The Battleship Hoche getting Steampunked

I have 2 other gaming interests not written about before - Victorian Sci Fi/Steampunk and Pre Dreadnought warfare, and the Dystopian Wars (DW) game and models satisfy this well enough (though the rules are a bit fussy for big actions, I hope the new Fleet Action rules help there). Anyway, I wanted to build a flagship for my fleet, and I just don't like the DW model for their biggest Dreadnought. I have also always had a yen to own a model of the Hoche, or "Grand Hotel", the most absurd battleship ever built. (I do have French in DW of course, but in my view the French "real life" pre-dreadnoughts are stranger than anything DW imagined).

This is her below, enjoy...



Over-low freeboard, over high superstructure, lighthouse-like observation tower - and a ram to boot! The glorious Hoche (aka Le Grande Hotel) under way....

I saw that Spartan Games, who make DW, sell some of the key bitz for their models like the guns, funnels, bridges and heat lances etc that give their "look" to their models in game so I resolved to dust off rusty balsa-bashing skills and do a scratchbuild of a Steampunk'd Hoche. The deal was sealed when one of my fellow club members said he'd 3D print me the hull.(I later found I could have bought the model in 1/700 from a Russian company, ComBrig, as I found a plan on t'Internet from them - but I'd already started)

Anyway, started a bit of cutting and sanding, and here she emerges, basic superstructure blocks done and test fitted.Not an exact replica, but should give that ludicrous proportions feel!



DW Hoche - the white plasticard thingy going from front to rear superstructure at the top is her skywalk. And the main centre guns really did hang over the hull like that. Oh yes, Hoche had it all...(Fore is to the right by the way, there is an overhang over the front gun still to go on) 

Next - the plasticard rivet sheets over the wood blocks, more detailing superstructure....