by Robert Apfelzweig
1/350 SMS Markgraf (ICM)
My first model ship kit, and my introduction to photoetch detailing, in taking up model shipbuilding again in middle age was the Ukrainian company ICM's World War I Imperial German battleship Markgraf, which saw action at the Battle of Jutland. The kit had some minor fit problems (the bow's cutwater veers slightly to starboard) and a small sprue was missing, forcing me to scratch-build parts of the foremast and bridge, but overall I was quite impressed with it, though the casemate guns fit so tightly that they can't swivel and the boat davits are very fragile. I used Tom's Modelworks photoetch to complete the job, though I still may add some weathering; it looks too "clean" for such an old battleship!
