MPM Special Navy

1/72 Type XXIII U-boat

Kit Number: Unk

Reviewed by  Dave Morrissette, IPMS# 33653

MSRP: $82 MPM (which includes Special Hobby, CMK and others) came out with their first naval release a while back and labeled under the Special Navy brand was a Type XXIII U-boat. It was released in time for the IPMS Atlanta Nationals where I picked one up. Being a U-boat fan, and driven also by the fact that this kit is in the same scale as Revell's Type VIII I had to have it. For some quick background on the Type XXIII submarine, check out this review. What you get in the kit is a comprehensive multimedia presentation with injection-molded hull, dive planes, conning tower and some small detail pieces. Also included are very nicely done resin parts including the top of the conning tower, all the periscopes/schnorkels, and many of the detail bits. There is also a fret of PE and film for detailing the hatches, railings and conning tower. There is some scratch building involved for some railings and antennae. Build started by joining the hull and conning tower halves. Being a limited run kit, there are no pins to line things up. Fit is pretty good and minimal putty is needed. I added the resin parts to the conning tower and this required a little putty but no problem. One thing I did notice is that the conning tower is completely see-through so I added a round piece to represent where the hatch joins the hull, along with a few other bits. The bridge has lots of little PE pieces. I attached the CT to the hull then added the hatch parts, detail parts on the periscope, and running lights. I left off the front ladder runs and the schnorkel and antennae to ease the pre-painting tasks. I then added the rest of the parts to the hull including the dive planes and all the PE davits, etc. All the parts fit very well with minimal issues and almost no filling. I added the eyelets for the side rails and those on the CT that hold railings. MPM gives the option of placing the wooden decking that was used when in port over the actual deck. I elected to leave it off and go with the clean look. I created the railing with thick nylon thread. This allowed me to bend it easily, and still looks in scale. For paint, I precoated with black and sprayed the CT band in white (there are no decals with this kit). This was then masked and the top sprayed with MM Acryl Hellblau 50 from the Testors Marine line. Paint was thinned with alcohol and went on well. The bottom was then d and painted Floquil "Weathered Black". The kit was then highlighted with transparent black and smoke for an aged look. A little chipping and some rust, and the painting was done. The front ladder was added along with the rigging and the propeller and the entire kit flat coated. This is an excellent kit and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Fit is good and it makes a nice companion to my growing U-boat collection. I can highly recommend it to anyone with some multimedia experience under their belts.

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