Dragon's 1/350 USS Hampton A 688I "Los Angeles" Class Submarine By Chris Banyai-Riepl

I was in the local hobby shop the other day (local meaning it's only 250 miles away) and I was wondering what I should get when I saw this kit sitting on the shelf. Although I'm not normally a ship kind of person, I have always been interested in submarines. Maybe because I can't believe anyone in their right minds would volunteer to be placed under several thousand tons of water, or maybe the mystique given to submariners due to their performance back in the Second World War. At any rate, after looking at the kit and seeing that the price was downright reasonable, I quickly snagged it and took it home. Four hours later, I got to see what was inside (remember, the hobby shop was 250 miles from home....)

Inside there isn't much, but then again, there isn't much to a modern submarine anyway. The hull is split into upper and lower halves, with the top nose section being a third piece. This kit was originally issued as the USS Dallas vs. Soviet Alfa (at least that's what the decals say), so the separate top is quickly understood. The first 26 Los Angeles class submarines were built before the Tomahawk missile. After that, 12 vertical launch tubes were built in for these missiles. So if you want to do an early 688 boat, you need to use the front without the missile hatches.

The 688 boat had some more changes in its life other than the Tomahawk capability. This kit represents the "688I", or 688 Improved class of submarine. These submarines are the last 23 688s built, and feature an improved, quieter propulsion system, a new anechoic coating, and under-ice capabilities that moved the diving planes from the sail to the front hull. All of these changes are made in the kit in the form of a new screw, a new sail top, and forward dive planes. All of the parts for the earlier versions are also given, so you can actually build any of the 57 Los Angeles class boats.

The parts are crisply molded and feature recessed panel lines on the hull. Of course, in 1/350 scale these would be about 3 feet wide, so I will probably just fill them in when I build this. There is also a representation of the non-skid surface along the top of the hull. While this is also overstated, a quick swipe with some sandpaper will tone it down. Having traipsed along the hull of an Ohio class SSBN, I know that this stuff is very apparent, so having a representation of it is nice (I've often wondered what that stuff does to their acoustic signature...).

Overall, the few parts and simple construction make this kit look like a weekend project, and one that I am looking forward to doing. There are plenty of resources out there on the Internet on the 688 class submarine (including several homepages for specific submarines!), so there won't be any problem detailing this kit. The decals give you the numbers to make any of the subs built, so the only problem will be determining which one to build!