G'day people,
I would like to join in with a sinker now that this has arrived in the mail today;
The Indonesian Navy acquired twelve of these in 1952. At the time, the Indonesian government was on very good terms with the Soviets and the subs were supplied by the Soviets with generous technical and spares assistance. This relationship eventually cooled following a regime change and the generosity of the Soviets decreased as the leadership sought to normalise political relationships with the west.
The Indonesian Navy was able to maintain their fleet for some time, however, by the 1980's some of the subs were being cannibalised to maintain the remainder of the fleet. Three additional Whiskey III submarines were also acquired to act as a source of spares. The subject of this build will be KRI-410 "Pasopati" which served from 1952 until her decommissioning in 1994. She was then dismantled and relocated to Surabaya where she remains today and is now a public museum.
Although the kit is diminutive, an ample PE fret is included in addition to a small decal sheet. Most of the work will involve assembling the hull and the conning tower halves so it should go together in just a few evenings,
cheers,
Pappy