NUOTIE 1/1250 HMT Olympic Dazzle Camouflage Troopship Diecast Model with Display Base

Product Overview

This 1:1250 model shows HMT Olympic in her First World War troopship disguise: the angular blue-grey and white dazzle pattern painted over hull and funnels to break up her outline. At this scale the eldest of the Olympic-class trio comes out to about 21.5 cm (8.4 in) long — close to her real 269 metres divided by 1,250 — and she sits on a wood-finish display base with a gold "HMT OLYMPIC" nameplate.

Key Features

• 1/1250 scale, about 21.5 cm (8.4 in) long, 2.5 cm (1 in) wide and 7.5 cm (3 in) tall on the base
• Diecast ABS hull with the painted dazzle camouflage: geometric blue-grey and white shapes on hull sides and funnels
• White superstructure with the boat deck moulded in, lifeboats along both sides
• Gold propellers and centre rudder at the stern
• Wood-finish display base with a gold "HMT OLYMPIC" nameplate

The Ship

Olympic was the first of White Star Line's three sisters, entering service in June 1911, and the only one to finish a full career. In the First World War she was requisitioned as HMT Olympic, a troopship, and wore this dazzle camouflage — a pattern that made it hard for a U-boat periscope to judge her speed and heading. In May 1918 she rammed and sank the German submarine U-103, one of the few merchant ships credited with such a kill. Sailors called her "Old Reliable", and she had already shown her luck in April 1912, when she was the ship that steamed to Titanic's position and took on survivors. She served until 1935, twenty-four years in all, before being broken up at Jarrow.

On the Shelf

At 1/1250 she pairs directly with her two sisters: the RMS Titanic model shows the ship as she looked on her only maiden voyage, and the HMHS Britannic model shows the youngest sister in her wartime hospital-ship paint. All three on one shelf tell the full story of the class.

An Honest Note on Scale

At 1/1250 the model is a display piece rather than a loupe subject: windows, portholes and boat deck detail read clearly at arm's length, and the dazzle pattern itself is the centrepiece. The hull is diecast ABS with painted detailing — light in the hand — so the wood-finish base does the anchoring. Masts and rigging wire are slender castings; dust with a soft brush rather than a cloth.