| Soviet
RE-23 (SS-24 "Scalpel")
Railway-Based Intercontinental
Ballistic
MDL002 Doggy Industries, 1/700 Scale, Cast Resin Reviewed by Devin Poore, November 2023
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| THE KIT | |||||||||
| The Russian RT-23 Molodets (NATO name SS-24
Scalpel) was a mobile and silo based ballistic missile system. Testing
began in the early 1980s, with initial deployment in 1987, with the system
in-use until 2005. Developed as a covert mobile missile launch system,
the train launch system consisted of three locomotives and up to 17 other
cars. The train cars consisted of a tanker car with fuel and lubricants,
and other cars used for living quarters, launch vehicles, command and control,
and generators. All of the railcars were disguised as either refrigerator
or passenger cars. The system was to function by the launch cars deploying
stabilizing outriggers, then the missile would be cold-launched to an altitude
of 20-30 meters, during which the missile would pivot to the side to clear
the train, before the first stage motors would ignite. Thankfully never
used in combat, the silo and train systems for the RT-23 were gradually
decommissioned and dismantled in the early 2000s, with the last of the
approximately 90 missiles retired and eliminated in 2008.
Doggy Industries have come up with a very unique subject that, while not a ship-related at all, is done in the familiar 1/700 scale. The main components are the train cars, thirteen of them, consisting of the locomotives, tanker car, and the passenger/refrigerator cars. Two missiles are also included in the resin set, as well as separate roofs for the launch cars. Everything is cleanly cast with no air bubbles or short-shots. Small pour gates are on the bottom of each piece, which should cut away easily, and look like they'll make nice mounting points during painting. Two sheets of identical brass are included, the bulk of which are dedicated to train tracks. These look the part, but are of course very two-dimensional, so some very fine wire or styrene stock glued over the top of the rails would go a long way to giving them a more realistic look. The backing card for the bag that contains the brass sheets has a photo on both sides of assembled parts, but it's really difficult to make out what's being shown, as it's an overall shot of all of the cars. It'd be nice to have a close-up shot of the missile erected for firing, as it appears that the brass sheet has parts to build the launch scaffolding, supports for the opened roof, and possibly an observation platform for some of the other cars, but it's really hard to tell. Research will be required to figure out what goes where. A color photo on the box cover shows the locomotive and enough of the train to get some color scheme information, but, again, research of the actual trains will likely give a better idea of how it should look.
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| CONCLUSIONS | |||||||||
| While not a ship kit, or really even ship related, other than the 1/700
scale, this is a unique and cool little kit. The instructions are lacking,
and will take some research into the actual train system to figure out
the purpose of some of the brass pieces. Overall it's a fun subject (as
fun as ballistic missiles can be) and should build into an eye catching
display.
The kit is currently listed on Doggy Industries' eBay page for $25, linked via the logo to the right. Recommended for those looking for a quick project, and for those interested in late-Cold War subjects. Thank you to Doggy Industries for the review sample. |
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