Battleship Cruiser. What exactly is a Battleship Cruiser? Not a battlecruiser. That term was not used until 1912 to designate the all big gun successors to the armored
cruiser. When Jackie Fisher whipped up the design of HMS Invincible the design was for a new armored cruiser and the Invincible Class were originally called
armored cruisers. That type name soon changed to Dreadnought Cruiser with the Dreadnought designating the all big gun characteristic of the type and differentiating
the class from smaller gunned armored cruisers. The type was always seen as more cruiser than battleship, at least until the Lion Class upped the armor scheme to
standards substantially more substantial than the 6-inch belt of the more modern armored cruisers or the Invincible and Indefatigable Classes of Dreadnought Cruisers.
No, the Battleship Cruiser design appeared more than a decade prior to the Invincible design and was for a battleship with some characteristics of a cruiser, rather than
a cruiser with some characteristics of a battleship, as was Jackie Fisher’s Dreadnought Cruiser, HMS Invincible. Further, the source of the Battleship Cruiser was not
the Royal Navy but the Imperial Russian Navy.

In 1895 the most likely foe of the Tsar’s navy was the Royal Navy. France and Russia had a very tight working relationship in exploring ways to counter the
monolithic Royal Navy. Unlike France, whose fleet had access to ports on the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, Russia had a unique problem, access to the open
ocean. Russia had two main fleets, the Baltic Fleet, bottled into the Baltic Sea by Germany and Scandinavia and the Black Sea Fleet bottled into the Black Sea by
Turkey. Neither fleet could operate against the Royal Navy or merchant fleet without permission of another country. The Turks would certainly not cooperate and it
was unlikely that Germany or Denmark would allow passage of the Baltic Fleet for Russian operations against Great Britain. However, Russia did have one major port
open to the ocean. That was Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean. The armored cruiser design had originated in Russia. The armored cruiser not only could scout for the
fleet but also made the perfect commerce raider. The first armored cruiser was the Imperial Russian General-Admiral of 1870, which had steam and sail, six 8-inch
(203mm) and two 6-inch (152mm) guns, and an iron hull with a thin armored belt. The two ships in the class were designed specifically as commerce raiders.
In 1888 requirements for a new cruiser design were stipulated for a new armored cruiser with a displacement of 9,000-tons and an armored belt of 8-inches
(203mm). The design was specifically to have the range for commerce raiding. Two designs were prepared, one of 9,000-tons and one of 10,000-tons. The larger
design was selected. The armament of four 8-inch, sixteen 6-inch, twenty 47mm, ten 37mm and six 15-inch above water torpedo tubes were a;; mounted on a
broadside format with the 8-inch guns on the top deck and the 6-inch guns one deck lower. Named the Rurik, the ship had a 10-inch armored belt and developed
13,326 ihp for a top speed of 18.84-knots on trials. The cruiser had three masts and a bowsprit to extend her radius as a commerce raider. The next two armored
cruisers were even bigger, displacing over 13,000-tons each. The Rossiya of 1892 added six-inch guns as a bow chaser and a stern chaser and got rid of the bowsprit
but the rest of the guns were mounted on broadside as in Rurik. The Gromoboi of 1897 carried on as an improved Rossiya. These three cruisers were envisioned as
large commerce raiders. These armored cruisers were all based in Vladivostok, where with their access to the Pacific, range and guns, they could go hunting on the
British trade routes in the Pacific.

