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Marek Targowicz
9 articles

U1407 – Uboottyp XVIIB – 1/350 MikroMir

December 20, 2019 · in Ships · · 8 · 2.1K

Today I would like to present my newest model - U1407 in its mid-1945 guise. It was commissioned into Kriegsmarine in April 1945 and used for the training, hence the yellow band on the kiosque.

The kit parts are quite accurate in terms of shape and dimensions but in some places the detail is missing. To update it a little I created the set of the photoetch plus decals which were used in this build. The model was painted with Lifecolor acrylic paints and Tensocromes. Some smaller details were painted with MrColor C-series paints. The overall varnish comes also from MrColor range.

Reader reactions:
4  Awesome

16 additional images. Click to enlarge.


8 responses

  1. Excellent, your paint work is very realistic!

  2. Nice weathering, especially at the waterline. I’ve never see a U-boat of this type. Thanks for sharing.

  3. Superb paint work, please share your technique...

  4. I cant wait to build a U boat. I dont build boats, but these seem like a good starting place.

  5. Very nice job, well done. The German U-boats were looking very "modern" by war's end, it appears.

  6. Thank you for the nice words!

    This u-boat was one of the first submarines with an air independent propulsion. Its Walter engine utilised a High Test hydrogen Peroxide as oxidiser for the kerosine. HTP was stored in the rubber tanks hidden beneath the rectangular covers visible on both sides of the hull. The size of the boat was ca. 2/3rd of the type VII u-boat size and its hull was exceptionally streamlined to take the maximal advantage of its advanced propulsion system. U-1407 after the end of WW2 went to Royal Navy and was briefly tested as HMS Meteorite - no one seemed to enjoy working with bigger quantities of HTP. 😉

    As for the painting technique - I started with the Black Surfacer 1500 airbrushed all over the sub. Then I used two Lifecolor Paints from their Kriegsmarine range - Schiffsbodengrau Farbe for the lower- and Dunkelgrau 53 for upper areas of the hull - typical combination for the late-war u-boat. The weathering was made using various Tensochromes - two kinds of Rust, Oil, Fuel and Oxidiation. Those transparent paints have also various degree of the shine. The scum-line was made using pencil crayons.

    Best regards, Marek

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