Reviewed by Timothy Dike
| During the Cold War, the Italian Navy
operated a number of Ex-US Navy Submarines such as the Da
Vinci. In the 60's Italy decided to build their own mission specific
submarine. The Enrico Toti was the first of four small coastal subs designed
to hunt down and kill Soviet subs operating in the Mediterranean. They
were small 536 ton diesel electric subs equipped with the latest sonar.
When they found their prey, they could dispose of them with 8 21" torpedoes
that could be fired from four bow tubes. The Toti class served until the
90's, with the Toti lasting until 1999. She is now on display at the Milan's
Science and Technology Museum available for tours.
If you are unable to travel to Italy, you can at least build a replica of this important Italian submarine courtesy of Regia Marina. This kit marks their entry into the world of 350 scale Submarine kits. 
The kit began life as a 3D Model designed using CAD to produce a solid model that could be printed out in 3D.
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| HULL | |||||||||
| The sub is cast full hull in black resin with only a few gates on the keel to sand off. The surface detail is very good with no signs of any bubbles or voids. The sonar dome and torpedo doors stand out in stark contrast to the rest of the hull. The only fault I can find is the glue marks for the piping that runs from the sail to the bow. But these will be easy to fix, and probably won't show when painted. |
to enlarge  |
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The hull is cast so that you can portray the sub with or
without the teardrop shaped hatch for a DSRV.
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| SUPERSTRUCTURE AND DETAILS | |||||||||
| Fins, periscopes, and snorkels are cast separately also in black resin. The detail is quite good with the tiniest objects being very well cast. |  |
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| A resin display base is included to mount your sub if you choose to display it full hull. |  |
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| PHOTO ETCH | |||||||||
| A nice photo etch fret is included with all kinds of parts. There are nice relief etch hatches and even a rope ladder to hang from the sail. Small items like the mooring chocks will help add some fine detailing to the finished sub. |  |
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| DECALS | |||||||||
| A decal sheet is included to do all the members of the Toti Class. There are hull numbers for S-505 Attilio Bagnolini, S-506 Enrico Toti, S-513 Enrico Dandolo, and S-514 Lazzaro Mocenigo. There are also draft markings for the hull. |  |
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| INSTRUCTIONS | |||||||||
There are two pages here with a nice elevation view labeling
the parts on the sub on page one. Page two shows the parts break down of
the small parts, and some very detailed line drawings showing the two configurations.
These are very well drawn and will really help you build the sub right.
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| LINKS AND REFERENCE | |||||||||
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| CONCLUSIONS | |||||||||
 Conclusions:
A great little kit of a unique subject. The detailing is very good, and it should not be a difficult kit to build. It will make a nice addition to your Italian Navy fleet. This kit sells for $39.00 US making it a bargain when you consider that it includes a photo etch fret. Regia Marina kits are available at Pacific Front Hobbies in the US. |
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