Hi,
Second time (back-to-back), I am trying to build a decently looking model of this boat in 1:350 scale from the AFV kit. As good as this kit is in terms of the level of detail and molding quality, it has IMHO a fatal flaw. This flaw is the breakdown of the outer hull, which results in a prominent seam along the upper part of the saddle tanks. The flaw is in my opinion fatal as the seam is impossible to eliminate without destroying delicate raised weld lines, several of which it intersects with. Much better solution would be if the saddle tanks were molded as a whole and be glued to the sides of the hull. This is an intuitively correct approach and I am puzzled why AFV did not chose it. Did anyone have the same frustrating experience with this kit? Cheers, bob

Ahoy Bob,
I hear you and you are absolutely right.
After having looked at my copy, I came to the conclusion that it isn't even
designed to be "waterlined" as it would be really riding too low.

I don't usually built u boats in 1:350 but I did buy all the variants in this
scale to make a display. Let me tell you that each manufacturer has overlooked
something or other about their respective kits. What can I say........

Probably the best solution is to stretch some very fine strands of sprue
and reconstruct the weld lines after they become damaged from the sanding.

Hope this helps,
Have a great day and happy modeling,
Joe

Joe,
Thank you for the suggestion. Actually, I tried this approach on my first attempt on this kit but the sprue welds did not come out well. I think I am going to wait for the just announced Hobby Boss release hoping that their part breakdown will be more user friendly. Btw, I wrote to AFV about this problem but do not expect any (re)action on their part given that a major mold redesign would be required and there are not too many buyers of these kits in general, and so aflicted with an AMS as myself in particular. Cheers, bob