Some historical notes: Armed with four SS-N-2 "Styx" missiles and two 2X30 mm, the "OSA" class represented during the cold war and to some extent until few years ago one of the most exported Russian littoral warfare fast-attack boats (Algeria, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Egypt, India, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Syria, Vietnam, Yemen, Yugoslavia....please correct if wrong) and built or modified under license in China (Huangfeng class).

I ran across this wonderful kit in a shop in Rome where it had laid unsold for years. It was produced by the defunct company "Poseidon" from the Czech Republic, also makers of the 1/150 Nanuchka class guided missile corvette, which I bought as well. The kit came with photo-etched details from Eduard and, although looking fairly simple once assembled, the incredible amount of parts and their minuscule size represented a real challenge for its completion.

I have used Model Master enamels, in a variety of combinations, for the main color scheme, oil colors for washes and pastels for weathering. Model Master enamels are my favorite choice for too many reasons and mainly because, in my instance, they resist well to turpentine (Flat only) during washes. Rigging and antennas are black stretched sprues. For the sailors I started with a set of Preiser 1/144 aircrew figures, detailed with Milliput and hand painted with acrylics. The finished model measures about. 25 cm (about 9.8 inches).

Some reference material on the web:
http://www.hazegray.org/features/russia/patrol.htm
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/row/plan/huangfeng.htm
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Osa-II.html
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/ss-n-2.htm

Patrizio Carlucci
3darts.com

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