1:350 DKM Blücher

The real subject

The Blücher was a German heavy cruiser of the Admiral Hipper class. It entered history with its very first combat mission: in April 1940 it led the force heading for Oslo and in the Drøbak Narrows in the Oslofjord it was stopped by the Norwegian coastal fortress of Oscarsborg. Gunfire hits and torpedoes from the coastal battery led to fires, explosions and the sinking of the ship the same morning.

What the photo-etched set offers

Photo-etched parts made of thin metal sheet replace elements that cannot be made in injection-molded plastic at a thickness true to scale. On a model more than half a meter long the difference between a thick plastic part and metal a few tenths of a millimeter thick is obvious at first sight, above all on the superstructures and in the outline against the light. The extent of the set and the fitting procedure are given in the maker's instructions.

Building tips

Separate the parts with a sharp blade on a hard surface, as scissors will bend the metal. Sand the remains of the attachment point down with a fine file so that the edge stays straight. Bend the parts in a photo-etch bender or between two blades, always in one movement, because bending the same spot over and over fatigues the metal. They are glued with cyanoacrylate glue applied in droplets from the tip of a pin. Degrease the parts before painting and spray them with a primer, as paint does not hold on bare metal.

Who it is for

For modelers who build the Blücher in 1:350 scale and want to take the model beyond the level of the parts from the kit. Working with photo-etch calls for tweezers, a sharp blade and patience, but of all the improvements it is the one that shows most on the finished ship. Check in the instructions for the set whether the parts fit your particular kit. The kit, the paints and the glue are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.