ICM 1/350 Grosser Kurfurst

[S-boat 55]

Hi All,

 

So this is my first work in progress, posting is a little daunting but not as much as seeing if I can get pictures to appear correctly. Also I may not be updating quickly, I have a four year old and a four month old so time of an evening is unpredictable at best. (Admins if I'm not posting enough let me know.)

 

So this is my second build since picking up the hobby again, my first was Zvezda's Dreadnought which I learned a lot from, I may stick a few pics in the ready for inspection if for no other reason that to record my progress. I took the view that was effectively an experiment and hopefully I'll put the lessons in to practice. 

 

So here is hopefully picture 1; 

 

 

This build is also an experiment as I'm trying to set it up for possible future RC conversion. Given the kit was a steal at £12 off evil bay if it all goes wrong it's not the end of the world. 

 

So part one, I've had a look over the parts for any glaring issues and it all looks pretty good aside needing a bit of a scrub to remove some smoke staining (again it was £12 so I cant complain). ICM give you a full 1/350 scale deck and profile plan which is a nice touch. I'm told that these kits have issues with some parts from different sister ships ending up on the wrong corresponding kit, given you can find pictures of the same ship on the net but with different names it doesn't lead to a lot of confidence. So with that said I'm going to take the scientific approach of guessing where I need to. The moulding looks very crisp to me and there are some impressive fine plastic parts. I'm planning on a largely OOB build with additions of Barrels from Aber and some railing from MK1 (this will be my first venture into the world of photoetch and upgrading the masts. 

 

First issue I've found is as much as its crisply moulded in places the deck doesn't actually fit! minorly disappointing having been spoiled by Zvezda with Dreadnought where the fit was so good I could have got away without any kind of glue on a lot of bits. oh I slapped a bit of primer on the lower hull. 

 

 

Post more tomorrow, 

 

Sam

 

 

Edited August 13, 2020 by S-boat 55

[Ray S]

@S-boat 55, this is a fabulous kit, I have the 'Markgraf' sister-ship in my stash and it looks wonderful. The deck issue is a known problem, but solvable by all accounts. The parts are very impressive, and I will be watching your progress.

 

All the best,

 

Ray

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday, I've got the ICM kits of Konig and Kronprinz (kits S.001 and S.003) in 1/350. I got one each at consecutive WASMEx shows a couple of years ago. Not my usual scale but at 1/4 price I couldn't say no. Neither of these have torpedo netting so perhaps I should have got one of the others instead, that did for a bit of variety. I haven't built either yet, so you can show me what they'll look like when done. Regards, Jeff. 

[S-boat 55]

Thanks for your comments both, so a bit of progress, I've knocked up a couple of simple shafts for the RC segment, they're rough but experimental so having epoxy'd them in we'll see how it goes. The kits props already have a 1mm hole so I've used 3mm brass tube with short 2mm tube sections either end technically leaving a gap of 0.1mm around a 1mm rod. With no grease inside they hold out the water pretty well. Aside that I've started work on the casemate walls and temp fixing the deck above to them. 

 

 

Made a start on painting the deck as well, all paints are Humbrol at present (no71), I know some have problems with them but I've not had any issues once I worked out a good ratio to thin them (5:1), When thinned I find they spread well, cover alright and dry reasonably quickly but I do find that they don't like a second coat going on too quick so I leave them at least 12 hours. I'm a brush painter at the moment, having tried various decade old brushes that were past their best I settled on getting some new Daler Rowney Aqua fine brushes and very much like them so far. 

 

Lastly did a little float test to see what weight I can play with when it eventually comes to putting running gear in, comes to about 650g given that scaled down the weight should be 668g it would point to the hull being pretty accurate overall.

 

 

 

I think she sits quite nicely in the water really, 

 

More to follow, thanks for reading, 

 

Sam

 

Edited August 16, 2020 by S-boat 55

[steve5]

this looks like an interesting build , looking forward to it .

