Finished July 2021Greetings!
I hope I find you all in good health.
I have chosen Trumpeter's 1:350 Prinz Eugen as the subject of my first public build here. My intention to recreate this storied ship in a manner that is less about fidelity and more about finding a unique way to present the subject. I have identified a number of configurations and paint schemes that are less often seen, but I am not intending to alter the kit from its 1945 configuration or seeking to correct any defects. The end product may sport an interpretive camouflage. Be warned, purists! 
An appropriate place to start any serious attempt at reproduction is to look at the story of the subject. Often our understanding of a ship's legacy and, if you will, soul can be enhanced with an examination of the namesake and its use on other hulls. In this case, the the ship was named for Prince Eugene of Savoy. A figure of significant political and military importance in his lifetime.
Godfrey Kneller, oils on canvas 1712
Prince Eugene of Savoy was born in Paris on 18 October 1663 an was brought up in the court of King Louis XIV, the Sun King.
Due to his poor physique he was initially slated for a career in the church, but by the age of 19 he was set upon a career in war. Rejected for service in his native France from reasons political as much as physical, the young member of the House of Savoy left for Vienna in 1683 to fulfill his recently killed brother's Imperial contract.
Young Eugene was eagerly received and very quickly took to his new liege with alacrity. His arrival was timely perfectly, although the full ramifications of his presence escaped attention at the time. The Holy Roman Empire (HRE) was at this time engaged in a struggle with the Ottoman Empire. Kara Mustafa Pasha had invaded Hungary with a force of a at least 100,000 fighting men. Prince Eugene's baptism of fire was that September at what became the Battle of Vienna were the armies of the Emperor Leopold were joined by Polish forces under King John III Sobieski. Prince Eugene distinguished himself under fire and set course to maverickhood. By 1685, only 22, he was made a Major General. He was present at the battle of Mohacs in 1687. His continued excellence earned his the Order of the Golden Fleece from Spain and was granted the privilege to be the bearer of victory to the capitol. He was, however, wounded in the knee in 1688, knocking him out of commission for some months.
As Belgrade was taken by Imperial forces, the HRE's long time rival, and Prince Eugene's home state, France moved into the Rhinelands with the intent of resolving a series of dynastic disputes between the French throne and the various German princes. The Nine Years War was not the happiest time for Eugene, although he did receive his Marshal's baton in 1693.
With peace achieved at Ryswick in 1697, Prince Eugene went east to face the resurgent Turks again. After another campaign, Prince Eugene won the first great victory of his career at Zenta breaking the back of Turkish resistance. This war concluded in 1699.
It was in the war of the Spanish Succession that Prince Eugene reached the apogee of his prestige. Crushing French armies, then the greatest in Europe, at Blenheim, Turin, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet in 1709. It was during this conflict that the great prince began his legendary partnership with John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough. The allied victory at Malplaquet was so costly, it effectively drove Great Britain into the sidelines. The HRE and its champion Prince Eugene soldiered on for four more years as the French regained almost all that Eugene had conquered. The war concluded indecisively with the treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Prince Eugene emerged as the chief political figure in late war Austria through his imperial sponsored control of the war council. A major factor in Austrian concessions was the impending Austro-Turkish war of 1716-1718.
The war with Turkey ended in decisive HRE victory with the recapture of Belgrade.
Prince Eugene served as the often absent governor of the Southern Netherlands.
The War of the Quadruple Alliance wherein Spain challenged the allied powers ended with Spain defeated and Prince Eugene's prestige damaged when he failed to adequately protect Austria's Italian holdings from incursions.
The 'cold war' of the 1720s-30s saw Prince Eugene regain much of his previous position. However, with the outbreak of war over the Polish succession in 1733, saw the great warrior turn frail. A lifetime of war and stress took its toll and the great prince fought a cautious campaign that brought little glory to the Austrian cause.
His health failing, he returned to Vienna in late 1735. He reposed on 21 April, 1736, quite possibly from pneumonia.
Prince Eugene was eulogized as one of history's greatest commanders by Napoleon and was considered to be a mentor of sorts by Frederick the Great.
He is remembered as a great patron of art and by many as the Holy Roman Empire's finest general.
At any rate, much of this is from memory although I did refer to Wikipedia for help on the dates (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Eugene_of_Savoy) and I have had access to a biography of the man. (Henderson, Nicholas (1966). Prince Eugen of Savoy. Weidenfield & Nicolson. ISBN 978-1-84212-597-7 OCLC 50018284)SMS Prinz EugenThe first ship (that is known to me, please correct me if otherwise) to be named after the late prince was an Austro-Hungarian Tegethoff class battleship.
Here is a link to Veniamin Litvin's superlative SMS Viribus Unitis, sistership to SMS Prinz Eugen.
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... /index.htm
SMS Prinz Eugen
The ships were nearly identical as far as can be judged from cursory study.
The class was noted for being the first to equip turrets with three guns.
The major event of her career was the Otranto Raid where her sister SMS Szent Istvan was lost. This was caught on film. Please see:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWO-AUI8HDESMS Prinz Eugen was ceded to France as reparations and sunk as a target in 1922.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Prinz_EugenHMS Prince EugeneThe next ship was a Lord Clive class monitor commissioned in 1915. Ship was later equipped with a 18 in gun from HMS Furious. She was broken up in 1921.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Prince_Eugene_(1915)Eugenio di SavoiaNext, the Duca D'Aosta (will someone please make a 1:350 kit in plastic?
) class cruiser Eugenio di Savoia.
Commissioned in 1936, this ship had an exciting war and was given to Greece as the Elli. She served as fleet flagship until being deleted in 1965 and cut up in 1973.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_cruiser_Eugenio_di_SavoiaPrinz EugenAnd now we come to the subject of our interest here today: the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen.
I am going to stop here for now, I will provide ship specific details as well as my game plan in the next post. Thank you for reading. Hopefully this project will be learning experience for all of us.And now I need to find my bloody camera.
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