Imperator Alexander II
Reviewed by Timothy Dike
| The Russian battleship Imperator Alexander II was part of the naval buildup of the late 1800's. She took part in the opening of the Kiel Canal. From 1896 to 1898 along with the first-rated cruiser Ryurik and the armoured gunboat Grozyashchy. The Alexander II served with the Baltic Fleet in 1906, and was used as a training ship in 1914. In 1917 she saw action during the Bolshevik Revolution as the Zarya Svobody. She was finally stricken in 1925. | |
| The hull on this ship is typical of recent Combrig casting. Sharp and clean, with no resin defects. I have no plans of this ship so can not comment on accuracy, and will leave that for others to debate. |
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| The upper deck is cast on a thin resin wafer that will only require a minimum of sanding to remove. The deck planking is well done and really stands out. Other parts as nicely cast as shown in the images on the right. |  |
| Ships boats are all well defined and need only be cut from the resin clock that they are cast on. The guns are very delicate and are as close to scale as resin casting allows. |  |
| The davits and mast parts are also cast in resin. While they appear to be usable, I would recommend replacing the mast parts with brass for strength. You can use the resin parts for templates. If you are not going to rig your ship this will not be necessary. The davits are cast on a resin wafer and can be cut loose with a sharp hobby knife, of flat sanded until the resin starts to separate. |  |
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| Instructions consist of a single sheet with plan and elevation with a bit of history in Russian. The second page shows a couple of exploded views showing where the parts go. More detailed views are needed in my opinion, especially on the mast construction. However this is a relatively simple kit and most experienced modelers should be able to figure out where everything goes. |  |
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| Conclusions:
Thanks to Pacific Front Hobbies for the review sample. This kit is listed for $30.00 on the Pacific Front Hobbies extensive website featuring the entire Combrig line. |
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