1/56 German U-Boat, WW2 new project

[CompanyB]

Hello all,

We'll my next "large" project is a 28mm German U-boat for WW2.  I can't say who the client is, but you all can probably guess.

Anyway, I wanted a little feedback:

I was thinking of making this a modular piece.  So you can pretty much make this a "game" piece, or go for broke, and make it as long and "to scale" as you want.

Initial top view plans here at 100% scale.



The conning tower will also be seperate.  That way you will eventually have the choice of German, Japanese, or Generic Sub designs.

So does the modular idea make sense?  or do folks prefer one large single casting?

The pieces would make a sub from 18 to 38 inches long.  I suppose when the model become available, you would select the pieces you want, or get all of them as a big kit.

Regards,
Brent Dietrich
Company B

[revford]

What a fantastic idea.  

Yes, modular is great.  We can build all kinds of subs from such a set.

With the Conning tower available separately it would all us to model the sub in various stages of submersion.

Hopefully this is for a European or British company, so I won't have to pay intergalactic postage to get one.  

[CompanyB]

US company, sorry.

but we should have these with a distributor in the U.K.

Fo those that don't know already, all of our Company B products can be ordered direct in the UK (and at shows!) from The Wargames Command Post.  


Final kit model will be resin, with metal pieces for the periscopes, railings, deck gun, AA gun, and some other fittings.  Also have a rubber raft in the works to launch command raids!

[Plynkes]

Modular is great if you want it just as a piece of terrain.

I like my stuff to be able to move about on the table if necessary, so would be less keen. I suppose one could glue it all together. How do think your design would stand up to that? Would it be too weak?

It seems to be the building blocks to make your own sub, so would it be totally generic, or would any of the bits (such as conning towers) be based on actual U-Boat designs?

Great idea, by the way.

[Agis]

I like the idea very much.
If necessary the parts could always be connected by wire pinning or some rare earth magnets.

[CompanyB]

The construction would include some sort of slot/notch idea, dovetailing, or
nested" ends to hide the connection seams.

That way you can leave them as it, bur moving the model can be done simply by grabbing both end and sliding around.  Or, if you choose to glue it, the connection would have the extra strength to support itself.

It's possible to have the center section be a 16 inch long deck, with the conning tower separate.  Then the only modular bits would be two lengths of spacers, and long and short versions of the stern and bow pieces.

Conning towers would very specifically be U-Boat, Japanese, etc.  With enough space for a AA gun to be manned by a crew, and the Capt. or officers of course.

the main deck, will be based on a u-boat.  I'm thinking that the center hull area will need to have about a 12 inch x 2 or 3 inch flat surface for game play.  The spacers and the bow and stern pieces can reflect a bit more accuracy.

[CompanyB]

The construction would include some sort of slot/notch idea, dovetailing, or
nested" ends to hide the connection seams.

That way you can leave them as it, bur moving the model can be done simply by grabbing both end and sliding around.  Or, if you choose to glue it, the connection would have the extra strength to support itself.

It's possible to have the center section be a 16 inch long deck, with the conning tower separate.  Then the only modular bits would be two lengths of spacers, and long and short versions of the stern and bow pieces.

Conning towers would very specifically be U-Boat, Japanese, etc.  With enough space for a AA gun to be manned by a crew, and the Capt. or officers of course.

the main deck, will be based on a u-boat.  I'm thinking that the center hull area will need to have about a 12 inch x 2 or 3 inch flat surface for game play.  The spacers and the bow and stern pieces can reflect a bit more accuracy.

[fastolfrus]

Splendid idea - looking forward to seeing this one.

I don't see the sections being too much of a problem for movement if we use a "movement tray", same as some figure gamers use, possibly cut a template from 2mm MDF that's slightly larger than the sub and put some small waves around the edge (maybe a flexible bath sealant ?) to hold the sub in place. That way you could make a couple of different templates and use different versions as required.

The only real questions have to be - when's it coming out and how much will it cost ?

[PeteMurray]

This looks like a fantastic plan, and please tell Lon to bring prototype pictures to Cold Wars.

[brigadegames]

What a fantastic idea.  

Hopefully this is for a European or British company, so I won't have to pay intergalactic postage to get one.  

Clearly, you have not ordered from me in the US to quote such nonsense regarding postage. :wink:

While my webstore does overcalculate postage, my shipping info page makes it clear we adjust the postage once the package is weighed.  

We ship about 20 parcels a week to the UK, Oz, Europe and Asia so we must be doing something right!

On to the sub.

The modular sub concept is an idea I had and further developed with Brent over the last year. Obviously he is is talented, as seen by his drawings and his modeling of the Model Ts and some of the tanks we offer.

The main issue is what size to concentrate on at first. My gut feeling is the modules to make a 25.5 inch long sub is the best starting place. In reality, a typical German ww2 sub would be 48+ inches long  - quite impractical for most wargames and the ability to maneuver such a beast just makes it impractical.

Please let us know what you guys and gals think.

[Vanvlak]

Heh - I've assembled a similar beastie, and am painting it. But I compromised drastically by choosing 10mm scale, and still have to find the figures to go with it. I also opted out of the sectioned hull, and will use it as part of a scenario including a dock in which it is - well, docked, of course!
Would be lovely in 28mm, though.

[Rhoderic]

I have a very casual attitude to historical realism (gameability comes first), so this modular sub looks like an ace idea to me. I suppose I need to get one sooner or later, if I'm to game Polynesian-themed Pulp.

[cheminsdefeu]

Fantastic idea as we are planning something with a U-boat for the future. Just one question for a big piece like that: the price ?

[fastolfrus]

I have no problems with postage from the US, but have been caught before by Customs Duties when the parcel landed here - one parcel effectively doubled in price by VAT, import duties, admin charge (for Customs and Excise to open the parcel, check the contents and re-seal it), and admin charge for the Customs bill itself.

[brigadegames]

I have no problems with postage from the US, but have been caught before by Customs Duties when the parcel landed here - one parcel effectively doubled in price by VAT, import duties, admin charge (for Customs and Excise to open the parcel, check the contents and re-seal it), and admin charge for the Customs bill itself.

email me.

most issues depend upon the service selected to ship the parcel.