KGB Border Guard inshore cutter

[Weaver]

Okay, I'm floating this (pardon the pun) as a potential project, since I've got LOADS of other GB stuff on, but here goes:

I've got an Airfix 1/72nd Severn Class Lifeboat, with the intention of turning it into a KGB Border Guard boat. Not as mad as it sounds: there's a real KGB cutter called the Zhuk class, which is about the same size and has many similar design features. the basic plan is to remove the long "lockers" either side of the rear door to provide a weapons space aft, rearrange the front rails to make a weapon space forward, lose the Zodiac and move the external bridge further aft, and fit a solid mast.

There are two dilemmas on which I'd appreciate input:

1. The Severn has dropped walkways on either side, to facilitate bringing rescuees aboard. There are a number of options for these:

a. Leave them in.

b. Plate over them to make the hull flush. This is not as simple as it seems because the deck edge has a rounded lip that would have to be re-built, and the railings would also not then fit.

c. Put missile tubes in them. Seductive, but it's hard to concoct a credible backstory as to why the Soviets, who don't do "small" SSMs and had loads of proper 200 ton+ missile cutters, would bother inventing one just to over-arm a 42 ton tiddler.....



2. Weapons.

I don't particularly want to over-arm this very small craft. Zhuks in Russian service carry a pair of "Dalek" turrets that look like scaled-down ADGM-2-30s, but in fact are armed with twin 12.7mm HMGs. Scratchbuilding these would be possible, but a challenge. I do have an army-type Zu-23-2 AAA gun, but the only Zhuk users who fit these are non-Russian users, such as Georgia, who are desperate to increase what little firepower they have. The Russian/Soviet Navy (and hence the Border Guard) never used the 23mm, so using it rules out the boat being Soviet.....

There isn't room forward for anything big, so I'm thinking about a pedestal-mounted 12.7mm DShK or NSV, which should be available off a Russian tank kit.

[Mossie]

If you wanted to plate over the walkways you could always remove the lip entirely.  Either leave it off, or replace it with some D-shaped styrene strip.  Shouldn't be too difficult job to make the railings fit, or find some replacements.

If you wanted to make missile tubes, you could simply put it into your backstory that it was prototype highly manouverable craft that was ditched for the reasons you mention.  Either that, or it was built primarily for export, with a handful being kept back in Russia.

[puddingwrestler]

You could always leave the walkways in as diver deploying platforms. Afterall, the KGB will often want to check the underside of suspicious vessels for suspicious things (packages wrapped in brown paper, tied with string, and saying 'tick tock' mostly I suspect!)