After a questionable investigation, the US Navy finally admitted the cause was “unknown” after trying repeatedly to blame it as an intentional act of sabotage by one of the sailors. Aging equipment in the ship was the likely culprit, as the ship’s modernization was rushed.

This model was entirely handpainted like the Richelieu.

She retreated to the neutral port of Montevideo, where after exhausting its permitted stay before being fair game, its crew sailed out into international waters and scuttled the ship, marking one of the Royal Navy’s first victories during the Second World War.

Thankfully, it came out nice (for my skills at the time.) Working on it provided a nice creative outlet and this build would soon spark an entirely new hobby craze for me.