The Royal Navy always maintained a moderately strong squadron in Hong Kong. Mostly consisting of cruisers, the Royal Navy usually had one 2nd Rate Battleship as
flagship of the Asiatic Squadron. In the years prior to the 20th Century, the Royal Navy occasionally built a type of warship called a 2nd Rate Battleship. Rather than
carry the 12-inch guns of a 1st Class Battleship, the 2nd Class Battleship carried the lighter 10-inch gun. 2nd Class Battleships were generally of slightly lower
displacement, slightly less armor scheme and slightly faster than their contemporary designs for 1st Class ships. Some in the Admiralty considered the 2nd Class
Battleship a waste of money but others, such as Jackie Fisher, loved them, especially HMS Renown, which had been his flagship. The Royal Navy had built the
10-inch gun HMS Centurion ans HMS Barfleur specifically for the Asiatic Squadron. The Russian Admiralty saw the British 2nd Class Battleship as the strongest foe
likely to be faced in the Pacific and their armored cruisers even in mass could not stand up to one. What was needed was a new battleship design, faster than standard
Russian battleships and more powerful than the 2nd Class Royal Navy battleships normally found in the British Asiatic Squadron. The answer was a new Russian
design called the Battleship Cruiser.
The new design was specifically created for commerce warfare. They were designed to give the Asiatic Squadron ships that could face British 2nd Class battleships,
back up the large armored cruisers with something more powerful and be capable of commerce raiding on their own. Midway through 1894 the Russian designers
started into the project using the HMS Centurion as their base. The length of the armored belt was increased to 66% of the waterline compared to 55% found on
Centurion. Also, a third propeller shaft was added on centerline to by powered by specific cruising machinery giving greater range than a standard battleship. For
seakeeping high freeboard would be needed. Chief Designer for the Baltic Works was K.K. Ratnik, who liked a tumblehome design with the hull slides slanting inward
with height. The tumblehome allowed a greater freeboard than a battleship with the hull going straight up on the same displacement.  A new model 10-inch/45 gun
was selected, which weighed 22.5-tons compared to the 43-tons of the 12-inch/40 gun in production. The shell weight was 495-lbs compared to 730-lbs but the new
gun promised a higher rate of fire. The first design was completed by MTK (Admiralty design bureau) in November 1894 with a design displacement of 10,500-tons
but with a top speed of only 17-knots. This was too slow and was rejected. A new design was prepared on a displacement of 11,232-tons but the Admirals had mixed
opinions on the ship’s characteristics. In January 1895 the Baltic Works was ordered to prepare a design for a 18-knot battleship. Baltic Works came up with four
designs. One was based on HMS Renown, one on the Russian battleship Petropavlovsk and two on enlarging the MTK design. The Admiralty chose one of the
modified MTK designs with a few alterations that brought the design displacement up to 12,577-tons and machinery developing 14,500 ihp for the required 18-knots.

The first of many alterations came in March 1895 based on the results of testing the hull form in a newly constructed test basin. The tests showed that to achieve 18-
knots, the machinery would have to develop 17,600 ihp. So the hull form was changed. The design at this time contemplated mounting eight 6-inch guns as
secondary and five 4.7-inch guns as tertiary. The machinery could only produce 14,500-tons for 18-knots with forced draft. Otherwise it produced 11,500-tons for
16.5-knots unforced. The design was approved by the Tsar. On November 21, 1895 two ships of the class were laid down with Peresvet at the Baltic Works in Saint
Petersburg and the Oslyabya at the New Admiralty Yard, also in Saint Petersburg.  The Russian builders showed something in common with the builders of
battleships for the Royal Navy. Private yards were always faster in construction than national yards. Baltic Works was a private yard and Peresvet was faster in
building than Oslyabya, although both were very slow in construction compared to British yard construction times. As the ships were building, changes were made to
the armament. The 4.7-inch guns were eliminated and the 6-inch guns went up to eleven, one of which was a bow chaser in keeping with a commerce raiding role. A
huge number of QF guns were added to counter torpedo boats, twenty 75mm (3-inch) and twenty 47mm guns. In 1897 it was decided to build a third ship in the
class, which became Pobeda. Although the Peresvet was completed with the designed military masts for fore and main masts, to save weight in Oslyabya a pole mast
was substituted for the main mast and the military main mast built for Oslyabya was used for the fore mast in Pobeda, which was also fitted with a pole main mast.
