by Sean Hert
1/144 U-32 Type 212A (Revell Germany)
This is the Revell submarine that I did a quick "In the Box" look here. I decided I needed something simple and easy to build as a break from my other projects. U32 took me about 6 hours total to build; and hour here, a half and hour there.
Fit was fine. I didn't use any fill or putty, as that went against my idea of a "relaxing build." I only ran into two problems. First, in step 1, the clear piece that covers the navigation lights wouldn't fit with some trim. Second, in step 4, the instructions have you drill out one too many holes. If you are planning on building this sub in a "dirty" condition, look ahead to steps 15-16 to plan which holes you will need opened for the lifelines. Also, decaling the draft markings on the "X" planes would have been easier had I waited to add the stabilizers later; I only broke them three times.
Instead of puzzling out the paint instructions- Revell Germany paints not being available to me- I mixed my own color of Testors Acryl Burnt Sienna and Flat Black. I used Tamiya NATO Black for the anti-skid surfaces. Alclad II Pale Burnt Metal was used for the screw.
I used a wooden model car base I had laying around, and mounted U32 with lamp shade risers. It's something different than the standard kit base, and more interesting than a flat one.
In the end, I'm pretty happy with the build. She's far from perfect- I got lazy during the decaling and some silvered. I also didn't rig the lifelines, but I can always do that later. Hey, at least I finished something!
