Coastlines 1/1250 CL-M416S Kaiser Wilhelm II, transatlantic liner, 1912-14

Kaiser Wilhelm II model has the extra lifeboats that were added to the ship following the Titanic disaster. This ship and the last of the class of class, Kronprinzess Cecilie were similar to each other although interior details and fittings differed and they were very popular ships with American passengers travelling to Europe with their belongings for extended visits to their relatives and business men who were intending to set up factories in Europe. As asuch, they often carried wealthy Americans who expected luxury and security on the voyage rather than express speed.
On the outbreak of WW2, Kaiser Wilhelm II had just docked in New York and was re-provisioning for her east-bound voyage. Despite her having been designed to operate as an armed merchant cruiser with 6x5.9in guns in time of war, NDL decided to keep her in USA for the duration of WW1 and she was interned there until the USA entered the war on the Allied side in 1917.
Kronprinzessin Cecilie was east-bound nearing Europe when war was declared and was ordered to return to the United States to be interned. She had only been fitted out to become a second-class armed merchant cruiser with 4x5.9in guns, so NDL determined that her internment for the duration of the coming war was better for long-term business than service to the Fatherland and so she turned round and hurried back to the USA avoiding the Royal Navy and British territories en-route, much to the disgust of her US passengers and the US businesses that were shipping gold to Europe to invest in war economies! The catptain decided to disguise Kronprinzessin Cecilie as RMS Olympic by painting black tops to the funnels and there is a version of this ship model in 1914 form to represent the ship on arrival at Bar Harbor, Maine in 1914 (see Coastlines CL-M416gS).