Reviewed by Glen Porter

This is the first chance I have had to look at an ICM kit other than their two 1/72 scale Bf 109Es. I have to say, I am very impressed.

ICM's 1/144 scale Type XXIII U-Boat is a simple kit comprising only 24 parts, but quality is not compromised. Extensive surface detail is by combination of raised and crisply recessed detail, and is very well done.

If it wasn’t for the fact that some of the parts are so finely moulded, this would be a good kit for beginners. However, some of those very small parts haven’t fared too well during transit and were broken, but I don’t think it’s the fault of the parts being so small as much as the transport method. Some tiny parts had partially detached from the sprue and some had simply broken on it. The conning tower deck insert has warped. I think all these parts can be fixed but it might might put a beginner off.

With only 24 parts, ICM's U-Boat will be a very quick build and therefore the focus will be on the painting. Colours are called out on the instructions in Model Master paints but more importantly there is a fair amount of information around at the moment on late war U-boat colours. WEM produce the appropriate colour in their Colorcoat range of enamels and information on those colours can be found on the net at sites like U-boat Colours.com and others.

The decals are nicely printed and cover three boats, one war-time German, U-2322, one Russian, N-31 used till 1953 and one scuttled war-time boat, raised in 1956 and used by the West Germans. Of course, none of them have many markings on them so don’t expect to spend a lot of time decaling.

Overall, ICM's Type XXIII U-Boat is a very impressive package. The Type XXIIIs were pretty small but in 1/144 scale the model is big enough to appreciate all that lovely detail.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to ICM for the review sample

Images and Text Copyright © 2005 by Glen Porter
This Page Created on 10 March, 2005
Last updated 10 March, 2005

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