History Brief

May, 1905 – HMS Dreadnought approved for construction. Entered into service December, 1907, and served as the flagship of the British Royal Navy’s Home Fleet until 1912. March, 18, 1916, during the First World War, the HMS Dreadnought sank the German submarine U-29 in the North Sea. By 1918, the Dreadnought was assigned patrol duty of the Thames estuary. She was then transferred to the Reserve in 1919 and finally demolished in 1921.

The Product

Kit features 2-piece full hull, internal strengthening bulkheads, separately molded bilge keel, engraved deck plank texture, finely molded fittings, well detailed ships boats, hollow tip main battery gun barrels, 12pdr rapid fire guns, filigree masts and yardarms, display stand with nameplates, metal chains, and plenty of photo-etch parts. Includes 4-view color painting guide and decals representing jack, ensign and stern name lettering.

The Build

After reviewing the large 30-page instruction booklet and looking over the 630 pieces, I began the build process. I followed the instructions to the letter, for the most part. I found some errors, such as two sub-assemblies missing from the text and then appearing on page 22 as completed components to be installed. To build up these components, you will need parts B-3, D-45 x 2 and D-46 x 2 for the larger one, A-1 and B-45 for the smaller one.

All the plastic fit pretty well, but I found the photo etch railings almost impossible to manipulate; a jig of some sort would have come in handy and made a better looking job.

Bottom Line

This beast is a time vampire that builds into a beauty. I only wish I could have taken more time to spend on the details. I highly recommend it to any serious ship modeler.

Thanks to Squadron MMD, Trumpeter, and IPMS for the opportunity to review such a fine model.