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German Cruise Ship Funny Girl
Scale: 1/250
Skill Level: medium
Length: 275 mm (10.83 inch)
The elegant line of the Funny Girl is what makes this ship so attractive as a model. The cruise ship can either be built in the way it operates in the summer months, or alternatively in the winter variant with additional cranes on board. This model shows the Funny Girl after conversion in 2008.
A special feature of the Funny Girl is that it is transformed every year for winter operation. Some of the benches on deck will disappear, as will the deckchairs, of course. Instead, two cranes come on board and cargo can be lashed down on the deck. Our model offers the option of building both variants. This model kit of the Funny Girl shows the ship after the renovation in 2008.
The model highlights:
- either summer or winter operation can be displayed
- elegant lines
- fine detailed life boats
- deck chairs
- detailed capstan
- benches
| Product type | Papermodel |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | HMV Hamburger Modellbaubogen Verlag |
| Scale | 1/250 |
| Designer | Friedrich Pohl |
| Difficulty | medium |
| Sheet size | DIN A4 |
| Sheets | 4 |
| Parts | 698 |
| Parts without alternative parts | 534 |
| Length | 275 mm (10.83 inch) |
| Bauanleitung | German, English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Pictures |
Technical data:
- Shipyard: Mützelfeld shipyard, Cuxhaven
- Year of construction: 1973
- Launched December 5, 1972
- Owner: Cassen Eils shipping company
- Length: 68.57 m
- Width: 10m
- Draft: 2.25m
- Displacement: 999 GT
- Speed: 19 knots
- Power: 3,800 hp (2,795 kW)
- Passengers: 799
The Funny Girl is the last of three almost identical ships that were built at the Mützelfeld shipyard in Cuxhaven. The first of the three ships is the Fair Lady, which was also built for the Cassen Eils shipping company. Then the Westerland was built for the shipping company HADAG, which later ran as Pidder Lyng and Kloar Kimming. Particularly striking is the kink running across the entire hull, which follows a beautifully curved line in the bow area. Apart from the aesthetic side, this shape ensures significantly less spray water on the outer decks. The Funny Girl's keel was laid on January 6, 1972, and construction took a little over a year.
After commissioning, the Funny Girl was used on the Büsum-Helgoland route. After more than 20 years on this route, she was replaced in the summer of 1994 by the First Lady, who could carry 200 more passengers. The First Lady was later named Atlantis and was scrapped in 2020. Funny Girl serviced between 1994 and 1997 on the route Sassnitz-Bornholm or Sassnitz-Copenhagen. For 1998 and 1999 the Funny Girl returned to her first Büsum-Helgoland route and was then chartered to Norway in 2000.
In the years 2001 to 2004, the beautiful cruise ship was used on various routes to the East Frisian Islands and Helgoland and also undertook tours in the Kiel Canal and to Sylt. From 2005, the Funny Girl returned to Helgoland on her original route.
After 35 years in service, the Funny Girl no longer met current safety regulations and had to be modernized in 2008. The most notable change was the elimination of the large windows on the main deck, replaced by smaller portholes. For the time of her conversion Altantis took over her duties.
During a storm on August 26, 2011, the Funny Girl collided with the MS Helgoland directly in front of the island of Helgoland and the Funny Girl ran aground. All passengers were able to be transferred to another ship and no one was injured. With the next high tide, the Funny Girl was released and was able to make her way home on her own. The damage was so minor that she was back in regular service after two days.
