5f. Conning Tower –
      Painting, Decaling, Assembly

With all of the separate conning tower pieces assembled and painted, it was time to paint, decal, and assemble the conning tower.

Painting the Tower

Metal parts (such as the aluminum railings, brass mesh, etc.) were degreased with mineral spirits. I then primed the tower with the following:

• Enamel primer: ModelMaster #2737 Gray Primer (enamel)
• Thinner: ModelMaster #8824 Enamel Airbrush Thinner
• 2:1 paint/thinner ratio
• 20psi air pressure

The ModelMaster enamel primer airbrushes very well when thinned with ModelMaster thinner. Like the acrylics, I initially tried using generic thinner (turpentine) with not-so-good results.

After the primer dried, I applied the final colour:

• Acrylic paint: Gunze-Sangyo Aqueous Hobby Colour : H324 Light Grey
• Thinner: Mr. Color Thinner (native thinner for Gunze-Sangyo paint)
• 2:1 paint/thinner ratio
• 15~20psi air pressure

As previously mentioned, the Gunze-Sangyo acrylic paint airbrushes MUCH better when thinned with Mr. Color thinner, rather than generic thinner (alcohol).

After drying, I airbrushed a dark grey stripe along the bottom edge of the tower.

Applying the Tower Emblem Decals

We had managed to find the U‑625 tower emblem via the Internet, and we even managed to obtain some cloth sew-on patches and stick pins. I used CorelDRAW to create an electronic version of the emblem, created a decal sheet, then sent the file to E.L.S. Trains to create custom waterslide decals. They use Alps technology printers to print the decals, and the results were amazing… they could even print the fine white border around the emblem!

After a quick local application of Future Floor Wax to the front sides of the tower, I used Micro-Set and Micro-Sol to apply the decals. After drying for a few days, the decals conformed very well to the surface of the tower.

I then airbrushed the tower with a light coat of acrylic clear flat to seal the paint and decals:

• Acrylic flat clear: ModelMaster #4636 Flat Clear Acryl
• Thinner: ModelMaster #50496 Acryl Thinner
• 2:1 paint/thinner ratio
• 15psi air pressure

Assembling the Tower Components

Stained wood slats and paneling (from the Nautilus set) were applied to the insides of the tower bulwark, and then all of the tower components were permanently assembled:

• armament
• periscopes
• UZO
• hatches
• antennas

Finally, I used epoxy glue to cement the completed conning tower to the deck.