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Building the Yacht Kolchida

I removed all cast on raised windows using Micro Chisel, cut away all the cast stairways all around and removed the large casting base.
Due to its diminutive size the painting of all the fine details was challenging.
The removed windows were replaced with small strips of Matt vyinil tape, sealed with CA and Matt varnish. Once the cabin sides had been painted using a fine brush and a magnifier. I indicated the window divisions according to the plan in brown paint. The boat stowage racks were made of cut down 1/350 handrail PE,




The catwalk between the deckhouses was a strip of brass furnished with handrails. All stairs were replaced with WEM items—however because these were significantly steeper—so I elongated the siderails of the PE to conform to the desired angle.




The remainder of the construction was very straightforward. I made a binnacle and wheel from brass rod and PE, a searchlight was scratchbuilt so as to have a see-thru bracket, doors were added along with some fine davits for the boats made of copper wire.




Unfortunately all the boats in the kite were according to my1/700 scaled down plan far too large—and were substituted with nearer equivelants from the scrap-box…




Oars were made of brown stretched sprue installed with liquid cement so that they all bedded down.
The masts were made of steel rod with brass spars rigged as usual with stretched sprue.
The ensign was made of paper with a blue ballpoint cross and the ship was mounted on a base of textured artists watercolour paper, painted and sealed with Glosskote varnish.




A most endearing subject, enjoyable to build and most unusual. I feel proud to have honoured this plucky little ship, virtually unheard of outside of Russia, in modelform 87 years after her loss.




My thanks to all my virtual friends who assisted selflessly via the internet .