Samek 1/700 Resin Soviet Type VII Destroyer Razumnyj

By Bob Pearson

Introduction

Following the first World War and the Russian Civil war, the new Soviet navy was left with 18 relatively modern destroyers. These differed from one another in various details and were grouped into six different types classified as Types I-VI, therefore the next variant was called Type VII.

Impressed by the success of the Italian destroyers with their high speed, the Soviets asked them for help in designing their new destroyers. However, fast though the Italian ships were, they were also less sea-worthy and structurely sound then other contemporaries, and the Soviets were to compound this by adding even heavier guns than the original Italian designs carried.

The original plan was to have nine or ten flotillas of six ships each, however after 28 Type VIIs had been constructed, an improved design, the Type VII-U, was introduced. These ships had a redesigned propulsion system featuring alternating engine and boiler rooms which was apparent in the two funnel they carried as opposed to one in the Type VIIs. 46 ships of both types were constructed during 'the Great Patriotic War', with 20 being lost.

The Type VII was 370' OA, with a beam of 33' 6". Displacement was 1,660 tons (2,039 tons full load). Speed of 38 knots. Armament originally consisted of: four x 5.1", two x 3" AA, four x 37mm AA, one x 20mm AA, six 21" torpedo tubes, up to sixty mines, ten/fifteen depth charges. As the war progressed the anti-aircraft weapons were augmented.

The Kit

Along with the Tashkent, I ordered this kit and most comments in that review apply here as well.

The kit comes packaged in a sturdy box, with a most attractive colour illustration of the subject. Opening the box revealed the parts to be securely held in place by crumpled newsprint, with all components in individual bags. All parts are nicely molded from a tan coloured resin with no evidence of air-bubbles in my sample. There is flash to all parts that will require cleanup.

The hull is well done with basic details molded in. However the open area at the f0'c'sle break is molded a solid area, and not the triangular opening it should be. The hull itself has a peculiar shape in the plan view, whether this is correct I know not

Moving on to the various platforms, Samek is to be congratulated on how finely they have molded the splinter shields around these items. Test fitting of the structures show them to be engineered to close tolerences.

The weapons will require work of some sort. The 5.1" mounts are shown with open backs ands will need barrels cut from length of round stock (supplied), while the secondary armament is portrayed in this kit by a smaller diameter of stock on a pedestal. I would recommend replacing these with suitable accessories from one of the Skywave detail sets.

The torpedo tubes at first appear to be lacking in detail, however the plans show various structures to be added to them. It remains to be seen if this will be enough, or if the scrap box needs to be raided. The ships boats also fall into this category. They all are slab-sided and flat-bottomed. They can be reshaped to the correct profile, or replaced with suitable spares from the scrap box.

The instructions are in English, and include a history of the ship (partially used in this review), two view General Arrangement drawing, step by step sequence of construction, and an exploded view of all the parts.

Conclusion

Again, in common with the Tashkent review, I wholeheartedly recommend this kit. With the addition of some PE rails, replacement of the secondary weapons and small boats, the Samek Type VII destroyer will make an interesting addition to my collection of Second World War destroyers.

I acquired this kit through Lubos Vinar at VAMP MAIL ORDER. He doesn't have it listed on the VAMP website, but he can supply them to those interested in them. He does mention that it may take a little while as he must special order them.