NUOTIE 1/1250 SS Normandie Ocean Liner Diecast Model with Display Base

Product Overview

This 1:1250 model reproduces SS Normandie as she looked in her mid-1930s prime: black hull, white superstructure, buff promenade decks, and three red funnels with black tops in her unmistakable teardrop profile. At this scale the French Line's flagship comes out to about 25.5 cm (10 in) long — right for her real 313 metres — on a wood-finish display base with a gold "NORMANDIE" nameplate.

Key Features

• 1/1250 scale, about 25.5 cm (10 in) long, 3 cm (1.2 in) wide and 7.5 cm (2.9 in) tall on the base
• Diecast ABS hull with painted detailing: black hull below, white superstructure above, buff decks
• Three red funnels with black tops, raked masts, and deck machinery moulded on the bow
• Gold propellers and centre rudder visible at the stern
• Wood-finish display base with a gold "NORMANDIE" nameplate

The Ship

Normandie entered service for the French Line in 1935 and was, at once, the largest and fastest ship afloat — she took the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic crossing that same year. Inside, she was the high-water mark of art deco: a first-class dining room longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall, lit through glass columns instead of portholes. The war ended her quietly. She was in New York when France fell, was seized by the US Navy in December 1941 and renamed USS Lafayette for troopship conversion, and caught fire during the work in February 1942. Firefighting water capsized her at the pier, and she was scrapped where she lay. Six years of service, and one of the most influential ship designs of the century.

On the Shelf

Two natural pairings at the same scale: the SS France model shows the French Line flagship that inherited her route thirty years later, and the RMS Titanic model pairs the two ships that were, in their own years, the largest afloat.

An Honest Note on Scale

At 1/1250 the model is a display piece rather than a loupe subject: portholes, boat deck rows and the funnel profile read clearly at arm's length. The hull is diecast ABS with painted detailing — light in the hand — so the base does the anchoring. The masts are slender castings; give the model a steady spot and dust with a soft brush rather than a cloth.