Im an aircraft builder and been looking into building a u-boat recently. im not exactly sure on what size would be the best size. im not looking for to small or to large. what would be a nice scale? and kit would you recommend?
thanks!
Revell makes a wonderful series of U-Boats at 1/144 scale. They cover the Type VII C, Type VII C/41, the Type VII D, the Type XXI, and several modern German U-Boats. Other companies have added to this scale, Trumpeter providing two kits of Gato-class Fleet Boats and two Chinese versions of the Soviet Romeo class, as well as a Soviet Kilo and an American Seawolf. one of them with an experimental missile configuration fitted to both sides of the sail. ICM has a nice Type XXIII. I think I covered all the boats currently available in this nice scale, being more convenient than the 1/72 room-fillers and the 1/350 small scale boats.
The largest selection, though is in 1/350 scale, which covers submarines from WWI through today.
thanks warship! 1/114 looks to be the perfect scale for my shelf. the VII was a german u boat correct?
yes.
I’d recommend the Revell 1/144 U-boat VII…I wanna say it was in the 18-19 inch range. It was my first build in a LONG time that wasn’t an airplane. OOB, would be a nice simple enough build…but I added PE and whatnot.
http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/7/t/136520.aspx?sort=ASC&pi240=1
1/144 is the perfect scale for WWII subs and there are some nice kits readily available.
The Type VII was the most numerous class of submarine ever constructed and was the mainstay of the German U-Boat offensive throughout WWII. It is a great place to begin U-Boat modelling! As others have said, 1/144 is a great scale as well, being large enough to be impressive without being gaudy, and it can easily fit in most households. There are a reasonable number of kits available in that scale, although not as many as the far more numerous 1/350 submarine kits. If you select 1/144, I believe that you wll enjoy it immensely!
Bill
1/350 is pretty small,especially for a Type VII,but I like to keep my collection in the same scale.Its cool have that tiny sub next to a battleship or cruiser and to think of the fear they still generated.
There is another interesting option . . . 1/400. Slightly smaller than 1/350, almost the entire range of German WWII U-Boats is covered by Mirage. They cover the Type II in several variants, variants of the Types VII, IX, XIV, etc. each boat may be small, but they are impressive, especially when detailed with aftermarket photoetch.
Here’s a shot of a Type IIB and a Type XXIII,both in 1/144 scale.
TD,
Who makes those kits? I was unaware they existed. They look great!
Bill
You forget that those are “Attack” Submarines and are generally smaller no matter the scale. But if any manufacturer decides to scale up the 1/350 scale Boomers (Nuclear Ballistic Missile submarines) to 1/144 scale you will seriously have to rethink where you would display those monsters.
The IIB is by ICM.Trumpeter makes two Type XXIII’s,but I have no idea what the difference is,if any.I plan on picking up the second one this month.
thanks anyone! 1/144 looks to be the perfect scale. and yea, i been eye balling the VII Type C.
after watching das boot, i had the urge to build a U boat.
One of the Revell 1/144 kits comes with U-96 (Das Boot) markings.
This is the U-96 kit.
Mike,
There is actually little difference between early boomers and later fast attacks in overall length, beam, and draft. For example, The SSBN 598 class measured 381 feet in length with a beam of 33 feet and a draft of 29 feet. The SSBN 608 is 410 feet in length with a beam of 33 feet and a draft of 27 feet, whereas the SSN 688 measures 361x33x31 and the SSN 21 measures 353x40x36. It is only with the USS Ohio class, Typhoon class, and Delta IV class the the size of the boomers take an appreciable jum in overall length, beam, and draft.
Also, don’t forget the Oscar class SSGN. In other words, at 1/144, modern boats, whether SSBN, SSN, or SSGN (with few exceptions) could be quite monstrous!
Bill
thanks everyone! i picked up a 1/125 U-99 for a good price today the LHS. he didn’t have any 1/144 VII.
does anyone now the color code for this boat? instructions call for some colors im not familiar with.
LOL warshipguy You must not have seen the new Borei class kits in 1/350 scale from Hobbyboss or Zvezda.
All 3 subs pictured are 1/350 scale in size comparison.
now if that Borei was in 1/144 that would be over 2 feet in length and quite wide in diameter.
Now
yea, he was giving me hints on the 1/72 VII/C…way to large for tasting. would the 1/114 VII be smaller then the 1/125 u-99?
thanks!