by Han-Pinn, Ong
1/350 Imperial Qing Dynasty Chinese Navy Ding Yuan Warship of the Beiyang Fleet (Bronco Models)
This is a warship which I have always wanted to make as a display of China's might although the China of which this ship lived in was that of chaos, corruption and decline. A few scale models of this ship had been released in the past but with their quality had many important details missing. Fortunately, Bronco models of Chin has released a detailed 1/350 scale model kits of both the "Ding Yuan" and its sistership the "Zhenyuan", this year.( 2010 ) Best of all was that these new models came along with metallic photo-etched parts which adds realism to the ships.
This was one of the most powerful battleship in the late 19th century and vastly superior to any of the French ships of the French China Squadron when this ship was being delivered to China. However due to corruption and complacency, the maintenance of this ship was compromised. When this ship participated in the Sino Japanese war of 1894 in the Yellow Sea, many of the original accessories and boats which were included during delivery, were removed and actual turret and pyrotechnical rounds used on board were made of cement instead of gunpowder as a result of corruption which gave the Japanese a chance to win the war. The defeat of this warship and the entire Beiyang( North Sea ) Fleet determined the fate of Taiwan - colonization by the Japanese.
The "Dingyuan" warship was eventually sunken during the Sino Japanese War of 1894 by Japanese warships as a result. Nevertheless, a "half loaded" and "empty" warship was not what I would like to remember this warship as. Hence, I chose to build this warship in the 1880s version, when it was first delivered to China by the Germans..where one can marvel at its true potential with all the torpedo/ life boats as well as firepower. In the image of its fully loaded and powerful delivery version, the Dingyuan will continue to live on...Had the Dingyuan not been sunken, it should have been able to participate advantageously in one of the naval wars Imperial China fought back then, especially during the Battle of Foochow as this was a very powerful warship.