The Russian Admiralty wanted a 12-inch gunned ship to counter new Japanese battleship construction but it would take up some time to work up a suitable design.
The Pobeda was ordered to keep the Baltic Works busy while this was being done, even though the Admiralty recognized that the 10-inch gun Peresvet Class would
be at a disadvantage against 12-inch gunned Japanese ships. The ships had a towering hull freeboard, a full deck higher than any other Russian battleship. Fore and aft
the 6-inch gun casemates were double decked to concentrate armor. In addition to the two military masts, Peresvet was the only ship of the class to have an aft
conning tower.
Peresvet was laid down November 21, 1895 and launched May 19, 1898. She entered service in 1901. A vivid distinction in efficiency between the private Baltic
Works and the state owned New Admiralty Yard can be seen in the construction time difference between Oslyabya built by New Admiralty and the Pobeda built by
Baltic Works. Pobeda was laid down May 30, 1898, two and a half years after Oslyabya but went into service in 1902, a year before Oslyabya went into service.  
The length of Peresvet was 434-feet 5-inches overall (OA), 426-feet 6-inches at the waterline (WL) and 401-feet 3-inches between perpendicular bulkheads (PP).
The displacement was 13,810-tons, almost 1,300-tons over the design weight. In another comparison between Baltic Works and New Admiralty Yard, as badly as the
Peresvet was overweight, the New Admiralty Oslyabya was even worse. Her displacement was 14,408-tons, almost 1,900-tons over the designed weight. Baltic
Works’ Pobeda was also over the design legend but by not as much as her two sisters, at 13,320-tons. As finished the armament was four 10-inch/45 (254mm),
eleven 6-inch/45 (152mm), twenty 75mm/50 QF guns, twenty 47mm/43 QF guns, eight 37mm/23 QF guns, two 63.5mm landing guns and five 15-inch (381mm)
torpedo tubes (two submerged and three above water). Peresvet and Oslyabya used Harvey Process armor and Pobeda used Krupp Process armor. The belt was 9-
inches (229mm) at its thickest with 7-inch (178mm) bulkheads at the fore and aft ends of the belt. The upper belt was 4-inches (102mm)  with 4-inch (102mm)
bulkheads fore and aft. Turrets had 9-inch (229mm) armor with 1.5-inch (37mm) crowns. The turret barbetts were 8-inches (203mm) and the 6-inch gun casemates
were 5-inches (127mm) thick. Conning tower was 6-inches (152mm) and a 2-inch (51mm) armored deck. Three vertical triple expansion (VTE) engines received
steam from 30 Bellevile boilers developed 14,400 ihp for a top speed of 18.44 knots for Peresvet on trials. The ship had bunkerage for 2,060-tons of coal full load
providing a range of 6,200 nm at 10-knots.

After launching Peresvet was moved to Kronstadt for fitting out. Acceptance trials for Peresvet started on November 4, 1899 and various trials kept the ship in the
Baltic until the summer of 1901 when the trials concluded. Although the original intention was to base the class at Vladivostok, on March 27, 1898 Russia leased Port
Arthur on the Liaotung Peninsula, across the Yellow Sea from the west coast of Korea. There had been plans to build a yard in Vladivostok, as that port was going to
be the home of the Asiatic Squadron. However, after acquiring Port Arthur the idea of a yard in Vladivostok was shelved. It was decided that the big armored
cruisers would remain in Vladivostok but that the Asiatic Squadron would be based in Port Arthur. The acquisition of Port Arthur infuriated the Japanese. Japan had
seized Port Arthur during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 but due to a defacto ultimatum of Germany, Russia and France had surrendered the port back to China in
