SPA Modeler

This one was on my wanted list for quite a while and a couple of years ago I was helping a good friend move and sort his kit collection when he pulled this one out of a box and handed it to me.....Bill is a diehard collector though, he was selling off some of his collection and down sizing to consolidate its storage space. At some point shortly after giving me this kit, he replaced it in his collection with another oh well
Anyway, I am going to be building this pretty much just as Aurora intended; it will never be an accurate representation of a Golf III class sub but taken in the context that when released in the mid 1960's this is what Aurora thought (based on the information available) the Soviets latest doomsday missile carrying submarine looked like. Sort of like all the "almost accurate" Stealth Fighter kits that appeared in the mid / late 1980's

The kit is pretty simple, only about 19 or 20 parts including the display stand, which I will probably use to display it. The kit went together quickly obviously and after a bit of putty and sanding / blending of the seams a couple of good coats of Tamiya Surface Primer had it ready for paint.
Paint will be Vallejo Model Air NATO black. I'll probably get that done this week as I need time for the decals to sun themselves a bit before I apply them. Plus, I have been cleared to go back to work tomorrow, so that will cut into the extra modeling time I have had the past couple of weeks.

Nice score there Scruffy! IIRC, a Golf Class was what the Russians lost n/w of Hawaii in the late 60s, and Howard Hughes assisted the CIA in some recovery of the wreckage.

Yes, exactly, the K129. Very interesting story about that....the truth is out there There have been a couple interesting books on the incident, with sadly no conclusive agreement on what happened or why and some fantastical unverified claims as well. Red Star Rouge, The Azorian Project, and Blind Mans Bluff all deal with the loss of the K-129, and there is a small book from I believe the University of Texas Press ( I have it in my references somewhere, I would have to dig deep though to find it) about Project Jennifer, which was the design and construction of the grapple claw and Glomar Explorer used in the recovery attempt. Supposedly the attempt was successful in that the grapple claw managed to contain the, or almost the entire wreck of the submarine according to the measurements on the strain / load gauges aboard the Glomar Explorer and raise it from 17,000 feet below the surface to a couple hundred feet where the claw suffered a mechanical malfunction and partially fractured. Still, part of the bow section and the remaining claw were raised into the "moon pool" within the hull of the Glomar Explorer. As you mentioned, the remains of the Soviet sailors were committed to the deep and a video tape of the ceremony along with the ships bell which was attached to the recovered wreckage were returned to Russian officials at some later point in time.

Yes, I’ve read Blind Mans Bluff and Red Star Rogue. Have those two in my library. I’ll have to look for The Arizona Project. And yes, the truth is out there, but I doubt that you, I, and most everyone else has the appropriate clearance and “need to know”.

I am curious to see how this build turns out. Like a ship ID silhouette model, or hopefully something a bit more detailed. Soviet subs are a fun genre to build.

Interesting story on that Golf Class Sub. Can't wait to see the build.

I love a good conspiracy theory. Is this the book?

Project Azorian: The CIA And The Raising of the K-129 by Norman Polmar and Michael White

I can neither confirm nor deny the above information was sourced from a Wikipedia article....

Yes, that is the one.

A younger me, bought the "ocean mining" story hook, line and sinker. I was somewhat flabbergasted when the real story came out. Man, so close....

Based upon what I’ve read, especially in Red Star Rogue, I’ll wager that the recovery mission was more successful than what was publicly acknowledged. CIA is real good about keeping their successes in the dark for decades. And for good reason- a successful op should be kept on ice as a basis for planning other similar missions in the future should the need arise. Why tip your hand and give away the playbook. Only their gaffes that show up in daylight make the news, and then with whatever cover story that has been previously arranged. Plausible deniability whenever possible.
Yes the public has a right to know. But not immediately, not every little detail, and certainly not to put any future lives at risk on related or similar missions.