Hi Einsamer,

I have both kits and more. And am willing to help.

First, concerning the pressure hull. This takes some patience and fiddling around. Don't bother trying to match all three pieces together because they dont' exactly match up. Also keep in mind, the pressure hull tapered at both ends, so you want the middle section going straight across and the two ends angled down towards the forward and towards aft.

First, put your bulkheads in. Either glue them in or blue-tak them. Starting with the middle section, it should be in line with the inside edges of the saddle tanks. Holding it there, mark underneath it, where it touches the bulkheads on either end. To build the shelf, I cut plastic card into 3 pieces. Think of a cheap T-shelf TV stand. Thats what you want. Let that dry overnight.

Next, the two ends. These shelves will be slightly lower because you want them sitting at an angle. It helps to have the boat's hull lying on it's side. The forward end has a bulkhead type thing on one end. You want that level with the other bulkheads. Mark on the kit's bulkhead where you want the shelf and mark the other end of the pressure hull on the hull of the boat. I made a shelf for the forward end by stackng bits of evergreen to create a lip. You can use whatever works.

Same goes for the aft section. Although it doesn't have a bulkehead, I angled it so the pressure hull itself, not the piping, is just under the flood holes. Once you get the shelves and lips made, sit the pieces on them and put the hulls of your boat together. No gluing, just see how it looks. Make any adjustments. I found that I had to lower some shelves or raise a lip. I also found that my mid section 'sway-backed". But I made the best of it.

Here's links to my build of U-253 with both Upper Pressure Hull kit and Modelbrass.

[homepage.mac.com]
[homepage.mac.com]

The flood vents are a bit tricky, especially the aft ones. I lined up the piece, traced it with a x-acto knife and drilled all around the line. I then cut it out with and x-acto and then sanded the edges. Always fitting the piece and making adjustments as I go. I did have some small gaps, but were easily filled.

Now, the aft ones, I'm afraid, are very difficult. I bent and re-bent them. I cut the sections out just as described above, but still couldn't get a nice fit. I did a lot of filling and glueing and sanding. You just have to perservere 'til you get it looking good.
Remember, the hull paint is dark, and this is an area that you don't really look at a lot. So if it's not perfect (and God knows, that's what we strive for) it's not going to draw a lot of attention.

Take a look at my links, I have lot's of pics. Let me know if you have anymore problems. I'm happy to help.

Take Care,

Jess