Zvezda 1/350 scale Russian nuclear submarine K-141 Kursk

Kit: No. 9007
Scale: 1/350

Manufacturer: Zvezda (Russia), available from Squadron Mail Order, 1115 Crowley Drive, Carrollton TX 75011-5010, 972-242-8663, www.squadron.com
Price: $23.98
Comments: Injection molded, 44 parts, decals
Pros: Easy to build, topical subject, can be made waterline or full hull
Cons: Small parts a bit clunky, some fit problems, poor decals

The world held its breath Oct. 12, 2000, as word spread that a Russian Oscar II-class submarine, the Kursk, had sunk in the Barents Sea. Bad weather prevented a quick rescue effort, and all 130 crewmen were lost.

A year later, a salvage operation by two Dutch companies raised the Kursk - the largest object ever brought up from the ocean floor. The disaster was officially attributed to an explosion of one of the boat's torpedoes. This triggered a much larger explosion that ripped open the bow of the ship.

Zvezda's Kursk is molded in black plastic. The full hull is split horizontally, so it wouldn't be too difficult to convert the kit to a waterline version. There aren't a lot of parts, but the forward diving planes can be shown extended or retracted, the hatches over the main missile tubes can be positioned open or closed, and the periscopes and other masts and probes can be shown extended or retracted.

The instructions consist of only one sheet, primarily with Russian text, but the diagrams are enough to guide you through assembly. My sample's small decal sheet was badly out of register. A basic stand with a placard is provided.

Some sanding and filling was needed to erase the seam line between the hull halves. The missile bay sides also required some sanding and filling. The weapons bay doors (parts No. 2B) fit pretty well with only a bit of cleanup. These hatches should show prominently, so don't go crazy trying to work them down.

The front windows of the conning tower are molded in one large clear piece. You could leave it out and fill the openings with white glue or Kristal Kleer. I had to use rubber bands to hold the top of the tower tightly in place while the glue dried. All of the small parts were left off until painting was finished. The angle of the rear strakes (14B and 15B) was not clear, so I made them horizontal.

I painted the model with Polly Scale grimy black and Alclad II aluminum for the nose sonar dome. The propellers and the name placard for the base were painted with SnJ gold. I used black ink to darken the depressions in the hull and around the placard lettering.

The decals were added over a brush coat of Future. They were translucent but they went down OK with Micro Sol.

The antennas and scopes are a bit crude and would be better replaced by more realistic ones scratchbuilt from plastic, sprue, and wire.

Zvezda's Kursk is easy to build, making it a good choice for beginners. It took me 11 hours to build my model. My references varied on its dimensions, but the model comes close to those published. If modern Russian submarines are your interest, the Zvezda kit is a good value, and with a little work and care, it can be built into a fine replica.

John Plzak