KIT:

Maquette 1/400 Alfa submarine

KIT #

 4004

PRICE:

 $6.98 MSRP

DECALS:

 One sub

REVIEWER:

Scott Van Aken

NOTES:

 Not a lot of parts

 

HISTORY
 
After the prolonged testing of a 1970 prototype, the Soviet Union built six Alfa-class boats between 1979 and 1983. These highly automated boats require only small, 30-man crews. Combining a liquid-metal cooled reactor propulsion system with a titanium hull, Alfa-class boats achieve exceptionally high underwater performance, a top speed of 43 knots (80 km/hr) and an operational depth of 2,000 feet (600 m).
 
K-123 History
Factory no. 105. Built at Severodvinsk. Launched on December 26, 1977. The original reactor compartment was removed in 1982 following an accident, and a new one installed. Liquid metal from the primary cooling circuit leaked out and contaminated the entire reactor compartment. It took eight years to change reactors, and the submarine was finally launched again in 1990. Recommissioned in 1991, it was scheduled for decommissioning over the course of 1995.

 

THE KIT

This kit is simplicity in itself. Consisting of 16 parts that includes a stand, this is a full-hull kit; that portion of the model being two halves. Most of the rest of the parts are for the rear of the sub and there are also bits for the dive planes, various antennas and what looks like some sort of cooling intake.

The grey plastic is fairly well molded with most detailing being of the raised variety. Most of the parts exhibit some sort of flash, though it will be easy to remove. Small sink areas are found on the fins and dive planes. Filling them will be easy and in some cases could be totally ignored if one wished. I anticipate the detailing around the hull seam will be destroyed during construction as I'd be very surprised if no filler is needed on that seam!

Instructions consist of a single folded sheet with an exploded view of the parts on one side and a history/decal placement guide on the other. The boat is basically black with a white stripe for the waterline and polished titanium props. The decals are on a very small sheet and thanks to having white decals on a white background, are basically invisible. I'm sure they will appear once they are ready for application. Unsure of how well the decals will work as I've not used ProDecals before. These are the same brand as used with Dako kits.

 

CONCLUSIONS

If ever there was a one day project, this is it. With as few parts as comes in the kit, It should turn into a rather quick build. It will be interesting to see how it turns out. Since Maquette generally boxes other people's molds, I'd like to hear from any readers who might know of the origins of this kit.

Review kit courtesy of me

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