ModelWarships reveiw

1/700 Combrig
Russian Project 1159 Frigate

Reviewed by Timothy Dike

If you build Modern US Navy ships or those of the Cold War era, you know that there has been a void in the ships of the Iron Curtain. Combrig a Russian company already well known for their Russian turn of the century ships is producing many of these formidable looking warships of the 60's and 70's. This frigate was one of the first specifically designed for export to other countries. Code named the Koni class by NATO these ships served with the navies of Yugoslavia, East Germany, Cuba, Libya, and Algeria. A couple were retained to help train foreign crews.

The hull is well cast with no warpage or defects. The surface detail is very good and has plenty

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The small parts are very good and typical of the high standard that Combrig has achieved with it's casting. The superstructure parts are equally nice with nicely defined bridge windows.

The instructions are more of a general guide than a complete documentation of the model. A plan and elevation view with some history (in Russian) is on the front page. A parts scan and exploded view is on the other. I would recommend doing some research before building your kit as there were several variations of this class.

Conclusions:

Thanks to Pacific Front Hobbies for the review sample. This kit is listed for $22.00 US. making it very competitive for a frigate of this size. All that is lacking is a good photo etch set and you have a worthy opponent for your Cold War fleet. I wouldn't recommend this kit for a beginner, but anyone who has tacked a resin kit or two will find this an easy build.