[S-boat 55]

no a lot to report really, did a bit of work on the deck, getting it to fit wasn't overly challenging, I nibbled off a the overhang and then sanded it to shape. Tried using one of humbrol washes again. No idea if my method was right but as its quite dark i used it neat in a few places and then with a brush soaked in their thinners spread it out length ways in a pretty random fashion. The ICM kits have raised lines for deck detail which isn't great but if not looked at too close I think it looks okay and I'm pleased with the outcome. Talking of raised detail for decks, the odd thing is that the small section of deck on the forward superstructure is 'engraved' instead of raised, cant think why they have one bit one way and the other the opposite. 

 

 

 

I previously shaved off the moulded on anchor chains as I've some chain left over from kits I had when I was a kid, I've inherited my fathers habit of throwing nothing out - finally came in handy!

 

More later, 

 

Sam

 

Edited August 17, 2020 by S-boat 55

[S-boat 55]

So progress continues, I've put together a chunk of the basic superstructure and started a bit of further painting, everything essentially drops together which is very much appreciated ICM. I think in profile she looks very handsome really. 

 

 

Deciding on paint scheme has been a headache, all photo's are of course black and white and there doesn't seem to be a lot of easily accessed info on how they were painted. As I said at the start I am very much going with  educated deduction (aka guessing) in conjunction with the one site that I have found which is helpful on the matter. The site has a very handy painting of one of the Konig class at Jutland which was painted by someone who was present so I'm taking a large leap and going with what is shown in that. As I mentioned I'm a Humbrol man so the main hull will be 165, the uppers and turrets 127. The turret tops are reportedly and backed up by many photo's a much darker grey so will be 125 and the boot topping/waterline will be 123 as it was grey not black. The subsurface hull will be a concoction of reds mixed, when i set on a ratio I'll let you know if you're interested. I'll post an image of the painting later,

 

So I also did a little test of the basic running gear, three props working hooked up to 4AA batteries - I feel I may need a speed controller! As you can see there's a jet of water, I cant post videos I don't think but if I could you'd see it goes like a speed boat!

 

 

More later

[gibbo99]

Looking good.

 

Yea, I would imagine without an ESC then it would act like a speed boat.

Are you going to keep it running off AA's or something else?

[S-boat 55]

Likely AAs just because I've a load of re-chargeables in the house between stuff for work and the kids, I shall need to invest in an ESC, my plan was to hopefully covert a few I have in the stash to RC utilising the same ESC and receiver that I could just have as plug and play and port from each to each,

3 hours ago, gibbo99 said:

Looking good.

 

Yea, I would imagine without an ESC then it would act like a speed boat.

Are you going to keep it running off AA's or something else?

 

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

Everything I've read so far suggests the German Navy paints didn't change from WWI to the early part of WWII.

[S-boat 55]

So here's a link to a video of the speed boat, 

https://1drv.ms/v/s!Arco4SQ9xxLFlWoaWsqpNcD_Lnb3

 

 

[Knb.1451]

How did you calculate the weight you would need for a scale ship? 

[S-boat 55]

6 hours ago, Knb.1451 said:

How did you calculate the weight you would need for a scale ship? 

So I took the stated displacement, multiplied it by 1000 to convert from t to kg's (this is sometimes problematic due to the differences between a metric and imperial ton etc but at 1/350 I'm not sure it will make a huge difference) then divided it by the scale cubed so with GK it was; 

28,000t x 1000 = 28,000,000

28,000,000/(350^3) =0.653kg or 653g

 

I think that's the way its supposed to be done, it seems to work with a couple of other ships in the stash that I've tried in on so I've taken it as accurate, 

 

Obviously then in terms of working out the weight useable for running gear etc its just subtracting the weight of the model itself from the total. So in the float test i did further up the thread I used cutlery to weight it up with the deck in place, I couldn't get it to balance which is why its a little low the one side but that's just because there wasn't enough flexibility in a few heavy knives to move it around and fine tune it, 

Edited August 24, 2020 by S-boat 55

[S-boat 55]

So she's starting to look more like a ship now, colour on the hull and some bits of superstructure, and finally got around to putting the replacement barrels in the casemate guns, 

 

 

They were actually so tight it took a fair bit of jiggery to get them through the opening, I can't see how the plastic parts would have fitted or not broken. With them in place I can finally fix the two decks together and start making more progress, there's a gap at the join of the wall to the 'D' barbette which needs filling which can now be done. 

