German State Yacht Grill
Reviewed by Timothy Dike
| When Germany started to build up her
Naval forces again after World War One, it was decided that an official
State Yacht was needed to transport the officials around in style. The
Grill was built to fulfill this role. She was considerably larger than
her predecessor of the same name. She was an elegant ship that packed a
powerful punch with her three 10.5 cm" deck guns, two twin 37 mm flak guns
and four 20 mm light guns.
The Grill was used in many roles from official state duties to a target ship to help develop Germany's aerial torpedoes. After the Second World War started she was used as a fast minelayer in the Baltic and North Sea. After the Invasion of Norway, she served as a floating command center and later as a headquarters for the U-boats operating in that area. She was taken over by the British after the war and operated as a cruise ship until being sold to a US firm and being scrapped in 1951. This new release from Combrig is the first German subject offered by this firm. It is up to par with the high standards set by their recent kit offerings. |
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| The Hull on this kit is really sharp. From the deck planking to the cast portholes. I could find no defects of any kind on this casting. Clean up will be minimal, as this kit is almost ready to build right out of the box. |
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| Superstructure parts are very nice, cast on a thin resin wafer. Splinter shields are very thin so be careful when cleaning up the resin over pour on the bottom. The door detailing on the walls is not as nice as other kits. It appears to be scribed into the walls instead of raised. This may be the way the real ship was, but I don't have good references on her to compare with. |  |
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| The small parts range from good to incredible in quality. The deck guns come with separate gun houses and are flawlessly cast. The smaller guns are equally nice. Searchlights and other fittings are well cast. The ships boats are very detailed for their size and will be handled by some really fine boat davits. |  |
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| A simple photo etch fret is included for some of the other parts. It is not as nice as those done by the major aftermarket PE manufactures, but nice to have anyway. You will still have to supply your own handrails, but most of us have plenty of extra railing to use. |  |
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The Instructions are pretty basic and as I have said before
don't do this kit any justice. The plan and elevation and exploded view
that are included are barely adequate for such a nice kit. This is the
one area where I wish Combrig would improve.
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Conclusions:
This is a great kit with some real nice possibilities. Because of it's sharp detailing, you can concentrate on super detailing instead of fixing a poorly cast kit. This is another example of Combrig's improving quality Pacific Front Hobbies lists this kit for $32.00 (US), a great price for a unique ship like this. |
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