Hobby Boss Russian Navy Oscar II Class Submarine Boat Model Building Kit

This is a 1/700th kit from Hobby Boss of the Oscar II class sub. Remember that you get what you pay for -- in this case, a smaller scale kit that is, still, fun to put together. There are very few parts here, so the assembly portion isn't going to be a huge deal for most model makers. With subs, though, the real challenge is in the paint for the most part. I use an airbrush or spray paint now for the sub bodies and hand-paint only the small parts. This is a good kit from Hobby Boss. The hull fit is exceptional, mostly because Hobby Boss uses on some of its kits (especially the Russian/Soviet subs, for some reason) a three-peg/hole system, with the connectors being on hull halves configured top and bottom instead of port and starboard sides. This generally makes for a tight, clean-looking assembly. Furthormore, on some of these kits -- this one included and also the Seawolf-class USS Jimmy Carter -- Hobby Boss splits the hull at the paint line, which is GREAT! You can paint the upper half black and lower half dull red, if that's what the paint job calls for, separately, before you join up the halves. Regarding painting, though: This Oscar II sub, like Hobby Boss's 1/700 Typhoon, does call for the painting of a very thin, white "cheat" line, which on the real boats marks the waterline. It's not horribly difficult if you use thin modeling tape (I prefer Tamiya), but it does take time to it neatly, taping off and then painting, waiting plenty of time for the paint to dry, then stripping off the guide tape. Hint: On the bow, use short pieces of tape to get around the curve. Decals on this kit: There are only a few, including depth markers and insignia for the sail, but they are quite small. A good pair of hobby tweezers and a bottle of Micro Sol will do wonders. Overall, this is an easy build and a fairly simple paint job. Definitely could be a weekend project! Or even a day for the truly ambitious.

The Oscar II has to be an impressive submarine model in terms to size. If anyone wants a decent submarine model for their bedroom, the Oscar II has to be one of those model kits.

I like Russian ballistic submarines and hobbies... L.B.

It's one of my small submarine model collections. I like it.