1895. In October 1901 Peresvet was dispatched to Port Arthur.
On February 9, 1904 the Russo-Japanese War started with a surprise attack with torpedo boats on the Asiatic Squadron in Port Arthur. Most of the Asiatic Squadron’
s officers were at at party hosted by Admiral Stark. Ten torpedo boats attacked and fired 16 torpedoes. Three hit, damaging the protected cruiser Pallada, the
flagship Tsarevitch and the battleship Retvizan, the two best battleships in the Russian Squadron. The next morning Vice Admiral Dewa with four armored cruisers
approached Port Arthur to estimate the damage caused by the night attack. He approached within 7,500-yards of the port without drawing fire and concluded the
surprise attack had been very successful. He rejoined the main Japanese Fleet and urged Admiral Togo to launch an all out attack. Togo was leery of engaging the
Russian squadron, as well as shore batteries but was persuaded by Dewa. Togo attacked with his 1st Division, which had all six of his battleships, with his flag on
Mikasa. The protected cruiser, Boyarin, was on patrol. The cruiser fired a salvo and then sped into the harbor to warn the Russian Squadron. Togo used his 12-inch
guns and 8-inch and 6-inch guns against the Russian warships. Within five minutes a Russian shell ricocheted into Mikasa, wrecking the bridge and wounding the
chief engineer, flag lieutenant and five others. A brief engagement started and shooting was poor for both sides. By 12:28 Togo had realized that Dewa was wrong
and that the Russians were ready for this fight. He reversed course and retired ending the Battle of Port Arthur. The Japanese were hit seven times, damaging four
battleships and the Russians were hit five times damaging four battleships. At the start of the Russo-Japanese War the Peresvet became the flagship of Rear Admiral
Prince Pavel P. Ukhtomsky, second in command of the 1st Asiatic Squadron. On March 8 Admiral Stepan Makarov took over command of the Squadron from
Admiral Stark. On March 22 Peresvet opened fire on Japanese ships outside of Port Arthur but no hits were scored. On March 26, 1904, while maneuvering outside
Port Arthur, Peresvet collided with the battleship, Sevastopol, but only minor damage was sustained.

As morning broke on April 13, Makarov with his flag on Petropavlovsk, led four more battleships, Peresvet, Pobeda, Poltava and Sevastopol out of Port Arthur to
assist a squadron of his destroyers. They ran into a newly placed minefield. Petropavlovsk hit three mines and sank with Admiral Makarov. Pobeda was also
damaged by a mine and the Russian Squadron returned to Port Arthur. On April 15, 1904 Peresvet opened fire on the armored cruiser, Nisshin, that was bombarding
Port Arthur and scored a hit. On June 23 the Russian Squadron tried to break out of Port Arthur but returned to port when it was blocked by Togo’s fleet. The loss
of Makarov was as catastrophic to the Russian cause as the loss of the Petropavlovsk, if not more so. None of his successors in command had the skill or nerve of
Makarov and seemed to be content to stay in Port Arthur, as the Japanese Army crept closer and closer. During the summer, some of the guns of Peresvet were
landed to be incorporated into the shore batteries. Three 6-inch, two 75mm, two 47mm and four 37mm guns were removed. On July 28 Peresvet fired upon
Japanese Army positions that were getting too close to the port.
