by Stephen Mortimer
1/350 TK19 Red October Project K-941 (DML)
Ok - with 3-4 years regularly visiting this site, I assumed someone had to do it so here she is. Obviously this is one hull extended with another. It took me plenty of time getting the second as by then the kit was Out Of Production. I do confess, I was playing marine architect here; I wanted to create a 'realistic' version of the movie boat. The stern propulsion section is all wrong in the kit, so many a moon was spent in getting an educated guess at this. The 'caterpillar' drive line in the film, to me seamed all wrong so this is were most of my dreaming went on. To my mind there would be no main doors for the intake (the mechanical upkeep on this would be fornominal) and so a guarded intake was substituted. This would both keep maintenance to a minimum and cause a passive intake not affecting the slipstream/aquadynamics of the boat ? The rear 'exhaust' in the movie version to me would have had NO affect on the maneuvering plains, and so this was raised in line with the propellers. A real Typhoon has a vertical arrangement of torpedo tubes, and so I tried to copy this. And lastly the movie version had a cool looking towed array on the finn so this I made out of a 1/48 500lk bomb. Lastly I have a shot of him in company with the Poliarni, Alpha class from the book - those of you who have read it will understand why ...........
Hope you enjoy my attempt at the Red October !
