My personal discoveries of inaccuracies in the Revell IXC U-boat kits!

[AndrewTSM]

I wrote all this on someone else's post, I don't know why I didn't make a post like this before, most people who would go to the lengths of implementing some of these changes would have probably have already seen my post, but never the less I would like to post this officially on its own.

1. The Flak magazine containers on the deck. The border walls enclosing them are too thick thin them down or even replace with a strip of brass or something. The stanchions on the hatch of the containers are inverted on the starboard side. I recommend you get an extra triple container piece from Revell and take off the 3rd container. Personally I would recommend getting a 3d print of these hatches as they are rather dull looking. With original 3 rows of containers on the port side I'd recommend taking off the 3rd container, U-505 is distinct having this extra container, If/when designing this replacement deck don't put that blank area where it should sit of course, also the border of the containers vary from the D shape on the U-505 and U-190 and the oval style illustrated here on U-879, already illustrated in the sites U-505 Article.




2. The number of the planks on the conning tower wintergarten on the kit are incorrect, there are 21 planks going across the thinner section of the lower conning tower on Revell kit when in real life there are 32, I've checked multiple boats and this is correct. The correct values are 56 on the top platform or 50 because I discovered that the width of the top platform on the Turm IV's on IXC&IXC/40 boats came in 2 sizes actually 3, and boats got upgraded during the war, this is observed on U-889. The style on U-190 has is the wider one and different than U-505's, there appear to be 7 planks protruding out as opposed to 3 on U-505, also the very wide platforms have the anti-slip strips. the platforms were built shorter when the Turm IV for IXC&IXC/40 boats was first introduced. The shorter ones don't have those conical support stanchions underneath the wings and the extended platforms flail out at the end on the original construction of the first platform. If the boat has a short platform then it won't have any locking stanchions for the Flak guns something I observed. Anyway the number of planks across the rear Flak platform is 46 but some have stop at the very ends with solid wooden blocks. If you know how to make simple 3D print designs I recommend you make a replacement this way.



3. On the U-505 kit the periscope hull, I think its called... has both those flood holes on either side planked up, on no U-boat is this the case, for some reason the MSI planked these up, I am not sure why, but Revell seemed to miss this inaccuracy. This is fixed on their early war IXC in someway, but is still wrong in which both of the flood holes are oval shaped, they either have 1 oval and 1 tear drop opening, or both tear dropped. Also there is an opening on the periscope hull which isn't covered on the early IXC's, this is missing. Also you can see on the U-505 how the platform floor doesn't merge with the hull and ends of on a wall sounding the perimeter. Now there's is the lookout platform, Eduard's PE kit includes one but it rests right down on it, not up in the air with supports, so I recommend you take some brass strips and solder them on the bottom or use around the edge it looks like the effect as if you were to put a wire around it. Also the wind deflector can vary in length and slightly in shape, it's also quite thick on the Revell kits and surprisingly nobody has made it for an aftermarket set.




4. The wave deflector on the side has a rung in it. Also it seems a bit blunt and short on the kit and in real life is much more sharp on the edge and around the edge it looks like the effect as if you were to put a wire around it. Also the wind deflector can vary in length and slightly in shape, it's also quite thick on the Revell kit and surprisingly nobody has made it for an aftermarket set.


5. The FuMO box has a bunch of stanchions in it and you can also take note that the wood planks seem to be pinned on horizontal stanchions, something also to note is rails end with different plates with 3 bolts, the mouth of this box is rounded at the back unlike the kit too also those small 4 holes at the top are on many other boats too, this is not damage, the outer edge of the box is curved in a bit as well unlike the kit too.



6. On most U-boats in late 1943 the A bar stanchion was removed, also the rudders are pretty simple on the Revell kits, I've also pointed out the connection between the propeller stanchions and the dive planes, which appear to be quite toyish on the kits.



7. I'd recommend you round the front of the boat a bit and add a round wire on the entrance around of the towing pipe, also there's a small little hole below it that you can drill out, the kit is missing it. Also there's a small oval plate about 25cm on port side of the nose of the boat.



8. The hull around the top torpedo tubes are cut in, I thought this was how it was supposed to be but then I looked at U-534 and thought this might not be right and then I saw photos of U-505 with her torpedo tube doors still installed on the top tubes and YES they don't compliment this cut. The draught marks on the hull are cut in if you look. Was probably done by the museum for people to be able to see the tubes, when I went to the museum and saw the 505 I imagined visualized it uncut and it would be pretty hard to see the tube if it were, even though the tubes were closed on the boat originally on display, maybe they were open at a point...




9. The compass housing has a hatch on the top, this is missing from the kit, in addition some hatches have drain holes, there are a few different styles not many, some no holes at, some round holes down the center, some with 2 row of rounds holes, some with 2x3 vertical holes etc. I'll show some. I don't know if they replaced entire Turm I's on boats or modified them to the Turm IV, but I think the former because these hatches seem to stay the same with my photos of U-515. Which are actually 2 of those pictures. I also point out some metal strips that aren't on the kit and hinges for the side access of the housing.




10. The railings need to be changed, the railing on U-505 were unique as I've discovered, most other U-boats have the same type of railings with a standardized arrangement of rungs, however different series of U-boats have a few different styles of rail ends, luckily U-534 has these types of railings. On the left U-534 sports the rail end that belongs from I think U-508 to U-550. On the right U-128, yes 128, has the style of rail ending of IXC & IXC/40 U-boats in the U-100's and has the standard arrangement of the railing rungs found on mid to late war boats.




11. The forward flood holes, or whatever they are, the ones that you see on the U-534 and most IXC/40 U-boats were actually put on many regular IXC's too! Down Below U-510, U-515, U-154, all regular IXC's with these holes.



12. The Flak 38 cannons muzzle cap was augmented later in the war. They have slant cut in them, this appears on the U-505, this augmentation was introduced about late 1943 I think.You can observe this style on the U-889 as well that is above. Also you can observe mat areas on the barrels, I don't know what makes it look that way, but this is regardless of the style.


Most other things I point out here...

[SG]

Outstanding, simply outstanding!