20 Questions about:

The HP RN Battle class 1/700 kit        

1.  Price? – about £31in the Uk 

2.  Where to buy? – available in the Uk from Dorking Models or can also be bought direct from HP(see the link on our website)

3.     What’s in the kit? – The pack consists of a solid resin hull and all other parts cast onto a series of resin wafers. Thoughtfully, HP removed the casting plug from the bottom of the hull.  No resin or metal parts but a sheet of flags are included.

4.  First impression? First impression is fair, logical breakdown of parts, cleanly moulded, no breakages. Smaller parts in HP kits are often badly effected with flash, something that is a problem with this kit.

5.  Quality of hull and large parts? Very good, looks the part, dimensions seem fine to me but check for portholes on some moulding they do appear to dip.

6.  Quality of small parts? Generally they are fine, boats, davits , guns etc nicely moulded but there is the issue of removing the flash which can result in broken parts. There are spare  parts for this eventuality. Something I especially dislike is that the lattice mast is cast as solid. Although some HP kits come with brass barrels this one does not.

7.  Decals? None present which is a pity as these vessels virtually always wore pennant numbers. The flags are printed onto a self-adhesive label and are a little too thick.

8.  Instructions? Instructions come with plan and profile, parts list and exploded view drawing. Print quality lacks a little finessse, but they are easy to follow.

9  Assembly? On the whole a nice kit to build, but bear in mind it does require some clean-up which will take time. Most difficult part I found was sanding down B gun deck as this is cast flat onto the wafer and is otherwise too thick.

10.  Does anything need replacing? Yes. At the very least, the lattic mast needs replacing with a PE version metal.. The kit will also need inclined ladders, railings, DC racks, yardarms etc.

11. What extra parts would I recommend?
(a)    lattice mast, from WEM’s JKN fret, also the lattice mast on WEM’s OP class fret is an alternative yards and aerials can also be sourced from these frets               
(b)   guardrails, inclined ladders, – all came from WEM’s Chester fret
(c)    gun barrels – brass rod available from WEM
(d)   life raft skids, DC racks – from WEM’s J,K,N class fret
(e)    alternate weapons – I struggled to find another source
 

12.  Is there a dedicated PE fret for the kit? No. I built my HMS Agincourt as a radar picket ship and sourced the large replacement masts from a fellow member of Fine Waterline who design them in PE.  I did not buy extra PE for my build but used parts I already had to hand.                               

13.  Available references? There are plenty to choose from. Well worth getting are Battle Class destroyers by Peter Hodges, the “In focus” series from Maritime Books, Battle class destroyers by Patrick Boniface

14.  Camo patterns?  Mostly these ships would have worn the peacetime colours of AP507C light grey and latterly weatherwork grey. Frequently, but not always, with green decks. If not green, then red oxide. Where possible try to find an aerial photograph. Off the top of my head, Barfleur wore the wartime G45/B20/G10 scheme in her early years.

15.  Rigging? This  can be reasonably well determined from the good quality photographs in the books I cite. As with all ships with lattice masts, rigging is somewhat less than carried by ships with pole or tripod masts.

16. Can different versions be made from the kit? Yes. The kit is available in different fits a kit containing parts for either a 1942 or a 1943 vessel. A spare Skywave 4.5” turret will enable a build of Corunna, a pair of Skywave turrets can be added for an Australian version. Later fits such as the RN radar picket ships or the Iranian verion with enclosed bridge are readily possible. Not worth attempting from this kit is a rebuilt Matapan which was so radically different that a scratchbuild would make more sense.

17.  Would I recommend this to a beginner? No. Partly due it being expensive and partly beause of the flash making this a kit that does require experience.
Is it value for money? A little too expensive. Compared with other resin destroyer kits of the same size, this is an expensive kit. Adding PE and other parts will add to this cost.

18.  That said it is only manufacturer to kit the Battle class, is of reasonable quality and many regular 1/700 builders will probably have the upgrade parts as leftovers from other projects. Battle class destroyers were fine-looking ships and a worthy subject for any fan of RN escort vessels. This kit will build into a fine model and despite the cost is, I feel, well worth seeking out.

19.  Would I buy other products from this manufacturer? Yes, certainly. I have built over 30 kits from them.

20.  Any other business?  A very enjoyable kit to build once the clean-up is out of the way and I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the post-war RN or RN destroyers in general.