Reviewed July 2026
by Martin J Quinn

Gremyashchiy ('Thunderous') was one of 29 Gnevny-class destroyers (officially known as Project 7) built for the Soviet Navy during the late 1930s. Completed in 1939, she was assigned to the Baltic Fleet and was later transferred to the Northern Fleet in 1941.

Built in Leningrad's Shipyard No. 190 (Zhdanov) as yard number 514, Gremyashchiywas laid down on 23 July 1936, launched on 12 August 1937. The ship was completed on 28 August 1938 and was commissioned into the Baltic Fleet two days later.  During the Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland, Gremyashchiywas assigned to performing patrol duties and escorting transport ships, and did not participate in any battles.  Following the entry of the Soviet Union into World War II, she was moved to Vaenga, on the Barents Sea, by order of the commander of the fleet, and began her first patrols on 24 June 1941.  She had a fairly active career, between June 1941 and December 1944, when began an overhaul at Molotovsk Factory No. 402.

For more on the history of the Gremyashchiy, check out her Wikipedia page here.  Some references spell the name slightly differently, as Gremyashchy, not Gremyashchiy.

The Takom Gremyashchiy

This is a brand new, injection molded model from Takom, which is more known for their extensive line of armor models.

Takom’s 1/350 Gremyashchiy comes in a sturdy cardboard box, with art work of Gremyashchiy underway on the box top. Inside the box are six plastic sprues, one photo-etch fret, decals, and instructions.  While Box 261/Combrig released a resin version of this class, I believe this is the first injection molded model of these particular ships. 

This is a busy sprue, with various decks, bulkheads, the masts, as well as the blast deflectors for the super-firing gun mounts. Detail is decent, but not as good as Flyhawk, Tamiya or Hasegawa, though it is as good -if not better - than most of Trumpeter's releases. While the bitts and chocks are decent, the bulkhead detail is a little heavy, especially the watertight doors.  Also, I am not a fan of the closed bridge windows. 

SPRUE E

This small sprue consists of parts for the two triple torpedo tubes.  Detail is decent. 

SPRUE F

Another busy sprue, with struts, shafts, props, rudder, boats, davits, main battery parts, a director and more. The director looks good, but the cutters are lackluster, at best. Takom has also chosen to mold the shields for the gun mounts as multiple parts.

SPRUE K

Here we find the two halves of the upper hull, the main deck, plus the stiffeners for the inside of the hull.  Bitts and chocks on the deck look good.  There are raised lines for what I believe are for mines.  The hull has raised hull plating, which isn't nearly as pronounced as that found on the Merit USS Yorktown or the Dali Models USS Smith.  Some folks won't mind, others will hate it. I think it will look ok under a coat of paint.   

SPRUE L

This sprue has the lower hull - with the same hull plating as Sprue K - along with additional bulkheads, the funnel haves and two finials for the stand.  

PHOTO-ETCH

There is one small photo-etch fret included.  On it you'll find railings, jack staffs and supports, anchor chain and more. 

The instructions are 15 pages long, in booklet format, with a parts manifest, and exploded view diagrams taking you through the construction steps. Interestingly, Takom would have you build almost the entire model from the main deck and up, BEFORE gluing it to the hull parts. As most modelers treat instructions like suggestions, this is to be ignored.  There is also a color profile of the Gremyashchiy provide, but without any paint or color callouts, which is something provided in their armor kits. 

Everything you need to build Gremyashchiy is in the box. Details are good, but not great, and some will dislike the hull plating.  I would have liked to have seen color and paint callouts in the instructions, but that just me. There is a low parts count and a pretty decent price point, which may make this an attractive option for modelers looking for something quick, inexpensive, or off the beaten path.  Recommended for those who are looking for something quick, unusual, or inexpensive.  It sure will make an interesting addition to your scale model fleet.  There is also a modern, PLA version available as well, for those who don't want to grapple with a dazzle scheme. 

This is Takom 1/350 Gremyashchiy kit number 6017. It retails for $38.99 USD, and is available through Squadron Hobbies, which is where I purchased mine from.