On August 10, 1904 with the ground situation worsening and threatening to trap the Asiatic Squadron in Port Arthur, a determined effort was made to have the
Squadron break through the Japanese Fleet to make for Vladivostok for continued operations. Admiral Wilgelm Vitgeft, flying his flag from Tsarevitch, led his
Squadron out of Port Arthur. Vitgeft had five more battleships, including Peresvet, four protected cruisers and fourteen destroyers.  Togo steamed to intercept. He had
lost two of his battleships to mines in May so had only four battleships. However, he did have two armored cruisers, eight protected cruisers, eighteen destroyers and
thirty torpedo boats. Four more armored cruisers under Admiral Dewa were also coming northward to intercept. At 13:25 at the range of eight miles, the battleships
opened fire. The four Japanese battleships concentrated on Tsarevitch and Retvizan. Mikasa was quickly hit by two 12-inch shells fired by Tsarevitch. These hits
knocked out Mikasa’s communications. By 14:05 the lines were within three and a half miles of each other and conditions were deteriorating on Mikasa. Togo tried to
get his cruisers into the fight but it was difficult for him to communicate with just signal flags. The Russians broke past the Japanese battleships and were well on the
way to breaking out as Togo was now seven miles behind the rear-most Russian battleship, Poltava. Poltava just didn’t have the speed of the rest of the Squadron
and kept falling back. Admiral Prince Ukhtomsky on Peresvet commanding the Second Division saw the Poltava’s difficulties. He turned his division back to rescue
Poltava. As the range descended to three miles, the Japanese lost three 12-inch guns, one on Shikishima and two on Asahi, as the Shimatose powder (a form of
lydite) exploded early in the hot barrels. Both of those ships were firing at the badly damaged Poltava, while Mikasa engaged Tsarevitch and Fuji took on Peresvet
and Pobeda. For the Russians the Retvizan and Sevastopol were unengaged by Japanese ships and were blasting away at Mikasa, along with the Tsarevitch. By 18:30
with night only 30 minutes off, the Mikasa had received 20 hits and about had it. Togo signaled Asahi to take over firing at Tsarevitch. The Russians were clearly
winning the Battle of the Yellow Sea and certainly could continue the break out if they chose to do so. Vitgeft could have broken out but he too didn’t want to leave
Poltava behind.

At 18:40 luck intervened on behalf of the Japanese and changed the course of the battle and of history. A 12-inch shell exploded on the bridge of the Tsarevitch, killing
Vitgeft and his staff and also jamming the wheel hard over. Tsarevitch went into a tight turn, leaning 12 degrees and the Russian Squadron went into disarray,
unaware that Vitgeft was dead and the Tsarevitch out of control. Admiral Ukhtomsky recognized the danger and tried to signal the ship’s of the Squadron that he was
taking command. However, Peresvet had lost her fore mast rigging and couldn’t hoist a signal. Instead signal flags were placed along the bridge but in the falling light,
couldn’t be read, except by Sevastopol. The Retvizan charged the Japanese battle line firing away and became the target of the Japanese Fleet. With Mikasa in bad
shape and all of his battleships low in 12-inch shells, Togo turned into the coming darkness. The Russian Squadron was still in disarray. When control was regained in
Tsarevitch, she was separated from the rest of the Squadron. Tsarevitch and three destroyers continued the breakout and made it to the German port of Tsingtao,
where they were interned. The protected cruiser, Askold, and a destroyer made it to Shanghai to be interned by China and the protected cruiser Diana, made it to
Saigon to be interned by the French. Only the protected cruiser, Novik, broke out according to the plan. Novik steamed around Japan, trying to reach Vladivostok but
was eventually caught and forced aground on Sakhalin Island by Japanese cruisers. The balance of the 1st Asiatic Squadron returned to Port Arthur. Peresvet had
been hit 39 times and had suffered more casualties than any other Russian ship, with 13 dead and 69 wounded. In contrast Mikasa had the most casualties of any ship
with 125 crewmen killed or wounded.
After returning to Port Arthur, the Peresvet became bottled up with the Japanese Army drawing closer and closer. When the Japanese Army tried to take Hill 203
overlooking Port Arthur in a three day battle, September 20 through 22, Peresvet used her guns to help repel the attack. On September 30 the Japanese blindly fired
into the harbor hoping to damage the Russian warships. Peresvet was hit six times by 5.9-inch or 4.7-inch shells on that day and one more hit on September 31. The
Japanese Army brought in heavy siege guns and opened fire on the ships of the 1st Asiatic Squadron on October 2. Nine of these 11-inch (280mm) shells hit Peresvet
but none of the hits penetrated the armored deck. On December 5, 1904 the Japanese Army finally seized Hill 203 and now had a clear view of the ships in port. The
11-inch siege guns opened up on Peresvet again and the ship was hit many times. Port Arthur could not be held and the Peresvet was scuttled on December 7, 1904.
