As
part of the ongoing Ordnance Project, which attempts to display single versions
of airborne weaponry, I've already done a couple of US atomic weapons. So I
guess it was time to give equal time to the other side. A Model has done a kit
of the Tsar Bomb, a hydrogen weapon that was detonated in 1961 north of the
Arctic Circle. As you can imagine, it lit the place up pretty well, and the
shock wave came close to mangling the Tu-95 that launched it.
I'm an
unreconstructed A Model fan, generally for their adventurous choice of
subjects. Quality of engineering hasn't caught up to their ambition quite yet,
so their kits do tend to be for modellers who are willing to invest the time and
focus if they want a contest winner. Luckily, Profoundly Average Modellers like
myself just sort of blunder their way through a project like this and don't
take no for an answer. Is it noble obstinacy or sheer bloody-minded
stubbornness? You decide.
An A
Model kit's greatest weakness is typically their smallest parts. This has
improved in the last 5 years or so, but there are so many miniscule parts in
the Tsar Bomb that are difficult to separate from the sprue that I was driven
even more insane than I already was. The location of many of these small bits
are vague at best. From photos I could figure out where most bits should go,
but not all of them went on flawlessly.
Plus,
keep in mind that the number of parts of the Tsar Bomb itself only make up
about 50% of the kit. The rest is an elaborate trailer to move the weapon from
storage to the belly of a Tu-95. My first inclination was to just bin the
extras, but I think I've decided to make this the inaugural of a new series
here in 72 Land: military vehicles and armor. I've got a half completed Dragon
Challenger around someplace too. We're an all-encompassing service here; aircraft,
ordnance, military vehicles and armor, and naval as well someday.
This
is completed ordnance #6 (#23 for the year), finished in March of 2016.
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