Alanger 1/350 Typhoon Class SSBN
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Overview
The Typhoon Class submarine is the largest submarine class ever built.
Constructed of two Delta pressure hulls side by side, with a third smaller
pressure hull just beneath the sail, the Typhoon is one of the quietest
Russian submarines built. Carrying twenty SS-N-20 missiles, the Typhoon
formed an important part of the Soviet Union's nuclear deterrence fleet.
The fall of the Soviet Union eliminated their usefulness, though, and
of the original six built, only one remains today.
The Kit
 Alanger
continues their impressive line of submarine kits with this new kit of
the Typhoon. Molded in black plastic, the first thing that hits you is
that this is definitely a big submarine! The box is huge and sturdy, which
is nice, even though there is not much here to protect. The parts count,
while more than earlier Alanger releases, is still low, which suggests
that this kit will be a quick build. A decal sheet with mainly white markings
rounds out the contents.
Construction is quite simple, and the only real complications will be
with the size of the ship. The main hull is separated into an upper and
lower section, with a separate sail. The hull and sail have good detail
on them, although missing is some representation of the tile coating seen
prominently in photos. Scribed lines would likely be too heavy, so I am
not sure what could be done here, though. I might try representing that
feature with painted decal film. The vertical fins are separate, and split
into right and left halves, as are the rear dive planes. Other hull details
include ventral strakes and vents.
 Another
feature in this kit are the open missile doors. All 20 doors are open,
although I have yet to see a photo showing more than four doors open at
a time. The doors themselves are nicely detailed, with two pieces for
each door. On the other side of those doors, an insert provides the tops
of all the missile silos. If you have all 20 doors open, be ready for
quite a bit of painting small circles, as all the missile caps were generally
a bright color compared to the rest of the submarine (the instructions
indicate a green color). A set of antennae and periscopes add to the sail
detail and round out this kit.
For painting, this submarine is mainly black overall, with a flat red
lower nose. The majority of the decals are white hull markings, although
there is a large badge that was worn on the nose of one of the Typhoons,
at least at launch. The quality of the decals looks good and should pose
no problem in application.
Conclusion
It is great to finally have a good 1/350 Typhoon available, and I hope
that Alanger continues to produce quality 1/350 Russian submarines. My
thanks to Alanger for the review sample.
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