This page is dedicated to the construction and buildup of my 1:96 scale 32nd Parallel Russian Typhoon Submarine kit.

The kit was purchased from a fellow SubCommittee member in November of 2003. Completed, it should be over 70" long. Plans for this kit include working missiles and torpedoes.

Some quick stats on the Typhoon Class of submarine:

I received this hull on December 4th, 2003. The fibreglass work is excellent, and with some reinforcement, I think it will make a sturdy platform for everything that I have planned for it. The hull is approximately 68" long and 10" wide, and weighs in at a mere 9lbs.

This kit is nowhere near scale, but serves as an approximate representation of the Red October submarine from the movie " The Hunt for Red October ". I will have some work ahead of me to modify the hull for a more scale appearance, with the majority of the work taking place in the stern. The large flat area should be approximately 2" wide, and is now over 4". Cutting the sides from the aft section will (on the bright side) allow full access into the rear section for running the rudder and dive plane linkages.

The flood holes have been opened by the previous owner. They are grossly oversized (something like 10' long and 4' wide to scale), so I will be closing them in and redrilling them with scale openings. The sail has also had many large openings drilled into it, and these will be filled and sanded flush as well. The existing lights will be removed and replaced with LED bulbs in appropriate colors and locations.

All in all, I'm very happy with my purchase, and for the price I paid, it is a great model.

Work has now commenced in earnest on this project (October, 2004).

I have begun alterations to the stern of the hull by chopping out the inaccurate side sections. The stern of the actual sub is composed of a pair of cones that taper off to the rear, and are faired into the center section. To duplicate this effect, I have, with the aid of Greg Sharpe, fabricated a styrofoam cone of the proper size and shape.

These will be mounted to the back section of the sub and then blended to the hull to form the proper shape. The idea as of right now is to take a quick mold of the upper section and then simply duplicate it for the bottom, creating a perfectly symetrical stern section.

We have also constructed the two propellor shrouds from PVC pipe. They are 3.25" OD, and should house 2.75" diameter screws.

I"m hoping to get some work done on the eriscopes for the sail this week.

The reworked aft section is really taking shape now. The two cones have been attached to the stern and the rear wing attached. The next step will involve applying epoxy resin to seal the foam, and then applying some plasticine and Bondo to sculpt and contour the hull.

My two new propulsion motors have arrived. They are IM-21 series motors supplied by Globe Motors. They should spin at around 3700 rpm, draw less than 6A under full load, and have 20oz/in of torque. I'm excited to see how they'll spin my new 2.65" diameter brass props from Al at Ships N' Things .

March 9th, 2005: Work has proceeded well since I last updated this page about two months ago. I have added a few hundred anechoic tiles to the surface of the sail assembly. They are approximately 1/4" square and are cut on a vinyl cutting plotter. They are self-adhesive and stick very well. After they are primed, they should be secure forever (hopefully).

The molds for the stern of the sub have been completed, and two stern castings layed up in polyester resin and glass. The next step involves bonding the lower stern section to the hull and assembling the lower rudder linkages and drive shafts.

March 18th, 2005: The stern is coming along nicely. The lower section and upper one has been bonded to the hull and will soon be ready for the installation of the rudder and dive plane hardware.

March 28th, 2005: These shots show the completed fibreglass molds for the stern of the hul, the completed stern section, and some of the detail of of anechoic tiles on the sail. Note the aluminum braces that will help keep the sub's shape and align the top hatch and hull.

June 22nd, 2005: I just got my scale missile hatched back from the laser cutter. My good friend, And, in the UK, sent them to me along with some custom laser-cut grating for my 1/32 Nautilus models. My plan is to have at least four, but hopefully ALL of the missile hatches will lift on a cam, revealing scale missiles beneath.