Over the Christmas period I was able to buy a large job lot of scratch-built 1/1200th-scale Russian pre-dreadnought era warships on eBay. They included:
These models are all made from wood and wire ... and are of very high quality.
Battleship Orel
(14,151 tons; 18 knots; 4 x 12-inch guns; 12 x 6-inch guns; 20 x 3-inch guns; 20 x 3-pounder QF guns; 4 x 15-inch torpedo tubes)
Battleship Suvorov
(14,151 tons; 18 knots; 4 x 12-inch guns; 12 x 6-inch guns; 20 x 3-inch guns; 20 x 3-pounder QF guns; 4 x 15-inch torpedo tubes)
Battleship Petropavlosk
(11,354 tons; 16 knots; 4 x 12-inch guns; 12 x 6-inch guns; 12 x 3-pounder QF guns; 28 x 2-pounder QF guns; 2 x 18-inch torpedo tubes; 4 x 15-inch torpedo tubes; 50 mines)
Battleship Osliaba
(14,408 tons; 18 knots; 4 x 10-inch guns; 11 x 6-inch guns; 20 x 3-inch guns; 20 x 3-pounder QF guns; 8 x 2-pounder QF guns; 5 x 15-inch torpedo tubes)
Battleship Sisoi Veliki
(10.400 tons; 16 knots; 4 x 12-inch guns; 6 x 6-inch guns; 12 x 3-pounder QF guns; 18 x 2-pounder QF guns; 6 x 15-inch torpedo tubes)
Battleship Navarin
(10.206 tons; 15 knots; 4 x 12-inch guns; 8 x 6-inch guns; 14 x 3-pounder QF guns; 12 x 2-pounder QF guns; 6 x 15-inch torpedo tubes)
Coastal Defence Battleship General-Admiral Apraxin
(4,165 tons; 15 knots; 3 x 10-inch guns; 4 x 4.7-inch guns; 10 x 3-pounder QF guns; 12 x 2-pounder QF guns; 4 x 18-inch torpedo tubes)
Protected Cruiser Aurora
(6,625 tons; 19 knots; 8 x 6-inch guns; 24 x 3-inch guns; 3 x 21-inch torpedo tubes; 4 aircraft; 2 catapults)
2nd-class Cruiser Almaz
(3,285 tons; 19 knots; 4 x 3-inch guns; 8 x 3-pounder guns)
Armoured Cruiser Minin
(6.136 tons; 14 knots; 4 x 8-inch guns; 12 x 6-inch guns; 6 x 3.4-inch guns)
What a superb score! You know, I never thought to do 'air scoops' (?) just with wire. Davits, yes, but I haven't bothered with them.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteI think that the ventilators (air scoops) are made from short lengths of insulated wire, with the colour of the insulation meaning that they don't need to be painted. A very clever way to achieve the desired effect!
All the best,
Bob
Nice collection! It gives me inspiration for my own scratch built fleet.
ReplyDeleteChris,
DeleteCheers! I do hope that you do build your own fleet of ships.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteThey are lovely looking! The Aurora will be appearing in action shortly….
Will these be supporting your Belle Epoque collection?
All the best,
DC
David Crook,
DeleteI bought these models because they looked so good … and didn’t even think about my project when I put my bid in! Perhaps I ought to now.
I had to have a model of the Aurora having seen the real thing in St Petersburg!
All the best,
Bob
BOB,
ReplyDeleteVery nicely built Russian Ships- I do like the Aurora model. Cheers. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteCheers! You’re right about the model of the Aurora: I think that it is the best of all of them.
All the best,
Bob
BOB,
DeleteI know you have a Japanese Fleet and Russian- do you have other nations fleets? All the best. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI have quite a few ships from other nations including the following:
UK: 2 x ironclad battleships, 2 x dreadnought battleships, 4 x light fleet aircraft carriers, 2 x light cruisers, and numerous destroyers (most of the above are Triang Minic models)
Turkish Navy: 2 x pre-dreadnought battleships
Greece: 1 x pre-dreadnought battleship
Argentina: 1 x coastal defence battleship
USA: 1 x heavy cruisers, 1 x seaplane tender, 1 x LCT
France: 1 x cruiser
There may be more that I've forgotten!
All the best,
Bob
What absolutely beautiful models, I really like the one in far east fleet coastal colours. It is nice to see the Aurora model as I've also seen the real thing. At this rate you will have a bigger fleet than Archduke Piccolo!
ReplyDeleteMartin Rapier,
DeleteI agree about their quality, which is close to museum standard.
As to matching Archduke Piccolo’s fleets … well, if I put all my model ships on my tabletop, I suspect that I might almost have as many.
All the best,
Bob
I spotted those on Ebay and was tempted. Glad we didn't end up bidding against each other.
ReplyDeleteNigel Drury,
DeletePerhaps we ought to co-ordinate our bidding!
My intention is to try to bid for ironclads and pre-dreadnoughts when they come up as well as IJN WW2 ships.
All the best,
Bob