Kit Background
This injection moulded kit was originally produced by Bandai of Japan in the late 1970s/early 1980s. It is currently being reproduced by Fuman of China and Aoshima of Japan.
It is a fairly decent representation of Hood at the time of her loss in May 1941. This kit can be built either in waterline or full-hull configuration. It consists of 24 parts on three total sprues. Two of the sprues, grey in colour, comprise the hull and all fittings above the waterline. The third sprue, dark red in colour, is comprised of the lower half of the hull. When complete, the kit is just over 5" / 12.7cm in length.
Observations
- The hull, though largely correct in shape and shear, does suffer from an overly swept bow. This can be corrected through sanding/filing. The hull also lacks side armour belt detailing. Another minor problem is the lack of planking on the aft shelter deck (aka boat deck). This, along with the lack of armour belts, is understandable due to the kit's size.
- The superstructure, funnels and masts are, for the most part, accurate in size and appearance. Although the main 15" guns and 4" HA/LA guns have to be glued to the model individually, all boats as well as smaller weapons (pom poms, UPs, etc.) are moulded onto the hull.
- Overall, the kit does suffer from a lack of detailing...creative painting can correct much of this though. Significant number of tooling marks, sink holes and flash present. Nothing that cannot be fixed by a modeller with basic skills though.
Summary
An acceptable miniature of Hood and the only one available in this scale (1/2000). A cute model of Hood can be built-up fairly quickly and easily.
Additional Photos
Below is a photo of the box contents.
