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Right. So this is my first proper build thread. I started this kit in October, but never really got around to taking WIP photos before some of the basic structures were in place, so we begin this thread as they say "in medias res". After having a lot of fun with Academy's Warspite, I figured I'd have a go at Trumpeter's Hood. It is a very interesting, but also challenging subject as no kits are 100% correct. I therefore set my self the challenge to build a kit that would address some of the most glaring omissions on the original model, but I also wanted to build a visually interesting model, so some details would be left intentionally wrong, such as boats not being covered with canvas, and a few other odds and ends. For reference I decided to use the 1/200 Pontos upgrade set, as I believe this is supposed to be the most accurate set on the market, and Pontos provide many excellent quality pictures on their website. The parts I am using are so far: Trumpeter 1/350 Hood Lionroar PE set (New turrets and upgrades for the superstructure, among other things) Eduard Photoetch (Excellent detail, and also contains the proper framework for the catapult supports on X-turret) Wood deck from Pontos 4" guns and bridge equipment sets from North Star Models Brass masts and Pom Pom barrels from Master models 3d printed boats from Micro Master However this has turned out to be a somewhat frustrating build with lots of things not going quite according to plan. First of all the fit of the upper and lower hull weren't great. After some sanding and filling I got a reasonably smooth seam. For a bit of extra detailing I decided to try and simulate the layered hull plating on the lower hull using the masking tape and spray paint technique. Not overly succesfully though, as some flaking occured when removing the masking tape. I contemplated sanding everything down again, but opted against it, as I wasn't sure I could get the results I wanted. Instead I decided to try and mask the imperfections during painting and pass it off as weathering. Another challenge arose from the Lionroar upgrades for the superstructure. Unfortunately the photoetch bulkheads aren't that great a fit, which caused some weird issues when adding the boat deck on top. Some filling and bending resolved most of them, but not all solutions were particularly elegant. As mentioned I have been using both Lionroar and Eduard photoetch. The Lioroar set is a bit crude in places and the Eduard set have some estremely fine details, which are made from steel rather than brass for enhanced durability. However I have found the railings to be a real pain to work with. They are better scaled than the Lionroar set, but they bend extremely easily when you accidentally touch them and have proven very tricky to bend back into shape. The result is railing that looks rather wobbly in places. Terribly frustrating! The final challenge so far has been with regards to the main hull color. I mainly use Vallejo acrylic, where Mirage Blue is supposed to be fairly close to the correct dark blueish grey she wore in 1941. After a few tests i found that this color looked too dark on the model to my eye. I wanted something lighter, and slightly less blue, that would give me better contrasts once shading and weathering had been applied and really bring out details. However I have had a hard time finding a color that looked right to my eye. The main issue is that this is a large monochrome model, and if you do not add some color variation it just ends up looking rather dull on the shelf (camo working a bit too well I suppose). In the end I have been mixing Intermediate Blue and Light Grey in various shades and highlights usind an airbrush. The result looks promising, but it is going to be a real challenge to touch up any painting mistakes later on. The real fun with this kit has been the scratch building and trying to correct some of the errrors on the kit. After studying the 1/200 Pontos upgrade set I decided to leave the main hull mostly as it is and instead focus on the superstructure. the bridge and conning tower was rebuilt many times during the Hood's long service, and the result is a real mess of weirdly placed platforms, gangways and splinter shields. I omitted some splinter shields, as those would make the model almost impossible to paint and instead tried to get some overall shapes closer to the original. Other issues would require surgery on a level I wasn't confident I could pull off, without destroying the bridge completely, so I left those as they were. The aft superstructure and pom pom platform saw some significant changes as well. I filled in all the windows, as these were usually covered with canvas, and the Pontos set actually have portholes here instead. I am not sure this is 100% correct, but it looks better than the original. The Pom-Pom platform was lalso owered, which also looks more balanced in my opinion. Finally the masts were replaced with brass, which I think looks a lot better. First coat of paint on the hull, showing the failed attempt at hull plating, and some weathering experiments to cover up the worst mistakes. A bit of touching up and some oil colors will hopefully improve things somewhat...

