1/1000 SMS Seeadler (Scratchbuilt)

After 21 days of work, my 1/1000 scale SMS Seeadler is finished.

Seeadler was one of the last fighting sailing ships used in war. She was originally built in 1888 in Glasgow, Scotland as Pass of Balmaha and operated under the British flag. The ship was nearly 275 feet long and her steel hull displaced 4,500 tons. During WWI, in 1916, she was captured by U-36 and converted to a commerce raider by the German navy. Captained by the legendary Count Felix von Luckner, and armed with two 105mm guns and two torpedo tubes, she was renamed “Seeadler” and spent 225 days at sea capturing and sinking 15 allied ships totaling more than 30,000 tons. Seeadler was eventually wrecked in French Polynesia under circumstances that are still disputed. During her mission, only one allied sailor was killed due to an accident, the rest of the crews being taken off before their ships were destroyed.

The model is made from boxwood and brass throughout. The base is carved basswood and resin. The rigging is many grades of tungsten wire, and the sails are primed and painted tissue paper. Seeadler wore several paint schemes on her raiding voyage to confuse the allies as to her true identity, but this two-tone black and white livery is my favorite so that’s the one I chose.

Gallery updated 11/27/2019

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