"Askold" and "Novgorod" - Russian I Rank armored cruiser and coast guard battleship

"Askold" - one of the many beautiful ships, that served magnificently with St. Andrew's flag. The "Askold" had a reputation as a "lucky" ship. The skill of the crew at sea saved him in difficult times. The most prominent pages of the ship's service are in the composition of the combat squadron of Port Arthur. "Askold's" "Star Hour" - Battle of 1904 July 28 (in the old style), when the Russian squadron, at a critical moment, a beautiful cruiser, showered with dozens of shells, rushes at full speed towards the enemy ships, and they separate and open the way to the open sea. At the beginning of the First World War, when the main forces of the Russian fleet were closed in the Baltic and Black Seas, only "Askold" actively and successfully operated together with the Allies in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, in the Mediterranean Sea. Tens of thousands of miles, searching for German raiders, escorting transports with troops, enemy coastal blockades and shelling, captured and sunk ships. Accurate work of cruiser artillerymen in 1915 during the Dardanelles operation, he was repeatedly observed by the British and French command. Mines, submarine torpedoes, aircraft bombs and shells were like magic Polishing "Askold", but at the same time the ship's path was difficult and tragic. Askoldian graves are scattered all over the world: in England and France, Greece and Egypt, Ceylon, China and Japan, Murmansk and Vladivostok. Some sailors of the cruiser, buried according to the custom of the sea, rest at the bottom of the ocean.

In 1870 Russia received the right to have warships in the Black Sea. This is how another fleet of this state began to be created, capable of defending its coasts in this sea. The conditions were set to create well-armed and protected ships with the smallest possible water capacity, draft, and to be maneuverable. Ships, meeting these conditions, had to differ from traditional ones in their construction. One of the projects of a new type of battleship was presented by Admiral A. Popov. Due to the fact, that this admiral was strongly supported by the tsar's palace, on December 17, 1871 the construction of a new coastal defense battleship began. Its parts were manufactured at the New Admiralty Shipyard in Petersburg, transported by ship and railway to the Black Sea coast, where the ship was launched in Nikolaev on May 21, 1873 and began service in 1874. According to the design, this strange round ship was supposed to be very stable and maneuverable due to the ability to turn almost on the spot. But in practice none of these qualities were confirmed - the ship's seaworthiness was very poor. Instead of the normal swaying in the waves, the body began to vibrate violently and bounce unevenly, which interfered with aiming. If both cannons fired at even slightly unequal intervals, the ship would take quite a long time to spin on its axis. The speed was significantly too low, and due to excessive "maneuverability" it was difficult to control. "Novgorod" was never used in combat conditions and quietly lived out its service until 1903, when it was decommissioned.

Two simple and not overly detailed, well-designed models, that will be great for modelers of all experience. Only for beginners and less experienced modelers this cannot be one of the first ("Novgorod" maybe) models of increased complexity, that You glue, and these modelers are recommended to work under the supervision of a more experienced colleague. The stock of colors is available, but small. The instructions (graphical) could be better.