COBI Sous-Marin SNLE Set 4859

COBI's Sous-Marin SNLE is a 1:300 model of a French ballistic missile submarine built from 643 blocks, 46.5 cm long with its stand, produced in cooperation with Naval Group. Two figures are included, the commander and a crew member, along with a French flag for the sail and four interchangeable nameplates — Le Triomphant, Le Téméraire, Le Vigilant and Le Terrible — so you can build whichever of the four boats you prefer.

One of them is always at sea

SNLE stands for Sous-marin Nucléaire Lanceur d'Engins, and the four boats exist to do one thing: guarantee that France always has nuclear weapons that cannot be destroyed in a first strike.

That requires at least one submarine on patrol at every moment, and France has maintained exactly that without a single interruption since 1972 — more than half a century of continuous at-sea deterrence. Four boats make it possible: one on patrol, one working up, one in maintenance, one in reserve.

A patrol lasts around seventy days. The boat does not surface, does not transmit, and is not told where it is going by anyone ashore. Its position is known to almost nobody, which is the entire point — a weapon that cannot be found cannot be targeted, and a weapon that cannot be targeted does not have to be used.

The crew get a few hundred words of personal news a week, sent one way. They cannot reply.

Specifications

Pieces: 643 · Figures: 2 · Scale: 1:300 · Four interchangeable nameplates · In cooperation with Naval Group
Model dimensions: 46.5 × 7.5 × 13 cm with stand (18.3 × 3.0 × 5.1 in)