Back
in the early 1970's,I saw this modell of the type 142by Graupner in an issue of "Model Boats" and liked it! When
the type 142A modernization came out in the model I "had to have it." In April 1975,purchased the kit in London and
had it shipped to Floridaa (U.S.A.. Years later I decided to finish the kit, but now with the internet and photos
of the original boat available, I found the kit had a lot of shortcomings, mainly missing details and being wrong in many places.. Years later I decided to finish the kit, but now with the internet and photos
of the original boat available, I found the kit had a lot of shortcomings, mainly missing details and being wrong in many places.
Construction wwas to start soon after it arrived however this was delayed as the dishonest hobby shop substituted
three cheap Ripmax motors instead of the Graupner motors. They would not answer my letters (no email back then). So
I had to order the motors from another source. Finally the motors arrived and work was on the hull. I installed the
deck, three motors, shafts, propellers, and rudders. Then the model sat for quite a few years (over 20) as I now had a family.
When (~ year 2000) I was ready to resume we had the internet and after downloading some photos I realized that I had
to undo all the work I had done. It was worse than starting over as I had to patch and modify the hull and order
new motors, shafts, and props plus make two rudders. (Thanks Graupner for not making this a "scale" model!)
From that point up to 2009 it was assemble - do online research - and make replacement parts that were correct.
The motors, shapts, and rudders were now correct. That large gaping hole in the deck was now filled in so the there is
no seam. The openings to the inside were now under the deck structures for the most part. By 2009 the boat was
done and it was time to join the local model boat club as I had something that was good looking.
However, the performance was not all that good. The speed was very slow despite using the Speed 300 motors. The four
propellers diameter wass too small and the pitch (angle of the blades) was not enough to move the water. Now the Wiesel
sat on the shelf as other boats took over my interest. The Wiesel became a static model. In 2020, I was now into 3D
modeling and printing. I made four new propellers (right) which I have yet to install. Hopefully this will be the
answer to increasing the speed significantly.
But what is the magnetism of the Zobel class boatss?
The size of this model is about right in order to have a model that shows
numerous details. If you want to build a model about 42-inches (107cm) long, is it better to build a battleship at a
smaller scale (about 1:225) or a gunboat like theeWiesell(1:40)?(1:40)?
My preference is the smaller ship, the gunboat. The larger prototype (full sized ship) would have
to sacrifice a lot of details (nuts, bolts, etc) whereas the gunboat can have these details to the enjoyment of the viewer.
Think of even trying to have figures at 1:225 scale, about model railroad "Z" scale. Its just more realistic and allows the
viewer to really look at the model.
Perhaps the most modeled smaller military craft are the WW-II U.S. "PT Boats." TheeZobellboats are almost twice the length but still offer the viewer to look at a high speed military boat with torpedoes and open
turret guns. TheeZobellboats carried an abundance of communication antennas, radar systems, and a washing system for
nuclear warfare fallout. The sleek hull contrasts with a odd shaped superstructure that was designed to allow deck
space for four torpedo tubes in the early configuration.
