When I first saw photos of the real Beriev Be-200, I thought it was one of those oddball dead-end prototype aircraft. I was quite surprised that in this day and age a jet powered flying boat would be relevant and enter series production. A very niche aircraft, but nevertheless one that can perhaps perform certain tasks better than a land based plane.
One thing that immediately struck me was the shallow draft of the hull. On water, the Be-200 looks like a conventional airliner that had ditched. I haven't done the Wikipedia dive yet, but imagine that this aircraft was designed to operate on lakes and shallow water, not out on the open sea.
But anyway, it is a fascinating looking airplane so when I saw Zvezda's kit, I decided to grab one. At 1/144 scale, it isn't very large. Back during the Cold War, kits from behind the iron curtain were pretty crude, but nowadays they can be very good, and the Be-200 reflects that.
Parts breakdown is conventional, so no surprises.
And a stand is included!
One suprise for me was that in addition to civil markings, Zvezda offered a second option of a military scheme in what looks like that mysterious "eggplant" purple that some Su-34s use.
Looking at internet photos, the underside blue is horrifyingly bright. The kit has optional underwing pylons with what look like depth charges that are to be painted orange. This settled my decision to do this scheme.
On a side note, Zvezda will soon be releasing a 1/72 C-130H Hercules, which looks to be excellent. No more correcting the nacelles on the Italeri kit, which is super long in the tooth anyway. I am frankly surprised no other kit maker has seen fit to tool a new kit of this iconic workhorse transport. I think this kit will sell well and spawn lots of variants. Although tool changes would be extensive, I'll hold out for an AC-130A.