I need help! Ship identification please.

zenrat · July 25, 2020, 05:49:03 AM

In rearranging my shed today I found a box containing three ship models built by my late nephew I had been asked to repair.
I'd like to identify them and figured asking you guys would be the best way.
I know you like a chance to prove your knowledge.
So, Ship, kit manufacturer and scale please.

Ship One.
I think some superstructure is missing. There are loose parts in the box.
I thought it might be Iowa Class but those distinctive "wings" on the superstructure aft of B turret are wrong.

Ship 1 01 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Ship 1 02 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Ship 1 03 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Ship Two.
I'm pretty sure this is HMS King George V. Airfix 1/600?

Ship 2 01 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Ship 2 02 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Ship 2 03 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Ship Three.
The superstructure on this (is it on backwards?) makes me think it is Japanese. But other than that I have no idea.

Ship 3 01 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Ship 3 02 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Ship 3 03 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

tigercat · July 25, 2020, 06:04:10 AM

Mystery ship looks German to me from the turret shape .

Given the three turret lay out I'd say Scharnhorst or Gneiseau.

Rheged · July 25, 2020, 07:10:33 AM

No.1, definitely German and could well be Scharnhorst class ,but not absolutely sure.
No.2 is a Royal Navy KG5, but I can't tell which one of them.
No.3 looks Japanese , and comparing it to the pix in Watts' Japanese Warships of WW2 it looks more like a Kongo class than anything else.

scooter · July 25, 2020, 09:22:41 AM

Quote from: Rheged on July 25, 2020, 07:10:33 AM
No.1, definitely German and could well be Scharnhorst class ,but not absolutely sure.

3x triple turrets and 2x triple torpedo tubes are a giveaway on the class. Bismarks were 4 double turrets and 2x torpedo tubes

nönöbär · July 25, 2020, 10:31:19 PM

Number 1 definitely is the 1/570 scale Revell Scharnhorst kit, I have build it as well some years ago.

Number 2: I would also think this is the 1/600 scale Airfix kit of KGV, but I am not 100% sure.

Number 3: This is the most tricky one. It appears to me, that this is a motorized model - it only has one prop (which is missing) and it looks on one pic that there is a battery holder inside the hull.
The ship is a late Nagato - there is no other Japanese battleship with this main turret layout and only on funnel. So my best guess is, that this is the Nichimo kit. They produced a couple of motorized ship models there you could put in a single AA battery. Others were Bismarck class and Iowa class. Those kits were not so detailed than other scale models, but the general appearance reminds me of those.

zenrat · July 26, 2020, 03:04:35 AM

Thanks everyone.

No. 3 does seem very toylike and the entire superstructure does lift off as if to allow access to the inside.

nönöbär · July 26, 2020, 03:16:22 AM

Quote from: zenrat on July 26, 2020, 03:04:35 AM
No. 3 does seem very toylike and the entire superstructure does lift off as if to allow access to the inside.

Another indicator that this is a Nichimo kit. My Bismarck model from them was the same. i then used the upper part of the hull to build the Roon.

Weaver · July 26, 2020, 04:57:44 AM

Yep to all of those.

ID features:

Generic German WWII:
Ball-shaped AAA directors
Open-topped 10.4cm AAA guns with the two guns sitting in a 'trough' in the top of the turret
Single shielded 5.9" guns used as secondaries

Sharnhorst/Gneisenau: all of the above, plus 3 x triple 11" turret layout

Generic British:
Drum-shaped 5.25" DP secondary turrets with high-set and wide-spread barrels either side of a 'wedge'
Fixed athwartships aircraft catapult
Octuple Pom-Pom AAA guns

KGV: All of the above, plus quad+twin+quad 14" turret layout is a dead giveaway

Japanese: other than the multi-level 'pagoda' style bridge structure, there's little that's distinctive in battleships at this level of detail. With more detail, you'd see triple 25mm AAA guns and twin 5.5" AAA guns with a big window in the shield. On other types, you'd see distinctive 24" torpedo tubes and aircraft layouts.

Nagato: the double row of casemate 5.5" guns is unique to this class.

zenrat · July 26, 2020, 05:18:30 AM

buzzbomb · July 30, 2020, 04:48:51 PM

Now Fred the question. Restore canon or give your inner maritime engineer a bit of a run ?

zenrat · July 31, 2020, 05:21:31 AM

I should really restore them to how Jason built them. November will be the 16th anniversary of his murder.

PR19_Kit · July 31, 2020, 05:33:42 AM

Murder?

That's horrendous! Did they catch the villain?

zenrat · July 31, 2020, 05:59:39 AM

Yes.

Reading that again makes me both angry and sad.

PR19_Kit · July 31, 2020, 06:23:55 AM

Quote from: zenrat on July 31, 2020, 05:59:39 AM

Yes.

Reading that again makes me both angry and sad.

I'm not surprised, it would me too.

Good that the villains have been banged up for a long time.

nighthunter · July 31, 2020, 11:53:59 AM

Well, Fred, if anyone can restore them to their previous beauty, you can. And your grandnephew is the same age as my son. I couldn't imagine raising him without his mum being taken like that.