by Bob Cicconi
1/700 Charles Martel (Yumemato)
My latest build, the 1/700 Yumemato Charles Martel circa 1900. The kit is one of the limited run resin series made by the model maker from Japan. The Charles Martel was one of the half sisters of Jaureguiberry, Carnot, and Massena, and was typical of the French pre-dreadnoughts of the time, having its armament layed out in a lozenge fashion. The main guns were 12", secondary guns were 10.8", and the balance of the secondary armament consisted of eight 5.5" guns. I basically followed the instructions, but replaced all the gun barrels with scratchbuilt brass and plastic units, and modified Voyager U.S. 8" barrels for the 5.5" guns. Gold medal Ultra railings were used, and odds and ends from the spare parts bin were used for the life boats, davits and other parts. Floquil Grimy Black and SP Lettering Gray were used to paint it, and stretched sprue used for rigging.