80 years since the loss of HMS Hood. Moya McDonald May 6, 2021 NEWS, Online events: Remembering HMS Hood On May 21st it will be exactly 80 years since HMS sailed from Scapa Flow on her final voyage. Three days later she was sunk by the Bismarck in a sequence of events that led to the end of the great German battleship as well. The Hood was so renowned that her loss was a national shock, and story of her life, from construction to the final days, will be told in an programme of events by the group Another Orkney Production on 21-22 May for their annual ‘Celebrating Scapa Flow’. Moya McDonald of AOP outlines the plans and the background...... More here: http://frontiersmagazine.org/80-years-since-the-loss-of-hms-hood/

HMS Hood Parts 6 and 7 1:200 Eduard Continuing their releases of etched sets for the huge 1:200 HMS Hood from Trumpeter, Eduard have released the last two sets. The first, (No.6) covers the ships superstructure, the second, and final one for review, (No.7), for the main top. Part 6 (53-194) – Superstructure. This two sheet set contains numerous parts to upgrade the kits superstructure, including the many water tight doors, each made up from two parts, deck hatches, vertical ladders, vents, and skylights. There are also new parts for platform supports, splinter shields, yards and wind deflectors. Mainy of the deck houses are almost completely replaced, I almost as the roof sections need to be cut away and used with the new PE sidewalls. The biggest problem with the set is that it’s been designed to be used on the kit funnels, the forward one of which has been shown to be the wrong size. So, if you’re a detail nut, and if you’re using these sets that’s a given, then you will need to get hold of the replacement funnel set from the likes of www.scalemodelwarships.com. The rear funnel is fine and you can use the parts from this set which includes new internals to the funnel top. Before using the PE, read the instructions carefully as there are quite a few areas of kit detail that needs to be removed before the PE can be added. Part 7 (53-197) – Main Top. Although this two sheet set is for the main top, it also includes many other details for the forward section of the superstructure, including the lower armoured bridge, such as watertight doors, sections of the bridge not included in the kit, splinter shields, railings, wind deflectors, brackets, support braces, and end bulkheads. The main top itself is provided with new window frames, star platform, star support braces, vertical ladders, doors, railings, access walkway and railing, a whole new lookout section, upper mast platform and supports. Once again, read the instructions carefully to ensure you are removing the correct sections of the kit before adding the PE parts. Conclusion Although the prices of these sets seem to inexorably rise, they are perfect for super detailing this mighty kit. At least the modeller has the option of how much detail you wish to add, rather than buying one large set. These two sets are more than that mentioned on the pack labels and really do look the business. Review sample courtesy of

HMS Hood 1:200 Eduard Continuing their releases of etched sets for the huge 1:200 HMS Hood from Trumpeter, Eduard have released the next three sets. The first, (No.3) covers the ships railings, the second, (No.4), is for the ships life rafts and boats, the final one for this review, (No.5), ships deck fittings. Part 3 (53-189) – Ships Railings. This single large sheet contains a complete ships complement of railings, including all decks and platforms, some of which will need to be modified to accept the PE parts. The prominent quad of inclined ladders and their landings are also included, as are several braces for the smaller platforms Part 4 (53-190) – Ships boats and rafts. This two sheet set is for all the ships boats and not only provides details of the kit life rafts, but includes addition rafts as well. This is a very comprehensive set covering each boat with a multitude of new or replacement parts. Each of the motor boats receives new decks, deck gratings, cabins, handrails, breakwaters, internal bulkheads, seats, stern rails, bow rails, propellers and rudders. Some of the boats have up to twenty two PE parts to add. The story is the same for the cutters, but with slightly fewer parts. Each has new thwarts, deck gratings, rudders, and a plethora of oars. Even the ships dinghy is given the PE treatment with new centre board case, gunwhales and grating. The ships davits are also provided for with the griping spar, davit span, lifelines, block and tackle for each end, including lines, and jumping nets. Of the ships main boats, the motor boats, motor cutters and cutters etc. there are a complete set of cradles, each made from for pieces of PE. For the life rafts there are new paddles and gratings, and there are some new rafts in the form of square two piece rafts, of which there are twenty. Part 5 (53-193). Deck. Another large two sheet set which covers a multitude of areas with items such as a new breakwaters, complete with all supports and fittings, new anchor plates, and new capstan details. Then there are the enormous number of new deck hatches and watertight doors, some of which even have separate dog clips. A lot of kit detail will need to be removed first, before the PE can be glued into place, but the effort is worth it. The set also includes new doors for each of the ready use lockers, hatches for the deck skylights and a range of different sized cable reels, for which you have to make the drum from plastic rod. There are also several platforms and fittings for B and X turrets, but you will have to check your references to see if they fit in with your build dates. Finally each of the mushroom ventilators has a grille to be fitted, as do the vertical vents. Conclusion Although the prices of these sets seem to inexorably rise, they are perfect for super detailing this mighty kit. At least the modeller has the option of how much detail you wish to add, rather than buying one large set. The railings are probably the most important set you could buy as without these, most models just don’t look right. Review sample courtesy of

