So finally I finished up the impetus for this project – the Brigade Games U Boat.
Being a gaming piece first and foremost I wanted it to be easy to store and transport, so decided to not go overboard (see what I did there) with the detail. I made the decision early on to leave it as a three piece affair and to magnetize as many pieces as possible.
The kit came with a single 20mm, the 8.8cm deck gun, two periscopes, an UZO pedestal and the posts for the railing at the aft of the conning tower. Surprisingly missing were the iconic (to me) horseshoe shaped life rings. I was able to find some 1/48th scale ones on Shapeways along with a more detailed UZO and a circular range finder.
Assembly of the guns was pretty straight forward, and I magnetized the bases of these along with the periscopes and the UZO. I then used some solder to create the aft railing. I affixed the life rings but decided to leave off the RF antenna. It was housed in a box and I didn’t want to sacrifice any more real estate in the conning tower as I wanted to cram some based figures in there.
After that it was a matter of firing up the airbrush and giving it a coat of paint. The markings are hand painted and are my interpretation of the U-201 coat of arms and snowmen.
Additionally I scabbed together a couple of gangplanks from basswood strips. The rubber dinghy is from Bandai and the supplies are from the scrap box.
Finally I’ll put the finishing touches on the figures for the orders of battle and gin up a few play aids.
Herr Brush 
January 31st, 2018 at 15:19
Looks really, really nice – but something is missing still… First to come in mind are moorings for the sub (I have odd feeling it drifting away slowly 😀 ). Next, perhaps a general rubbish, like coils of thick ropes close to the bollards? Some other clutter (that would be present in harbour – perhaps stains on the pavement (oil, sand, dirt, these kind of things…)?
That said, that is a splendid setting for game indeed!
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January 31st, 2018 at 15:24
Oh, and while at it, please add rigging to the sub, if you can. Won’t sacrifice the real estate, but makes a big deal on general looks. There ought to be Y -line from the coning tower to the bow, and two to the rear, guided with guides at the stern, if type VII. Additionally, if early model, there ought to be the ramming device on the bow, to which to attach the Y-line.
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January 31st, 2018 at 16:05
Sploosh!
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February 2nd, 2018 at 12:19
[…] French Harbor Town – Part IX @ Herr Brush – We checked in on part 2 of this series back in early December and it’s really cool to see the progress the author has made since then on his gaming board. It’s come together very well and I’m looking forward to seeing the final pictures once the last little details are sorted out. […]
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