Pocket Battleship to Fit in Your Gararge

At the start of WWII in Europe, Britain faced the task of bottling-up small, but heavily-armed German Kreigsmarine in order to protect her sea lanes from raiders. However, some of the German Navy was already at sea, notably the Graf Spee. Alternately called a "armored cruiser" or "pocket battleship", she occupied a role that was fast enough to evade any ship that could outfight her and powerful enough to outfight any ship who could catch her (a description that was also applied to American frigates of the late 1700s). The Graf Spee was cornered off the coast of South America by three British cruisers in the Battle of the River Plate. After docking in Montevideo, the ship's captain fell for a British ruse, assuming that a massive naval flotilla awaited him at sea, and scuttled the ship on December 17, 1939.

But now the Graf Spee sails again! A gentleman in Maine, William Terra, has rebuilt the ship at 1:20 scale, finishing a six-year project. The 30-foot model has a crew of two and 15 horsepower engine giving her a cruising speed of 15 mph. Terra plans to arm his ship with paintballs, and is looking for challengers.