ICM

1/144 U-boat Type XIII

Kit Number S.004

Reviewed By Dave Morrissette, #33653

The German Type XIII was one of the new generation of U-boats that were developed at the end of the war and was designed to operate primarily under water (vs. the earlier and more famous Type VII and IX’s which worked better above the water).  The Type XIII was a small (length was 114 feet) coastal submarine and it only carried two torpedoes which had to be loaded externally so it lacked the offensive punch of most other WWII subs. There were 61 of these were commissioned but only six saw active duty and did claim the last two ships sunk prior to Germany’s surrender. At the end of the war, these subs were given to the Soviet Union for use. Perhaps the strangest use was in 1957 when the “new” German Navy raised two of the sunken subs and reconditioned them as the first subs in their new navy.

ICM has produced a 1/144 version of this sub that is a single sprue of white plastic. Engraving is delicate and nice with the hull and conning tower being only a left and right side. Construction of the 20 or so parts starts by trapping the rudder and bridge deck between the hull halves and gluing things down. Fit is very good. After that, the fore and aft planes are added. A small hatch and the front bollards are glued in place and you are ready to paint. A very nice touch is a stand for the kit that allows it to be supported for painting or display. I did drill a hole for the cable on top of the conning tower and also the front deck. The front of the conning tower has a representation of the ladder/hand holds and it makes it difficult to sand. I removed these, sanded smooth and replaced with as fine a wire as I could find. It looks a little out of scale but made construction easier.

At this point, I was ready to paint the kit and three schemes are included. One scheme is for U-2322 in German service in April 1945. The last two are a Soviet Navy sub in 1947 and a German navy craft from 1957.  I chose the WWII scheme that has a band around it. The color directions call for a flat black bottom. In reality, it was probably painted Schiffsbodenfarbe III Grau which a dark gray anti-fouling paint used during WWII. I went though my paints and found a close match with Floquil Grimy Black. The top white band was painted and then the band masked and the new Acryl German WWII colors used on top. I used Dunkelgrau from Testors Acryl line.  The entire thing was gloss coated for addition of the few small decals. The decals are small and were difficult to get to lie down. After getting them OK, I flat coated the kit, and got ready for adding the various small items like antennae, schnorkel and periscope. Several of the very small antennae were broken in shipment and replaced with fine stainless wire. The rest were painted and fit in place well. A little weathering with pastels and a flow coat and we have a finished kit.

I can’t say enough good about this kit. If you want an easy place to start building your sub collection, this is a very reasonably priced, great fitting place to begin. Outside of the fussy decals, this kit took almost not time to build. The well-done engraving makes it look good too. Very recommended- my thanks to ICM and IPMS/USA for the change to review this kit.

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