1/700 scale Russian Cruiser Aurora - 1918
The ship
Aurora was a protected cruiser, built in 1903. She served in the 1904 Russo-Japanese war in the Battle of Tsushima, WWI, the Russian Revolution, WW2, and is now a memorial in St Petersburg. As the story goes, the revolutionaries fired a shot from Aurora to signal the beginning of the October Revolution and the attach on the Tsar’s Winter Palace.
For me, I worked in a hobby shop for many years and always loved the box art on the Heller 1/400 kit. That drove me to working on this kit. That red star on the bow was an important part of the image for me.
The model
I built this resin kit several years ago and have forgotten some of the details. The kit is a Chinese knock-off of something – Not Combrig, not Modelkrak, not WSW, and not a kit of the sisterships Diana or Pallada. So I stopped trying to figure out who first cast it. It was very similar to the Combrig kit, with the addition of a good-sized PE sheet. I used the instructions from the Combrig Diana for some guidance. Overloaded with reference – there was “Russian Fleet 1861-1918 Handbook”, with lots of contradictory drawings, and current photos online.
The white line at the waterline is a decal – I’m pretty happy with the way it worked out. Green below the waterline – perhaps too clean.
The red star on the bow came from a Historex 1/32 scale French soldier’s uniform parts.
The railings on the superstructure were PE brass, painted on both sides, then the outside was covered with PVA (Elmer’s) glue. Then I painted the outside, leaving the gray railings visible from onboard.
Weathering
I wanted to represent the ship as she looked in early 1918, when cleanliness and preservation were not a focus for the crew during the Revolution period. I have one side dirty and grimy and the other with more rust, as that side would have faced the elements. The deck and the breaches of the guns are clean, perhaps way too clean, but I have been experimenting with different paint treatments for planked decks. Had to give this a try. No flag, because I believe that during this period, a post-empire flag had not been settled upon. Maybe a solid red flag, but I don’t know…
The sea base
I know, if I am building the ship as moored for a couple of years, I shouldn’t have portrayed her underway. But this is the way I build all my ship models. It gives a great way to handle the model, both during construction and after it goes on the shelf. On a base of .060” (1.5mm) sheet plastic, apply Modeling Paste (found at an artist’s supply store) and shape it into the seas, then paint with artist’s acrylics. Oddly enough, some Burnt Sienna in the mix helps the various blue, green and white. Then gloss gel medium on top. The gel can be built up as desired. The color of the sea is sensitive to direct light and these photos are pretty harsh.
I'm told that ships must have crew figures if they are not to be manned by ghosts. Maybe next time.
What an amazing first entry on iModeler, Rick @rick_h
Welcome.
I'm not into ships myself but I can say that this build looks great.
You can clearly see that she has spent quite some time on the ocean. Great water effect as well.
Thanks. These days I find that I am building more resin ships than regular plastic kits.
A big welcome to you Rick and a great subject for your first post. Excellent build and finish Rick 👍
Thanks - had to start someplace. This is the first time I have looked at the photos that are double the size of the actual model. It really does magnify the warts, doesn't it?
Congratulations, Rick! What an awesome model!
Welcome aboard!
Gorgeous diorama and fantastic weathering!
Well done, Rick (@rick_h). I really thought that this was 1/350 because of the detail you packed in. Rigging looks very nice.
Thanks. Looking at these photos, I think i might go back and do some touch-ups. Have never done that before on a "completed" model.
This is an amazing piece of work. Having judged some ships in shows this is among the best.
Everything I see is executed very well.
Thanks. Lol. At the big IPMS Northwest model show, this one didn't place in the 1/700 category. I suspect I didn't explain the extreme weathering and droopy rigging clearly enough.
Nicely done, Rick. Welcome to iModeler. Hope to see more.