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Pravda Class Submarine Iskra, (Spark) Mikro Mir 1:350 The Pravda Class or P class submarines were built for the Soviet Navy in the mid-1930s. They originally served as training ships, then later served in World War II for mainly transport duties. They were intended to operate with the surface fleet but failed to meet specifications, particularly for surface speed. The initial design envisaged 130mm guns for surface action. These boats had a long building time, being laid down in 1931 and completed in 1936. They were double hull boats with 8 compartments. Their main shortcomings were underpowered machinery, a long diving time and poor sea-keeping. Weakness in hull strength had to be remedied by stiffening and weight cutting. Yakubov and Worth state that these were the least successful Soviet submarines of this era and were relegated to secondary duties on completion. The two surviving boats had their conning towers re-built to resemble the later K class. 3 boats were built by Ordzhinikidze Yard Leningrad. All served with the Baltic Fleet. P1 Pravda (Truth) - Launched 3 January 1934 - sunk off Hango, Finland, 17 September 1941 P2 Zvezda (Star) - Launched 1935 - Broken up 1956 P3 Iskra (Spark) - Launched 1934 - Broken up 1952 A fourth boat was planned but not laid down. The Model The variety of submarines that Mikro-Mir release is what makes this company so great. They don’t rely on just German or American submarines, but also the more unusual and rarer types. This is the case with this kit of the Russian Pravda class submarine Iskra, (Spark). The kit comes in the standard style cardboard box with a painting of the submarine leaving a Russian harbour. Inside, the kit is tightly packaged inside a poly bag complete with etch, decals and a simple instruction sheet. The grey styrene is quite soft, but the details are very finely done with no flash or other signs of imperfections. Construction begins with the assembly the large tower. The tower sides are glued together with the deck in between. There are six periscopes and aerials glued to the deck along with two hatches which have PE hand wheels. The aft section of the deck is fitted with a four piece gun mounting. Two more mountings housing large guns are fitted fore and aft of the tower, each mounting consisting of two halves, the gun which is fitted with a PE elevation wheel The next assembly is the hull, made up from two halves split vertically, and the separate main deck to which is fitted with two strakes adjacent to where the tower is attached. The stern planes are glued into position, as are the propeller shafts, PE propellers, with plastic boss, separate rudder, and fore planes. The tower assembly is then glued into position on the deck and detailed further with the attachment of PE handrails. The deck is fitted with two PE cranes and the four piece stand assembled to display the completed model. Decals The small decal sheet provides markings for the boats name, main and secondary identification numbers and two Russian ensigns, one straight and one fluttering. Conclusion This is another great looking submarine, even if the class wasn’t entirely successful, it’ll be something different in your collection. Long may Mikro-Mir continue releasing more great subjects. Review sample courtesy of