“Almaz” – the Russian cruiser of II rank

The keel of the cruiser "Almaz" ("Diamond") was laid on September 2, 1902 at the "Baltic" shipyard in St. Petersburg. Launched on June 2, 1903, entered service in November 1903. The technical commission planned to build a full-fledged cruiser of the 2nd rank, but it turned out, that the necessary documentation was not available. Since the "Baltic" factory was already ready for the construction of the ship, it was decided to build a messenger ship for the Pacific Fleet (actually a yacht for the deputy in the Far East for Admiral J. Alekseev) instead of a battleship. At the beginning of the Russo-Japanese war, the cruiser was transferred to the Pacific Ocean, participated in the battle of Tsushima, the only one of the cruisers, broke through to Vladivostok, where it arrived on May 29, 1905. Rearmed in Vladivostok in the summer of 1905, it sailed to the Baltic Sea on November 2. From 1906 - a messenger ship, from 1908 - an emperor's yacht. In 1911, after repairs at the French-Russian factory, it was included in the composition of the Black Sea Fleet. During World War I armed with 7 120 mm guns and used as a hydrocruiser. On November 5, 1914 as a reconnaissance ship it took part in the battle near the Sarych horn, on March 28, 1915 it took part in the first shelling of the Bosphorus. In 1918, stationed in Sevastopol, it was captured by the Germans, then handed over to the British, who handed it over to the Russian White Guards. In September 1920 together with other ships in difficult weather conditions and in opposition to the Georgian authorities, they evacuated the Cossack detachment of General Fostikov, interned there. On November 14 as part of the Russian squadron under the flag of Kontr-Admiral Ostelecki, he sailed to Bizerte, and on December 29 he was interned there by the French authorities. When Soviet Russia and France established diplomatic relations, on October 29, 1924 it was recognized as the property of Soviet Russia and "Rudmetaltorg" was sold to a French company for cutting. Cut in 1934.

The “Almaz” II rank cruiser model is quite complex due to the remaining rangout and rigging of the sailing vessel, well-designed and richly detailed, for intermediate and experienced modelers. There are sheets with double-sided printing, some details are printed with “metallic” type bronze paint.