This is the 4^th deluxe photo-etch super detail set in 1:350 scale released by Lion Roar. As with the previous three sets, the HMS Hood set is designed for a particular kit, in this case the Trumpeter model. One hallmark of all three prior Lion Roar deluxe sets has been the inclusion of additional metal items over and beyond the brass photo-etch parts. Prior releases of the North Carolina for the Trumpeter kit (click for a review of the Lion Roar North Carolina set), Yamato set for the Tamiya Yamato, and Mikasa set for the Hasegawa Mikasa (click for a photograph of the set), have included brass gun barrels and other items such as anchor chain and ship’s bells. This is what distinguishes a Lion Roar set, the inclusion of brass barrels along with photo-etch. For LE350004 Lion Roar has taken another step in including additional value for their sets. In addition to the metal items they have included resin main gun turrets and range finders. 

Bags O’Bling – Crest, Barrels, Propellers & Anchor Chain
One extra item that I did not mention is the first thing that you see when you open the box, the crest of HMS Hood. This is far more than a big bit of bling, it is a really beautiful enameled crest. One possible use immediately jumps to mind. This crest would really set off a display base. It comes attached to a card with a serial number. Mine happened to be #109. As with other Lion Roar 1:350 scale sets, a full set of barrels is provided, both the 15-inch Mk I and the secondary gun barrels. At first glance you may wonder why these brass barrels appear shorter than the plastic barrels in the kit. The answer is simple, they are designed to be used with the resin turrets provided in this set, not the plastic turrets in the kit. You really can’t use the Lion Roar 15-inch barrels with the Trumpeter turrets. The barrels are hollow at the muzzle, show the barrel liner and have the muzzle flare found on this piece of ordnance. Even the brass barrels for the 4-Inch HA secondary guns have hollow muzzles, although you’ll have to use the plastic breech blocks from the kit and attach the brass replacement barrels to these after removing the plastic barrels. Again Lion Roar provides brass propellers with the Hood set, as well as two lengths of anchor chain, although you will have to subdivide one to provide chain for the third anchor. 

Metal Crest, Barrels, Propellers & Anchor Chain

The Big Fix – Resin Turrets
Have you compared the turrets in your Trumpeter Hood kit with photographs of the turrets on the Hood? If so, you’ll see why Lion Roar included resin replacement turrets with this set. The most obvious omission on the plastic turrets is the lack of blast bags. With no blast bags on the plastic parts, you’ll have to use putty, foil or some other concoction to replicate this classic feature of Royal Navy capitol ships. Not only are they present on the Lion Roar resin turrets but they really do capture the sag and lines of this feature. Another significant item missing from the Trumpeter turrets is the vision port. On the front face of each turret are three square vision ports. These are present on the Lion Roar turrets. There is a third discrepancy corrected by Lion Roar. When I examined the resin turrets, I quickly noticed a feature that I had not noticed before. At the bottom of each angle in the turret armor, there was a small inverted V slanting inward. These are not present on the plastic turrets. If you have The Battlecruiser Hood by John Roberts in the Anatomy of the Ship series, examine the turrets in the photographs found on pages 27, 31, and 34. The inverted V’s are there. If you have the Hood volume in the Ensign series, check the photographs on pages 24, 36, 37, 38, 44, 49 and the back cover. For those with Profile Morskie #63 on the Hood, check the photographs on pages 4, 32 and 33. Included with the resin turrets are resin range finders attached at the back of the turret crowns. 

Resin Turrets

Railing - Frets A & B
Frets A and B of this set provide the deck railing for the Hood. Fret A provides runs of railing with stanchion supports. There are two different styles; five runs with three stanchion supports (A1) and five runs with six stanchion supports (A2). It is somewhat confusing as to where each type is used. The instructions at page 6 show type A1 on the forecastle and the starboard side of the quarterdeck and type A2 on the port side of the quarterdeck. Fret B is larger and has three types of railing patterns. Type B1 is composed of seven runs of three bar rail and is found on the shelter/boat deck. Type B2 is composed of four runs of two bar rail with widely spaced stanchions. Type B3 is composed of four runs of two bar rail with close set stanchions. However, you’ll need additional reference as to the placement locations of both type B2 and B3, as they are not shown in the instructions. 

Railing - Frets A & B

Degaussing Cable – Fret C
Fret C includes all of the relief etched parts to add brass degaussing cable in lieu of the plastic cable molded on to the hull sides in the kit. Of course work is involved in adding these parts, as it will be necessary to cut away the plastic cable and smooth the area of the removed cable before you can add the brass parts. There are thirteen straight runs of cable (C1) and six individually shaped pieces with turns and angles (C2 through C7), for particular areas such as around the anchors or at the quarterdeck break. The attachment clamps are relief-etched above the cable but the cable itself shows only a single box cable rather than the twin box cable found on other versions of this feature of the Hood. 

