ICM 1:350 - "Kronprinz" WWI German Battleship

The SMS Kronprinz was the last battleship of the four-ship König class of the German Imperial Navy. The battleship was laid down in November 1911 and launched on 21 February 1914. She was formally commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 8 November 1914, just over 4 months after the start of World War I. Amazingly she still exists in the waters of Scapa Flow having been scuttled on the 21st June 1919.The ICM model of this ship in 1/350 scale is a full hull model, and a reasonable model can be built "Out of the box" but certainly is not a model that should be attempted by a novice. The moulding are clean and crisp but do suffer from slight warping on the hull and this could prove a problem during construction, also quite a few sink holes exist but these should be no problem for the average modeller. Removing some of the smaller parts from the sprues could also prove challenging.It should be possible to produce a fantastic model from this kit using Photo etch from White Ensign Models or Eduard, plus wooden decks and brass gun barrels which I am doing.I would recommend this Kit but certainly not for a first attempt model.

This is a reasonably priced model, but has certain drawbacks. There is a multitude of small fragile parts that require extremely careful handling especially when removing them and trimming where they were joined. The hull comes in 1 piece, but warping means that you need plenty tape and clamps to ensure a best fit when securing the main deck. Rather than using fancy, more expensive moulding techniques, this kit has opted to mould several small parts that need to be combined in order to provide the level of detail. As such, it isn't really suitable for a novice. The smaller parts are quite brittle and easily broken. The fit of the parts varies from good to poor so that some trimming, sanding, drilling etc. is required.ICM have a number of different German WWI battleship kits that are all based on the same kit.Although not in the same league as the best kit manufacturers and there are problems assembling the kit, for the money, it provides plenty assembly time and a fairly decent looking model at the end of it.