Description
HMS Hood was the largest warship in the world when launched in 1918. She was the pride of the Royal Navy when embarked with HMS Price of Wales to intercept the Bismarck in the Denmark Strait, following its break out into the North Atlantic in May 1941. After making contact with the German battleship, both ships opened fire, albeit Admiral Holland on board the Hood, mistook the lead ship, as the Prinz Eugen, which had swapped positions with the Bismarck, owing to issues with the latter’s radar. These crucial lost moments presented an advantage to the Bismarck, who struck the Hood amidships with the 5th salvo, dealing a fatal blow, igniting the ship’s magazines causing a catastrophic explosion, resulting in the Hood sinking within two minutes. Only three crew from her total complement of 1,418 survived.
The kit itself measures 430mm in length, with a beam of 53mm and contains 133 parts. The kit was originally produced in 1960 with the box art for this Vintage re-release produced by Geoff Hunt in 1981.
Although the kit illustration suggests the hull should be hull red, it is now widely regarded that in fact it was painted in what was known as Peacock and Buchan Anti Fouling Grey, which closely equates to Humbr0l Tank Grey (67), a scheme shared with HMS Renown and Repulse, as well as the Leander Class Light Cruisers, e.g. HMS Ajax.
For further detailing, phot0etch, including railings are available from White Ensign Models, and for super-detailing, 3D replacement parts, such as boats, armament and fire control are available from Micro Master, Model Monkey and Starling Models. Artwox also produce a wooden deck available by mail order from BNA Models in Australia
