MikroMir USS Growler (SSG-557)
Launched in 1958, the USS Growler was one of two Grayback Class submarines built by the US Navy in the nuclear deterrence role. Deployed in the thick of the Cold War, the Grayback class were cruise missile submarines designed to launch the Regulus I and II missiles. The Regulus had a number of drawbacks, including the requirement that the submarine surface and assemble the missile at sea, and that it remain surfaced (and vulnerable) to (to jammably) guide the missile to target. These issues prompted a shift away from the Regulus (and the Graybacks) towards submarine-launched ballistic missiles, with the Polaris program.
The Grayback stored its 4 Regulus missiles in two prominent missile hangars at the front the hull; after transitioning from its nuclear deterrent role to that of amphibious transport, these hangars would store SEAL Swimmer Delivery Vehicles.
The Growler was decommissioned in 1965 and today rests at the Intrepid Museum in New York City.
The Kit
The MikroMir 1/350-scale USS Growler is a styrene kit with a small fret of additional photoetch, which includes screws, railing, ladder, and a few other tiny adornments. The kit has a nice level of detail and things generally fit well, though there are some exceptions. First, the "panel lines" that run around the hull don't match up where the left and right halves join at the bottom. This can in principle be fixed by sanding down and rescribing the lines, but since the mismatch occur at the display base of the model, I didn't consider it worth the effort. The hole in the hull for the conning tower is a little larger than the tower itself and so we need some filler here: no big deal, but this means we can't paint the part first (which we might wish to do given that it is of a different color than the deck surrounding it). Parts also had a small but persistent amount of flash, which makes working with the smaller pieces (external rockets on the Regulus, the various 'scopes and antennas, cleats) difficult. The cleats are basically unusable.
The instructions were very nicely illustrated and laid out. The markings and color scheme are accurate as far as I can tell from photographs online, but I chose a different scheme that matches a later outfit. The hull appears in recent color photographs to be a blueish gray; of the many grays I had on hand I settled on Mr Color 307 Gray FS36320. The deck is covered in a dark nonskid surface which I colored Tamiya NATO Black (LP-60); this is from the Tamiya lacquer series, and it is my first experience with this line. No complaints. Decals went down without any trouble.
For weathering, I gave the recessed features on the hull a black enamel wash, and features on the black deck got a gray wash. I created some fading, rust, and grime streaks down around the hull using light gray, buff, dark gray (Starship Filth), and rust-colored oils. Finished with matte varnish.
This one took a while, though it was meant to be an easy side project while I build a very involved USS North Carolina. This too ended up getting rather involved at points: don't let MikroMir's simplicity fool you!
Very nice, Brian (@bapowellphys). You certainly can't tell there were any problems with this kit. The paint and weathering are particularly well done. Good luck on the North Carolina.
Thanks George. Hope to present the North Carolina here before too long.
Excellent result despite the challenges, Brian!
Well done!
Excellent article too!
Thank you Spiros!
What a beautiful result. What a stunning shape for a submarine!
It is a cool design. Thank you!
Despite the challenges, you created a wonderful Growler, Brian @bapowellphys
I didn't know about this type of sub, quite a unique way to store and launch those missiles.
Thanks John. I didn’t know about it either til I saw it in an auction. Definitely a unusual design!
Very nice build. You're right about Mikro Mir kits. Simplicity and few parts doesn't make it an easy kit.
Still enjoy building them though.
For sure. I’ve got several more in the stash and look forward to them.
Nice work on this, I also agree this brand of kit can be difficult, but they have a nice variety of subjects.
They do indeed, and thank you, Robert.
I dig this, what a great subject and well built. Thanks for sharing.
Rod
Thanks Rod!