Jump to content

Dragon's 1/350 Typhoon


Recommended Posts

hi guys

I just bought Dragon's allegedly awful 1/350 Typhoon kit (mainly because we aren't exactly spoilt for choice) and I intend to modify it so it looks right at the rear end.

However, I obviously need good references, so - does any one know of any good sites or books that can provide said references?

I'm going to use the pic's on AVO's thread as well, but I would like more angles.

oh yeah - also, what other areas need attention? I mean, if it's something anal retentive like the curve of the bow is out by 5 degrees or something petty like that, I really don't want to know, but what I would like to know what are the obvious areas need amending (eg: the rear end).

Any ideas or links would be appreciated

thank you

MH

Edited by The Madhatter
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

Greetings,

There are some variations within the Typhoon-Akula class. The basic colors are surprisingly simple. The pictures I have seen of the later version like in the above drawings are bright flat red below the mid point of the hull, black above, silver for the sonar dome, bright brass for the sickle shaped propellers, and white for the waterline marks. I'll see if I can find the pictures but no promises. Simply Googling Typhoon Submarine should find quite a bit.

The upper hull had differences in fittings as well.

Good Luck,

Bob

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ok, from what I have seen in pictures for some things and first hand drydock experience for others...

Russian boats:

Black down to max beam, red below that. White line at the waterline. White markings to warn tugs of "no push" areas. Panels covering sonar arrays generally match the basic color of the surrounding surface, but are off by a few shades. I have seen pictures of Russian boats with all black hulls but gray or red panels for the sonar covers. Black above the waterline fades very quickly to a dusty gray-black due to the combination of sea water and sun-drying.

US Boats:

Virginia and Seawolf are all over black hulls. no marking for the waterline, but the black above the waterline is significantly faded on the acoustic coating. The non-skid areas on the uppermost part of the hull generally maintains a darker hue than the rest of the topside. Sonar panels below the waterline are black like the rest of the hull, but only very slightly from the hull shade if at all. On Virginia I never really noticed a difference in dock. The bow dome did however have a slightly different shade of black than the rest of the hull. I honestly think that the color difference was less due to the color and more due to the difference in surface texture if that makes sense.

Los Angeles class boats vary. My first boat was both red and black and all over black during the time I was onboard. If you go with red and black, red starts at mid beam and down and the black is faded above the waterline. I have seen mainly sonar dome covers that verge more towards a dark gray instead of black.

Now, to throw all of that into a tizzy... the infamous grass skirt and the overzealous COB and skipper.

---The grass skirt: at the waterline, due to sitting pierside for extended period of time, sea grasses will start to grow. When the boat gets underway, the majority of the skirt rips away and only a light layer is left, this layer is baked by the sun and killed by being pulled under and the boat is left with a two to four foot wide gray/white/green/brown band is left all along the waterline.

---The overzealous COB and skipper: The boat needs to look better!!!!!!!!!!!! Paint, paint, paint. Bust out the rowboat and paint rollers regardless of whether we are getting underway the next day or not... paint paint, paint....and you are left with a nice bright, shiny black hull above the waterline that can totally reverse the norm causing the black below the waterline to be more faded than the topside black.

Virginia oolies... for Virginia Class subs, we had an issue with the acoustic skin ripping off. You can see some pictures in the article linked below. The pics also show the grass skirt at the waterline.

Check out the pics in this story

Oh, another Virginia "oolie": the paint we used on the sail was designed to peel and fade to make a choppy, faded patchwork pattern, so a Virgina modeled during or post-deployment should have a horrible looking sail with missing chunks of acoustic material on the hull and a nasty grey/white/brown skirt... unless you are modeling a boat where the COB had you surface the night before pulling in and made you paint everything bright and shiny before pulling in the next morning...

Cheers,

Dave

Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh, yeah, you would find the grass skirt thing on Russian boats... The russian boats, and Los angeles boats are tiled and tend to lose tiles creating square pits where they fell off. The Virginia's acoustic material would rip and tear off and be more jagged and not nice and clear squares...

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...