Unknown 1/200 Imperator Four Screw Ocean Liner of the Hamburg American Line, 312-326

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Unknown 1/200 Imperator Four Screw Ocean Liner of the Hamburg American Line, 312-326 plastic model kit

1/200 312-326 Unknown Imperator Four Screw Ocean Liner of the Hamburg American Line

Cardstock Paper Model Kit

During the rush for the biggest and best ocean liners in the early 1900, Dr. Albert Ballin, the director of HAPAG, knew that he could not compete with the Mauritania and Lusitania for the Blu Riband. But he knew that he could make the largest and most luxurious ships afloat. The result were the three German Superliners for the Hamburg-Amerika Line. The first was Imperator. The launch of the Imperator took place on May 23, 1912 from Vulcan Shipyards. She was the largest ship in the world in length and tonnage, far more than the Titanic. After fitting out, the sleek and beautiful ship entered service. She did sail before World War One, but was in New York when the hostilities broke out. The Germans decided that it would be safe to keep her there. This ultimately cost them the ship. When the US entered the war, they seized the ship. After the hostilities, they renamed it USS Imperator and used it to ferry troops back across the Atlantic. Ultimately, the Imperator was given to the British to replace the lost Cunard Liner Lusitania. The Imperator was renamed Berengaria by Cunard. Ironically, the Berengaria’s new running mates were Mauretania and the Aquitania, her previous peace-time foes. The three ships provided splendid and popular service - they soon became known as ’The Big Three’. These were the glory days of the North Atlantic Ocean Liners. But things changed when the 1931 Stock Market crash hit. Many people simply did not have enough money. The Berengaria cut prices and went on "Booze Cruises" for thirsty Americans during Prohibition. She became known as the "Bargain-Area". Furthermore, her age was showing. She remained Cunard flagship till 1934, when White Star and Cunard combined. At this point she sailed briefly with another of Ballin's 3 Giants, the Majestic, which was originally built as her sister ship Bismarck. Majestic, being slightly larger and in better condition, became flagship. When the Queen Mary was built, there was little use for the Berengaria and her expensive upkeep issues. She was scrapped in 1938. This is a all card-stock model kit and is a reproduction of the original model. All sheets have been reprinted on matching 90lb cardstock (as per the original) using the highest photographic reproduction possible. The model is 1/200 scale and would be just over 4 feet (1.2 meters) when assembled. I believe the original model was from 1911-1912 as she has the original configuration for only 32 life boats; after the Titanic disaster in April of 1912 she was modified to carry 80 lifeboats. The original model was made in Germany and was drawn by Bruno Holz. The drawings are of high quality and in full color. It can be built as a waterline model or full hull. There are 15 original sheets to the model. When the sheets were copied, great care was taken to make sure that no parts were cut off; as a result, you get many extra parts. All parts are labeled as to their number and that number is repeated again where the part should be glued. Factory notes on construction are written in German, French and English. There are no formal instruction sheet.

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