ICM 1/144 U-Boat Type IIB Kit First Look

By Dave Manter

First Look

The coastal Type II U-Boats were the first vessels that were built in Germany after the end of World War One. The Improved IIB series submarines were built in Deutsche Werke (U13-U16) and Germania Werft in Kiel (U7-U12, U17-U24). They were all put into service with the Kriegsmarine in 1935-1936. Two flotillas were formed with those vessels – the 1st Weddigen and the 3rd Lohs.

With the beginning of WWII the type II U-Boats were in active use as mine-layers in ports and river estuaries of England and Scotland's Eastern Coast, and for anti-shipping struggle in the English Channel. At the end of 1942, six Type IIB U-Boats were transferred to the black sea. They were used there until September 1944.

The ICM kit of the Type IIB U-Boat consists of 66 styrene parts molded in grey. All of the parts are well molded with exceptional detail. Flash and seam lines are minimal. Decals are provided for 2 boats. They are:

• U20, Oblt.z.S. Grafen, December 1943
• U23, Oblt.z.S. Wahlen, Summer 1943

The decals are printed well, but you will have to come up with your own swastikas as they are not provided.

Construction begins with the conning tower and looks to be very straight forward. The guns are very well detailed with 7 parts each. You do get a choice of gun mounts to use.

The hull is next and ICM do provide some internal bracing that will make the hull halves easier to line up. Again construction looks to be easy. The final step is just adding detail parts to the hull. A nice display stand is provided.

Overall, this should be a great weekend project. The low parts count and great engineering of this kit make it a winner!

My sincere thanks to Squadron Mail Order for this review sample!