by Richard Wonderly
1/250 SS Prasident (Wilhelmshavener)
The SS Prasident was the first paper/card model I constructed of a ship. Good learning experience and I made some mistakes on this. I didn't like the paper masts (and didn't get them to look right anyway) so I replaced them and the booms with plastic tubing and brass rods.
And although the printed railing looked okay, if I had it to do over again, I'd replace that with photo-etch. The rigging was done with brass and nylon line and I hand made the ratlines the hard way (I've learned better ways now).
The Prasident was a small freighter of the Hamburg South America and Woermann lines prior to World War One. In 1914 it was chartered by the Imperial German Navy to try and transport coal to the cruiser Konigsberg when she was bottled up in the Rufiji river. She was intercepted by Royal Navy cruisers before she could get to the delta and rendezvous and was later scuttled by the British to try and block one of the possible escape channels. According to the info I was able to find, her wreck was visible for many years along the African coast.
