kit review SMS Sleipner by Hamburger Modellbaubogen Verlag

[ccoyle]

SMS Sleipner 1900
1:250

HMV

Catalogue # 3047
Available from Fentens Papermodels for €13.99.

All images by the author except where noted.

 

Image courtesy of Fentens Papermodels

 

History

From the publisher’s website: “The name Sleipner comes from the eight-legged horse Sleipnir of the Nordic god Odin. The name of this extraordinary horse describes gliding on land, water and in the air. How fitting for an elegant dispatch boat like the Sleipner. The torpedo boat's maximum speed was around 26.5 knots, which was impressive at the time, and with a length of 61 meters and a width of 7 meters, the Sleipner was quite impressive.

 

Image from Wikimedia Commons: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/SMS_S_97.jpg

 

When commissioned, SMS Sleipner carried the designation S97. The torpedo boat destroyers S90 to S101 are sister ships of the Sleipner. All of these ships were built at the Schichau shipyard between 1898 and 1901. S97 Sleipner was launched in Elbing on December 16, 1899 and was put into service on May 28, 1900. Sleipner's two propellers were powered by two triple steam engines and Schichau-Thornycroft water-tube boilers were used. The maximum water displacement was 394t. The ship was supposed to have a crew of 49 men. The SMS Sleipner was intended from the start as an escort ship for the imperial yacht Hohenzollern. That's why we often talk about the imperial dispatch boat Sleipner. The usual accompaniment of the Hohenzollern when traveling consisted of at least one warship and a dispatch boat. This task was carried out from 1900 to 1914 by SMS Sleipner. Many pictures show Hohenzollern with Sleipner somewhere in the background.

The Hohenzollern's journeys took Sleipner, among others, to Venice, to Alesund, and also to the Norwegian south coast. It happened that the emperor himself was on board SMS Sleipner and he used the ship for visits or events occasionally. During the Kieler Woche and similar sailing events the SMS Sleipner occasionally worked as a yacht tug for large sailing yachts such as Germania or Meteor. The dispatch boat also was applied to the service of science and on July 1, 1904, under the direction of the German meteorologist and geophysicist Hugo Hergesell and the French naval officer Sauerwein, it brought a kite probe to a height of 1,880 meters. The Sleipner's armament consisted of 2 rapid-fire cannons of caliber 5 cm, which were used as saluting guns. The torpedo boat sister ships had 3 of these rapid-fire cannons on board and were also equipped with 3 torpedo tubes. On September 4, 1914, the Sleipner was renamed T97 and used as a coastal defense ship. In 1917 and 1918 she also performed patrol duties and served as an escort ship. After the war, the former Sleipner served in the Reichsmarine for a short time. On March 22, 1921, T97 was struck from the register of the Reichsmarine and then sold to Düsseldorf for demolition on May 26, 1921.”

 

The Kit
HMV (Hamburger Modellbaubogen Verlag) have added another tempting kit to their lineup of high-quality card models in 1/250 scale. This time, the subject is one we don’t often see, if ever, in the card medium—a handsome dispatch boat from Europe’s Belle Époque. The cover of the kit (see above) features several digitally rendered views of SMS Sleipner. The ship’s sleek lines suggest that Sleipner was built for speed, as indeed she was, considering her torpedo boat heritage. But other visual cues hint at her more aristocratic and less-deadly purpose, such as her lack of armament, ornate railings, and awning-covered salon. The cover also informs us that the kit consists of 329 parts and has a difficulty rating of mittel (intermediate), suggesting that the kit is appropriate for anyone having a few card models already under their belt. At 252 mm in length, the finished model will not make huge demands on anyone’s limited display space. Let’s look inside the kit and see what you get!

 

Instructions/Diagrams

As is typical with HMV kits, there aren’t any written instructions other than a very brief overview consisting of a list of required tools, general tips for building card models, and a key for the various codes used in the diagrams. A circled letter ‘L’, for example, means that the indicated part can be replaced with a part from the optional laser-cut detail set. Fortunately for us, HMV’s diagrams are first-rate and cover all phases of construction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parts

Not all of HMV’s kits have full hulls, but this one does. The design gives the builder the choice of building either a full-hull or waterline model.

 

 

The hull is designed with the usual HMV “egg crate” construction. Sleipner’s hull has noticeable turtle-back joints between the deck and hull sides, and this might be one of the trickier aspects of the model to pull off neatly.

 

 

The printing is crisp, and the registration is flawless. Sleipner wears the white topsides and buff funnels of the peacetime German Imperial Navy.

 

 

The design includes doubled elements (see part 27a below) that will make the proper location of superstructure features, such as the salon walls, much easier than was possible using the old folded-tabs method.

 

 

Optional parts are included for adding depth to printed elements such as watertight doors.

 

 

Nice additional touches include a stand and an optional sunshade.

 

 

 

Laser-Cut Detail Set

To help cope with some of the smaller and more delicate parts of the model, a set of laser-cut detail parts is available to purchase separately.

 

 

The set consists of six frets in various colors, including metallicized card for the propellers. Particularly nice are the lattice-work railings.

 

 

The part numbers for the set are laser-engraved on each fret, but—just in case—the set includes a list of all the parts in the set and a pictorial key.

 

 

Conclusion

For years now, card modelers have counted on HMV to publish new kits depicting attractive subjects that tend to be off the beaten path, with an emphasis on Germany’s rich maritime heritage. Sleipner slots into the HMV lineup very nicely. With high-quality graphics, clear construction diagrams, and the option to use laser-cut details, Sleipner should appeal to all fans of card model ships, from novice builders to seasoned veterans.

 

Sincere thanks are due to Benjamin Fentens at Fentens Cardmodels (see link at top) for providing this example for review. Tell them you read about it at Model Ship World!

 

[GrandpaPhil]

Very cool!

[amateur]

At  https://www.die-kartonmodellbauer.de/forum/index.php?thread/14732-sms-sleipner-t97/   spotted the first log.

the turtleback is a tricky part indeed.

 

Jan

Edited January 29 by amateur

[Marco_van_H]

Very nice. HMV always delivers, in design, paper and print quality.

[wmherbert]

What do you think about buying this kit and then enlarging the sheets to a bigger scale and using them as plans for a scratch built model? I find a lot of appealing card models that would be interesting to do as scratch built models. How feasible and any copyright issues?

Bill

[ccoyle]

1 hour ago, wmherbert said:

What do you think about buying this kit and then enlarging the sheets to a bigger scale and using them as plans for a scratch built model? I find a lot of appealing card models that would be interesting to do as scratch built models. How feasible and any copyright issues?

Bill

 

That would be fine, since you would be making the enlargements for your own, not-for-profit use. Paper modelers often make copies of their kits in order to have a backup copy in case something gets boogered. It's also not unheard of for modelers to do exactly what you're suggesting, i.e., using the kit parts as templates.

 

It's kind of off-topic here, but always bear in mind that the guiding principle in intellectual property law is that the IP owner (HMV in this scenario) is not defrauded. Once you buy the kit, you can pretty much do with it what you will -- except make copies and sell them. 😉