HMS Hood 1:200 Eduard The huge 1:200 HMS Hood from Trumpeter has been out for a while now, but it was only a matter of time till Eduard got it in their sights. So, here they are; well, the first two sets at least from a total of six. The first covers the AA weaponry and rocket launchers, while the second deals with the radars. Part 1 (53187) – AA Guns and Rocket Launchers. This two sheet set contains, naturally everything you’ll need to super detail all the AA weaponry, this includes the 4” turrets. Each of the different weapons are covered to a greater or lesser degree, but all will benefit from having the extra parts. The quad 50 call mounts receive new seat, foot rests, shield, sight and ammunition canisters. The RP mounts get a replacement rocket cage, new side panel, interior detail and armoured door, which can be posed open to show off the new interior. The 4” turrets, receive a completely new gun shield, elevation gears, elevation guides, seats, control wheels, shell handling trays, breech handles, and many other details, amounting to a total of forty five parts. The octuple PomPoms ammunition trays are assembled next, all eight of them. The only kit parts used in the construction of the PomPoms are the mounting base, barrel block and elevation end plates. All the rest is replaced or added to in PE. There are total of forty one parts, just for the mounting, without the ammunition trays. Part 2 (53188) – Radars. Although called the radar set, it’s a bit of a misnomer as is also includes new details for the six searchlights, including new body, grille, grille crosspieces, mounting plate, support yolk, hand wheels, sights and hinge plates. The secondary directors need to be carefully hollowed out, before a new interior can be fitted, along with a new sight port, sight doors, and pedestal mounted electrical boxes. There are new arms for the two semaphores and new grilles for the two aldis lamps. The air defence observers, (ADO), pedestal mounted binoculars, are provided with new mounting fixtures, while the pedestal is given new mounting plates, the six searchlight sights, (SLS) are each made up entirely of new PE parts, some of which have to be carefully rolled to shape. The air lookout observers, (ALO), are completely replaced with PE parts, mounting, upright, binocular mount and seat. The captains sight, (CS) is given three PE parts to give it a better look. The main armament director is fitted out with the two main aerials for the Type 284 radar. Each array is made up of support frames, the curved radar backplane and the gridded, front plate, a vertical access ladder to the director roof is also added. The Type 279 radar array that is fitted to the main mast uses the kits mast head pole, to which the two aerials are slid on to with the supports between them and the wave guide attached to the base. The PomPom directors are fitted with no less than thirteen parts, leaving just the central pedestal from the kit. The compass and bridge platforms are also given the Eduard treatment before the various ALO, SLS, ADO, PPD and CS assemblies are fitted into their respective positions. Conclusion There have been a number of large, very detailed sets released for the might Hood kit, but these are very expensive and out of reach for some modellers. These sets and the four yet to be released will give the kit a much need boost in detail, yet suitable for those on a smaller budget. They also give the modeller choice on exactly how much extra detail they want to add. Review sample courtesy of

Does anyone want to build a battle cruiser? This is the first load to arrive, a second box is en route ...

HMS Hood Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood (pennant number 51) was the last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy. Commissioned in 1920, she was named after the 18th-century Admiral Samuel Hood. One of four Admiral-class battlecruisers ordered in mid-1916, Hood had serious design limitations, though her design was drastically revised after the Battle of Jutland and improved while she was under construction. For this reason she was the only ship of her class to be completed. As one of the largest and, ostensibly, the most powerful warships in the world, Hood was the pride of the Royal Navy and, carrying immense prestige, was known as ‘The Mighty Hood’. She was involved in several showing the flag exercises between her commissioning in 1920 and the outbreak of war in 1939, including training exercises in the Mediterranean Sea and a circumnavigation of the globe with the Special Service Squadron in 1923 and 1924. She was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet following the outbreak of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. When the Spanish Civil War broke out, Hood was officially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet until she had to return to Britain in 1939 for an overhaul. By this time, advances in naval gunnery had reduced Hood's usefulness. She was scheduled to undergo a major rebuild in 1941 to correct these issues, but the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 forced the ship into service without the upgrades. When war with Germany was declared, Hood was operating in the area around Iceland, and she spent the next several months hunting between Iceland and the Norwegian Sea for German commerce raiders and blockade runners. After a brief overhaul of her propulsion system, she sailed as the flagship of Force H, and