1:600 Scharnhorst

The real subject

The Scharnhorst was a large German warship of the Second World War and, with her sister ship Gneisenau, made up a pair of the same class. She carried her main armament in nine 28 cm guns, mounted three to a turret in three turrets, two forward and one aft. She spent most of her service in northern waters and was sunk on December 26, 1943 in the Battle of the North Cape.

The model

A plastic kit in 1:600 scale, supplied unassembled and unpainted. The hull of the real ship was about 235 meters long, so the finished model comes out at just under forty centimeters. The smaller scale will be appreciated by anyone who wants the whole ship in a display case, with the shape of the bow and the layout of the superstructures, and not just a section of it.

Building and painting tips

Separate the parts from the sprue with side cutters and level the rest of the gate with a file so that the joint beds down. Glue the hull halves on a flat surface and let them dry thoroughly, otherwise the hull will twist and the stern will lift. Fill and sand the seams before painting. In this scale restrained painting pays off: heavy shading and coarse weathering look unnatural on a small hull. An even base coat, a slightly darker shade for the decks, gentle drybrushing of the edges and a hint of rust only around the anchors all work well. Glue the thin elements, that is the masts and the crane jibs, at the very end so that they do not break off during handling.

Who it is for

For builders of ship models and for collectors who want a well-known German ship in a scale that suits an ordinary display case. Paints, glue and filler are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.