by Maarten Cautereels
1/700 Marshal Ustinov (Trumpeter)
I'm new to ship modelling, only did tanks and artillery before. This is my frist attempt at ship modelling on 1/700 scale.
This Slava class cruiser is the first nearly finished model in a series I am building of the Russian Northern Fleet 'Ceverny Flot'. I like Russian and Soviet warships because of their sleek look, angled bows and lots of exterior armament and details. While in real life this gives them a huge radar signature, it does make them a pleasure for the beginning modeller.
At this time I am also working on the Trumpeter 1/700 Pyotr Velliky guided missile cruiser (10% complete), on the Dragon 1/700 Bestrashnyy Sovremenny class Destroyer (75% complete), and on the Admiral Kuznetsov Aircraft carrying cruiser (75% complete). Photo's of these will follow on completion. I also have a 1/350 kit of the Udaloy Class DDG of the obscure Russian brand 'Modelist' lying around, but I'm planning to make a R/C model of that later. My goal is to recreate the Kuznetsov AC battlegroup in 1/700 scale.
The photo's show Marshal Ustinov 90% complete. Buildng took about 2 months of and on (i have a fulltime job, so I don't have unlimited time to spend on it). I still have to add rigging to the masts (made from stretched sprue) and connect lower and upper hull, using putty on some places, especially the bow, which is not an even fit. I'm still doubting about putting railings. Maybe these are a bit over the top on 1/700 models and will ruin the impresssion of scale? Furthermore i'll apply some signal flags with the rigging and some extra decals. The radars are scratchbuilt from brass etching, as I found the ones in the kit of very poor quality, they just look like blocks of resin. I'm thinking about weathering, but I doubt very much that i'll actually do this, because I like the result on the paintjob as it is too much. For painting I use simple revell colors, an ancient Badger spraygun, and 00 and 000 detail brushes. The putty I use is also standard revell.
Besides the radars ad their mounting, and some sanding and putty here and there, I found this to be a great kit, with a great fit, clear instructions and exellent placement of the parts on the sprues. Maybe the decals are a bit fiddly, and I'm not sure what they will do over time. Compared to the Dragon Sovremenyy kit however, the Trumpeter kits are of much higher quality, bettter fit and greater detail.
I'll submit more pics of the finished product and of the rest of the ships under construction on completion.
I'm still looking for a 1/700 Udaloy, and some russian tugs and trawlers, does someone know who produces them? This would make the battlegroup complete.
I would very much like to get your comments and tips on m_cautereels@hotmail.com . As I'm new to this, all feedback, criticism and pointers would be very welcome! Thanks in advance.