 

Also started on the main armament, they're odd fittings, the base doesn't cover the base of the guns, they sit in a  cradle which is glued in place. The replacement barrels from Aber are a big improvement, they technically cost more than the model itself but are very much worth it. The main guns of the plastic parts were moulded wrong, the upper and lower half of the barrels were out of line by half a mm which would be too much to smooth down I think. 

 

 

 

Lastly I mentioned a painting by Clause Bergen the other day, its actually of Konig at Jutland but its a useful reference I think anyway, you can clearly see a painted trim around the vertical surfaces which is mentioned on another website as being present whenever a metal vertical met a timber deck. Here is the painting and the website I found mention of the colour for the ships and trim strip. As Jamie mentioned the website also states that the colours were unchanged between wars which makes sense, 

 

http://german-navy.tripod.com/sms_paint-overview.htm

 

 

I've tried adding the strip on the superstructure but I'm not convinced I have the right colour, the website states it would be a beige brown but the one or two photo's show it as being very dark so must have been a grey or black, I tried a darker brown but its come out more red really so I'll need to go over it I think. 

 

I may not post much for the next few days as a rearrangement of my 'office' and the kids bedroom is happening, I've got quite used to working from home so I'm setting up a proper work space with an adjoining area as a 'dockyard' to save having to keep trying to work around the hobby and hobby around the work. A trip to Ikea is needed though. 

Edited August 24, 2020 by S-boat 55

[steve5]

a shudder goes through me , everytime Ikea is mentioned . the hull must be made of good plastic , on the video it looked like it nearly bent in half

[gibbo99]

3 hours ago, steve5 said:

a shudder goes through me , everytime Ikea is mentioned . the hull must be made of good plastic , on the video it looked like it nearly bent in half

I was expecting to see a cracked hull after that hit 🙄

[S-boat 55]

On 25/08/2020 at 15:06, gibbo99 said:

I was expecting to see a cracked hull after that hit 🙄

Yes it did go with a thud, the Germans made em string though, joking aside I think had it of had a clipper style bow it might of done a bit of damage to the point. 

 

On a related note, who knew that purgatory came in the form of a warehouse selling Swedish flat pack furniture, best bit was I came away empty handed, still what can you do

[S-boat 55]

Well following a week of getting no real time at all I managed to get a bit done, it seems at the moment i am forever just masking bits of deck and painting tiny parts and so cant really see a lot of progress, I'm hoping they all start coming together and it becomes more noticeable. In an effort to have something that I can see is clear progress I got the distinctive red on the rear funnel. 

 

 

I'm going to get hols of some photo etch ladders to run up the side as the plastic detail isn't great and got swallowed by the paint, 

 

 

Hopefully a bit more going to be done tonight, thanks for looking, 

[S-boat 55]

So I've managed to make a bit of progress, I've got a few of the major bits painted and have tried a dry fit to see how things line up, there are certainly some issues, bits are crooked that shouldn't be but nothing major really. I did this largely as the deck details are driving me potty. Its interesting that as she takes shape you can clearly see some design ques that carried on into the designs for German ships in the thirties. I've changed tone for the trim line to black and I think it sets things off a lot better even if it may or may not be historically accurate. I'm hoping when I finally set up the 'office' I'll be getting better progress with it. 

