I usually prefer waterline ships, which meant I had to cut the hull on my Dunkerque kit. I accomplished this by using Dymo labeling tape as a guide for my scriber to start with and then finishing the cut with a hand saw. I used .040 Evergreen sheet stock for a waterline plate. The fit was pretty good considering the age of the kit, but the details are a bit thick, especially by today's standards. Since there is no dedicated photo-etch set for this kit, I used Gold Medal Model's generic naval set for the railings and various other small parts. Bits and pieces from my PE spares box was also used here and there.

The Loire floatplane and catapult that came with the kit was way too clunky and had to go, so it was replaced with L'Aresenal's fine 1/400 Catapult cuirasses Francais set. This is actually a small kit itself consisting of two PE catapults and two resin Loire floatplanes with PE struts and rudders. It goes together nicely as well. Thanks to Tony Bunch and Jacques Druel for tracking down the set and getting it to me.  Additional stanchion supports were made from Evergreen rod. Rigging was done with stretched sprue and the water was made from Golden heavy gel medium. The model was lightly weathered overall with MiG pigments. Brass barrel replacements for both main and secondary guns were made special order by Burkhardt from Modelmarine.de. Thanks to Burkhardt for doing such a beautiful job on them.

My close friend and fellow modeler Bob Zoglio gave this kit to me a few years ago. Tragically, Bob was killed in November 2008 when the plane he was piloting lost power and crashed short of the runway. It is in his memory that I humbly dedicate this build. 

Ted Bunn

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