1/700 S.M.S. S 14 German Destroyer
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by Martin J Quinn |
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| HISTORY | |
| The S 14 was a Große Torpedoboote,
or large torpedo boat, built for the German Imperial Navy in 1912. German
large torpedo boats were generally the equivalent of foreign destroyers,
though they tended to run smaller than their Royal Navy counterparts. German
torpedo-boats were not given names, but were numbered, with the prefix
letter identifying the builder, meaning S 14 was built by Schichau-Werke,
Elbing.
Laid down in March, 1912, S 14 was commissioned in November of the same year. While serving with the VII Torpedo Boat Flotilla, she sank in February, 1915, after suffering an internal explosion. For further information, check out the Wikipedia page for German World War I torpedo boats and destroyers here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_ocean-going_torpedo_boats_and_destroyers_of_World_War_I |
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| The
Combrig/U-Boat Laboratorium S 14
S 14 is a joint venture between Combrig and U-Boat Laboratorium. The model is packaged in Combrig’s familiar soft, white cardboard box, with a photo of the real vessel on the box top. Inside the box is the hull, a bag of over 20 parts, a small decal sheet and a photo-etch fret in another small plastic bag. The box was filled with chunks of Styrofoam pieces to prevent parts from rattling around the box. |
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| THE HULL | |||||||||||||
| The hull is very well cast with good
detail. There are well defined skylights, tracks (for moving torpedoes?),
hatches, and tiny, delicate vents. The portholes on the hull are also well
defined. There is a lot of detail packed into a very small hull.
According to the measurements I found for S 14, the hull scales out perfectly in beam, but is a little short in length. |
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| OTHER RESIN PARTS | |||||||||||||
| There are three resin runners included with the kit. On these you'll find parts for the bridge, the funnels, torpedo tubes, more vents, ships boats and the main armament. While all the parts are crisply cast, the guns are especially finely cast with nice details. The bridge equipment is also quite small - it's impressive how sharply they are cast. | |||||||||||||
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| PHOTOETCH | |||||||||||||
| There is a small photo-etch fret included
with the kit. It included ladders, railings (unusual for a Combrig kit),
facing and deck for the forward superstructure, funnel caps and the railings
around the funnels, oars and a name plate. Only the name plate has relief
etching.
There are no masts included with the kit. While instructions use Roman Numerals to refer to the different masts and yards, there are no drawings or dimensions for these parts in the instructions. |
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| DECALS | |||||||||||||
| There is a small decal sheet in the box. It has the pennant markings for S 14, as well as the Imperial German Navy ensign and jack. The pennant numbers look a little thick, but should be okay. | |||||||||||||
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| INSTRUCTIONS2 | |||||||||||||
| As this is a joint Combrig/U-Boat
Laboratorium venture, the instructions are NOT standard Combrig fare. The
instructions are on an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of heavy, glossy paper, folded
into a booklet. The front page gives a history of the S 14 and some technical
details. The center piece has two exploded view 3D diagrams showing part
placement, with a smaller rendering showing what the finished ship would
look like, including rigging.
The last page shows the resin parts on the top of the page, and the color callouts and painting instructions below that. These instructions are much better than what you usually find in a Combrig kit. |
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| CONCLUSIONS | |||||||||||||
| This is a really nicely cast model
of a German Große Torpedoboote from the First World War. Other than
masts, it has everything you need to build a nice little model right in
the box. It's nice to see more Great War smaller combatants become available
for modelers. Highly recommended!
This is Combrig/U-Boat Laboratorium's 1/700 SMS S 14, kit number 70612. The model lists for $32.95, and is available from many of our fine sponsors. This is an in-box review, your mileage may vary once you commence construction. Thanks to Combrig Models for the review sample. |
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| This is an in-box review showing the kit contents. We welcome your input and comments in the review section of the forum especially if you can share details about fit, ease of assembly and accuracy. Click the logo on the right to join in the discussion. |  |
