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Biber Trailer + Resin Wheels 1:72 Special Hobby The Biber (Beaver) was a German Naval midget submarine used in WWII. It was crewed by one man and carried to externally mounted 53cm (21") torpedoes, or could carry mines. One advantage if there were any with the Midget Submarines was that by carrying the weapons externally it mean the width was less and it was able to be transported by road. With typical German efficiency even though as a weapons system it was not that great they designed and built a trailer specifically for moving it by road. This standard road trailer with a single axle at either end, the front axle articulating with the draw-bar. A frame work was also added to carry a canvas cover to conceal the load. It also appears from WWII photos the trailer could take the weight and dimensions of a sub loaded with torpedoes. The Kit Inside the box there is one sprue which contains all the parts for the trailer. There is also a small bag with an additional part which has not been moulded correctly on the sprue. For construction the twin wheel units for each corner are mad up first. The articulating front axle unit is then made with a ring top which will fit onto a similar ring on the trailer chassis. The main chassis is a one part moulding to which the front part is added, a back axle and additional straightening parts. The rest of the plastic sprue is then made up of the frame parts for the trailer. If the modeller wants to model the trailer with its tarpaulin cover then a paper template is provided to make a cover. Decals There are no decals provided for the trailer. It can be painted either German Field Grey or Dark Yellow. Wheels Under their Blitz Armour accessories line CMK/Special Hobby supply a set of rein replacement wheels for the trailer. This is one of the few cases where I feel the resin wheels add nothing to the kit at all. The plastic wheels have better tread definition and the hub detail is about the same. The resin wheels will require clean up from the pour blocks, and it would seem the holes in the wheels are flashed over in resin so they will all need to be cleaned up. The plastic wheels meanwhile will need a quick pass of a sanding stick where they remove from the sprue, and to clean the mould line (which is hardly visible) Conclusion The trailer will be a great accompaniment to the Biber submarine and will allow it to be displayed without having to resort to a water diorama, or the stand. It also allows the sub to be part of a larger vehicular diorama if needed. Highly recommended for the trailer, but pass on the extra wheels. Trailer Wheels Review sample courtesy of

Biber "German Midget Submarine" 1:72 Special Hobby SN72006 The Biber (Beaver) was a German Naval midget submarine used in WWII. It was crewed by one man and carried to externally mounted 53cm (21") torpedoes, or could carry mines. Like many projects at the time the Sub was hastily developed to meet the threat of an Allied invasion of Europe. Construction of the prototype which began in Feb 1944 only took 6 weeks, design was said to be influenced by the British Welman Submarine one of which the Germans captured in Norway in 1943. As the submarine carried its weapons externally it made the width less and easy to transport by land (see later review for the trailer). The hull was made from 3 sections in steel with an aluminium conning tower on top which contained armoured glass view points. The submarine was difficult for the one man to operate as he had to control the hydroplanes, rudder and periscope at the same time, while trying to keep track of course, speed and depth; plus any target! In addition no trim system was fitted. All of this was not helped by long missions where they pilots used drug or caffeine laced drinks in order to stay awake. For propulsion the Germans used a 32hp petrol engine for surface running. Despite concerns over carbon monoxide issues the engine was used as it was cheap and plentiful. Underwater a 13hp electric motor was used. Underwater endurance was not great, and even more so when batteries were taken out to help obtain neutral buoyancy. Despite many attempts to launch the boats operationally they were only responsible for the sinking of one Allied vessel the Alan A Dale which was sunk off the Dutch port of Terneuzen. All 65 on board survived. Even though only one allied vessel was sunk, an inadvertent discharge in port buy one sub manged to sink another 11 (good going!). It would seem the Biber like the Welman were both ineffectual at best and you wonder if the resources would have been better placed elsewhere. The Kit Inside the box are five sprues of grey plastic, a small clear one and a small sheet of decals. The sub is on one sprue on its own, there are two sprues with the torpedoes on them, and two sprues for the stand. The quality of the parts is first class and you can clearly see where the different parts of the pressure hull bolted together. There is no real interior but then even with the main hatch open you will not see much inside. Construction starts with the crewman's seat being made and added to the helm console, This is then installed in the