Revell German U-Boat Type XXI with interior 1:144

Review by: Geoff Coughlin (November 2011)

Our thanks to Revell for supplying our review sample.

Initial Assessment

The Type XXI is a significant vessel for the German Kriegsmarine dating back to WWII. Hardly surprising then that Revell have wanted to release a model of this submarine in the popular 1:144 scale.

The Revell Kit

The Revell package is impressive, not least of course because you get a full interior fit out for your Type XXI.

The interior detail moulded onto the inside of the hull halves is well defined and should paint and weather up well. So too should the mass of internal details like the diesel engines, torpedoes, bulkheads and other internal equipment typical of the type.

Refinement continues with items like the ladders that, although better in etched brass, look pretty fine in injection-moulded plastic as well. The deck has good detail that will weather very nicely if you go down that route. My belief is that you should, as your model will look so much more impressive as a result.

The inclusion of a stand is a nice touch.

Instructions

These comprise of a fold-out sheet with exploded diagrams showing where all the large number of parts go – clear enough.

The model, although containing quite a lot of parts, isn’t unduly complicated as far as the build goes from this initial assessment and hopefully will present few, if any, problems to modellers with just a little experience.

Decals

Revell include a decal sheet with appropriate markings for many areas of the internal panels and details inside the hull, which look good to use.

Colour is solid and strong with no items out of register, just remember to apply them onto a high gloss finish and then matt down as appropriate to reduce any chance of decal silvering.

In Conclusion

Yes, very good really for the money and size of model.

Plenty of you who buy and make models in this scale will have another U-Boat to add to your collection, which is much easier to store and display than Les Venus’ Trumpeter 1:200 scale USS Arizona!

You might even try the Revell Type VIIc in the larger 1:72 scale. Who knows, you may even get converted and motivated to do more maritime modelling as some of the SMN Review Team have been!

The Verdict

Geoff C.