Type VII C u-boat (3D model)

M

Mingan

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Update: I've cleaned this topic of my first non exact model and plans. This is going to be exact copy of "standard" Type VII C and modeled to be compatible with Unity game engine.

I'm not sure if this is the right category for this thread but I guess computer modeling is not far from scale modeling. It's after all, all about creating models, only the means and medium are different. And I can't produce with my hands so I must do what I best can. This project is about creating a 3D submarine model that is very much based on German Type VIIC but is not an exact copy. It might be used inside a game engine so it must have reasonable number of vertices and clean topology.

I have been doing research for few days and today worked full day creating reference drawings and managed to create basic hull geometry for a starting point. I can tell you it's not as easy as it looks to create clean and correct topology for an object that has complex geometry flow in every direction. But here are the first results:
 
Change of plans..! I've decided to model actual Type VII C / 41 boat with real torpedo tube geometry. Last few days I've been searching for reference material and tweaking my line drawings plus planning those ***** torpedo tube doors. This morning I started modeling from scratch and here's a peek at what's going on:

render-25-7-2012-dev.png


EDIT: I just ordered a used copy of Type VII U-boats by Robert Stern from Amazon.co.uk. It is impossible to find enough reference photos and information from internet, I guess u boats are not very popular hobby huh?

EDIT2: Loaned some books from my friends father, who has apparently been doing scale modeling for a long time. Now I got enough resources, just gotta work hard.
 
Aw man! I'm doing a model in blender as well! Beat me to it! Definitely looks like you're setting yourself up for something fantastic here.
 
This is right on target. I'm reading Das boat (boot) right now. Dam they went through hell.

Rommel-Out
 
Today I got the Type VII U-boats by Robert Stern. Excellent book, it's going to help me a lot. I also noticed that my blueprints needed some adjustments and now they should be accurate to something like 20-30 mm. If anybody's interested, here's some great plans of U-570: http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-570GeneralPlan.htm
 
Mingan said:
Thanks. Is your model something you might show here?
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Yep, I was planing on posting some picks on here soon :) Haven't gotten around to it yet though.

And nice link! Good blueprints are tricky to find
 
Here we go, bow geometry is almost ready and very close to the original. I only need to finish the hole thing in the front deck, it has troubled me for some time, because no book or internet source has info about it, I don't even know what it is. No photo or drawing shows it from inside. I hope my latest purchase, "Vom Original zum Modell: Uboottyp VII C: Eine Bild- und Plandokumentation" does better than others. I know it is for refueling in the newer "atlantic bow" type, but this is much smaller and I doubt it could be used for refueling.

Could Bootie or someone please update the thread title to "Type VII C u-boat (3D model)", as this is no longer just Type VII C -style. With the empty space between VII and C, as this is the original way of addressing it in German sources (very important!). Thanks. :)

render-8-8-2012.png
 
Saddle tanks are just a rough estimation at this point, but it's starting to look like a boat again.

render-12-8-2012-dev.png
 
cant wait to see a basic render. Cycles does such and AMAZING job
 
Looks great mingan !! A simple looking model at first glance but tuff to get rite and you look to be well on your way to a first rate model.
 
I got my copy of Vom Original zum Modell: Uboottyp VII C today. It has absolutely fantastic photos and construction plans, but there is one major problem: I can't see the small numbers and texts in the line drawings. I have no choice but to use magnifying class and scanner and recreate those markings in Photoshop for easier use. Going to take some time.
 
Feels good to use accurate blueprints, my mind is happy when I don't have to make rough estimates. No new pics though, still lots of work to do with the basic geometry.
 
Okay now I'm getting frustrated with the blueprints. They are accurate, but because they have been compressed into small A4 size, almost all numbers and text are unreadable, which makes my work difficult. Fortunately I discovered that those plans should be obtainable in large format (it says so in the book, or at least Google translator says so :D), so I just contacted the publisher and now I need to wait for their response.
 
I found the plans from Lehmanns.de, 39 euro plus shipping, delivery in 5-7 days. I hope it works out, I don't speak German so I just used Google translator.
 
Mingan , if you should need any help with translations form English into German I will be happy to assist you. ;) But you could have sent the letter to the company in English as well - in Germany everybody
is learning English in school from the first class on upwards (at the age of six) .

Are you creating this model for a PC game? Is it a virtual model or is it made of metal maybe?
 
Shorker said:
Mingan , if you should need any help with translations form English into German I will be happy to assist you. ;)
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Thanks for the offer, I'm probably going to need some help eventually.

Shorker said:
But you could have sent the letter to the company in English as well - in Germany everybody
is learning English in school from the first class on upwards (at the age of six) .
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I wanted to use their official ordering form just to see what's going to happen... If something goes wrong I will start bombarding them with emails lol.

Shorker said:
Are you creating this model for a PC game? Is it a virtual model or is it made of metal maybe?
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I might use it for a game but for now I'm just concentrating on making this model. Yes it's just virtual.
 
Mingan said:
Thanks for the offer, I'm probably going to need some help eventually.
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You're always welcome! ;)



Mingan said:
I wanted to use their official ordering form just to see what's going to happen... If something goes wrong I will start bombarding them with emails lol.
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LOL! Good idea! :D



Mingan said:
I might use it for a game but for now I'm just concentrating on making this model. Yes it's just virtual.
Click to expand...

Ah, now I understand the difference between "scale model" and "3D model". Your 3D model looks great so far. I wished I could do such things. Impressing! :)
 
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