participated in the destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir. Relieved as flagship of Force H, Hood was dispatched to Scapa Flow, and operated in the area as a convoy escort and later as a defence against a potential German invasion fleet. In May 1941, she and the battleship Prince of Wales were ordered to intercept the German battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, which were en route to the Atlantic where they were to attack convoys. On 24 May 1941, early in the Battle of the Denmark Strait, Hood was struck by several German shells, exploded and sank. Due to her perceived invincibility, the loss had a profound effect on the British people. The Royal Navy conducted two inquiries into the reasons for the ship's quick demise. The first, held very quickly after the ship's loss, concluded that Hood's aft magazine had exploded after one of Bismarck's shells penetrated the ship's armour. A second inquiry was held after complaints that the first board had failed to consider alternative explanations, such as an explosion of the ship's torpedoes. It was more thorough than the first board and concurred with the first board's conclusion. Despite the official explanation, some historians continued to believe that the torpedoes caused the ship's loss, while others proposed an accidental explosion inside one of the ship's gun turrets that reached down into the magazine. Other historians have concentrated on the cause of the magazine explosion. The discovery of the ship's wreck in 2001 confirmed the conclusion of both boards, although the exact reason the magazines detonated will always be a mystery since that area of the ship was entirely destroyed in the explosion. The Model I think I’m right in saying this is one release that maritime modellers have been really looking forward to. Since Trumpeter started their 1:200 scale product line, the Hood was one ship that was always mooted to be included. Well, here she is in her beautiful, enormous glory. Arriving in a huge box with a great painting of the mighty Hood at sea on the front the sheer size of the box gives a hint at what is inside. Once the lid has been prized away the modeller is confronted with three smaller boxes and a flapped area which covers the single piece hull, the mould for which must be amazing to see. The hull is well protected by two cardboard supports and foam pieces at each end to ensure the delicate bow and stern aren’t subject to transportation damage. Inside the other three boxes are four separate deck sections, three for the main deck and one for the shelter deck, twenty sprues, eight separate superstructures/deckhouses and four separate propellers, all in a grey styrene. There are also seven sheets of etched brass, four metal rods, a length of chain, and a smallish decal sheet. As with most Trumpeter kits the moulding of all the parts is superb, with no signs of flash or other imperfections, which is quite amazing considering the size of some of the parts, although there are quite a few moulding pips which will require extra cleaning up and the propeller blades have a slightly annoying tag on their outer edges, as you will see in the accompanying photographs. Unfortunately, also as with a lot of Trumpeter kits there are some really annoying inaccuracies, which is strange, since they did so well with their 1:350 scale kit. Whilst some are easily handled, like the rubbing down of the rather too prominent hull plates, although the hull itself is generally correct, there are also those which are a bit more difficult to rectify, namely the different sized funnels where they should be the same. Hopefully someone will release a fix for this, or it may be time to try some scratch-building. Over it is pretty accurate though, with a few minor problems, which are best noted in the excellent review by the HMS Hood association, HERE Construction begins with the fitting of the six strengthening braces into the hull; topped off with the fore deck, centre deck and quarterdeck. On the underside the propeller shaft exit glands are attached, followed by the metal shafts, A frames, propellers, ensuring you have the correct propellers on each side as they are handed, and the single rudder. Turing the hull the right side up, six parts of the rear superstructure are attached to the rear of the centre deck, along with four cable reels which are a combination of PE and plastic, followed by a selection of vents, hatches and upper deck supports. The large, single piece shelter deck is then fitted atop of the superstructure parts, also covering the join between the foredeck and centre deck. The lower bridge structure is fitted with bottom sections of the mast supports, a pair of three piece paravanes, six boat booms, four Carley floats and some small platforms, before being glued into position. The shelter deck is then fitted out with numerous ventilator mushrooms, inclined ladders, and derricks, whilst a large boat boom is fitted to either side of the hull amidships. The cradles for the ships boats are then added to the shelter deck, followed by yet more ventilators, chimneys and a pair of large ammunition hatches. The sixteen small ready use lockers and seventeen cable reels are then assembled and glued into position, followed by the thirty five large ready use lockers. On the foredeck, the anchor chain windlasses, four smaller windlasses, and main breakwater are attached, along with the breakwaters either side of B turret. Then more mushroom vents, windlass, lockers and chain pipes are fitted, followed by the large vents around both B turret barbette and the armoured control tower base, which also has three winches fitted to the deck around it. The four piece anchors are then assembled and fitted to the hawse pipes, followed by two lengths of chain and two deckhouses attached to