Posted by Roger Dawson
on May 23, 2012, 4:20 pm
95.144.126.224
I am being asked why the latest Coastlines model, the large Russian floating drydock, PD-50, has been made without keel blocks on the bed of the dock. At the risk of sounding defensive, I'd like to point out that the model is made and painted to represent the dock on delivery from Gotaverken to Russia and photos show the deck empty apart from some strange curved plates, painted in red oxide and matching the deck, and what appears to be rows of lights on tripod stands at regular intervals along the deck.
It is much easier for collectors to add their own blocks than what it would be to remove integral cast blocks and when adding blocks yourselves there are some points that you might like to note. The Russians seem to use the minimum number of blocks, so they always end short of the dock ends. This dock has ends flush with the walls and there is a clear area at both ends of their largest warship. There is no upper-level bridge to cross the deck and personnel cross from one side or the other at deck level, so there needs to be clear open space at the ends between the lifts, making the detail on keel blocks impossible to see under the largest ships. When the capacity of this dock is under-utilised, which it often is, nuclear submarines are often docked asymetrically, near one end and off-centre, possibly so that two or more could be accommodated for work at the same time or at overlapping times (although all the photos I have seen show only one in the dock and the rest of the floor relatively free of obstructions, including spare keel blocks). Although there is room to dock a Kiev centrally, Kusnetsov would need to be slightly off-centre to allow the dock cranes space to work freely.
The model is also available in trimmed-down form with the deck submerged as are other Coastlines dry-docks.
Message Thread
« Back to index