Introduction

I-19 was a Japanese Type B1 submarine which damaged and destroyed several enemy ships during World War II while serving in the Imperial Japanese Navy. During the Guadalcanal campaign, with a single torpedo salvo, the submarine sank the aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-7) and the destroyer USS O'Brien (DD-415), and damaged the battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55).
Historical Information taken from Wikipedia

Review

The kit comes in a sturdy box that is more than ample for the size of the kit. It is well packaged with no loose pieces. First impressions of the overall kit are good in that the parts have lots of detail with no molding issues and several small parts, indicating an excellent model can be made from what you get.


Fret A
This fret has the two halves of the hull. You can see it is molded well and has lots of details. The actual sub was 356.5 feet in length. When converted to 1:350 scale the model should be 31.04 centimeters. When I measured it came out to 31.2 making it close enough to accurate, for me anyway. Hull plating and lots of other details abound on the two halves, the only negative is if you want a waterline version for a diorama you’ll need to cut it yourself.

Fret B
This fret has the stern deck and various smaller details used to build the model. You can built the model underway or in port. Again these are molded well, however some details would be better replaced by photoetch. Indeed much of this fret will not be used if you buy the optional photoetch set for this kit. The plastic parts are still well molded and if you use them the model will still look quite good. The only real issue is the propeller screw blades are way too thick and will need sanded down around the edges to look more realistic and less toy-like.

Fret F
This is the Yokosuka E14Y floatplane. The wings and fuselage have a great degree of details that when painted right will really stand out. The supports look a bit thick and photoetch replacements would make it look better.

Fret H
This is the model stand. It comes with two screws and nuts so it can be securely mounted.

Fret I
This is the bow deck and conning tower sides. Detail abounds on the parts and will make this sub stand out. The plating and rivets will add great detail to the finished model once painted and weathered.

Decals and Photoetch
A small set of decals and the float plane trolley photoetch come with the kit. The instructions only show using the I-19 and flag decals, the rest on the sheet decal sheet you’ll need to research or guess how they are used. You’ll have to buy the optional PE set for this kit for rails and other small details.

Instructions
The instructions come as a large booklet the first three pages are all in Japanese and I presume is the full history of the sub. The rest of the instructions have excellent diagrams with Japanese, English, German and French captions. The instructions are well made and have diagrams to make the sub ether in port or underway. The last pages of the instructions have instructions for the optional photoetch sets that are sold separately. Not having more decal placement information is the only down side to them.

Conclusion

This is a great kit that only has a few minor flaws. The real drawback is it could have benefited from having all the photoetch set included instead of having to buy it optionally, since the instructions in the box have it anyway. Still, this kit will build up nicely and make a great display piece when finished.