So, early last December I found these Mikro-Mir sub kits were finally available for shipment to the US and promptly freaked out.
Prior to this, I knew the kits existed but they were a classic case of trying to buy Unobtainium for the North American market. Never mind the scale, Mikro-Mir was the only company I knew of that produced kits of US Thresher/Permit and Sturgeon class boats.
When I found the listings on Amazon for most of their kits, I crossed my fingers and ordered kit # 350-015, the USS L. Mendel Rivers, SSN-686 (plus a DDS diver's shelter).
I knew the shipping time on this would be "old school". The kits ship from Kiev and have to cross a fair chunk of the planet.
My kit finally showed up today.
Pretty much one month after I placed the order. My heart kinda dropped a little when I saw the package: a standard manila envelope that looked like it had been mauled (and opened) several times with almost half of it covered in stamps.
If there was a box in there, it had been crushed..
Or, so I thought.
Opening the envelope carefully, I found that nothing had been damaged and that the first step to building this kit was to assemble two pieces of card board into the kit's box (four staples are required but not included).
This step may sound messed up at first but there is some sound logic behind it- the kit had to survive shipment from the Ukraine , which it did in surprisingly good condition.
Also in the envelope was a resealable plastic bag containing the kit wrapped in bubble wrap, only one part of the kit had broken loose- the small "dunce cap" that fits behind the screw- so the packaging had done its job.
Plus, another smaller resealable bag containing a "thank you note" ("note" in this case being quite literal) and some hard candies.
So, let's get into the "meat" of this kit. The plastic is quite good, slightly harder than the plastic Hobby Boss molds. "Flash" on parts is minimal and is easily (but carefully) removed. The kit looks pretty much "spot on" in terms of scale and shape. Engraved lines look very good for 1:350th scale but some lines near the edges of the hull halfs (bow dome) will need to be re-scribed once the hull is glued together. The masts and antennas are surprisingly good and finely molded, also surprisingly complete.
This is the first US sub kit I've seen that includes a special mast that other kits always omit. If you know what its for pat yourself on the back, just don't discuss it.
Also included is a raised radar mast which looks OK. Due to the shape of this mast and its upper cap, its usually best at this scale to leave the radar mast lowered but you have the option to add it.
Removing parts from the sprues at this scale is usually tricky. Take your time and "sneak up" on the sprue gates where they join to the part. I use a Tamiya PE (diamond) file to clean up my parts. You really don't want to use a regular hobby file or course sand paper on this scale.
Mikro-Mir uses a combination of "old school" and modern molding techniques on their parts. Their sprue gates are very small but also extend all the way to the inner side of the part. This could be a valid complaint on larger scale kits but it ensures a better seam after you clean it up. Just plan to take a little more time removing and prepping your parts and you'll be fine.
Decals are provided that cover SSN-678 to SSN-687 and include the ship names. This is the same decal sheet for their other "637 stretch" kits and also include some neat markings for DC awards and Battle E's that would be painted on the sail, just not during a true deployment.
The markings are very small and are probably rather delicate to apply, the carrier film is very minimal. Otherwise, they look VERY good and are in scale.
For those who have built the Hobby Boss 688's, Miko-Mir got the draft markers right!
You won't have to poach a decal sheet from one of the old Dragon 688/Ohio class kits.
(More later in Part 2)