The Countess, Lady Patricia Mountbatten, the daughter of the legendary Admiral Louis Mountbatten (and a Women's Royal Navy officer herself) recently christened the new monument to the Combined Operations Pilotage Parties (COPP) on Hayling Island LINK LINK LINK ...whose WW2 exploits doing beach reconnaissance from mini-submarines and kayaks enabled the Allies to storm ashore to evict the Axis powers from Europe--and the Japanese from the Far East. COPP frogmen pre-date today's Navy SEALs and continue on today in the Royal Navy's ultra-secret Special Boat Service (SBS) Commandos. LINK Attending the recent ceremonies was a leading COPP combat veteran, John Ainsworth-Davis who uses his family's name of Creighton as his nom de plume for two best-selling fiction novels, The Paladin with Brian Garfield (1982) and The Khrushchev Objective with Noel Hynd (1989)--as well as the highly controversial, non-fiction Operation JAMES BOND (1996). An accomplished pianist musician, motion picture/TV director and actor, Davis-Creighton was also a spy during WW2--and even afterwards for NATO during the Cold War. Several episodes of the long-running TV western, "Maverick" and the spy series "The Saint" were directed by Davis-Creighton with his close friend, former British Army Captain, Roger Moore--later to play James Bond, 007. Coincidence? A REAL James Bond directing a fictional 007? LINK Davis-Creighton also directed ubersexy Luciana Paluzzi in "The One-Eyed Soldiers" shortly after she played the fiery villainess in "Thunderball". Lucky guy! LINK Davis-Creighton has just published the 1st edition of his memoirs "The Mountbatten Report: Christopher Robin Goes to War" (MR:CRGTW) which delineates the true events from the fiction depicted in "The Paladin" and was commissioned by Admiral Mountbatten himself by secret directive. LINK Review of the X-Craft Mini-Submarine Model: LINK More on Mini-Subs & Frogmen: LINK

Nice to see another manufacturer dipping their toes into the maritime scene. Looks a great little kit. well cast annd good detail. Will be keeping an eye open. Si