by Mathias Carl
1/350 Panzerschiff Admiral Graf Spee (Trumpeter)
This model is based on the Trumpeter kit, with extra details from the photo-etched-sets of Eduard and KA, which complement each other very well and make it possible to give the model the final touch.
The high accuracy and detailing made the assembly very easy; as a result the kit is makes it also possible to build good model of this ship directly out of the box. The first step was to correct the stern hawse pipe. I rebuild it with some plastic sheets. Surprisingly this took me only about 2 hours. The barrels of the main and secondary artillery were replaced with those from BMK, as well as the 10,5cm AA-Guns; whilst the 2cm and the 3,7cm AA are made of WEM photo etched parts from and barrels from Master. The spotlights were glazed with white glue and then refined with photo-etched-parts. The exhaust pipes of the ships Diesel engines are rendered closed on the kit part, I opened and simulated them using an old Fineliner pen refill.
The Arado Ar 196 aircraft carried by Admiral Graf Spee during her Atlantic-raid, as seen in many photos, had the number T3 + AH. The ID L2 + X41 markings on a decal sheet supplied by Trumpeter are for a plane aboard in peacetime.
I took some decals from the rather disappointing Peddinghaus set for the Graf Spee (in fact the only parts that found I could I could use), and created the remainder with a fine paintbrush. The same problem occurred with the ships coat of arms. Neither the Trumpeter decals nor those Peddinghaus had the right colours.
I used the very good PE parts from the Eduard set and painted them in the appropriate colours. The aft pressure bulkhead to protect the crew of the 15cm artillery against the blast of the 28cm turrets is missing from the kit.
Once I had received some information about their location and design I scratch built these
The ship is painted with Revell Aqua Colors and rigged with fine fishing line . I am grateful to my friend Andra for the help and information about the aircraft camouflage, as well as the matching colours.
