Bronco 1/35 scale
Seehund XXVIIB German Midget Sub

by Bruce Salmon

Tamiya's 1/32 scale Tamiya P-51D Mustang is available online from Squadron.com

This model represents Seehund U-5330 that was launched from Ijmuiden in the Netherlands and sunk British cable layer Alert (941 tons) on 24 Feb 1945 northeast of South Falls, Ramsgate. (Southernmost part of the Outer Banks fronting the Thames Estuary).

I Built this model mostly OOB with only a few minor corrections. The plastic surfaces are very rough, reminiscent of coarse sandpaper. Thus the entire model was sanded down with 400 grit sandpaper, primed and then sanded again with 600 grit resulting in a surface fit for painting.

Strangely, Bronco have moulded most of the hull hatches and plates directly as if from a flat side view drawing forgetting that the hull is circular in cross section. This leads to some of them being very oddly shaped. I replaced the worst offenders with scratchbuilt items.

Other improvements included thinning out the propellers and giving them a bit more of a curve; replacing the grab handles on the bow and stern with sturdier ones made from wire and attaching the periscopes with wire for extra strength. I also plunge-moulded a new clear observation dome using a 10mm ball bearing on a stick as the original was damaged at the factory.

Lastly the brass name plate for the stand was cut longitudinally to remove the kit branding and the Chinese script as this was pretty much pointless.

Painting

The whole model was initially sprayed with Tamiya Liquid Surface Primer (White) from the bottle then painted with the “Hull” mix stated below. Once dry I post-shaded using the “Hull” colour successively lightened with white in vertical streaks and patches.

Paints used as follows (all acrylics):

Hull:

1 – Tamiya XF-22 RLM Grey / 1 – XF-82 Ocean Grey RAF / 8 – XF-83 Medium Sea Grey RAF / 2 – X-22 Clear Gloss
I add the clear gloss to the mix to strengthen the paint so it doesn’t wear off so easily with handling.

Torpedo body: Primed with Tamiya Gloss Black then sprayed Alclad steel with Alclad magnesium hatches. These were then weathered with vertical streaks of Windsor & Newton Raw Umber oil paint.

Torpedo heads: Initially painted Tamiya XF-7 Flat Red then post-shaded darker and lighter red. To finish I sponged on a little Gunze H327 Red FS11136 to add texture.

Screws: Primed with Tamiya Gloss Black then sprayed with Alclad Polished Brass.

The hardest thing about the whole painting process is that you have nothing to hold the model with so you have to paint it in sections letting it dry in between (this adds a few extra days to the build time).

Decals

The model was sprayed with Tamiya X-22 Clear Gloss before decaling and then again afterwards to seal them in before starting the weathering process. The decals are very good although a little thick and take ages to come away from the backing paper.

There are various other unit markings provided on the sheet but no mention of placement.

Weathering

Weathering bagan with an overall filter wash of Windsor & Newton Raw Umber oil paint. Once dry I followed up with AK 066 Enamel Wash for DAK Vehicles and AK 045 Enamel Wash Dark Brown for Green Vehicles in the panel lines and various crevices. Other points of interest were given treatment with the following in no particular order:

• AK 302 Naval - Wash for Grey Decks

• AK 012 Streaking Grime

• AK 013 Rust Streaks

• AK 074 Rainmarks for NATO Tanks

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Thumbnail panels:

Lastly I used Tamiya Weathering Master (Set A) Mud, for areas where the crew would goosestep about followed by highlighting raised detail with drybrushing of the original hull mix lightened with white.

This is a very easy kit to build and the fit is mostly very good and I would recommend it to anyone wanting an escape from AMS.

Model and Text Copyright © 2017 by Bruce Salmon
Page Created 22 June, 2017
Last Updated 22 June, 2017

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