Hi Bas,

1. Eduard due to the texture. On a similar subject, if you have both the Eduard and Modelbrass then you could use the front and rear areas of the deck that are on the Eduard set. The holes are oversised on the Eduard set but the texture makes it better than the Modelbrass deck.

2. I think these saddle tank vents were not vents but manhole inspection covers. On pages 88 and 89 of Lawrence Paterson's "U-Boat War Patrol" there are two pics of one of the covers removed at sea. The second pic actually shows a man inside the saddle tank. Can anyone confirm that these were inspection covers rather than vents, or am I wrong? Also, would I be right in saying that the vents were located under the deck casing?
There is a photo of U 69 in the first few pages of David Westwood's "The Type VII U-Boat". If you don't have it then email me and I'll send to you. It shows U 69 before it was launched and the covers aren't in place. This should help you with placement.

3. The lower floods are a bit tricky but well worth the effort. The rear ones are more difficult. The following sites with very decent builds might help -

[www.rocketcopy.biz]
[homepage.mac.com]
[www.deepwatermodels.com]

Good luck!

Dougie