Alanger 1/72 Type XXIII Submarine
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Overview
The Type XXIII U-Boot was one of the last submarines fielded by the
Germans during World War Two, with only 61 built between 1944 and the
end of the war in 1945. Its small size made it perfect for close-shore
operations, where the larger Type XXI submarines were at risk. The small
size carried a penalty, though, and that was in weaponry. The Type XXIII
could only carry two torpedoes, and those had to be loaded while dockside.
This, of course, limited their operations, and for most of the war, these
submarines were relegated to training duties. Six Type XXIIIs saw combat,
though, and sank five ships for no losses. Three survived post-war, with
two going to Britain and one to Norway. Later, one of the British examples
was handed over to the Soviet Union.
The Kit
 I
have a bit of a soft spot for the Type XXIII submarine, as it was the
first nautical model I won an award with. For full details on that, I'll
refer you back to my 3-day build of the ICM
1/144 Type XXIII. When this kit showed up, I was excited, as I had
wanted to build another Type XXIII. Upon opening the box, my first reaction
was at the size. Now I knew that a 1/72 Type XXIII would be twice as big
as the little ICM kit, but I never really thought about how big that would
be. This kit measures in at over a foot and a half long, and stands over
4" high without the scopes and snorkel! It is molded in light gray
plastic, and, similar to the ICM kit, there are not that many pieces.
Construction, therefore, is straightforward and with little to worry
about. Still, I don't think I'll be finishing this one in three days.
Starting with the sail, this has a separate upper decking, with a separate
hatch with wheel. A separate periscope base completes this assembly and
is then trapped between the hull halves. Also trapped between the hull
halves is the bow torpedo interior structure, which gives you the option
of having the doors open. Two small running light boxes for inside the
sail complete the interior bits, and after that, the hull can be closed
up.
 The
exterior gets some quick additions in the form of the rudder, dive planes,
and fins, along with the separate torpedo doors. Most of the exterior
details, though, are reserved for the sail, which gets quite a bit of
additional work. There are six separate rungs for the ladder on the front
of the sail, as well as a separate hatch. The side rails are also separate,
as is the upper structure of the sail. Finally, there are two separate
flagpoles, the periscope, the snorkel, and a radio mast to round out the
upper part of the submarine. To help give your model a sense of scale,
two figures are also included, one holding binoculars and the other holding
a rope.
The decal sheet is quite small, which is understandable considering
that these submarines wore little in the way of markings. You get white
stripes for the sail and a German Navy Ensign for the flagpole (the latter
has the center swastika separate and split in two). For those wanting
to do a different boat, there are a handful of photos out there showing
operational Type XXIIIs, and the markings are generally very simple.
Conclusion
This is a rather nice kit of a lesser-known submarine. I had quite a
bit of fun building the ICM kit, and I think I will have just as much
fun with this one. Of course, I will have to make things a bit more challenging
for myself, which means that I would like to build it up as either a British
or Norwegian example, so if anyone has photos of either of those, please
let me know. My sincere thanks to Alanger
for the review sample. |
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