WW1 German Battleship Großer Kurfürst ICM 1/700

[tcoat]

This will be part one of the project as discussed here modelerssocialclub.proboards.com/thread/15989/ship-builders-project

I will be doing the upper works as a waterline build when it was a clean and tidy newly commissioned ship.




Part two will be the turtled hull being towed in for scrap.



I went with the 1/700 kit for display space reasons and the availability of tugs in the right scale.






There are only 5 sprues but at this small scale there are a LOT of very tiny parts on each. This will be an OOB build with only rigging added so it is very good that the parts are looking so good.

The deck is beautifully engraved and with paint and a wash should come up very nicely. Fine parts such as the mast a perfectly molded with not even a hint of flash, mold lines or ejector marks. All the connectors are very small and should clean up with ease. This will be a treat since I usually work with very old kits. 



This seeming perfection (yet to be confirmed) carries on with the other sprues. There are two of the one on the left with the guns and boats.




Hull bottom looks as good as the rest. This is a relief since I saw some pictures of this kit that had a huge sink mark in the middle of it. It comes with the blanking plate for doing the waterline version. There is a stand that I will not be using and a very small decal sheet with some flags and circles..





Instructions are standard paper sized but there are 20 pages so I am not taking pictures of them all. They consist of 69 steps but are clear and concise so there should be no guesswork here. There is what appears to be a very comprehensive paint guide on the back.

[handiabled]

Bookmarked this one! I was wondering when you were going to pull the trigger on this build

[deafpanzer]

Glad you are doing this! It will be definitely an eye catcher when completed.

[lyle]

I knew this would bubble up! Going to be fun to watch.

[tcoat]

Apr 28, 2024 1:16:43 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Bookmarked this one! I was wondering when you were going to pull the trigger on this build

Apr 28, 2024 8:49:16 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Glad you are doing this! It will be definitely an eye catcher when completed.

Apr 28, 2024 9:14:55 GMT -5 lyle said:

I knew this would bubble up! Going to be fun to watch.

Well we go open up the cottage this afternoon so my weekend build season is pretty much at an end. This is perfect though since I can build all the sub assemblies there and bring them home to paint then back to put together. Will be handy building there because there is no carpet and since some of these parts are almost microscopic I should be able to find them when I inevitably drop them. 

[themongoose]

Apr 27, 2024 22:32:47 GMT -5 tcoat said:

This will be part one of the project as discussed here modelerssocialclub.proboards.com/thread/15989/ship-builders-project

I will be doing the upper works as a waterline build when it was a clean and tidy newly commissioned ship.




Part two will be the turtled hull being towed in for scrap.



I went with the 1/700 kit for display space reasons and the availability of tugs in the right scale.






There are only 5 sprues but at this small scale there are a LOT of very tiny parts on each. This will be an OOB build with only rigging added so it is very good that the parts are looking so good.

The deck is beautifully engraved and with paint and a wash should come up very nicely. Fine parts such as the mast a perfectly molded with not even a hint of flash, mold lines or ejector marks. All the connectors are very small and should clean up with ease. This will be a treat since I usually work with very old kits. 



This seeming perfection (yet to be confirmed) carries on with the other sprues. There are two of the one on the left with the guns and boats.




Hull bottom looks as good as the rest. This is a relief since I saw some pictures of this kit that had a huge sink mark in the middle of it. It comes with the blanking plate for doing the waterline version. There is a stand that I will not be using and a very small decal sheet with some flags and circles..





Instructions are standard paper sized but there are 20 pages so I am not taking pictures of them all. They consist of 69 steps but are clear and concise so there should be no guesswork here. There is what appears to be a very comprehensive paint guide on the back.





Ohhhh!! I’ve been waiting for this one 👍 I’m ready to sit back, have a bourbon to relax and watch these 2 builds come together 🍿 love that you found a waterline kit that will allow you to do both. Gonna be epic 🤩

[keavdog]

Very cool project!

[kyledehart5]

Such a cool project. Definitely in to watch this.

[madhatter]

That's a great idea to use the bottom of the ship like that! That'll look super cool, but @ 1/700, those little huts will be a bit of a challenge unless you have a 3D printer.

I watched a YT doco on these ships just the other day and now I know what those bars that run along the side of the ship are for (torpedo netting) Learn something new each day

Will be watching this one for sure

[tcoat]

May 4, 2024 5:36:52 GMT -5 madhatter said:

That's a great idea to use the bottom of the ship like that! That'll look super cool, but @ 1/700, those little huts will be a bit of a challenge unless you have a 3D printer.

I watched a YT doco on these ships just the other day and now I know what those bars that run along the side of the ship are for (torpedo netting) Learn something new each day

Will be watching this one for sure

Found some close up pictures of one of the other ships and it appears that the forward shack is tarpaper and the aft one something like canvas on a frame.  Shouldn’t be too hard to make up with plastic card but cutting those tiny skylights in the roof may be fun. All those pipes sticking up from the hull are actually airlocks welded on and should have hand wheels on top but I have no clue how to pill that off in that scale.  Not that they would be visible anyway when so small.  

[tcoat]

Apr 29, 2024 23:45:37 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Such a cool project. Definitely in to watch this.

Well this is all Gary’s fault but don’t expect to see a completion much before Christmas.  My volume build season is over until late fall. 

[buddho]

Ohhhh yeah. 

[garybrantley]

May 4, 2024 6:16:26 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Apr 29, 2024 23:45:37 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Such a cool project. Definitely in to watch this.

Well this is all Gary’s fault but don’t expect to see a completion much before Christmas.  My volume build season is over until late fall. 

Heh, heh...I am glad to see this very cool project underway, tcoat!  👍 You'll produce a great build, I'm sure; keep us updated if you will! 👏