| The new 1/72 Revell Germany Type VII U-boat has created
quite a stir in the modeling world. It is a pretty nice kit right out of
the box, but serious models are rarely content to just assemble a kit.
Already aftermarket companies are producing upgrades for it. But this has
got to be one of the coolest accessories I've seen in the ship modeling
world in while. Although originally built with steel decks, the Type VII
U-Boats were changed to wood to preserve the scarce resources. Getting
that wood look is kind of hard to achieve unless you are actually working
with wood. Nautilus has just what you need to get that effect with this
Laser cut wood deck replacement. Wood has long been the material of choice
for large scale scratch builders but can be difficult to produce precise
shapes for smaller items. That is where the Laser cutting and etching comes
in. Shapes can be sharply defined and reproduced with a high degree of
accuracy. |
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| This set consist of a bow and stern deck replacement, conning tower
platform, and resin cast hatches and bollards. Additional backing and joining
plates are included to facilitate the assembly. The wood is about 1/16"
thick, which scales out to about 4-1/2" in 1/72 scale. All the deck cutouts
are nicely shaped and an improvement over those in the kits plastic parts.
All the slots (flooding holes) in the deck are cut clean through. You might
have noticed those in the kit are only recessed. Since the wood did not
extent all the way to the bow you are given the option of using part of
the plastic kit supplied part with the wood. I would recommend this as
it will be obvious where wood ends and steel begins. An etched border is
provided on the replacement part to mark this locations so you will
only need to complete the cut and then cut the plastic part to match. |
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The upper deck parts also well etched. With the holes in the deck all the
way through these parts are also a great improvement of the kit parts.
A 3-D appearance is obtained by the laser etching which has removed half
the thickness of the wood in some places. And lightly etched the surface
for panel lines. The wood planking for the inside of the conning tower
is also included. |
| The resin parts look pretty good. The hatches fit nicely
into the etched cutouts in the deck and look much better than the molded
on one in the kit. They also give you the option of showing the hatches
in the open position though you will have to cut the opening out and provide
your own interior details. |
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| The instructions consist of a parts list and written text describing
how to use the set. An overall of the wood parts and details for cutting
out the steel portion of the deck part are noted. While this is probably
adequate for most modelers who will use this set, a few more illustrations
would be nice, especially a nice 3D exploded view. |
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| This is set # W1515A with a suggested Retail Price is $37.95.
This set is available direct through Nautilus
Models for $40 including Priority Mail to US customers. You can also
find it through Hobby Shops served by Stevens International. There are
additional view of this set on the Nautilus
Models website. A full build review of this set with the Revell U-Boat
will follow in the near future. |
