For being such a large kit, Das Werk has buckedthe trend of more and smaller parts, with just 4 total sprues (3 if youdon’t count the hull as a sprue) totaling 164 parts. Also in the box isthe instruction booklet, a decal sheet, and a 99 page softcover book withbackground on the U9, WW1 submarine warfare, and the research and developmentof the model. The model can be built as U9, 10, 11 or 12, but the onlydifference is in what decals you choose to put on the boat. There is nodifference in parts between the 4 submarines.
I did find several blemishes (for lack of a betterword) on each hull half. They start at the top of the saddle tank and extenddown about an inch. They occur at the exact same spots on each hull half,so that makes me think they are from the injection molding process. Fortunately,they miss all the rivet detail, so if they do need a swipe or two of asanding stick, you won’t destroy any rivets. I also found one small roundejector pin like spot on the right hull half just aft of the dive planemounting holes. The left half does not have this mark.
Instead of using bulkheads to add stiffness tothe hull, Das Werk has chosen to go with 14 pins to provide more stabilitywhen joining the halves. There are 3 bulkheads: forward and aft torpedobulkheads, and one large one in the middle of the sub. I have read a couplecomments online that using the pins will cause fit issues with the deck.One person even said to leave out the central bulkhead. I’m not sure I’dwant to put together a left/right hull this large with no support otherthan fore & aft torpedo bulkheads, so some dry fitting will definitelybe in order before applying any cement.
The deck is molded in single, long piece, so nounsightly seams to worry about, and has nice detail molded in. The twopropellers are molded with left & right pitch, so get them on the correctsides or Keith Bender will find you. The rudder is molded with some nicedetail as well. There is even a piece for the interior of the conning towerwith a ladder and some other detail should you choose to have the hatchopen.
A quirky thing about the stand. Das Werk choseto mold “S.M. Unterseeboot” in raised letters on the side pieces but providedblack & white decals for the identification number of the boat youchoose to build to go after it. Should you choose to use the included standto display your model instead of in a case, that could end up looking alittle odd. It probably would have been better to just create 8 pieceswith raised lettering for the U9, U10, etc., that could be glued to thestand to keep it looking uniform.
There are 3 masts in the kit. Two thatgo on the port saddle tank and can be displayed either raised or lowered,and one for the rear of the conning tower. None of the three will supportrigging of any kind, so if you intend to display them deployed, they willneed to be switched out with brass.
This sprue also contains several partsthat the instructions label “Turnbuckles”. Their appearance reminds meof those reddish brown insulators you see in the rigging of World War 2era U Boats, but these seem to be clustered around the dive planes andprops. My assumption is that they are some sort of system to keep thingsfrom getting caught in the planes & props. The instructions call for.5mm holes to be drilled in them while still attached to the sprue. I wouldadd that you probably also want to add whatever material you are goingto use for the rigging while they are attached to the sprue as well, asthey will be quite small to handle off the sprue.
This brings me to my major quibble withthis model: the construction of the prop shafts and struts. The skegs aremolded in left and right halves that have a very shallow locating pin thatgo into very shallow locating indentations on the hull. The outboard strutis molded directly on the prop shaft, but the inboard struts are moldedseparately. The instructions call for joining the two inboard struts first,and then attaching them to the hull, then attaching the shaft/outboardstrut. Getting all of that properly aligned will be something of a chore.
A nice feature that Das Werk has providedare railings that have canvas coverings molded on as well as a set withno canvas, and they can be interchangeable so long as you don’t glue themonto the top of the conning tower. The locating pins are long enough thatthey should remain in place without glue.
A not so nice feature of these piecesis that they are the only 4 pieces that I have found that will have visibleejector pin marks on them that will need to be filled. The pieces withno canvas have 4 ejector pin marks along the bottom of the rail, and therailings with canvas have a fifth right behind the locating pin for thelife preservers. Interestingly, there is only a locator pin for the lifepreservers on the railings that have the canvas molded on.
There is also a very nice painting guide that liststhe paint numbers for 6 different paint manufacturers, as well as the RALnumbers if your favorite paint isn’t one of the 6. Purists may point outthat RAL numbers weren’t in use during the First World War, but it’s niceto have them as a reference should you opt for different paints than theones listed.
There is no rigging diagram save what is on thecover of the instruction booklet, and that doesn’t seem to match up againstthe very few photos of U9 and her sisters that can be found online or inthe included book. From photos it appears that when the masts on the portsaddle tank are raised, the conning tower mast is stowed, and vice versa.I haven’t seen any photos where all three are raised at the same time,as is shown on the cover.
All in all, this is an excellentkit of a submarine that, to my knowledge, isn’t very well represented inany medium in ship modeling. The molding is sharp and there is no flashto be found anywhere. This is a highly recommended model to any ship modelerwho loves, submarines, World War 1 subjects, or just large scale ship modelsin general!
This is the 1/72scale SMS U9 from Das Werk. My model was purchased from a west coast(US) model shop for $99.99, but in a recent Google search I have foundit for $89.99. This was simply an in box review, but there are severalbuild reviews that can be found online.