the rear of the main breakwater. The quarterdeck is similarly fitted out with mushroom vents, although not quite so many, winches, large vents around X turret barbette and the prominent inclined ladders either side of the rear superstructure, as well as the square scuttles sited nearby. Back on the foredeck there are several derricks fitted, along with the Jackstaff, cleats, and bollards. Similar fittings are attached to the quarter deck, along with the Ensign staff, as you can see the instructions bounce around a little. The build then moves onto the superstructure, with the assembly of the sundry parts fitted to the rear funnel base, as well as Carley floats, winches and two of the smaller ships boats, a smaller tower structure is attached, and fitted with two, two piece wireless arms. The after tower structure at the end of the shelter deck is a single piece item and is fitted with a number of platforms and their associated supports, the after main armament director, made up from nine parts, two large intakes, two six piece searchlights and one of three, eleven piece AA directors, one large and two small Carley floats. The two structures are then glued to their respective positions. The shelter deck is then fitted with more hatches, intakes and five deckhouses. The four searchlight platforms, two either side of the aft tower and two alongside the aft funnel are fitted along with their searchlights, whilst the aft PomPom platform and two quad machine gun platforms along with their seven piece mounts are glued into position. The base of the bridge tower is attached to the tops of three deckhouses, behind which the four flag lockers are fitted on either side of the forward shelter deck there are two observers binoculars, and aldis lamp, a large signal lamps, a semaphore pole and a quad machine gun mount. Two large and two small directors/rangefinders are also fitted near the signal lamps. The armoured tower and deck structure are then glued into position, followed by the tower roof and the large six piece director/rangefinder. Onto the deck, three deckhouses are fitted, along with four inclined ladders and a vertical ladder. The bridge itself is a single piece part, and is fitted out with sixteen observers binoculars, two AA directors, two searchlights, three further decks the lower mast supports, foremast, the complex PE foremast starfish structure, top mast, lower yardarm, inclined ladders, vertical ladders, and main armament director. The funnels are next on the assembly line, and whilst the rear funnel is the wrong size, most modellers will probably overlook this and build the kit straight out of the box. Each funnel is in two halves, which are then glued to the base, and fitted out with PE hand/foot rails, internal platform, spacers funnel cap and grilles, followed by the numerous uptakes fitted to the outside of each funnel. The main mast is next up and whilst the mast itself is a relatively simple build, the various fittings for the boat crane are PE parts, as is the complex starfish platform. The upper mast is attached to the platform and topped off with the Type 281 radar array. The crane is a single piece jib, PE hook assembly and PE cable assembly. Once complete the funnels, foremast and mainmast assemblies are glued to their respective positions, as are two smaller boat cranes fitted one each side of the rear funnel. There are thirteen large ships boats provided in the kit, a mixture of cutters and motor boats and each is made up from multiple parts, including propellers, propeller shafts, rudders, etc, but strangely the rowing boats are not provided with any oars. They may have been stored elsewhere when cruising, but it would have been nice to have some for interest. The completed boats are then attached to their respective cradles. Finally we come to the armament. There are four, six piece UP mountings, with the option of using PE or plastic parts to build them, six, seven piece four inch secondary turrets, and three, eighteen piece octuple 2pdr PomPoms. The main turrets are very nicely moulded, although perhaps a little deep. Each turret is made up from the turret, turret base, trunnion mounts, and two slide moulded gun barrels. Each turret is then fitted with a four piece rangefinder mounted to the rear, but only B turret is then fitted with a UP mounting platform that sits astride the rangefinder and X turret is fitted with two platforms that are attached to the starboard side of the turret roof. The completed armament is then fitted to the model. To complete the model, a full ships worth of railings is provided in PE, as well as four accommodation ladders, four Jacobs ladders and a pair of lifering quick release racks. Oh and of course the rigging and painting to the modellers taste. Decals For the size of the model, the decal sheet is actually quite small and contains only the ships two nameplates for the rear quarters and a selection of Union Jacks and White Ensigns in different sizes and in straight or wavy form along with two Vice Admiral’s pennants. They are nicely produced and appear to have a nice thin carrier film and to be in register. Conclusion It’s been a little while since this kit has been released, and its popularity has meant that we have only now been able to get hold of it. Overall impressions are very good, with the hull and most of the structure being pretty accurate overall. It’s just a shame that Trumpeter, once again, have snatched defeat from what would have been a great victory with the difference in funnel sizes even without the smaller discrepancies. It’s still a wonderful kit and with a super detail set from the likes of Pontos, who look like they are including a new resin funnel, and Mk1 Designs you can relatively easily produce an amazing, museum standard model. Review sample courtesy of UK Distributors for