Ship History(taken with permission from the kit instructions)

Austrian-Hungarian Navy -(K.u.K. Kriegsmarine) always paid lots of attention to the development of torpedo weaponry. It was no coincidence that back in 1864 in Triest, engineer Whitehead constructed first self propelled torpedo. Torpedoes soon were installed on almost all decks starting with huge battleships and ending with small torpedo boats. For torpedo boats of course they were the main weapon. However those small vessels at the beginning were not able to operate on deep seas and to support their battleships. Such role was supposed to be performed by torpedo cruisers, torpedo gunboats or avisos (from French) as they were called differently in different Navies. Austrian-Hungarian Navy classified them as “Torpedofahrzeuge” - torpedo vessels.

During that period home Austrian shipyards were not building torpedo boats and all were ordered abroad, mainly in England and Germany. First three were ordered in Elbing(now Elbląg, Poland) shipyard Schichau. Those were “Meteor”, “Blitz”,and “Komet” - built in1887/1888. Almost in parallel - 1888/1889 – in England, Newcastle shipyard built “Planet”. Upon arrival to home waters the ship was included to torpedo boats squadron and became its flagship. Most of future specialists were trained on “Planet” where at that period Austian-Hungarian Navy was intensively developing their torpedo arsenal. In 1889/1890in Triest new torpedo boat was launched - “Trabant” - based on “Planet's” plans.“Magnet” was built in Schichau shipyard in Elbing in between September 1895 and March 1896. Final works took place in Pillau (today Baltisk, Russia). Official ship's take over took place on June 26th and after one month trip in August the ship reached her base in Pola. For many years was the fastest ship of Austrian- Hungarian Navy. In 1898 became flag ship of torpedo boats fleet. Around 1905/06 and in 1912 underwent series of modifications, among other things, new boilers were installed. From 1913 was based in Lussin.

During the war on 02.08.1916 Magnet was torpedoed, explosion killed 11 men and completely destroyed the stern. The ship however survived and was towed to Pola where she was refurbished and new armament was installed. Until the end of the war “Magnet” was playing escorting role.

Current set represents the vessel from first years of her service i.e. up to 1908.

Technical Data...

Built in Schichau shipyard in Elbing in 1896
Dimensions: 67,5 (WL) / 71 (All) x 7,91/8,2 x 2,3/3,3 metres (233 x 27 x 11 feet).
Displacement: Standard - 485t, full - 491t.
Drive: 4 boilers Thornycroft-Schultz, 2 steam engines giving 5776 KM, 2 propellers.
Speed: 26 knots.
Fuel capacity: 100 tons of coal.
Range: 4000 miles / 10 knots
Armament: 6 x 47 mm/L44, 3 torpedo launchers 450 mm.
Crew: 85 officers and seamen.

Hull...

The hull is one solid piece. There is quite a bit of detail on the deck and it is slightly round on the edges. There is a hollow area near the bow. The walls in this area are thin and look accurate considering the small scale. The only issue I see is one or two portholes are noticeably out of allignment. This is easily fixed though and not a big issue.

Small Resin Pieces...

These are amazing! There is a hollow cabin. Vents and dinghies are also hollow and nicely detailed and thin for being in this small scale. There are some pretty small pieces with a far bit of flash attached to them. They will be a challange for a few modelers. The funnels, while hollowed out, have what appears to be ladders molded to the sides, these appear a bit overscale and somewhat crocked. IT would probably be better to sand them off and use a photoetch replacement.

Photoetch...

This sheet is also quite detailed with several pieces that are relief etched. Even the ships helm wheel is there. There was no flaw in the sheet. Several of the pieces are very small like the oars.

Master Barrels...

When I first looked at the bag, I thought they forgot to put anything in it! These are VERY tiny but like other barrels from the company, they are of high quality.

Decals...

A very nice sheet of flags has been included with the kit. As with other kit pieces no issues with the quality.

Instructions...

The first sheet is a detailed history of the ship. I had a few issues understanding the assembly diagram, particularly the wire and brass parts. I contacted JBModel.eu customer service who helped me work through the issues.

Conclusions...

This is a great kit with lots of detail. A very few minor issues will need fixed but this should build into an outstanding model.