I've mentioned the company Shapeways before (see under Ultra Carrier post) and I continue to be impressed with the range of products that are being offered there. Individuals are able to realize their fondest creations and that results in some interesting ship models. The Kronstadt represents another model of a ship that was never completed. Not a fantasy model since it was laid down (along with a sister ship Sevastopol) but when Germany invaded both hulls were damaged beyond repair on the slips and thus never completed. The Kronstadt class was designed in reaction to the German pocket battleships of the Deutschland (later renamed Luetzow) class, the most famous of which was the Graf Spee. The pocket battleships were fast for their day and were armed with six 11" guns so basically they could outrun anything they couldn't outgun during the period. The French built the battleships Dunkerque and Strasbourg to run down the pocket battleships and the Kronstadt class were designed for a similar mission. They were to be 35,240 tons standard, 816 feet long and 103 feet wide and capable of 33 knots. They were armed with nine 12" guns, eight 6" and many anti-aircraft mounts and had 9" belt armor. They were somewhat similar to the later American Alaska class. The model is very nicely detailed and I'm hoping that eventually someone on Shapeways will do a model of the Sovetsky Soyuz class battleships to compliment these.
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