Fleet - Russian Akula Class SSN
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Jerome Simon
Here are a series of pictures showing my 1/72 scale Russian Akula nuclear attack submarine. I opted for this scale as I was
not pleased with the smaller 1/96 scale and was not up to a back breaking 1/48 scale. The design of the model is based on
Greg Sharpe's (Deep Sea Designs) drawings and readily available photographs of Akulas on the surface; most notably from
Jane's Fighting Ships Edition 97/98.
The master plug for the submarine started out as two 4x8 boards of oak. The oak was too green and after sitting for
awhile they began to warp. I was forced to use a lot of Bondo automotive putty to fix the shape and quickly build the
fiberglass molds. From the molds I pulled a set of fiberglass hulls to build the final model.
The internals of the submarine were built to use compressed CO2 to blow the ballast tank. The water tight cylinder (WTC)
and most of the internal pieces are scratch-built. Future plans involve replacing the CO2 system with a pump system. The CO2
system easily handles the job, the high pressures involved and the need to drag around a heavy fill tank have swayed me
to try other methods to control the dive system.
Propulsion is a single 12V Dumas motor coupled to a 3-1/2 seven bladed 'scimitar' screw purchased from the Prop Shop
through Ship's 'n Things. Outside of the motor, prop, radio and high-pressure components of the CO2 system, everything
is scratch-built.
Jerome Simon
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Hull master, molds and final product
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Akula, along with similar scale tugboat
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This stern shot shows the control surfaces and fresh water induction scoops on the lower hull
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