The Hood (1942) is a converted Airfix model. Airfix issued a small range of 'Naval History' models around the
early 1980's. You should be able to check exact details from either published
sources or specialist info via the message board. The range comprised: Cossack (2 in a bubble pack), Hood, Bismarck,
Prinz Eugen, Ark
Royal and Suffolk. I
say Suffolk from memory - it had the
cut down quarter-deck. The best models were Prinz
Eugen and Suffolk,
very fine plastic models. I built Hood from the box and a conversion of how she might have appeared. These were made at
the time of issue. Unfortunately I parted with my 1942 version but still have
the other model. Which takes me to the KGV class ship - and the 'built over a period of years' comment. I'm surprised to
find that now I am in my mid-50's. How can this be for such a young man I think!
Sad really.
However, I started building 1/1200 waterline ships in the early 1960's when Eaglewall were issuing their models. Tri-ang Minic Ships also appeared around this
time, but both myself and my friends preferred to build our own models and
refight WW2 sea battles. Well, I still have all of my old 'Eagles'
and winding forward to the 1980's we come upon a time when different companies
are once again issuing a variety of kits in 1/1200 scale. I refer of course to Airfix and Revell. The Revell ships are well known and still appear from
time to time. I have examples of the same mouldings produced by 'Casadio'
(in Italy), 'Almark' (in the UK) and Revell. All the same
mouldings - just more expensive each time they are reissued! Anyway in the
1980's I found myself with the time and the motivation to convert the Hood to a 1942 appearance. The conversion used many of the parts from the Revell KGV,
as a quick examination will show. I worked on the principle that Hood would follow the same general rebuild 'style' as the QE class and Renown, with
influence from the newly designed KGV's.
I was very pleased with my efforts and now regret selling the ship.
At this point the story returns to the ' Eagles' I built as a
kid. Some of these were not too bad -- some were, bad that is! One of the bad
ones was the Prince of Wales, a
companion of Hood and sister to KGV.
As Revell KGV's were plentiful
I used one to enhance the original eagle kit, tidied up the detail and
paint-work, added a cross-deck catapult and plane - and there you have it, a
tidy, rather than 'super-detailed, new version of a 20year old kit at that time,
40 year old now! More detailed but not so detailed as to look out of place
alongside its fellows from my youth. The harbour models were built in the early
1990's as one of a series for a UK dealer to install in glass-topped 'coffee
tables' to go in peoples houses. This is a great way of displaying 1/1200 ships.
Seen as if from an aeroplane against a busy harbour. The harbours feature
home-cast cranes and other accessories and were made from strip wood fixed to
plywood bases. Approximate size was 2' 6'' by 1' 6''.
Jeff Stevenson
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