Neverland Hobby has been involved in the plastic model hobby for a while and have jumped into the pond with there first release, a 1/144 Kriegsmarine U-Boat U-96. As a bit of background, U-96 was a Type VIIC version of the U Boat which sunk 27 ships and was it self sunk in port by allied bombs. It is known for having the markings of a laughing swordfish.

Looking at the kit, there are multiple sprues molded in color. The bottom hull and parts are light gray, the upper hull and conning tower a lighter gray and deck a tan color. All the parts are made to be assembled as a snap tite kit and without paint if chosen that way. Molding is well done and a good set of instructions as well as a sheet of stickers with multiple colors of the laughing swordfish. A stand and U boat emblem are also included. Also of note, several parts are pre-painted such as the torpedo in silver and warhead in black. There is one option- torpedo doors open or close and there is a torpedo that can be attached with a wake to show the sub shooting.

Assembly starts with the front torpedo station and you can choose open or close here. UI chose open. This gets pushed into the sub and will stay but I did glue everything. The back part of the keel is added as well as the rear torpedo door. Fit is good. The two main hull halves are snapped together. I glued again and clamped the bottom keel for a tight fit. The torpedo doors are added and the nose and I did have a bit of a fit issue eventually sanding them into place. This is another open/closed option. They recommend adding the deck and upper hull at this but since I wanted to paint it for fun, I left them separate to reduce masking. There rear of the bottom hull is then fit out with diving planes, propeller shafts, rudders and guards are added then the front diving planes are added. A note here. The molding on this kit is first rate with nice surface textures and nice accuracy. All of these parts can be press fit but I again glued them for security.

The instructions would have add the railings and miscellaneous to the deck but I held off for painting. I assembled the conning tower and glued it but kept the parts separate suck as the periscope, etc.

I cleaned all the parts and separated them with the upper hull conning tower and associated parts painted a light gray. The bottom hull was painted a dark gray and all the deck itself paint NATO black which is a greenish black. I also painted the base black and added the nice metallic submariner medallion.

Once the paint was dry, I assemble the entire thing using a drop or two of super glue. Fit was good with only a little bit of coercion need to get the upper and lower hulls mated- a couple of clamps and glue solved that small issue. Once all the parts were in place, I had fun weathering with black wash, weathering pencil, rust washes and used several applications. I made sure I got plenty of wash into the free flooding holes. I added the laughing sawfish sticker and flat coated the entire model. Last, I added the prop screws and the fired torpedo and glued to the base.

While this is a Snap Tite kit and would be a fun build doing it that way, it can also appeal to the guys who want to paint and weather it. This is a very nice kit and it’s a great start from Neverland Models. My thanks to them for the opportunity to review the kit.