Flankerman

A couple of interesting asides....... The B-29 and Tupolev Tu-95 Bear share the same fuselage diameter. The Aero Spacelines 'Super Guppy' and Tu-95MS Bear can both trace their ancestry back to the B-29 (via the C-97 Stratocruiser and Tu-80/85 respectively) Great model Tu-4 Yury Ken

A few facts....... 1. At the time, the Soviets were our allies. 2 They had a non-agression pact with the Japanese - which meant that more Soviet troops could be sent to the Europeam theatre - thus helping the western allies. 3. Under the terms of the non-aggression pact, the Soviets were obliged to intern any aircraft and crews that landed in the Soviet Union from raids on Japan. 4. The Soviets secretely allowed the B-29 bomber crews to 'escape' via Iran. 5 They kept 3 B-29's and reverse-engineered one of them - converting all the parts (skin panels etc) to metric units - thus the Tu-4 was slightly heavier than a B-29. 6 The engines were replaced with Soviet ASh-73TK piston engines and the .50 cal guns with 23mm cannons. So the Tu-4 wasn't an exact copy of a B-29 - despite the stories about the dumb Soviets even copying the bullet holes. Ken PS - Didn't the US reverse-engineer a 'stolen' V2 rocket??

MM need accurate drawings - but they must include cross-sections. I sent them drawings for both the K-Class and HMS Resolution - and they have responded with kits of both. I have also purchased and sent them some other RN sub drawings - but no response so far..... They are open to input - but it is those cross-sections that are the stumbling blocks. They are also a small cottage outfit in the Ukraine - so expensive drawings from the RN Sub Museum are a bit of an overhead. Ken PS - I have no link with MikroMir - I'm just a happy customer. All my 1/350 scale subs:- http://www.flankers-site.co.uk/model_submarines_350_scale.html

This new resin kit from ABM represents the sole prototype of the Beriev R-1 jet-powered flying boat. Beautifully cast in flawless cream coloured resin, this is resin casting at its best. It is a comprehensive kit - excellently packaged - with fantastic service - 7 days from order to delivery (over the Christmas period). The box art depicts the R-1 flying over (presumably?) Beriev's base at Taganrog.... The comprehensive instructions are on two A3 sheets folded into a four-page A4 'booklet'.... Note that the colour references are generic - Green, Leather, Steel Grey etc - with the whole airframe in 'Ghost Grey'. The parts are superby cast in a cream coloured resin with no hint of air bubbles or casting flaws.... The wing is one piece incorporating the main engine nacelles...... The intakes and jet exhausts are separate - with a nice representation of the Klimov VK-1 (RR Nene) turbojet to go inside the intake.... The decal sheet is by Begemot, so quality is assurered - two copies are included...... Note the decals for the instrument panels - an alternative film negative is also included for items 1 & 2. The canopy and clear parts are vacformed - with two copies being supplied in case of accidents. A few more photos are here. This really is a quality kit - reflected in the price - but IMHO it is worth every penny. I'll be starting it soon.... Ken

The postman delivered my kit this morning - and I am very pleased with the service - seven days from order to delivery - and that over the Christmas period. A quick peek inside the box shows it to be an excellent product - cleanly cast and very well packaged. I'll get some photos taken as soon as I can... Happy New Year!!!! Ken

Stuart, From what little research I did, K-26 was assigned to the Far East Station - where the camo was white verticals and dark grey horizontals (and hull). I just used a tin of Humbrol satin white - with a few drops of black added to give and off-white colour. Not very scientific, but given the lack of hard colour facts, I doubt anyone will argue! Your K-22 is coming along nicely - are you planning a K-26 conversion ?? Ken

A little more..... The first coat of Halfords Grey Plastic Primer shows all that nice detail........... ....especially the excellent etched decking - most realistic..... Ken

Stuart, I have to confess that I am very lazy when it comes to colour matching on my subs - there is so little definitive colour information readily available - the whole subject is a minefield with conflicting information in different publications.. On my K4 I just used Halfords rattle cans - Grey Primer for the upper works and Volvo Dark Grey for the hull....... The Colour Police would have a field day - but it works for my easily satified standards. Sorry I can't be more helpful. Ken

A little more progress......... The kit supplies the propeller housings - and very delicate castings they are!........ The modeller has to supply the prop shafts - either from plastic or brass rod - BUT the instructions quote their length as 5mm - instead of the correct 11mm (according to my measuring)........ The deck guns - QF 4in and 20mm Oerlikon - are each made up from a resin breech and a mounting pedestal - with a turned metal barrel provided by Master-Model of Poland. The parts are tiny - almost at the limit of my eyesight and dexterity - but they make up into stunning models in their own right..... the 4in even has a hole at the sharp end !! For reference - the 4in (left) is just 15mm long The instructions continue to have silly errors with the numbering of parts - there is no mention of the 4in's mounting pedestal (part 7) and the 20mm resin parts are 8 & 9 - not 7 as quoted on the instruction diagram. These minor quibbles aside, this really is a stunning kit - you just need a degree in Micro Surgery to do it justice!! Although..... if I can do it, anyone can. Ken

Great work on the bridge Stuart. Looking good so far. Ken

Decking complete....... It really is quite delicate - but perfectly etched.......... There is a slight mistake on the instruction shet - where the part numbers don't agree with the numbers on the etch.... For example part 8 on the instruction sheet is actually 10 on the etched fret, instruction sheet part 10 is etched as part 9 and part 9 on the instruction sheet is on the fret - but not numbered ! Minor errors and easily identifiable. Fascinating story TW - must be great memories. Can you remember what colour she was when you went aboard?? Ken

I have made a start...... I cleaned up some casting 'flash' and washed the parts in warm soapy water and made a start on adding the decking parts. I had thought that the etched brass decking would simply be stuck down onto a flat deck to provide detail - but it is much better than that! The etched parts are actually grilles that fit over recesses moulded into the deck - just like the real thing! So before adding them I painted the recesses Panzer Grey - on the grounds that it would be easier than trying to paint inside the recesses AFTER the grilles were in place. Not like me to be thinking ahead............... In the above photo, the front torpedo hatches, an open weave forward grille and a closer weave rear grilles have been added - with more still to add. This really is a quality kit - I am very impressed More later Ken

It's a nice kit that makes up into a great model of the Royal Navy's SSBN. I made one a while ago :- here Mikro Mir made a bit of a boo boo with the box art - as it shows a Valiant class SSN Ken

Nice model FWIW, G-BRNM now resides at the Midland Air Museum, Coventry - where I photographed it in 2011........ Ken

It was also much bigger than a B-17..... Wingspan....... B-17 103ft, Lancaster 102ft, Pe-8 128ft Here's a comparison with a Lancaster.... Ken