by Eric Bergerud
1/350 SMS Konig, Fall 1917 (ICM)
I employed the WEM PE set for Konig, BMK main armament barrels and scratch built top masts and yards out of brass. This was a hard kit for me. I don't have many ships under my belt and spent too much time fixing problems instead of seeing them coming. Beyond driver error, this is an older Eastern European kit (2000) which in this case meant very soft plastic, lots of flash and often poor fit. Because the parts took so much preparation, build time was greatly increased. I am very glad that I decided not to install the complex PE for torpedo nets that would have been needed to put the ship in Jutland uniform. I admit that I was suffering project fatigue toward the end and was not disappointed to find out that accuracy argued for putting the boats on deck rather than davits and dispensing with the ID circles on two of the turrets. I take full responsibility for the weathering. I looked at a lot of photos and decided that a WWI coal burner after sustained operations (Konig was very active in actions against Russia in the Baltic in September-October 1917) the ship would show some serious wear. But WWI warships are very sweet and now I've got one to look at. Wish it was a RN battle cruiser though.
