My loving wife Amy won this 1/96 scale fiberglass Russian Alfa class submarine kit in a Subcommittee Subregatta raffle in 1999. The kit had resided on a shelf since then. In March 2007 I decided to finally build it. Ironically, after nearly a decade of sitting, the sub was completed in about two weeks. The quick construction was due largely to the outstanding quality of the kit.

The Thor Design kit, intended for R/C use, was an easy build with excellent detail. The fiberglass hull was formed in upper and lower sections which fit together neatly. The hull and its molded-in conning tower were fully scribed with intricate detail. Included with the kit was a packet of cast resin rudders and diving planes produced by the Scale Shipyard. While these parts did fit together well, the finish was somewhat pebbled and required a little wet sanding to rectify.

I opened up the limber holes and some sections of the conning tower with my Dremel and a couple of small files. For the intake grates along the lower hull I cut apart a section of HO scale photo-etched brass catwalk and glued the pieces into place. Highly detailed plans were included with the kit and served as my guide in every step of the construction and detailing. In addition to these I referred to numerous photos and illustrations featured in the books The Soviet Submarine Fleet and Modern Submarine Warfare, as well as scenes in The Hunt For Red October and K-19 The Widowmaker .

The books provided excellent reference material for the configuration of the various periscopes, antenna masts, and hull markings. The periscope and antennae arrays were not included in the kit and were built by piecing styrene and brass rod together with scratch built details for the electronic warfare and navigation masts. The shots of the highly accurate one-to-one scale conning tower constructed for K-19 The Widowmaker served as a painting guide for these arrays.

Hull markings were not provided with the kit and were not readily available as after market parts. I used bits and pieces of old white dry transfer lettering to cobble together the various markings, then sealed them in place beneath generous coats of Krylon Matte Finish and Testor's Dull Coat. Using generous portions of pastel dust I then weathered the boat, sealing the finish with additional coats of the same spray fixatives.

A propeller was not included with the kit. Fortunately locating one did not provide the same frustration as finding one for the earlier USS Dallas project. Ships and Things had begun carrying a line of beautiful scale brass propellers, all in stock and available for immediate shipment. I ordered a suitable prop on a Friday and had it in my hands the following Monday.

This Thor Design kit was built up into a beautiful model with very little effort and has been a great addition to our growing display of scale submarine models.