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Category: Static Display Models
FX Models NR-1 (submitted by Lee Plasek)
Submitted by
Site Administrator
See pictures below
The Following is meant to be a review of the static display model kit of the NR-1 Submarine, in 1/72 scale, made by the FX Model Company.
The FX Model company has released a new static display model KIT that can be built by modelers. This company has made pre-built Submarines with extreme accuracy for years, but only as expensive, already finished static displays. The NR-1 Submarine, in 1/72 scale, is the first KIT offering by the company. This kit is not cheap, but it is the very finest resin kit I have ever purchased.
For many years, I have had to struggle with inaccurate or poor quality kit offerings. Most of the time, when I order a kit, especially for the more modern subs, I have had to contend with poor accuracy and/or poor quality castings(warped, air bubbles,et.). There are a few exceptions.
The FX Model company, however, is in a class of its own when it comes to accuracy for modern submarines. For them to offer a kit-form submarine is something new and more affordable than their pre-built offerings and the kit quality is the very finest I have seen, with none of the problems with accuracy, quality, parts location or instructions that I have encountered.
I ordered, according to Marc, the first kit of the NR-1. My kit took about six weeks to get to me, but your order may come more quickly, as FX gets more kits together. When I received the kit, there were no surprises. FX has a website and many of the pictures of the kit, as well as pictures of what comes in the kit(except the hull and upper decking parts) are listed on the site for anyone interested. The Kit came very well packaged and there were no broken parts. The overall length of the hull, in this scale, is about 24 and 1/2 inches. The hull comes with very little clean up to be done, my example took me just a few minutes to sand a seam on the top of the hull, almost all of which will be covered by the upper deck-piece anyway. There are fine details all over the hull and they are to scale and accurate. The advertisement on the FX website is NOT misleading, when it describes the detail and accuracy of this kit. The hull is of a solid casting. With regard to this part, I have only one small complaint. On the box keel, just behind the forward wheel well, and slightly off center, there is a "dent" in the hull. It was quite noticeable. To put the accuracy of this kit in perspective, I called Marc to make sure the dent was not supposed to be there! He checked several other hull kits at his shop and none contained this flaw. Marc offered to send me another hull right away. I declined his offer, as the flaw was very easily corrected and would be an easy one to fix. I do not believe other kit buyers will see the flaw in any of the following kits. Remember, mine was the first kit out. One of the best features of the hull is that there are index holes and markings EXACTLY where all the parts go. No guesswork is required. And there is a LOT of details on this hull, as this is a very unique submarine. I could not find a single air bubble in the hull.
The upper decking part is very well made, also with a great deal of fine detail. All the detail is there, right down to the drilled holes and the safety track. The part, as well as the details were absolutely accurate. This part requires quite a bit of clean-up, but none of this is on the detail and the cleanup consists of very thin, easily removed flashing, mostly between the "teeth" of this part. It took me about thirty minutes to clean the part. This part had index "studs" that mate with pre-drilled locating holes on the hull. The part also has "ribs" internally, so as to put the proper spacing between the decking and hull. There were no air bubbles or flaws on this part. The rear hole in the hull had to be slightly drilled out a bit to the rear of the hole, for both tabs to mate with the index holes. This was explained in the instructions(more on them later) and was easily done with a 1/4 '' drill bit. One very nice feature is a "well" in the deck part where the sail goes. This leaves no doubt as to where the sail goes. It is accurately placed and needed no cleanup.
The sail and its corresponding parts was also very accurate. The small parts needed minor flashing cleanup, as expected, but this was easily accomplished. The sail is meant to be built first and then completely painted FIRST. This part will go on at the very last. Do not worry about this detail and do not question the order in which you will do things. Trust me, there are good reasons to very carefully follow the instructions. If you do, the model will be perfect, right down to the paint color. After the sail is completed and painted, it will be set aside for later installation. The base of this part was absolutely flat and straight. Again, no air bubbles or inaccuracy to this part/parts.
There are a multitude of other small parts, exterior lights and equipment/equipment bays. All of these parts fit well and again, there was no guesswork where things went. Take your time and do not rush, this kit is complicated because its subject is a complicated boat(compared to "normal" subs), but the end product is worth the patience. This boat was designed to sit and work on the ocean floor, so there is a lot of parts and details that reflect the mission of this unique submarine.
There are photo-etched parts with this kit, of the thruster gratings, light covers/protectors and other parts. This is a nice touch and very much adds to the overall accurate appearance of the finished subject.Again, take your time and work carefully, the end result is worth it. You also get decals with the kit that are delicate, but accurate.
You will also receive three sets of paperwork. You will get a paper of the kit parts, complete with a description page and pictures.
You will get TWELVE pages of color pictures in the instructions. These pictures are very clean and crisp, with the appropriate focus and scale to help you see where things go. You could almost build the sub by the pictures alone.( I said ALMOST) You will also get a set of written instructions with the kit. There are ELEVEN pages to these instructions. They, along with the picture set, will describe what needs to be done. I have mentioned the importance of following the steps, as listed, to do the best job on this boat. DO IT LIKE THE INSTRUCTIONS ADVISE. It truly is the best way. I strongly recommend looking the kit parts over and then reading the instructions completely through, before you start building. Then follow the procedures, IN ORDER, and look to the picture sets as you go. One thing left out of the instructions was the exact paint used for the Orange painted surfaces. This paint is DupliColor High Heat Orange, part # DH 1610, probably best found in automotive part stores, where I found my paint. This paint goes over a compatible gray primer. Marc goes to some detail in explaining the reason for getting THE right paint. DupliColor also makes the semi-gloss back and Red Oxide primer needed. I use a satin clearcoat over everything, after the decals are applied. Be sure you get paints that are compatible with each other, or you will be sorry!
I can not say enough about the instruction package. No one does such a comprehensive job putting this package together. A great deal of time went into thinking this kit, and its instructions through.
One other part I recommend getting is the Ocean Floor part. It is a large resin part simulating the ocean floor, the natural environment of the NR-1 Submarine. This part needs to be painted and you will want to have a brass plate made with the appropriate wording/specs to mount to the built-in plate display on the part. You might want to Dremel this away, do some custom sculpting and do away with plate. The choice is yours to make. The resin piece will need to be glued to a wooden board of your choice. You supply the board.
I also recommend one last part. This is a clear Plexiglas cover, designed to fit around the ocean floor resin part. The NR-1 Submarine, as I have stated, is a very unique, one-of -a- kind submarine. Its unique mission requires many small exposed parts, easily bumped off by pets or children. The subject is also harder to keep clean of dust, as well. Because of this, and the very high quality of this kit, I bought the clear cover. Although these two parts are extra, and require extra expense, in my opinion, Marc supplies these parts at very reasonable prices and you might be pleasantly surprised as to how much extra you will pay. Put another way, you could build your own ocean floor, but to turn out a good one, you might find that the price paid in time and effort exceeds the asking price of the pre-built unit offered. The nice thing is, the choice is yours to make. Considering the model complexity, the clear cover was a no-brainer for me. This part spells easy maintenance and protection, as far as I was concerned. Again, you make the choice.
I do not have any ties to the FX Model Company. I am just a satisfied customer who likes high quality, accurate kits of modern Submarines(the NR-1 is not new, it was put to sea in 1969. But it is still in service today, has performed classified missions that probably never will be released to the public, and to date, there is no replacement for this sub or its capabilities. The Sub went through another modern re-fit in 2003.)
I hope this review is helpful to those with an interest in this area.
Pictures:
FX Models NR-1 kit
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