question reg Kursk color scheme - a Question

[seawolf]

Hi all,
I wanted to paint 1/350 Kursk from Zvesda.
Wonder what color scheme to used. Some present the subs with all blackish /dark gray tone.

some with the red andy foul lower hull.
but looking at the small picture from BBC's and other source of the lifted Kursk in dry dock, it seems the lower hull color is light gray.

any info of it? and also, what color should be used for the bow sonar dome?
thanks guys, real appreciated.

[wayne frey]

email me.

email me.

[gerwalk]

That's an interesting question. We

[color=#000000]That's an interesting question. We debated this before]http://www.subcommittee.com/cgi-bin....l=kursk[/url]

But nevertheless is good to revive that discussion.
The photos of Kursk in dry dock (after the accident) show a light brownish-grey coloration below the centerline and a black or dark grey up. (check here]http://rpf.ru/txt/04/04/22-001001.html)[/url]

In this close-up of the brownish-grey area you can see fouling attached to the hull and a hint that it was painted originally with a red antifouling paint ]http://rpf.ru/txt/04/04/22-0100019.jpg[/url]

These paints ussually turn into a brownish-grey after expossure to sea water for a while.

There is a photo of an Oscar with the lower hull painted black too. But]

[gerwalk]

Hey! Nobody wants to discuss

Hey! Nobody wants to discuss this? C'mon!

[mandrake]

Hey! Nobody wants to discuss

Hey! Nobody wants to discuss this? C'mon!

Okay, I'll bite.

My belief is that all modern Russian subs (certainly late 70s onwards) had standard black upper hulls, dark red undersides (some distance below the waterline) and in most if not all cases a white line along the waterline.

As for the bow sonar domes, well on some photos it would certainly appear that some subs had these section in white/light grey, pressumably their factory finish. However it does not seem possible to determine exactly how widespread this is, or even if this is how they would be put to water. I have never seen an Oscar SSGN with anything other than red bow sonar though. It is also possible, in my mind atleast, that these sections even if over painted in red may react differently to the rest of the hull with prolonged water exposure and thus colour deviations occur.

Well thats my thoughts on the matter......should spark some discussion I hope!

[mandrake]

Hey! Nobody wants to discuss

Hey! Nobody wants to discuss this? C'mon!

You're right, what do you have to do to get some discussion going????

Okay then all Russian subs were actually yellow, discuss!

[gerwalk]

Mandrake,
good to know someone want

[color=#000000]Mandrake,
good to know someone want to discuss something in these forums (aside technical problems on RC boats).

The only photo that contradicts what you said is the one I mentioned before where the lower hull appears black][/url]

This one used to be on submarine.id site but I can't find it.

BTW]

[mandrake]

Gerwalk,

I can promise you I

Gerwalk,

I can promise you I will never ask about a technical problem on an RC Boat

Interesting picture, though I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking at because it doesn't quite match any profiles I can think of. It is however rather small, particularly when you consider the relative size of the buildings/windows in behind it.

I should of mentioned that I think there are some exceptions to my previously mentioned rule, namely test/prototype and perhaps specilised submarines, which is what we are probably looking at here. However for operational fleet subs (SSN/SSGN/SSBN) I stand by my previous statement.

Have also heard the green lower hulls, particularly in reference to the Alpha, but like you have never actually seen any photographic proof.



Edited By Mandrake on 1149519590

[gerwalk]

Actually I'm not sure if

Actually I'm not sure if that's an Oscar...
The bow is too steep and as you said it doesn't fit well with the known plans of this class.

The green color]http://submarine.id.ru/galery/t1150.shtml[/url]

The model displayed at the Juliett sub museum in Providence, RI, has it's hull painted green.

So, green seems to be a hull color that was used in the past. Wayne says that some Alfas were also painted that color during for some time.

[gerwalk]

Sorry,
I've found the original source

[color=#000000]Sorry,
I've found the original source for the black Oscar photo, it is also from submarine.id but in the miscelaneous section. Babelfish translation]

[seawolf]

Sorry guys, it's been a

Sorry guys, it's been a while since I started the question, got a big help from Wayne - thanks Wayne.

I didn't notice there's an interesting discussion goin' on

the bottom line is, upper hull for Kursk (the moment before she sunk), is black and the bottom is red?

[mandrake]

the bottom line is, upper

the bottom line is, upper hull for Kursk (the moment before she sunk), is black and the bottom is red?

All evidence seems to suggest that yes, ableit a rather weathered red in places perhaps. Still some uncertainty over the bow sonar colour, but on the few available photos of other Oscars it does not seem to differ so that would be the safe way to go.

HTH