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It is indeed Phil. It fits on both with room to spare. Thanks Peter! Thanks Paul! So far I've got to say I'm very happy with the kit.

Thanks Gaz! I'm fairly certain it's the largest kit I've put together. I'm thinking of getting some figures. It looks like Aires does some under one of their brands and I've found some from U Models. Just need to decide which ones and where to get them from.

Nice build John. Looking at my kit, the fuselage is really quite compact. Carl

Thanks folks! This kit is coming along nicely. The conning tower is together. I needed a bit of filler at the top so I used CA to fill the gap. I then installed the outer torpedo tube doors. There is a magnet to hold them open but I decided to leave it out as I felt it would be too hard to close them after. I put a small piece of tape on the backside to hold them shut so I can paint them without too much paint getting inside. At this point I added the torpedo tubes, installed the rudder and the rods for the diving planes. I've now started closing up the hull halves. I've got the upper seam glued and am working my way around the hull. With the conning tower placed on the hull as a mock up. This thing is big...

I've got more assembled. I started on the inner bits of the conning tower. The fit has been really good I'm happy to say. On the right is the schnorkel that the U-boat had so they could run the diesel engine and charge the batteries while submerged. Some details are definitely basic but I'm not sure if the actual parts weren't as well. I then attached it to one side of the conning tower. The part was a bit warped but straightened out as I glued it. I got the tow bow torpedo tubes together and glued to their bulkheads. I need to start doing some painting before I go any further.

Thanks Peter! Like I said, my first sub kit so not my usual thing either.

I think this is the one. I'm sticking to pretty much OOB. I'm thinking of adding some figures if Ii can find them to add a better sense of scale. I bought some Mission Models paint for this as it supposedly goes a long way. One way to find out. I think for me it is. And the paint bench. Still some odd things to put away but pretty close. As for how many WIPs, I have no clue. I'm afraid to count to be honest. There are a number of open boxes around me but they've all thankfully found shelf space.

It was definitely unique. They only carried two torpedoes. To load the tubes the sub would dock where they would fill the rear ballast tanks to raise the bow out of the water and then insert the torpedoes.

Just catching up Phil and it looks really good. I've got a Border Models Panzer IV in the stash so it will be interesting to see how they compare. Carl

I'm actually starting with step 1 which is the torpedoes. There's a pair of them and they seem to be fairly detailed. I will most likely leave one out of the tubes so as to better see it. I decided to join the front and rear halves of side of the hull instead. Here it is next to a 1/32 Corsair.

"So, who's the U-boat captain?" Well, I got a new bench and a cleared off old one so I thought I'd better build something big. Wish me luck as this is probably my first sub kit. Thankfully, beyond the size it's fairly straightforward. I'm planning to keep it pretty much OOB as I don't have a lot of reference materials.

What is this word "unpack"? I don't understand it as it's not in my vocabulary. There are boxes in our basement that haven't been touched since Sue first moved in with me 11 years ago...

Just got a notice that my turrets are being shipped. So hopefully I'll have them soon. Carl

I picked one last month. It is indeed a very nice kit. They've got a more standard scheme Kai coming next. The amount of stencils on a Japanese F-4 is a bit mind boggling. Here's the kit one.

Got a new book in the mail yesterday. It'll hopefully be handy when I get around to the ZM kit.

Great work on the Hellcat Rob. Thanks for sharing how you do it. Carl

Got the bench cut and fitted today. Went easier than I hoped. I was half worried I'd get the angles wrong and it would be either too big or small. I used a strip of 2x3' mounted to the wall as a support. They're anchored to the 2x4s behind the drywall

Our cat Sunny has gotten quite the reputation in the neighbourhood as an exceptional ratter. When folks realize he's out cat, they almost always say he's doing a great job killing rats in their yard. One morning last year u was looking out our kitchen window when I see something fly straight up out of the ferns. Then a few seconds later it happens again. I go outside to see what it is. Sure enough Sunny has caught a rat and is throwing it up in the air over and over again. I guess that's what happens you have a rescue "barn" cat. Carl

Martin, I've got a bag of ready mix for that very reason. Just wanted to start getting things out of the way first as we also have to move our oldest into his own room. Some of it will go into the space I recently vacated.

Thanks Phil & Harv! I'm going to leave it as is. The rest of the basement isn't finished either. In fact, only two walls have drywall on them. The worklights are quite a bit brighter than what I had before so pot lights would be over kill. I will probably paint the floor where the new concrete was poured though.

Thanks Peter! The best part is the space was all previously boarded up so it's a bonus and lets us organize the rest of the basement better. I went ahead and worked on getting some of the drywall up tonight. There's just one piece left but it'll be the most challenging as I have to measure and cut out the spot for the switch and outlet. With the corner done, I hung the lights up as well. At this point, I put the bench back together. It just fit in the space. I've got a 1/2" on either side. With my Arttystation back in place. The rack of paints on the right side are the ones my boys use so those will now be on the bench instead of on the floor beside it. It's finally coming together. Carl

More progress on the bench. Got the wiring done thanks to the help of my neighbour. There's a new light over where the paint bench will go and another for the work bench itself. I just need to do the drywall tomorrow and I can start putting my bench back together.

Never a good day when we lose a model company. Just got their F-5F kit too. Carl

My one got here on Monday. Still haven't looked in the box but seeing Cees' build its definitely purty. Carl

Thanks guys. The thought of the rust weakening the tank has crossed my mind. It looks to be fairly thick so I should be ok. There's also the case around it should something happen. I've have a second compressor which I haven't used yet. With my future bench setup, I should have easier access to both so that will make it easier to switch between the two.