The George Washington class SSBN's were the first true ballistic missile submarines in the world. Designed by adding a missile compartment to the existing Skipjack-class hull, (George Washington was orginally laid down as USS Scorpion, then was modified with the missile section to become SSBN-598), these subs carried 16 Posideon A1 (and later, A3) SLBM's, capable of being launched while submerged- a first. This class of 5 SSBN's served the US Navy deterrent force for almost 30 years before decommissioning.

The kit is pretty uncomplicated, as are most OKB subs; single piece full hull, cast on a central sprue. There are separate resin dive planes for the sail, and a prop hub.

There are two errors apparent with the this SSBN;

1. The free flood opening under the silo bulge should extend the length of the bulge, but is only engraved along the center section.
2. The windows at the top of the leading edge of the sail should be the same as the windows just above the dive planes.

A small photoetch fret with two propeller options; 5-bladed conventional prop, as built, and a seven-bladed scimitar-style post modernization one.

Like all OKB kits, it is a great kit, and a good deal for the money. Even though this kit has some accuracy issues, it is still a vast improvement over the old PitRoad 1/700 offering. Available from Pacific Front Models, this kit retails for $24.95.