 

 

 

 

 

I do love the way that the brass barrels look, shame they'll have to be painted, 

 

 

I'm getting to the point of having to start trying the photo etch, I've got some WW1 German railings from MK1 so we'll see how that goes, I'm planning to work on the rear super structure first while I sort the fit issues on the forward section oh and finishing the deck details, 

 

Thanks for having a look,

[S-boat 55]

Hi all

 

Apologies that there's been no updates of yet, life has been lifey and so time has been limited and with what time I've had I've not really made any substantial progress. The build has become frustrating so I'm gonna put it to one side for a couple more weeks and then come back to it, hopefully a couple of weeks on something different will spark some enthusiasm for this one again,

 

Sam

Edited September 22, 2020 by S-boat 55

[S-boat 55]

So this is back, its actually attempt number 3 for this one, as the original posts on this explain the first one met with mishap, i then gave up and thought it would take ages to fixand put it in a box,  in the end I purchased another kit but of Markgraf and started on that. I then lost interest and sold that but in a very much s-boat kind of way saw one on evil bay which included an etch set from white ensign for a really good price, I gave in a bought it and have started tinkering. The reason is A - i actually think they are great looking ships and B Grosser Kurfurst has a link to Graf Spee which is also on the stocks. Captain Langsdorff of Graf Spee notoriety was a Lieutenant onboard Grosser Kurfurst when she fought at Jutland. (This also links with a long stalled project of Warspite as the QE division faced off against Grosser Kurfurst et al at the battle as well. 

 

The kit is actually of Konig but there is essentially no difference between her and Grosser Kurfurst, the larger differences were with her other sisters Markgraf and Kronprinz 

 

So here we go with attempt 3 - I'd forgotten how bad the fit is but that doesn't bother me so much now, I'll be filling loads of bits on Graf Spee anyway so may as well do the two at the same time, 

 

 

 

 

Deck sorted and partially glued in place, theres no planking detail really other than slighty raised lines so i may try an aftermarket deck when i come to it. I'll also be adding hull plating but need to add a photo etch shelf which supported the torpedo nets to work out what will be in the way before doing that. 

 

This is very much a side project for the next couple of weeks,  

Edited May 12, 2023 by S-boat 55

[beefy66]

Good job with the fit of that deck it must have put up a good fight.  🔨

 

Stay Safe

beefy

[mick]

good progress

[Courageous]

Looks interesting.

 

Stuart

[Zoran Srb]

On 12/05/2023 at 11:14, S-boat 55 said:

So this is back, its actually attempt number 3 for this one, as the original posts on this explain the first one met with mishap, i then gave up and thought it would take ages to fixand put it in a box,  in the end I purchased another kit but of Markgraf and started on that. I then lost interest and sold that but in a very much s-boat kind of way saw one on evil bay which included an etch set from white ensign for a really good price, I gave in a bought it and have started tinkering. The reason is A - i actually think they are great looking ships and B Grosser Kurfurst has a link to Graf Spee which is also on the stocks. Captain Langsdorff of Graf Spee notoriety was a Lieutenant onboard Grosser Kurfurst when she fought at Jutland. (This also links with a long stalled project of Warspite as the QE division faced off against Grosser Kurfurst et al at the battle as well. 

 

The kit is actually of Konig but there is essentially no difference between her and Grosser Kurfurst, the larger differences were with her other sisters Markgraf and Kronprinz 

 

So here we go with attempt 3 - I'd forgotten how bad the fit is but that doesn't bother me so much now, I'll be filling loads of bits on Graf Spee anyway so may as well do the two at the same time, 

 

 

 

 

Deck sorted and partially glued in place, theres no planking detail really other than slighty raised lines so i may try an aftermarket deck when i come to it. I'll also be adding hull plating but need to add a photo etch shelf which supported the torpedo nets to work out what will be in the way before doing that. 

 

This is very much a side project for the next couple of weeks,  

Good job with the deck. How do you rate plastic? In reviews, it seems to me a bit on the soft side with soft detail (edges are not sharp...)