Hi all, I'd like to present the build of RN Zara by Zio Prudenziati, scaled to 1:400. This build started in 2018 as a test build for my underwater hull to Zio's model but then I left the build in China and lost interest soon afterwards. I'll explain why I came back to it in the bottom.
The model is shrunk to 400 scale as the detail level is on par with a JSC kit, and at 1:200 would appear lacking if displayed with other ships in this scale. Although the original plan is to not paint, after some research I realised the kit is not very accurate to how the ship looks historically and some (half-hearted) attempt will be made to make it better resemble the actual ship, so the majority of the ship will be painted over (sorry Zio, not to say the model is badly coloured). I stocked up some generic 1:350 PE sets as well as a set of barrels, as this is a good chance to learn how to use them. Pictures follow in the next post.
I'm also looking forward to building the 1:200 Zara from WAK, that one seems like a very nice model also.
Meanwhile check out Ed's build at 1:200 and more stories about Zio himself
RN Zara 1:200, Prudenziatti
A little side story,
So I was back in China in January, had an an unplanned surgery that delayed my departure, and suddenly the coronavirus hit the country hard and in Beijing like everywhere else we were all ordered into self-imposed quarantine. Communities shut their gates, offices were closed, catering, tourism and entertainment revenues went right off the cliff. The disease is not very deadly but it's impossible to stress just how scary its contagiousness is.
In the midst of the chaos, it was a godsend for everyone in the modelling community. One would rarely get the chance to comfortably sit at home with good reason, and even those who normally had little time started building model they never thought they'd start. That's how I came back to this project, it's a beautiful ship to build.