The wreck was raised on June 29, 1905 and steamed to Yokosuka. She was refurbished and entered service in the Imperial Japanese Navy as the Sagami in April
1908. She was present to greet the American Great White Fleet when it visited Tokyo that year. The Sagami, ex-Peresvet, was resold back to Russia in 1916.
Renamed the Peresvet, she arrived at Vladivostok on April 3, 1916. Peresvet was intended to join Russian forces in the White Sea. She was reclassified as an armored
cruiser and late in 1916 left Vladivostok to return to Europe. Peresvet made it as far as Egypt. On January 4, 1917 the Peresvet hit two mines laid by U-73 off of Port
Said and went down, taking 116 of her crew with her. (Bulk of history is from Russian & Soviet Battleships, by Stephen McLaughlin, Naval Institute Press,
Annapolis, Maryland 2003)
The Combrig Peresvet in 1:350 Scale, Full Hull Version - I have to admit, I have always liked the Peresvet Class battleships ever since I read The Fleet That Had
to Die by Richard Hough when I was young and read about the Oslyabya in her journey to disaster at Tsushima. Perhaps it is the towering freeboard, which soars
into the sky. The Combrig 1:350 scale Peresvet certainly picks up this salient feature of the class. The hull casting is very clean with a resin pour ridge at the bottom
separated from the hull casting by an indented line. This makes it easier to remove the pour ridge and afterwards sand the waterline smooth. The port and starboard
sides are mirror images of each other, as there is only one anchor on each side.  Even the cutwater is detailed with an above water torpedo tube right above the
waterline and the hinged doors to the 6-inch gun bowchaser further up. The hull anchor hawse fitting are large two-level oval fittings set at an angle to the deck. The
openings for the anchor chain are not open and I would recommend drilling out the openings for the chain to recede into the hull. At deck edge are anchor
washboards where the anchors will rest instead of hanging from the hawse. The forward part of the hull, running to the first pair of 6-inch gun casemates, has three
rows of port holes, which do not have eyebrows (rigoles).  There are a couple of raised oval fittings, whose purpose I do not know, between the top two lines of port
holes. Behind the anchor hawse fittings are two small tertiary gun doors with hinge detail. These are just the first of the gun shutters that are everywhere on the hull.
The armor belt line is clearly shown and there is another hinged door right above the belt at the bow. It is too low on the ship to be for a QF gun and the rectangular
shape looks like a hull access door. The double story casemates, fore and aft on each side, are very interesting. They have additional armor that is outboard of the
main hull and five shutters per position. They are portrayed closed but the first shutter for the forward positions and the last shutter for the aft positions have gun
barrel locater holes. As with the forward hull the hull casting amidships is smothered in detail. Two rows of four QF gun positions run the length of the hull between
the double storey 6-inch guns casemates. As with the other hull gun positions, the doors/shutters are closed and have excellent detail. The middle 6-inch secondary
gun position is a sponson that swells from the hull with its own additional armor. It has four detailed hinged shutters with the gun locater hole on the rear most
shutter. There is a distinctive vertical strake in front of the amidship 6-inch gun position. In front of this strake, right above the belt, is the door for a beam above
water torpedo tube. There are two rows of port holes amidship and interspaced with the lower line of port holes are eight small hinged doors. I think that these are
shutters for the smaller QF guns, considering the huge number of QF guns carried by the class. After all of the hull fittings running to the aft double storey 6-inch gun
casemates, the stern of the hull is very clean with two rows of port holes and only a single QF shutter on each side. Another feature of the hull sides are cutouts in the
hull forward of the forward 6-inch positions and aft of the rear positions to allow end on fire. The lower hull casting has bilge keels integral to the casting, a bottom
keel and a centerline cutout for the center propeller. As with the upper hull casting, there is a casting ridge that will have to be removed and the waterline sanded.
There are no torpedo net shelves or booms in the kit.
