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Well, after the success of my 1st question about this boat, I have a follow up I intend to build the Italeri S38 as a unit operating in the Black Sea. Two reasons: a) I want to display crew members and I don't like the kits provided for North Sea/Atlantic use and I want to depict a harbor scene. So I will be using Tamiya and MiniArt DAK figures. I have pics of sailors in those uniforms in the Black Sea (maybe also the Med????) b) I like the color scheme, namely the air identification stripes in red and gray, as copied from the Italians. And again, I have pics that show Black Sea boats with those stripes... However, most sources proclaim the decks (other than the striped part on the focsle) to be in a green color. The best description I found stated that green to be close to a mix between RAL 6003 and 6025 resp. like FS 34258. Can anyone eleborate on the tone of that green? Does anyone know exactly which parts of the deck were painted in that green? Only the focsle or the rest too? And, last question (well, at least for now). Can anyone confirm that starting in 1943 the underwater hull was painted not in a grey black anymore but in a darker red (like RAL 3009)? Having said all that, I am also a bit tempted to build a "what if" version of the boat and give the boat a cammo scheme of my own making (as the original ones are not so attractive for display). But I would still like to find out what is correct, before sc*****g it up on purpose. Thanks for reading and hopefully for helping me out her! Cheers ... oh, and part of the crew is already anxiously awaiting the arrival of the boat

Hi folks, I just rejoined the forum after a few years hiatus. I mostly posted in the a/c section, but have build a bunch of ships and subs (see a list of my collections in the "new member area"). I am starting on the preliminaries of the S-38. There is a bunch of hatches that can be displayed open. However, despite quite some research, I have not found any pictures from the inside of the boat (besides the steering house). Does anybody have any info on that? Not that much can be seen, when the model is completed, but at least I want to get those few things that are obvious right. Thanks for your help Cheers

Just saw this at Lucky Model. I have not heard of Fore Hobby before today but this seems to be a high quality kit. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/fore-hobby-1001-schnellboot-s-38--1369046 https://www.luckymodel.com/scale.aspx?item_no=FOH-1001

Earlier today I stumbled on a website describing the restoration of a real German WW2 S Class torpedo boat (an ‘E boat’ as the Allies called them). The restoration is (was?) being carried out in Cornwall. The boat, S.130, is owned by the Wheatcroft Collection. The website stops at a point a lot of work had been done, including replacing a lot of the keel. I’ve searched (Googled) but can’t find anything definite about this restoration. I’m not in any way an expert on ships but this rather fascinated me. Has any fellow BM’er any news or facts about the restoration. In hope, Jonny

German Fast Attack Craft S-100 (05162) 1:72 Revell The S Boat is called as the S stands for Schell in German which means fast. The boats were 35m long and 5.1m in beam designed for operations in the North Sea they were very capable vessels with a good performance in rough seas. Their top speed sustained was 43 knots , and they could push this as high as 49 for short bursts. They were powered by three Daimler Benz Diesel Engines which gave better range and performance than any western vessel until the later MTB's arrived. Just to confuse matter the Royal Navy referred to S Boats as E Boats with the E standing for Enemy. They were armed with 2 forward facing torpedo tubes with 2 reloads making a total of 4. Various other close in weapons were mounted such as machine guns, 20mm cannons and even heavier 37mm cannons. The S Boats were very capable attack boats and gave a good account of themselves. The Kit This boxing is a re-release of the kit which originally came out in 2001, and is now on its forth release. The kit arrives as two large hull halves and three additional large sprues. There is some flash evident on these latest ones. There is also a reel of rigging thread in the box. Construction starts with the bridge which unlike those on British vessels has a degree of armour to it to protect the crew. The box which makes the actual bridge is made up and then the external armour is placed over it. Next up the rear ends of the torpedo tubes are made up as these and the bridge structure then get fitted to the ,main deck. The main deck can then be fitted into the hull and this is then closed up. The fore-deck is then fitted with the support structure for the fore-deck gun going in under the deck before its fitted. Various deck fittings are also added at this stage. Moving back to the bridge a large pair of fixed binoculars for the torpedo sighting system are fitted. Also many bridge and bridge casement fittings are added including life-rings and lookout positions. Ventilators are added and the acetate for the screens is fixed in. Access ladders from the main deck are then added. Now moving onto the main-deck various deck housings and fittings are added along with the main side rails, these are rope at the back so are added from the spool supplied in the kit. The weapons including the reload torpedoes are made up at this time. A large what looks to be single barrelled 20mm for the front with a 37mm aft, and a twin 20mm for the midships position. What look to be mine laying rails are added to the stern though no mines are supplied in the kit. Finally the aerial wires are added from the kit supplied spool. If not building a water line diorama or scene then a stand is included for displaying the finished model. Markings There are markings for 2 boats with no details given. The modeller will have to supply their own Swastika for the Ensign. Decals are by Cartograf as can be seen from the small "c" at the end of the code, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion It is good to see this kit being re-released Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

German Schnellboot S-38 Eduard 1:35 It was great to see the release by Italeri of the 1:35 S-38 Schnellboot, adding to their impressive array of 1:35 scale MTB’s. The kit itself is very nice, but there is always room for improvement, and Eduard have a lot of experience in giving us modellers the sort of detail sets that will help do this. The three sets reviewed here are perfect for the task in hand, although I’m sure there is a lot more that can be added to the model, and not just in etched brass. 53212 – Schnellboot: Comes in a zip lock bag with a large sheet of etched brass and a small pre-painted sheet of etched steel. The brass sheet contains many new and replacement parts for the torpedo tubes both internally and externally, a new door and other fittings for the bow mounted 20mm cannon, plus a host of deck fittings such as gratings, hatch fittings and 48 stanchion plates. There are also new foot plates, brackets for the boot hook, skylight surrounds, ventilator grilles, plus foot pedals, sights and other fittings for the 40mm Bofors. Within the wheelhouse there are new fittings for the ships wheel, compass rose and surrounds for the two binnacles, and grille for the aldis lamp. All the dials and instrumentation are replaced with the well printed items on the etched steel sheet. For those modellers who wish to build a pre-war version with the 20mm cannon on the stern, then there are parts include for this weapon too. 53213 – Flag: This set is very simple in that it just contains are large pre-printed German flag. The flag comes complete with eyes top and bottom for you to add your favourite rigging line. If you don’t like to build your models with the swastika then you might not like to use this on your model. 53214 – Hatches: Also comes in a zip lock bag with one sheet of etched brass and a pre-cut acetate sheet. The sheet contains complete replacements for all the deck hatches. Each hatch is made of the hatch surrounds, the hatch itself with an acetate backing representing the glass, hinges, handles, clasps, and outside cover. Conclusion As mentioned above, the kit out of the box will make a nice model, but if you want something more, then these sets will certainly go toward making a model with more finesse and improved detail. Some modellers may want to go further, but for those with a limited budget you can’t go far wrong with these sets. Rieview courtesy of