Varyag

$499.00

  • Dimension approx.: 31.75″ (long) x 4.5″ (wide) x 12″ (high) – Scale 1:160
  • The model is already built, NOT a model ship kit
  • Hand crafted by artisans from scratch using high quality woods & metal fittings

Out of stock

SKU: BS015 Categories: ,

Description

  • The model is 100% hand built by artisans from scratch using “plank on frame” construction method
  • Rosewood, mahogany, teak and other exotic woods are carefully selected to build the model
  • Real brass & metal fittings
  • Propellers and rudders made from brass
  • Hollow hull and hollow superstructure
  • Highly-detailed and multi-layered paint to match color of the real ship

The Varyag was built in the Cramps shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, which also produced the battleship Retvizan for the Tsar. She is seen above at Kronstadt shortly after delivery in 1902. Varyag was part of the huge naval buildup leading to the Russo-Japanese War. At the very beginning of that conflict, the new cruiser was bested in battle and scuttled by her crew to avoid capture. The ship was subsequently salvaged by the Japanese and sailed in their fleet as HIJMS Soya for many years.

With her length and arrow-like form, Varyag was intended as a commerce raider, swooping down on her prey with overpowering speed. She was originally intended to be boilered with Belleville water-tube boilers, but the builders lobbied hard for using the Niclausse water-tube type instead. The Tsar’s admirals had cause to pull out their hair over that decision, for the ship never lived up to expectations in terms of speed: designed for 25+ knots, with 20,000-HP engines, she seldom exceeded 23. The ship’s engines and boilers were not improved by more than a year’s immersion in sea water off Chemulpo, Korea. In the vessel’s refit following salvage, an extensive rebuild was necessary. The Japanese started by replacing the Niclausse boilers with Miyabara.

The vessel’s name describes the Varangians — legendary traders, mercenaries, and pirates who controlled the water routes through the eastern fringes of Europe from Finland down to the Black Sea by a series of forts in the 9th and 10th centuries. Of Viking and Slavic stock, they controlled much of the trade with Constantinople in the waning years of the Byzantine Empire, and provided much of the military muscle that sustained the Kievan state (“Rus”). These burly warriors and watermen were among the original founders of the Russian state. In medieval times and, indeed, all the way down to the 1917 Revolution, Russian nobles calculated their rank by the proximity of their descent from Rurik the Viking — a legendary Varangian whose descendents founded the Kievan state. A number of powerful warships were named for Rurik in the later Russian Navy.

Additional information

Dimensions 36 × 5 × 12 in

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Shipping & Terms

  • Your item will normally be shipped within one or two business days after receiving payment. We will update tracking number of your shipment.
  • We use USPS, FedEx, and UPS for standard shipping. Please contact us if you prefer an express service. Standard or free shipping is just for customers in Lower 48 States.
  • Please contact us for shipping rate if you want to ship to Alaska, Puerto Rico, Hawaii or other countries. We reserve the right to decline shipping to some countries for safety reason of the package.
  • International customer: Customer will be responsible for any taxes/duties at your country. Please contact your customs for import regulation
  • Guarantee to arrive safety. All shipments are FULLY INSURED with professional 100% secure packing
  • Damaged in transit: If you’ve found damage to the package please keep the original shipping carton/shipping label. Contact us immediately within 4 days so we can issue a damage claim with carrier. If the item damaged inside a wooden crate, please do not continue to open wooden crate, contact us immediately for instruction.
  • Please contact us first if you want to ship to APO/FPO/PO Box addresses. We are not responsible for extra shipping cost if the package denied for any reasons
  • Orders are shipped on business days only. Business days are Monday-Friday, excluding federal holidays within the United States. If you place an order after 2PM of Friday we will process on next Monday.