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Joe Caputo
154 articles

Zhengdefu Missle Boat Type 021

March 24, 2016 · in Ships · · 11 · 2K

First off, the scale is undetermined by me. It's not the advertised but closer to 1/125-1/150th, perhaps 1/144th. It measures around 13" in length.

The instructions leave a lot to be desired as the whole kit is built in 6 steps, two of which are wasted on assembling the electric motor and running gear, and placing the assembled deck on the hull. To say they were vague and difficult to follow, is an understatement. (after the mast was assembled, the rest was fairly easy). There were "spaces" that needed to be filled with sheet plastic.

The kit came with missiles, and rails, which according to the instructions, could be shown in the pre-launch and launched position, but no instructions as to how this was to be done, or where they were to be placed.

Besides the flash and the "strange" plastic, there were pieces molded incorrectly, like the front starboard railing, which curved the same as the port railing. The props were laying loose in the box, with only one useless shaft (the one for the electric motor) to be installed. I made all three from brass, and drilled holes to install them. Typical Chinese quality and detail throughout.

I'm not sure of the decals because I did not use them. Most reference photos showed no numbers on the boat. I chose the most "different" paint scheme. I have since done another version, with a different configuration and paint scheme, soon to be put on the site.

Despite minor difficulties and frustrations, I was somewhat pleased at the overall result. I ended up building a second version and am aware of at least a third. It's definitely something different on my shelf.

Reader reactions:
5  Awesome

7 additional images. Click to enlarge.


11 responses

  1. "Typical Chinese quality and detail throughout." Hmmm... Cool little ship anyway. Certainly unusual with its big missile boxes on top.

  2. Well...turned out nicely anyway - and you have others?

  3. Joe,
    You should be pleased. This turned out very well. You did a great job. This boat has very nice lines and you made it beautiful yo look at.

  4. As Frank said, nice job on this. In spite of manufacturer snafu it still has a sleek look.

  5. A nicely done example of a very unusual looking aquatic critter!

  6. Joe, is this an Osa or variation? She looks topheavy to me, but I'm a landlubber.

  7. It's a variation of the Osa. There are 3 different kits, by three different manufacturers, the other two being "Osa's". The variants they produce have different guns and launch tubes. Yes, it does look topheavy.

  8. Only you could pull this off, Joe, great job! Living here I know what you mean about the quality...

  9. A nice addition to your growing fleet.

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