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General Ship Modeling
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REVIEW
Italeri's Biber Midget Submarine
Gunny
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Posted: Sunday, August 29, 2010 - 07:43 AM UTC
MSW crew-mate Julian Sallows (Gremlin56) send us his thoughts of Italeri Model's latest 1/35 scale release, German Midget Submarine Biber, in this in-box review!

Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!
~Gunny
MrMox
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Posted: Sunday, August 29, 2010 - 07:29 PM UTC
Interesting, lets see if a little TLC can“t make this one into a decent model - still a lot cheeper than anything in resin.

Theres a interesting camoflage sceme in the 5 th. edition of Uboot in Focus with shark mouth and all that ....

Thanks for the review/Jan
AlanL
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Posted: Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - 07:25 AM UTC
Hi Jan,

Thanks for the review, I bought this on the spur of the moment so it will be something new to build and hopefull fun.

Al
MrMox
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Posted: Wednesday, September 01, 2010 - 09:51 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi Jan,

Thanks for the review, I bought this on the spur of the moment so it will be something new to build and hopefull fun.

Al



Oh, its Julian you got to thank, he did the review - just got my kit today, and have to agree with Julians conclusions, but I am sure it can still be made into an attractive little build, especially the inclusion of some interior details is a good point on this kit.

Cheers/Jan
JMartine
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Posted: Friday, September 03, 2010 - 01:58 AM UTC
Julian - Thanks for the review; good heads up on this one... I may wait for the "premium edition" type, with corrections and more PE like they did for the Carro Armato. cheers
Gremlin56
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Posted: Friday, September 03, 2010 - 06:30 AM UTC
Thanks Gentlemen,
cheers,
Julian
bill_c
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MODEL SHIPWRIGHTS
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Posted: Wednesday, September 08, 2010 - 05:39 AM UTC
An excellent review!
delapenne
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Rimini, Italy
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Posted: Thursday, September 09, 2010 - 03:29 AM UTC
I have heard that you could ask to your local importer or to your favourite shop the correct acetate sheet to assembly the kit correctly.
95bravo
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Posted: Thursday, September 09, 2010 - 10:25 AM UTC
Nice review. To be honest, I like your cynicism and your lack of sugar coating. I'd prefer a reviewer be brutally honest than worry about offending anyone. If it has problems or is junk, then say it! Good article.
SGTJKJ
#041
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Kobenhavn, Denmark
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Posted: Thursday, September 09, 2010 - 11:42 PM UTC
Thank you for a nice review, Julian.

Good to get the feedback raw without any diplomacy. Probably wait a little and see some build reviews before tackling this one.
MrMox
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Posted: Thursday, September 09, 2010 - 11:55 PM UTC
I will be building mine for the "Big fish" campain beginning the 1.st. of october. I do think that a decent result is possible with some care - but oh boy the figures are bad!

Cheers/Jan
AlanL
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England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
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Posted: Monday, October 11, 2010 - 06:34 AM UTC
Hi Julian,

I got the correct windows forwarded on by the supplier, Netmercharts in my case.

Do you know which is the correct end for the torpedos or would either do? Also are there any major external fittings missing?

Thanks

Al
Gremlin56
Joined: October 30, 2005
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Posted: Monday, October 11, 2010 - 07:35 AM UTC
Hi Alan, Think I'll scratch some windows for the "Beaver".
Torpedo stern units? I haven't been able to find a single photo of a torpedo with the "frame" thingie around it. I will be using the plain Jane stern units. External fittings? You have posted a couple of interesting photos with several leads around the tower that will be really easy to scratch.
The colour inside the tower would probably have been "elfenbein", a creamy white colour. The silver paint in one of your pic's is probably a conservative repaint job.
cheers,
Julian
AlanL
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Posted: Monday, October 11, 2010 - 09:18 AM UTC
Hi Julian,

Thanks, I'll try and get down to IWM again, I didn't have a lot of time on my last visit and some more pics would be handy.


Al
GlennCauley
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Posted: Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - 07:17 PM UTC
5 years after this was posted... bah, that's not too late for a reply!

I mirror your sentiments about the quality of this kit. Other places (IPMS USA) gave it a rave review, but all I can ask is "Why?"

I started my own Biber a few years ago, but only got a few steps in when I gave up in disgust at the poor quality & fit. Into the box it went, but a long time later I hauled it back out and completed it in summer 2014. I still wasn't too impressed with the quality, but with a bit of love it turned out (moderately) okay.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152268698247127.1073741855.549717126&type=1&l=f6e6440317

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