This Combrig kit does have butt end detail in the nice deck planking. The high forecastle deck runs 2/3's the length of the model before the deck break just forward of
the aft turret. The top of the cutwater flares outward and gives a more rounded appearance than most battleships. Compared to other predreadnoughts, there are fewer
deck fittings on the Peresvet than the average predreadnought. Between the cutwater and forward turret barbette are two twin bollard fittings with flared tops, four
deck edge open chocks, two deck access hatches with dog detail, locater ridge for a small deckhouse, locater hole for a windlass and of course the two slanting
anchor washboards. There is more detail amidships with circular coal scuttle ports, locater outlines for the forward superstructure and three funnel bases, another two
twin bollard fittings, two pyramid skylights/deck access hatches with port holes, and locater outlines for smaller deck access coamings/hatches. Detail on the
quarterdeck includes the aft turret barbette, three pyramid skylights/ deck access hatches, four twin bollard fittings, four deck edge open chocks, three centerline
double door deck access hatch fittings with hinge detail, locater hole for windlass and two small deck access hatches.

There are five larger resin parts cast individually, the turrets and funnels. The two turrets are oval in shape with U-shape gun openings with barrel locater circles inside
the gun openings. On the crown of each turret are two gun commander cupolas with vision slits and a circular hatch on centerline at the rear of the crown. The three
funnels are identical. Each has a casting plug that will have to be removed. The funnels have a thicker lower casing making the lower part of the funnel thicker than
the top of the funnel. On the thinner upper part are four bands that represent foot rails.
There are three thin sheets of parts, which include thinner parts, such as upper decks and platforms. One of the sheets has three large decks, the forward bridge, aft
bridge and boat deck. The aft bridge has wooden planking with butt end detail and the forward bridge and boat deck have smooth steel decks. The forward bridge
has anti-skid pattern on the ends of the navigation wings, locater outlines for the conning tower and chart house, open square for inclined ladder and locater hole for
the fore mast. The boat deck has locater lines for the boat chocks, inclined ladder platforms and locater holes for J-shape ventilator cowls and main mast. The aft
bridge has two hinged deck access hatches, locater outline for aft conning tower, raised platform for skylight fitting, and locater holes for QF guns. This sheet has
smaller parts for the two crenelated fighting tops, top mast base searchlight platforms, and sternwalk. Another sheet has eight pieces, which includes the three funnel
bases with ventilator doors with port holes and hinges; forward superstructure 01 level with doors, square windows, panels and locater base for the fore mast;
quarterdeck deck house with doors and square windows; another quarterdeck deck house without windows; rectangular 01 level aft superstructure with windows,
panels and square windows; and chart house. The third sheet has seven parts, which include the three funnel base plates with locater holes for J-shape ventilator
cowls; aft navigation deck skylight with seven port holes and one locater hole for J-shape ventilator cowl; two conning tower tops; and forward superstructure top
deck.

There are 37 resin runners with the smaller parts. Three of them are for detailed boat davit bases. Two are for boat chocks. The four 10-inch gun barrels with
hollow muzzles share a runner with two thin J-shape ventilator cowls and the galley pipe. The 6-inch gun barrels, also with hollow muzzles are on their own runner,
along with two conning tower shields. Most of the QF guns are on a runner. The barrels are for the guns along the hull, as well as most of the open mount guns.
