The SHCH class, series III was the introduction to one of the largest classes of Soviet submarines used in World War Two (only the M class was larger). Series III was comprised of 4 hulls, commissioned in 1933-34. These subs were built using a double-hull with saddle tanks and a keel. They were armed with four bow torpedo tubes forward and two stern tubes, plus a 45mm deck gun.

Newcomer AMP Models is a small Ukrainian company with only a handful of releases at this time. This kit of the SHCH class is their first offering. The kit is packaged in a sturdy cardboard box, with the parts in resealable bags. The kit is comprised of 2 plastic sprues and a small fret of photoetch. The plastic is a hard styrene that reacted well with normal solvent type glues.

Sprue A has the two hull halves and a narrow deck peice to fit between them. The hull halves have some fine ingraved lines for the torpedo doors and some limber holes. There is little flash on these parts. There is an ingraved waterline molded in.

Neither hull half, nor the deck piece, show any sort of location aids; no pins, slots, tabs, etc. While not uncommon with kits from smaller companies, fair warning to excerise caution when building. Always test fit before adding cement!

This sprue has the remaining plastic parts of the kit; conning tower, periscopes, dive planes and rudder. There are also 2 sharply pointed cones to be attached to the photoetched props as the hub

I really like that this model includes a small fret of photoetch; it shows that AMP understands that while this model may not be complex, the subject matter will appeal to more advanced modelers. The photoetch parts are not optional- these etched parts are the only versions of those parts included. The parts do not have any complex folds or other complicated steps- I think this model could be a good introduction into photoetch for some modelers.

The fret has 13 parts, including the antenna spreaders/supports, the props and the 45mm deck gun.

The included decal sheet has a number of curious markings. This kit uses decals for many of the details of the SHCH; the limber holes, deck hatches and bridge windows are decals instead of molded details. It is an interesting way to provide these details.

Instructions consist of a single A4 sheet, photocopied on both sides. Text is in both Cyrillic and English. Assembly is very straightforward, and should not prove very difficult. The painting guide is simplified, only requiring "Grey" and "Black", with "Bronze" for the props and "White" for the 2 deck hatches; the classic red markings on Russian/Soviet submarine hatches is provided with a decal. Some further research may be required for more accurate color selections.

There are a number of unused parts, shown on the contents on page 2. The only error found when going over the instructions is that photoetch part #26 is ignored; I believe this is the railing to go around the deck gun platform. Also, the main deck peice, part #1, will require some slight trimming to fit; some care will need to be taken to insure a good fit.

AMP's SHCH is a neat little submarine, and an interesting subject matter. While the plastic parts are not examples of the latest and greatest injection molding techniques, the detail that is present is good, and the use of photoetch and decals to get around the limits of AMP's mold tech is well thought out. The lack of locator pins and the need to accurately trim the deck piece, plus the use of photoetch parts may prove challenging for some modelers, but this kit would be a great entry step into "intermediate skill" modeling.

Thanks to AMP for the review sample. It is listed as #301 1/350 Soviet Navy Submarine SHCH-303 (SHCH class, series III) for around 20.00 USD. AMP kits are available from the following sponsors-

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