the boat.
    Then there are the swells created by the boat. I made sure they ran at an angle to everything else in the dio.
    It took me some time with pencil and paper to map it all out, so that no wave would be parallel or at right angles to the sides of the baseplate, or to the course of the boat or to any other layer of waves.

    The colour of water is basically the same as the colour of the sky. Blue sky-blue water, grey sky-grey water. I gave my water a distinctly grey tone, to portray a foggy day on the North Sea.

    Then it's photography. I naturally chose the photo angles that made the water look best.

  9. That's awesome. 🙂 Nice job.

  10. Stunning presentation, Ulf. Impressive as always, looks really fast !
    Did mine years ago, as it came out, a sound kit, a pleasure to build.

  11. Best "under way" model I've seen.
    In keeping with the subject, which always looked to me like it was racing along.
    And menacing, which you've captured very well.
    The whole scene is just eye catching, no matter what you build.
    Just a beauty!

  12. Brilliant modelling, very well thought out display, and great photography!

  13. Fabulous, simply fabulous. You've raised the bar considerably!

  14. Great job, Ulf !

Leave a Reply