http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/sh ... /index.htm
I fancied a a model based on a recent kit as a starting point--with less removal of incorrect or crude features and thereby a more pleasant ( speedy?) build,,,....??-
-we shall see!!
Riurik II is a not unfamiliar name for those who have been buying Combrig kits for the last 15 years....
The ship has been kitted by Combrig previously-- an 'older' kit that was based on some dimensionally flawed plans and depicted the vessel in her immediate post-as built status--with all lino decks and only a small amount of planking near the anchor handling gear- as per builders model.
I have yet to see one of these kits built ( well) and must confess to having never quite started mine...
A bit of history... ( condensed..)
Rurik was unusual in that she was built by Vickers in Barrow in Furness, England.
Laid down August 1905, launched 4 November 1906, completed July 1909. The Russian Navy was not usually a customer of British shipyards.
The main armament consisted of 4 x 10-inch guns in two turrets, the secondary armament consisted of 8 x 8-inch guns in four twin turrets located at the corners of the superstructure.
The anti-torpedo boat armament comprised 20 x 120 mm guns in casemates. There were also four 1.85-inch (47 mm) guns and two 18-inch (460 mm) torpedo tubes.
Rurik was commissioned in 1908. She carried out a deployment to the Mediterranean in company with the battleships Tsesarevich and Slava, where she represented Russia at the coronation of King Nicholas of Montenegro
She was the flagship of the Baltic Fleet during World War I and saw much action, being damaged by mines on several occasions. T
By 1918 the ship was worm out and at the end of her useful service life . Hulked in 1922 she was sold for scrapping in 1930.
I have always been fond of Rurik, with her long elegant hull and minimalistic low superstructure and the three funnels hinting at power and speed....
The NEW Combrig kit is a solid and far more accurate starting point,with much fine detailing incorporated in the castings.
However--with the finely detailed planking it is now not possible to depict the ship at the start of her career due to the absence of the lino decking without a huge amount of filling and paring work!
After study of photos and plans... I decided on a course of action.
1) depict the vessel as in 1913--supported by some good quality and high res photos
2) Add as much detail as feasible without the project stalling
3) open as many hatches and casemates as the photos show...
After an exploratory coat of paint on the decks I decided to open the aft officers accommodation hatches as seen in almost every on-deck photo of Rurik.
I removed the nicely rendered tops of the skylight castings and depicted the grilles over the windows below--often seen half open - with some fine relief etched doors cut into squares, the open lids being strips of PE and doors as appropriate to the size of the skylight.
The over side discharge pipes and chutes were removed as I reckoned I could make the a bit finer, but primarily because I want to hint at some plating detail - its not always very visible in most photos but its total absence would leave the hull looking featureless--more of that later..
Study of photos shows there to be a prominent strake flush with the deck edge around the entire ship.
This was made of copper wire and added using CA glue applied with a piece of stretched sprue.
The copper wire being circular in profile--as opposed to half-round- has the added benefit of being able to later disguise the bottom waterway of the GMM Goldplus rails I intend using on the weather decks, by dropping into the small recess formed.
The inside of the deck edges to waterways and all bollards, fairleads etc were also dark coloured- the waterway of the railing giving a sharp colour separation demarcation once rails are added.- this also makes for a visually more interesting model
The turrets have been prepared and the funnels have had a number of thin coats; so I am hoping that further progress will be fairly speedy... ( denial!! )
The sighting slits in the conning towers are simply excellent--and surprisingly tricky to render nicely--I used the sharpened edge of a propelling pencil to colour these.
I added the (just about visible!) rim strake around the aft conning tower made of stretched sprue
