1/72 A-Model Tsar Bomba
This is my build of the USSR's wildly impractical Tsar Bomba which had proved that there is such thing as too much overkill. Despite making necessary precautions to prevent the Tu-95 Bomber from getting torn apart in the bomb blast, the Tsar Bomba nearly blew the Tu-95 Bear apart from its shockwave after it detonated. The Tsar Bomba (official designation was AN602) had a destructive power of 50Mt based on Soviet readings (but had theoretical yield of 100Mt) and was the most destructive device created by man. One thing it did was help influence Andrei Sakharov (who was one of the designers) against nuclear proliferation.
The Model by A-Model is a short run kit with all the characteristics of a short run kit. Ill fitting parts that required a lot of sanding and filling. The bomb was actually easier to build than the bomb cart. I used CA glue to attach the parts together and it helped reduce the amount of sanding/filling needed. I ended up polishing the bomb seams to prepare the surface for priming with Stynylrez Black. The primer coat was polished for the Vallejo Metal Colors paint, the light metal areas were a combo of Aluminum, White Aluminum and Chrome and the darker areas, Dark Aluminum.
I painted the black areas gloss black except the braking parachute section using Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black to provide contrasting shades of black. The tail fins were glued together using CA glue to help align them.
The cart required a lot of sanding as the parts were so rough. As you can see from the photos, I missed a bunch of spots painting the left hand side. I used Mission Models Russian Modern Army Green for the green shade. Tamiya XF-63 German Grey was used for the tires.
I built this in operational configuration for a friend who had an interest in things nuclear and who later died of cancer.
@dbdlee, That is a very unusual model, and it looks really cool! ? Thanks for the historical background info as well Dan! Very scary creation...only the human animal is capable of that level of destruction.
Thank you. Definitely Man's folly.
Very unusual indeed, Dan @dbdlee
Was not aware of the existance of this terrifying creation.
You did a great job on this short run kit.
Very terrifying. I'm glad that physicists on both sides saw the folly of building/testing bigger and bigger weapons.
Thanks.
An excellent model of a difficult kit, Dan.
A really rare subject, too!
Well done!
Thanks Spiros. Sometimes this hobby leads down to some strange places as this was done at the behest of my dying friend.
Very unusual and cool piece of work, nicely done. I've read about this weapon but have never researched or looked for pics. And I always imagined that it would be similar in shape and size to Little Boy or Fat Man.
"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds"... J. Oppenheimer
FYI There is (was? not sure if it was deleted due to sanctions) a youtube video of the actual test from Soviet sources. Just scary.
Thanks. It's definitely quite unusual and not really something I would want to build, but my dying friend requested it so I did it.
It's little known, but the bomb blew a hole in the ionosphere and knocked out radio communication for a week before the hole closed up again. (I was in the Navy at the time, and we had a real headache not being able to communicate). This was then followed by the US riposte, which only blew a hole in the ionosphere for three days. In both cases, the bombs were bigger than all the scientists "knew" they would be, and the result was the scientists on both sides went to their political leadership and in effect said "We don't know what the frack we're doing, and there's a good chance if we continue we really might blow things up all the way." And the result of that was the 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty that effectively limited the maximum size of thermonuclear weapons by not letting them be tested in the atmosphere.
Thanks for that info. I didn't know that part. I know working on this bomb caused Andrei Sakharov to see the insanity for what it was.
That test ban treaty was about the only good thing to come from the Tsar Bomba.
Very interesting model and write up. I take that the EMP was what caused the electrical knock out of the upper atmosphere.
Man folly is never far away. After this one we thought ( Humans ) to make Neutron Bombs.
In some sense even scarier as it makes the possibility of Nuclear conflict possible w.o. Destroying a lot of real estate and fall out. This may still come some day. Ukraine ?
Your model is a great piece to engage in conversation to this ongoing menace.
...at the eve of destruction!... Nicely done. I witnessed a practice load out on a A-7 of nuke way back when.@dbdlee
What a great model, Dan (@dbdlee). I have been tempted by this model, and the other A-Bomb models floating around. Well done.