Mega Graphic 1:400 RMS Titanic

[David H]

Mega Graphic RMS Titanic, 1:400.

This is an impressionistic kit rather than super detailed scale model. For an almost instantly recognisable profile this is no great problem. As a boy from Northern Ireland who went to school in Belfast and visited Harland & Wolf's shipyard several times during the 1980s this IS an ICONIC ship. There is now a tourist industry built on her misfortune.

I have slightly mixed feelings about the RMS Titanic, after all her fame or infamy is based on the sinking and human suffering, not her size, luxury or innovation.While human error and fallibility were the root causes of the sinking and the loss of life I doubt any contemporary vessel - "unsinkable" or not - would have survived after side-swiping a massive ice berg at 20 Kts.

Her sister ships had equally mixed fortunes; although Olympic, the lead ship in the series, had a successful 25 year career punctuated by unfortunate collisions. During the First Word War Britannic, a larger and more developed sister, was sunk by a mine in the Adriatic while in government service as a hospital ship. This resulted in relatively light casualties.

The Kit

The lack of infinite detail is to some extent offset by the inclusion of a lower hull; an aspect ofttimes missing from the other more detailed Titanic offerings in 1:400 and 1:250 (I have no great love of the waterline model). A Titanic without a lower hull is, well, only half a Titanic!

I calculate a finished model some 672mm long and 71mm high @ 1:400.

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The kit is printed on 10 sheets of good quality card. Overall printing is good with deep rich colours which look precise and well registered. The hull plating is nicely suggested.

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There are no English instructions. Inside the glossy colour cover there are three exploded assembly drawings with a couple of detailed insets showing the constructional sequence. The placing of the deck equipment is not particularly well illustrated by these so additional references are a must. Mega Graphic rate it as a 5 out of 5 for dificulty.

Construction is a little unconventional (in my experience) comprising relatively few transverse bulkheads / formers held in the correct position by the outer hull skin and a series of longitudinal rods or tubes. Sort of space frame and monocoque. This will require very careful and thoughtful building to keep true and not crush! Tabs are plentiful although I will be reluctant to use them to join components and assembled structures. Helpfully pre-coloured joining strips are provided for hull construction.

While not as detailed as some this does not translate to a dearth of components and there are several hundred parts and subassemblies. These are close packed on the printed pages and individual parts will probably be the devil to locate. Details such as windlass, capstans, ventilators and davits are conveyed by 2D flat components. A fairly useless inclusion are printed railings. Both outside and inside faces are included on separate pieces of thick card, I doubt I will use these. On the other hand 4 bar ship's railings at 1:400 will be a challenge to make...

In summing up an affordable model of the whole Titanic. The publishers difficulty rating seems high for the detail supplied, not a beginners model but not the most intricate project I will ever build!

Should she go to the top of my build list?

D