Introduction

Showcase Models Australia is a relative newcomer as a model distributor in Australia (founded in 2011, according to their Facebook page) and has recently branched out into manufacturing their own kits. In May 2013, the production of the Collins Class subs was completed and the kit made it to the Showcase Models showroom and subsequently, other retailers and distributors.

A big Thank You goes to Dragon Models USA for providing this review sample to IPMS/USA.

In the Box

Inside the box, you'll find two individually bagged sprues – one gray sprue with 20 of the 21 parts of the boat and the other, a clear sprue containing the four parts for the stand and the sub’s conning tower. You’ll also find a bagged decal sheet from Cartograf and a brass, photo-etched nameplate. The decal sheet, the usual quality and detail you expect from Cartograf, contains markings for the six subs of the class and also includes the celebratory markings for the Collins’ launch on 28 August 1993. The clear and easy-to-read instructions, including decal placement and painting guide, are printed on the back and sides of the box.

Construction/Finishing

With only 21 parts, this kit goes together quickly but what’s really amazing is how well it goes together. The hull halves line up precisely so with a fast setting liquid cement, the seams all but disappear. When I received the box, one of the side corners had been slightly pushed in and, as a result, the front connection to the sprue on the left hull half had broken off. I only said that in order to say that was the only spot on the entire ship that needed a touch of contour putty to fill (see photos). The texture on the hull was so well reproduced that I masked the area to be puttied to avoid marring the remaining surface (see before and after photos) with sand paper. The diving plane shafts on the conning tower interconnect inside and line up perfectly. The fit of the tower itself, on the hull, is exact. The long-wire tube and it’s supports on the aft hull also fall right into place. I first assumed I would need cyanoacrylate (CA) glue for the clear parts but I realized the clear plastic was a softer variety and responded very well to the liquid cement I was using (because of my experimentation, I had to paint the stand to hide the glue marks but that was ok). Incidentally, the slots on the end caps of the stand don’t go all the way through! The various antenna, snorkels and periscopes fit nicely into small sockets in the top of the tower. The windows in the tower were masked and then a quick shot of black paint finished it up. Once painted, the surface texture closely resembles the rubberized surface of the sub and looks great.

I finalized the ship with the Collins decals in the configuration of its launch, right down to the Collins’ badge on the front of the tower.

The quality of the decals is excellent and they are strong and forgiving for their size but an application of setting solution helps to make them conform to the complex curves of the surface of the ship. A final coat of flat/semi-gloss/gloss on top depending on your preference ‘seals’ the deal (ha). I was, however, unable to use the flag decals. There were no mast parts provided and I didn’t have a small enough gauge of wire in my pile to use but I will add those very soon.

The fit of all the parts is so exact, you need to be sure to trim even the small separation tabs on the photo-etched nameplate so it sits properly in the recessed area on the stand. Nice! One thing on the nameplate… the word Submarine was truncated to “Submari”. It looks good though. An ink or paint wash on the name plate would be easy to do and would make the lettering pop.

Conclusions

The HMAS Collins kit was an absolute blast to put together. It goes together quickly, the parts fit precisely, all seams line up perfectly and it was easy to finish, topped off by the excellent Cartograf decals. The engineering that went into this kit really paid off. The quality of this kit is worthy of the Collins’ Commander’s desk and for a very reasonable price! I highly recommend Showcase Models Australia’s HMAS Collins "Collins Class Submarine" for modelers of all experience levels.

Again, I want to thank Dragon Models USA for providing this kit to IPMS/USA for review and to IPMS for the opportunity to review it.