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German Type IXc/40 U-Boat 1:72 Revell History The Type IX U-boat was designed by Germany in 1935 and 1936 as a large ocean-going submarine for sustained operations far from the home support facilities. Type IX boats were briefly used for patrols off the eastern United States in an attempt to disrupt the stream of troops and supplies bound for Europe. The extended range came at the cost of longer dive times and decreased manoeuvrability, which is why the smaller Type VII was produced in greater numbers and used for the bulk of operations. To improve the dive times some Type IXc/40s had their foredeck cut down, whether this was actually successful is open to debate. Another innovation included on this sub-type, was the installation of a snorkel mast, allowing the boat to run its diesel engines to charge the batteries whilst the boat was at periscope depth. German Type IXc/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original Type IXc. U-190 had a displacement of 1,144 tonnes (1,126 long tons) when at the surface and 1,257 tonnes (1,237 long tons) while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in), a pressure hull length of 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in), a beam of 6.86 m (22 ft 6 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.67 m (15 ft 4 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 4,400 metric horsepower (3,240 kW; 4,340 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 shaft horsepower (1,010 PS; 750 kW) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m (6 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft). The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 18.3 knots (33.9 km/h; 21.1 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h; 8.4 mph). When submerged, it could operate for 63 nautical miles (117 km; 72 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 13,850 nautical miles (25,650 km; 15,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-190 was fitted with six 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22 torpedoes, one 10.5 cm (4.13 in) SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a 3.7 cm (1.5 in) as well as a 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of forty-eight. The Model As with Revells earlier kit of the Type IXc/40 this kit comes in a large, sturdy top opening box with an artistic impression of U-190 under the surface being depth charged. Inside, under a cardboard shelf there are the four parts that make up the hull and a poly bag containing seven sprues of light grey styrene and 3 deck pieces. There is also a small decal sheet, and a reel of black cotton included. The new style instruction booklet is very nice and overdue change from Revell. Printed in colour on better stock than previous, seemingly recycled stuff, they are nice and clear, with the added benefit that the print doesn't come off onto your hands. The moulding of all parts is pretty clean, although there is evidence of flash around some parts, albeit minimal and only a few moulding pips. Detail looks to be very well done with the associated hull openings shown as quite deep indentations and plenty of rivets for even the most fastidious modeller to count. It is a shame that the flood vents and openings in the hull haven’t been moulded open and a representative pressure hull included, but this may be due to the fact that the kit isn’t aimed at just the “professional” modeller, but all levels, thus some shortcuts have been taken. That said I’m sure that the aftermarket companies will come up with something that will really enhance the finished model and for the more experienced to go to town on it. That said, the details on all the parts does look really good and with some careful painting and weathering it should be made into a great and certainly impressively large model. The only real difficulty to be seen is the attachment of the stern section to the main hull section as the break isn’t on a natural hull line, although the dry fitting does show that it shouldn’t require too much filler, just be careful not to remove the rivets and plate lines when sanding. Construction begins with the assembly of the foreward tubes out of the main bulkhead with the tube openings, three sub-decks and two longitudinal bulkheads. The aft tubes are constructed from the tube bulkhead, a two part internal bulkhead and the deckhead. The foreward tubes are then sandwiched between the main hull halves along with two strengthening bulkheads about one third and two thirds of the length and the snorkel mast trough. The aft tubes are then fitted between the two aft hull parts with a bulkhead near the hull joint position. The two hull sections are then joined together and the seam carefully filled and sanded. At this point the snorkel mast sub-assembly is also built up. This consists of two halves for the mast with the filter/float fitted to the top. There is a long stand which can be assembled at this point to help with the rest of the build. With the hull turned upside down the three piece sonar dome is attached to the front of the keel whilst the two piece foreplanes, bow doors, which can be posed either open or closed and the boats anchor are fitted. Moving aft, a pair of two part prop shaft fairings are fitted, one per side adjacent to the rear of the keel, followed by the prop shafts, A frame supports and props. The stern torpedo doors can then be attached, again either open or closed. The two piece stern planes are then attached, with the two rudders and their support frame being the last to be fitted. With the hull upright the three deck sections are fitted and the joins carefully filled and sanded to prevent any loss of detail, although they are fitted at natural joins this time so there shouldn’t be too much to do. The two 20mm cannon mounts are then assembled out of the base, two part pedestal and traversing hand wheel. The cannon themselves are then built up with the twin barrels, ammunition cartridges, gun mount, elevating mount, shoulder rests and pintle attached. Next in the sequence is the assembly of the twin 37mm mounting. This consists of the two barrels, two piece pedestal/base, splinter shield and associated mounting beams, two seat mounts, seats and two pairs of hand wheels, making up a nicely detailed unit. The build then moves onto the large tower. The upper tower halves are joined together and a panel fitted to the starboard side. The command deck and 37mm mounting deck are fitted to the two piece lower tower section. The upper tower can then be fitted to the lower and the upper and lower winter garden decks attached. There are a number of panels to be fitted to the inside of the forward upper tower, including the radar stowage and compass shelf. Further details such as the conning tower hatch, with locking wheel and the voice tubes and spray coaming are added forward whilst the rear deck supports are added aft. Staying aft of the tower there are five racks fitted each containing a life raft, along with two access ladders and the individual ladder rungs up the starboard side of the tower. Two sections of handrail are attached around the 20mm gun deck and three sections of guardrail are fitted around the 37mm gun deck, with the flag staff in the centre of the upper tower railing. The tower is completed with the fitting of the two piece periscope housing, into which the two periscopes are slotted and between which there is a two piece lookout rail. The radar, with individual di-poles is fitted to the housing on the port side, a number of smaller items and finally, the three gun mounts assembled earlier in the build. The whole assembly is then affixed into position on the main deck. Construction of the sub is completed with the fitting of the hand rails around the tower on the main deck, the fore and aft deck hatches, access panels, bollards, engine exhausts and rear aerial supports. The aerials are to be made out of the cotton provided, but it may be better to use something that doesn’t look quite so furry. Fortunately in this kit Revell have provided the isolation fixings for the aerials foreward where it splits from one to three. Decals The single smallish decal sheet has markings for U-190 from before she was captured with the Kriegsmarine ensign and after, with the Canadian Ensign. There are also identification decals for the stand which fit into their respective indentations. The decals look like they have been printed by Cartograph, if my knowledge of serial letter is anything to go by. They are very nicely printed and quite thin, especially when compared with previous Revell printed sheets. Whilst there is a fair amount of carrier film between the letters it is thin enough that should allow them to sit well once your favourite softening and setting solutions have been used. Conclusion Revell have quite a collection of large scale submarines and this version of the Type IX fits in perfectly. It is a well designed and fairly easy kit to put together, with the only problem being its sheer size. Whilst not perfect, it will make a good base for those that wish to super detail their kits and the likes of Master Barrels, Eduard and even Pontos will soon have update sets for it. Now Revell, how about some British boats in this scale? Very highly recommended. or