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I took the plunge and purchased the Engel type VII/c U-boat kit and thought I would share my thoughts on this model.
It arrived in two huge boxes very quickly after I placed my order. It was extremely well packed and my dealings with Engel have been fantastic. They always respond to e-mails very quickly and are very concerned with customer satisfaction.
The hull is molded in GRP including the deck and comes in two sections. The detail on the hull is astonishing, I can't believe anybody would be dissapointed in the level of detail.
The conning tower floor is photo etch but every other slot and limber hole will have to be cut by dremel and file. This is a huge job that may put some people off when compared to the photo-etched decks of other u-boat kits.
This kit is very complete including many pre-fab assembelies including pre built brass railing sections. The stern plane guards rear skeg and prop shaft bushings is a pre-built cast bronze unit. The deck gun and AA gun are resin kits. The conning tower itself is resin (also very detailed) and there are three resin hatches that give access along the length of the hull.
The pressure hull WTC is a very clever bit of engineering, but it is very complicated and takes a lot of work and skill to assemble. At the front is a rotating bayonet locking system with rotating contacts for five servos. There are also 4 torpedo tubes marked on the bow cap of the WTC, I suspect Engel have plans to add a torpedo function kit in the future.
I did discover several errors in the full size plans and drawings book, mostly incorrect part numbers. The kit comes with a CD full of build pictures that is very helpfull. There are some written instructions but much of the work is done by studying the plans, drawings and pictures (which i like).
The Engel diving system of using two piston tanks complete with proportional control and pressure switches offers and unbeatable level of depth control, although I should reserve my comments on its seaworthiness until its maiden voyage.
Overall this is a very nice kit and well worth its expensive price tag. But it is not the almost ready to run model that some might be expecting, In fact I would say it is at least as much work if not more than building a comparable size model from a hull and semi pre-built gas WTC.
Jason "Schmitty" Milsom
It arrived in two huge boxes very quickly after I placed my order. It was extremely well packed and my dealings with Engel have been fantastic. They always respond to e-mails very quickly and are very concerned with customer satisfaction.
The hull is molded in GRP including the deck and comes in two sections. The detail on the hull is astonishing, I can't believe anybody would be dissapointed in the level of detail.
The conning tower floor is photo etch but every other slot and limber hole will have to be cut by dremel and file. This is a huge job that may put some people off when compared to the photo-etched decks of other u-boat kits.
This kit is very complete including many pre-fab assembelies including pre built brass railing sections. The stern plane guards rear skeg and prop shaft bushings is a pre-built cast bronze unit. The deck gun and AA gun are resin kits. The conning tower itself is resin (also very detailed) and there are three resin hatches that give access along the length of the hull.
The pressure hull WTC is a very clever bit of engineering, but it is very complicated and takes a lot of work and skill to assemble. At the front is a rotating bayonet locking system with rotating contacts for five servos. There are also 4 torpedo tubes marked on the bow cap of the WTC, I suspect Engel have plans to add a torpedo function kit in the future.
I did discover several errors in the full size plans and drawings book, mostly incorrect part numbers. The kit comes with a CD full of build pictures that is very helpfull. There are some written instructions but much of the work is done by studying the plans, drawings and pictures (which i like).
The Engel diving system of using two piston tanks complete with proportional control and pressure switches offers and unbeatable level of depth control, although I should reserve my comments on its seaworthiness until its maiden voyage.
Overall this is a very nice kit and well worth its expensive price tag. But it is not the almost ready to run model that some might be expecting, In fact I would say it is at least as much work if not more than building a comparable size model from a hull and semi pre-built gas WTC.
Jason "Schmitty" Milsom
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