Also on this runner are four gun mounts, ship’s wheel, binnacle and other navigation fittings. A third QF runner has another three open mounts with separate mounts
and two hull QF barrels.  Another runner has four one-piece detailed QF guns on conical pedestals. A fifth runner with guns has eight conical pedestals, eight
mounting brackets and six fighting top QF guns. The two conning towers have crown gussets and share a runner with two boat deck support houses with support
pillars. There are six extremely detailed searchlights on a runner with there mounts on another runner. Two runners each have five short and one medium length J-
shape ventilator cowls for the funnel bases. One runner has an assortment of unique parts, including the anchor crane base, two deck hatches, two windlasses, two
chain locker entrance fittings and an aft binnacle tower support. Two runners have underwater running gear with one runner containg two propeller shaft housings
and the other the rudder with bracket detail, shaft support struts and three propellers with the correct blades at different angles. Four, extremely detailed, anchors are
on a runner. Another runner has two small stream anchors. One runner has deck access coamings, three binnacles and two mushroom ventilators. Sixteen runners
are ship’s boats or boat fitting. The Peresvet carried two 2nd Class torpedo boats, which are extraordinarily well detailed. For each of these you not only get the hull
with J-cowl ventilators, QF gun pedestals, deck hatches, port holes, hull anchor hawse, torpedo tube support, twin bollards and open chock fittings cast integral to
the hull part but also come with a separate runner of torpedo boat fittings. Each of these runners has a detailed torpedo tube, funnel, two QF guns, search light and
search light pedestal. Now, these little beauties will really add interest. There are two more unarmed steam launches with shaft and rudder detail and separate engine
and funnel piece included. The ten open oared boats all have bottom planking detail. You get two large whalers, four medium boats with a transom stern, two
medium sized boats with pointed sterns and two dinghies.
A medium sized brass fret, with some relief-etching, is included in the kit. Generic deck railing or vertical ladder are  not supplied, On the other hand there are
inclined ladders with safety railing and trainable treads. Among the relief-etched parts are two aft QF gun platforms, bow and stern crests, hull hawse plates,
sternwalk railing, and accommodation ladder landings. There are some very nice parts on this fret, like QF gun shields with open vision slit. A whole section of the
fret is devoted just to parts for the two 2nd Class torpedo boats, including railings, wheels, anchors, propellers, propeller shafts and rudders, inclined ladders, QF
gun shields, mast deck fittings, search light mounts and torpedo tube supports. A lot of the parts are various support structures from large deck brace girders,
sternwalk gussets, fighting top gussets, bridge supports and aft bridge supports. Among the many other parts are boat chocks, QF gun shoulder braces, anchor
crane railing and details, windlass top caps, ship’s wheel, bridge face with open windows, small QF guns, QF gun shields without vision slits, boat davit braces,
and base brackets for mast QF guns.

The instructions are in the new Combrig format with additional pages of assembly. They start with the traditional Combrig plan and profile, history in Russian and
specifications in English. As always, use the plan and profile drawings to help final attachment of parts. Page two has the resin and parts laydowns. Page three
shows initial deck house and funnel base attachment with detailed insets on assemblies of search lights, and open QF guns. Page four concentrates on boat davit
assembly and attachment and hull gun barrel attachment. It also covers boat deck supports, anchor crane, search light platform and deck fittings attachment. There
are detailed insets on the boat davits, boat crane, support structure and search light platform platforms. Page five has a template of top mast, yardarms and other
parts that will have to be supplied by the modeler. The template shows their length as well as providing the diameter of the rods needed. A detailed inset shows the
assembly of the 2nd Class torpedo boats. Page six shows forward navigation deck and fore mast assembly and aft navigation deck and main mast assembly. Page
seven goes into final assembly with attachment of the forward superstructure, aft superstructure, boat deck, funnels, turrets, QF guns, anchors, small davits and
sternwalk. Detailed insets are provided for the funnels and boat deck/aft navigation deck. The instructions are easy to follow and it helps to have the brass parts
numbered on the fret and in the instructions. Unfortunately the resin parts don’t get the same treatment and you’ll just have the drawings to use to match the part
with the location. The last page has lower hull assembly for the full hull kits.
If you admire unique examples of naval architecture, the Imperial Russian Battleship-Cruiser Peresvet is for you. With towering freeboard, bristling with guns on a
tumblehome hull, the Peresvet looks like an imposing castle. Combrig captures the look of these creations with their multi-media kit of Peresvet in 1:350 scale.
Steve Backer
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