SMN Report
Good news for model ship enthusiasts with Italeri’s announcement that ‘popular demand’ is bringing back the metre-long (well, 999 mm to be precise) kit. The Italeri 1:35 scale Schnellboot - ‘fast boat’, also known to the Allies as the E-Boat - really is one of the best-ever World War II naval models in any size, but especially in the big military scale, and it certainly dwarfs the 1:72 scale competition from Revell and Airfix.
Smaller-scale Schnellboot built in Germany
Of course not all - even most - of us have room for the Italeri giant, and those smaller alternatives are decent kits in their own right. The German website 'Das Modellboard' has some fine build pix of the Revell 1:72 scale Schnellboot, two of which we show below, and as you can see it’s beautifully built. It might be nice to see some crew aboard this latter-day Marie Celeste, but that’s up to personal preference.
Restoring the S130
Meantime in Cornwall, UK, work continues with the restoration of the S130, thought to be the last surviving Schnellboot. As planned, it will be finished in full German Navy operational spec, including engines and armament. There’s a list of items the project needs, so if you happen to have an unwanted S-Boot Bridge Telegraph or Head, then you know where it should go. It’s an interesting wanted-list, and the site is well worth a visit.
Visit the S130 Restoration project’s ‘Wish List’ here.
Visit Das Modellboard here.
Assorted Schnellbootery here.