A Fine Pair

Midget submarines have caught my attention recently - they have featured in the latest model mags and I got a couple of kits for Christmas. Santa brought me the ICM Type XXVVII Seehund (Sea lion) and the Biber fron Italeri.

The Sea Lion is a very straightforward injection moulded kit in 1/72 scale, and very easy to construct. I decided to weight the hull, because I feel this gives the finished piece a little more credibility. A project like this also depends on paintwork. I felt that painting it in the same way as I would an aircraft would be appropriate, but with modifications. A brown/black wash worked well, followed by some heavy duty dry brushing. This turned out well and I was pleased with the results.

The Biber was broadly similar, but in 1/35 scale. This kit offers a small photo etch fret with parts for the hull and inside the conning tower, and a very convincing instrument panel. I used a similar paint routine as on the Sea Lion, but with heavier shading.

I have included photos of both models with others in their corresponding scale - the Sea Lion poses with the 1/72 scale Gato Class sub, and the Biber with Italeri's own PT boat. I think these settings speak for themselves.

Subversive!

My last blog saw me talking about ICM's new midget submarine. There has been progress - I'm feeling very pleased with myself as I've finished this cheeky little project in super-quick time and I'm delighted with the results.


The parts went together very well and after 5 0r 6 hours hard building it was constructed. Undercoat was followed naturally enough by overcoat. Weathering consisted of increasingly lighter shades in a cloud pattern. I post-shaded in a black grey and then subtly re-did the panels in a pale grey. I applied a protective gloss glaze and the next day I put on a brown-black wash.

The decals went down really well - there are only a few of them, but they really make a difference. I sealed everything with a matt varnish and carefully dry-brushed the raised detail, of which there is plenty. The torpedoes don't have a lot of detail though, so I did what I could with them and attached them to the brackets.


This was a lovely little project that slotted in nicely between bigger jobs, and gave me a lot of pleasure. Time now to get back to more serious work, after this very enjoyable bit of fun.

To show just how midget this sub is, I've photographed it on top of my 1/72 scale 'Gato' class US ocean-going sub. They're both in the same scale....