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Markgraf WWI German Battleship - 1:700 ICM


Paul A H

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Markgraf WWI German Battleship

1:700 ICM

 

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The SMS Markgraf was the third of four König Class battleships, all of which served in the Imperial German Navy during the First World War. Laid down in 1911, the Kronprinz was launched in 1913 and commissioned the following year. She was armed with ten 30.5cm (12 inch) guns and was capable of just over 21 knots. She participated in a number of engagements during the War, most notably the battle of Jutland, during which she sustained significant damage at the hands of the British fleet. In common with most other capital ships of the High Seas Fleet, she was interned at Scapa Flow following the signing of the armistice in November 1918 and scuttled on the orders of Admiral Ludwig von Reuter. Unlike most of the other ships at Scapa, she was never raised for salvage as she sank in a deeper part of the bay. She remains submerged to this day, although some examples of her radiation-free steel have been removed for scientific purposes

 

This is the fourth and final installment of ICM's König Class battleships, following König, Großer Kurfürst and Kronprinz, and represents another addition to the small surge of WWI-era models that have been released during the 100th anniversary of that conflict. Inside ICM's typically robust (read: almost impossible to open) box are five frames of grey plastic, as well as a couple of red plastic parts for the lowe hull, a black display stand, full colour instructions, decals and self-adhesive name lables. Moulding is clean and crisp, with plenty of fine detail. 

 

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Construction begins with the lower hull. The instructions suggest that the outermost propeller shafts and the trio of propellers be added to the lower hull prior to joining it with the upper hull. Personally I would add the propellors at the end, as they are bound to get damaged during the build, but of course it's your choice. You can omit this stage altogether if you want to finish the model in waterline configuration. Once the hull is complete, construction moves on to the deck. The casemate for the secondary armament, along with the fourteen gun turrets, has to be fitted to the underside of the forecastle, before the forecastle can, in turn, be joined to the main deck. The decks themselves are nicely detailed, with chains and planking moulded in place. 

 

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Construction of the turrets is fairly straightforward, with each of the ten 12 inch guns independently poseable. The squat superstructures are fairly straightforward too, although you'll need to remember to add the tertiary armament casemate before fixing the bridge superstructure to the forecastle. Finishing details include funnels, searchlight platforms, stairways, davits, masts and anchors. A full completment of boats is included, and very nicely detailed they are too. The display stand will be handy if you wish to finish your model in full hull configuration. 

 

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The colour scheme is perfectly adequate and includes a very basic rigging diagram. The decals are the same generic set that were included with the other three kits in this series, but are nicely printed nonetheless.

 

Conclusion

 

We've seen quite a few WWI-era battleships released to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the conflict, so this kit is already in good company. While a nice set of photo etch will be required to bring the kit up to competition standard, ICM have done a great job of providing a platform to work from. Highly recommended.

 

Review sample courtesy of



 

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  • 1 year later...

All 1:700 scale König class battleships from ICM ( goes also for the Revell release ) are lacking the portholes on the rear hull.

Otherwise fine kits

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