1/700 NNT Modell
Erzherog Ferdinand / Zrinyi Austria - Hungarian Battleship
Erzherog Ferdinand / Zrinyi
Austria - Hungarian Radestzky Class Battleship

The Erzherog Ferdinand was a member of the Radetzky Class Battleships. She was named after Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Radestzky was actually the second ship in the class, but the class was to be named after that unit to avoid confusion with the previous Erzherzog class. The Zrinyi was the third unit of the class. These were the last of the pre-dreadnoughts laid down for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. They suffered from structural problems due to their heavy topweight. 
The Hull is extremely well cast with excellent detail. Cleanup will be minimal, as there was no signs of any flash on the casting. The deck is neatly scribed and has all kinds of detailing not possible with injection molded plastic kits.
Click images
to enlarge
What is really amazing about this ship is the cast on details. Open face chocks and vent pipes are cast in place and were all intact!
Superstucture parts are cast "open-face" style on a thin waffer of resin so clean-up will be minimal. Superstructure parts are cast with thin splinter shields as are the supports for the boats.
The boats are all nicely detailed and along with the float plane are molded on little runers with a thin riser that will allow you to remove them easily. Resin is better removed using a small razor saw blade as it is brittle compared to plastic and doesn't slice well. The searchlights are probably the most detailed I've seen in 1/700 scale. The mast and gun barrels are all cast in resin as well. 
The photo etch fret is custom made for NNT by Eduard and include a number of relief etched parts from ladders and cranes to anchors and chain. All are finely etched will really enhance the appearance of the ship.
A length of rope is provided to simulate the stowed topeado netting. There is a small sheet of green self adhesive paper provided though I'm not sure of it's purpose.
The instuctions are pretty basic, except for the multiview drawing of the floatplane. I think this is the one weekness of this kit as one may have to consult other references to get it right.

Conclusions:

This is the first WW1 ship I've seen from NNT, and I'm very impressed with the fine detailing and excellent casting. Special thanks to Bill Gruner of Pacific Front Hobbies for providing the review sample. Check out the special pricing of  the NNT resin kits in their latest Update. 


© ModelWarships.com