Master Korabel Morel - Secret Vessel 1:36 Scale
An intersting model of the unique prototype – the first Russian naval submarine.
The reconstruction was done following the archive documents (no drawings remained till our days). A rather simple kit, well suited for beginners and experienced model builders alike.
Short historical reference
In the end of 1718, the Russian Emperor Peter I received a humble petition from Efim Nikonov, the son of Prokofiy. Efim was an uneducated carpenter, working at a shipyard. In that petition, Efim promised to build a sample vessel, which would sink ships during the calm weather. There was no answer from the Emperor, but that unique document is still intact in the Russian Navy State Archive.
In 1719 E. Nikonov applied another petition, where he delated, that he could build another vessel that could “secretly swim under the military ship and sink it by crushing its bottom”. This time, after a private conversation with the inventor, Peter I ordered to build the working model of the vessel of a smaller size.
Efim Nikonov started building the first model in February 1720 on the Galley yard in Saint Petersburg. It was ready in 13 months in March 1721. It was tested the same summer on the left bank of the Neva river near the Moika river inflow. Peter I was present at the test run. The vessel successfully submerged and emerged several times, but the third time could not emerge because of leakage. Although the tests ran not so successfully, Peter I ordered E. Nikonov to build a full-sized vessel.
The vessel was finished in autumn 1722, but its tests were delayed until the return of Peter I from the Persian campaign (1722-1723).
After death of Peter I, Efim Nikonov was still upgrading his vessel, but with severe opposition of bureaucrats in January 1728 he was demoted to a simple worker and was sent to the Astrakhan shipyard.
The further fate of E. Nikonov is unknown. The vessel was secretly kept in a barn near the shipyard for a long time, until it decayed.
The built model has the following dimensions:
Length: 220 mm
Width: 130 mm
Height: 140 mm
Scale: 1:36
This wooden kit features:
- A special hull design, that compensates the materials deformation
- Pre-cut planking
- All details are laser cut
- A special jig for plank bending
- Detailed text and photo instruction