conning tower. The clear view ports are then added into the conning tower. The tow hull halves can then be joined. The rudder and stern planes are then added. The side racks to hold the weapons and their support structure is then added. The top of the conning tower is added along with the main hatch, and then the periscope and what looks like air intake for the surface running petrol engine. Two skids are added to the underside of the hull along with the propeller shaft and prop. The torpedoes are then made up. These are simple constructions of two halves with the side fins, rear propeller and front impeller being added. Lastly the stand is made up from four parts. Decals There is a small decal sheet in house from Special Hobby. They look to be in register and should pose no problems. There are schemes for 5 Subs. Unknown vessel, K Flotilla, late 1944. Four tone camo vessel, K Flotilla, 263(3 Biber Flotilla) Hollen Base Norway, Spring 1945. Unknown vessel with Sharks mouth, Early 1945 found washed up with pilot dead. Unknown vessel K Flotilla, captured by allied forces, likely France 1944. Biber 87, K Flotille 1945 Conclusion This is a well detailed if not a great number of parts kit which will build up into a great looking kit. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Dock with Stairs 1:35 Italeri The 1:35 series of Motor Torpedo Boats from Italeri have been in production for a number of years now, and the range has been expanding since the initial launch (excuse pun) of the S-100 boat some years back. While many modellers will be happy to pose their finished kits on a simple stand, some will want to place theirs in a more realistic quayside or seaborne setting. Italeri have foreseen the former with their series of modular quaysides that have been released of late. This kit is a full 30cm segment of quay with an inset staircase for ease of access to the waterline. It stands almost 9cm tall and has a width of almost 20cm. There is no water included, as that would be tricky in a modular format. The box is adorned with a superbly painted model, and is around the size of a small 1:48 fighter box. Inside are three sprues in one bag, with a length of rope in a separate bag inside the main one. I say sprues, but one is just the large top of the quay, with a cobbled surface, manhole, grid and deckside crane/railway moulded into it. The other two sprues contain the other main surfaces, accessories and smaller scenic detailing parts. Construction is simple, but take care with the angles when adjoining perpendicular surfaces. It would be wise to use a set-square or engineers' square to keep everything square. The staircase is built up first, and requires a rectangular section to be cut out of the quayside, which is marked out on the underside of the part with a heavy pre-cut line that should be easy to complete. The quay wall also needs a similar shaped section removing, which is again marked and pre-cut. These are then mated, and a pair of constructional L-profile pillars to hold the rear of the quay level. The stairs fit into the opening that was cut earlier, and a set of C-shaped capping stone parts hide the joint neatly. After main construction, the additional items and accessories can be made up, and used at will. They include two pairs of wooden mooring posts of square and round section, T-shaped and L-shaped metal mooring posts, a boarding plank, small H-shaped mooring posts and of course a flotation ring. Some scrap diagrams at the end of the instructions show some examples of uses of the rope, with various knots that are typically used on the mooring posts. There are no decals of course, and a painting guide gives advice on typical colours of the various elements of the base in Model Master, Italeri and FS shades, but as with all diorama bases, the world is your oyster for variations, depending on the colour of the stone used in the quay, the cobbles and the state of the wooden parts. Check your references, and if you aren't feeling adventurous you could do a lot worse than imitating the finished article on the box top. Conclusion It's a lovely simple kit, and when sympathetically painted should look very nice. At 30cm long however, it will need to be coupled to another kit from the range, such as the Long Dock (5612) that is also available, which will give a total dock length of just under a metre. The forthcoming Biber mini-sub may be a likely candidate for just this one section however. Because of the modular nature of the kit, there are no sides or back to the quay, so once you have built up the length that you feel works for you, you will need to box off the open sides and rear, possibly mounting it on a board in the process. The bravest amongst us will also add water around the boat with all the work that entails, and my hat goes off to those talented folks. Thinking laterally, the kit could also be used as a diorama base for armour or figures, as some kind of captured harbour scenario - Afterall, it is the same scale as the major armour scale. I could actually see my completed Neubaufahrzeug atop it, depicted at Oslo harbour during the taking of Norway perhaps? Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of