After ordering the model, but before it arrived I printed the instruction book off the internet, along with some other source materials so I could get a feel for the model.
These are the instructions I printed off the internet. I took colored pencils and colored in the paint colors I wanted to use. This submarine in real life had three lives with three different paint jobs (four if you include the garish colors on the model's box).
Version 1: U-2540 was completed a few months before the end of WWII and was presumably painted in shades of grey. It was scuttled (sunk on purpose) at the end of the war.
Version 2: In 1957 the Federal German Government raised U-2540 and totally refurbished it, and then named it The Wilhelm Bauer. Wilhelm Bauer, pronounced "Vill-helm Bow-air" was like the Henry Ford of submarines. It was fitted with all sorts of new electronics and mechanical devices for testing purposes--along with new paint color schemes. It was used by the government until the 1980s when it smacked into a Destroyer battleship (the Z-3). That's when it was retired by the government yet again.
Version 3: A private museum bought the submarine and put most of the things back to the grey WWII version, but some things are still very colorful. You can go to Germany and actually walk around on this very submarine.
Version 4: the Revell Germany box and instructions call for some *very* bright colors that don't seem to exist. Looking at tourist photos the current engines look a very pale mint green, not the bright green or almost neon green from the Revell box or instructions. I will make the engines pale-mint green. Other items on the boat I *will* go with the brighter color scheme, such as the "Christmas Tree" which is a white wall with dozens upon dozens of festive green and red valves on it. It looks neat, and the phrase "Christmas Tree" appears in various literature about U-2540/Wilhelm Bauer, although I have a feeling during WWII it was a grey wall with slightly different grey valves.
Here are many tourist photos of this boat as it sits now:
https://www.flickr.com/
http://
http://www.warmuseums.nl/
http://
http://romaniaforum.info/
http://www.subsim.com/
And schematics:
http://
Injected molded models sometimes have an oily 'mold release' agent all over them. This prevents primer, paint, glue and decals from sticking properly. This model seemed fine but I washed it in dish soap just to be sure.
164 parts are now drying and I get to feel nervous about my first submarine build. This submarine has a very high difficulty level. Most submarine models are just: glue left half to right half and paint grey. This model features a cut-away that let's you see inside to all the different interior compartments: engine rooms, battery rooms, bridge, etc.
