Revell 1:144 Type IIB U-Boat

[Shar2]

Type IIB D-Boat
Revell 1:144

Small and cramped, the Type II were coastal boats intended principally for training, but because of the shortage of available boats, they were later relegated to war duties. With a crew of 25, the boats had limited range and carried enough provisions for three to four weeks, but frequently returned to port after expending their supply of torpedoes.
Due to their small size and heavy rolling on the sea, the Type IIs quickly earned the nickname "Dugout Canoes". Although of limited use in the open ocean, some remarkable successes were accomplished early in the war by U-boat aces such as Otto Kretschmer. The Type II also earned the respect and admiration of the crew due to its high maneuverability, rapid diving time and durability. Later in the war, due to the ever increasing need for training new crews, all Type II U-boats were withdrawn from combat duties and assigned to full-time training.

The Model
The model comes in the standard Revell end opening box with a picture of a Type IIB at sea on the front. Inside there is one large sprue, one small sprue and the two hull halves, all in a medium grey styrene. The moulding on all parts is nicely done, with the vent holes and other detail on the hulls looking really nice, with the exception of the torpedo outer doors being quite indistinct. In fact, it looks like they've not been moulded properly at all. Not having another example to look at, it could just be this particular sample with this problem.

Being a submarine, construction is pretty simple as can be seen by the number of sprues. The build starts with the two hull halves being joined together with two bulkheads to give some structural integrity. Onto the completed hull the deck is added along with the rear hatch and the fore and aft bitts plus the anchor on the port side bow. The modeller has the choice of either an early or later tower/sail, depending on which submarine is being modelled. The later style has an ADF aerial support fitted to the front whereas the earlier one is flush fronted with the ADF aerial in the interior of the tower. Between each half of the tower the deck and shelf areas are sandwiched. Onto the deck the two periscopes are fitted and on the outside of the tower handrails, life rings, bullhorn, rear rail, and flagstaff are fitted. The only weapon these boats were fitted with was the 20mm Oerlikon fitted to the deck in front of the tower. Whilst the gun and shoulder harness are the same, there is a choice of either a conical or barrel shaped mounting. At the bow the cable cutter and diveplanes are then fitted along with the centre torpedo outer door. Moving aft, the combined propshafts prop guards and diveplanes are attached to the rear hull along with the propellers, rudder support and rudder are fitted. The final parts of the build is to add the tower to the deck along with the guard rails, deck gun and the fore and aft flagstaffs. The kit also provides two pedestals onto which the model can be affixed to the base. There is also a coil of black thread included for the rigging, but it may look a bit out of scale and "furry".

Decals

The single sheet of decals provides items for either U-9 from 1939, U-20 from 1940 or U-23 from 1939. The decals are nicely produced win good register and slightly matt.

Conclusion
This is a very nice model of an early U-Boat from a time when Germany was rebuilding her forces and devising new tactics. Even in 1:144 this builds into quite a small model at just under 300mm long, so wouldn’t take up too much display space. Recommended.

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

[Panzer Vor!!!]

Thanks dave great review , ill have to get one if only for the croc on the tower .

[Jessica]

That looks like a rebox of the ICM plastic and if that's the case, the torpedo tube door problem is universal to all pressings; ICM didn't get them correct.

[Shar2]

That sounds right Jessica, as Revell seem to be re-popping quite a few ICM kits at the moment.