1/35 MikroMir Ukrainian sea drone

[frank2056]

This is the Ukraine's Maritime Drone (USV) by MikroMir in 1/35

There are few parts in this short run kit and the fit is OK -- about typical for MikroMir. There are some variations between the drone types used by Ukraine and MikroMir seems to have picked this one:



The kit instructions show the support frame for the two cameras (small one at the bow and a larger one amidships) but the parts are not on the PE sheet or the sprues. It's not a big deal, but I'll leave them off until the end.
The hull is made up of a top, bottom, rear bulkhead and the two sides of the hull, which have a mediocre fit. The two fuses at the nose are complete, so you either have to cut one off and deal with any gap, or cut both in half. I went with the former and squeezed the bow until plastic oozed out and made the fuses roughly circular.

Before PE:


I was concerned with gaps or misalignment between the upper hull and the hull sides, so I sprayed the edges with black paint and fixed any issues. This is with the PE wave breaks (?) on:





The rear bulkhead has holes for the actuators but the parts don't have matching pins - just tabs - on both ends, so I carved a channel for the upper connections:



There are a couple of very small PE handles left to attach, but I'll wait until I'm ready for painting. They're probably going to get knocked off, anyway.

[NARSES2]

Interesting subject and nice work on the kit 

[frank2056]

This was a pretty simple build; I'm calling it finished, except for fixing a silvering decal. The only wiffs are the decals, although some drone pictures show hand written numbers on the sides.

Hard to tell, but there are two tiny metal loops near the edges. Amazingly, they didn't fall off:



Side view. The two fuses on the nose are in steel and a grimy gray (which seems to match the color of my patio deck), The base is a generic PE base for a submarine. The number is the year and month I finished the model:



Unfortunately, one of the decals silvered. I'll deal with that tomorrow. The steel access plates add some color.  The Starlink antenna is in a slightly lighter gray.



The decal in the middle says "Русский военный корабль, иди нахуй", which is a famous Ukrainian phrase (in Russian) .  "Иди на хуй, Элмо" on the Starlink Antenna... well, use Google translate if curious. Also has some historical reasoning behind it.

Overall a fun little build, despite the PE and the fact that it's a short run kit.

[scooter]

"Иди на хуй, Элмо" on the Starlink Antenna

Rather apropos 

[NARSES2]

That's come out well and looks quite sinister 

[frank2056]

Thanks,, guys! The best part is that for a MikroMir kit, it did have any major fit or construction issues and the PE went in place without much fuss. The wave breaks have little notches for the PE supports that fit well and give the structures some strength. The rectangular bracket for the central camera/sensor wasn't included in the PE set or the kit (but was shown on the instructions) but I used a PE sling from a Trumpeter 1/35 weapons set to craft it. They're made of very thin, easy to mold brass.

[kerick]

I wonder how they use them. Do they quietly sneak out to find their target them make a fast run in at the last minute or go tearing out straight to the target? Like PT boats they probably want to keep the wake down up to the last minute.

[frank2056]

I think it depends on the mission. They may just motor out to the areas being patrolled by Russian ships (pretty easy to find out when they leave port or where they're headed) then make a fast run at the ship. The Russian Navy isn't particularly good - even worse than their army - so the drones have a good chance of making a hit.

Pretty amazing that a country without major warships has managed to make the Russian Navy all but abandon the Black Sea - at least vast areas near Ukraine.

[frank2056]

I got rid of the silvering by using a decal setting solution and gently prodding the decal. Here's the drone with two guys for scale:



The setting solution wasn't completely dry when I took these pictures, but i wanted to get the last bit of sunlight for the day. The clear film eventually vanished:

[NARSES2]

That's wonderful. The figure scratching his head just sets the whole scene 

[PR19_Kit]

That's wonderful. The figure scratching his head just sets the whole scene 

He's thinking 'Which hi tech cruiser shall we sink today?' 

[Old Wombat]

    

[su27rules]

Very nice!!        

[NARSES2]

That's wonderful. The figure scratching his head just sets the whole scene 

He's thinking 'Which hi tech cruiser shall we sink today?' 

Possibly. I had slightly different thoughts 

[kerick]

These things are such a neat combo of old and new tech. I bet China is confiscating every jet ski in its harbors and either build their own or selling them to Iran.