Degaussing Cable - Fret C

Boat Chocks, Fittings & Ship’s Rudder – Fret D
Fret D has an assortment of parts but most of them are related to the ship’s boats. Included are twenty-seven chocks of double thickness in eight different patterns. Each pattern varies in length and the number of void holes in the metalwork. Each chock folds together to provide double thick chocks with the base plates folding outward. These parts have excellent relief-etched detail with raised rims on the chocks and raised rivets on the base plates. Also for the ship’s boats are rudders and propellers. The Hood’s rudder also receives a detailed treatment with the inclusion of relief etched coverings for the plastic Trumpeter rudder. You still use the plastic rudder but apply the relief-etched brass parts over the plastic part. This rudder treatment consists of four parts (D42 through D45) that adds far extra detail to this portion of the Hood kit. The two breakwaters forward have additional detail on this fret. The forward faces of each breakwater are decorated with a raised rim with bolt pattern. These parts (D30-D32 and D36-D38) will add an extra splash of detail forward. Other parts on this fret include two platforms for X turret, safety railing for boat deck access openings, main director supports and paravane detail. 

Boat Fittings - Fret D

Pompoms and Boat Boom Rigging – Fret E
The bulk of fret E is dedicated to additional detail for the eight barreled pompom mounts. You still use the barrels and breach block plastic pieces from the kit and a couple of boxes cut off from the plastic mount but replace everything else with brass. These parts, especially the mount floor, are large and will add spectacular detail. The floor portions have open perforations. However, there is a trade off in that the parts have to be folded with precision to get the right form. However, Lion Roar provides incised fold lines to facilitate clean folds. There are eleven brass pieces for each pompom mount, most of which are relief-etched. Also included on this fret are intricate parts for the rigging of the boat boom. The boom itself is mounted at the base of the main mast and you will use the Trumpeter part. However, Lion Roar provides very detailed block and tackle, pulleys as well as boom cables to enhance the boom. Further parts round out this fret. These include radar platform, and UP box rear and front detail. 

Pom-Poms - Fret E

Doors, Rafts, Reels & Davits – Frets F
There are two F frets in the set. About 60% of each fret consists of relief-etched doors. Most doors can be portrayed in open or closed position and have two sides that fold together if the pattern is different on each side. Some of the double doors are not designed to be attached in open position. In a similar vein the doors for the above water torpedo tubes can be attached in open position. The side detail for the UP mounts is found on this fret. Very intricate davits are included. These include the hull side fittings, the davits as well as boarding nets for the boats. Also included are carley raft bottoms, searchlight covers, boat paddles and two type designs for cable or hose reels.

Doors, Rafts, Reels & Davits – Frets F

Superstructure Detail – Fret G
Some of the largest parts in this set are found on the G fret. These parts include superstructure bulkheads to attach to the forward superstructure, aft superstructure at the quarterdeck break, as well as other superstructure bulkheads. Done in two finishes, the flat parts of the bulkheads are in a satin finish with the raised detail in a high gloss finish. Granted that this rich contrast will disappear once painted, but the sharp contrast of the relief features emphasizes the detail that Lion Roar has designed into these pieces. All portholes and square windows have the eye brow and doors have a raised sill edge. Open ventilation louvers only serve to further accentuate the detail. The aft superstructure bulkheads are further enhanced with bracketed cable detail and the Hood name. The fret also includes the large Hood letters for attachment to the aft shelter deck railing, as well as eighteen life rings. It would probably be best to use a glue with some degree of flex with these parts as brass and plastic contract and expand at different rates with falling or rising temperatures. 

Superstructure Detail – Fret G

Stainless Steel – Fret H
Fret H is the smallest fret and is made from stainless steel. There are three types of parts on this fret. The eight H1 parts are relief etched tampions to cover the gun muzzles of the 15-inch guns. The six H2 parts are ventilation louver grills. However, there are ten H3 parts. They appear to be safety nets but I have been unable to find them in the instructions. 

Starfish, Yardarms & Thwarts – Fret I
This fret is mainly devoted to the tripods. Both foremast and mainmast have the starfish platforms on this fret, although the starfish support arms are found on fret L. Using these starfish will give you a far finer appearance for this characteristically British fitting than the plastic parts in the kit. Both starfish platforms have incised lines on the bottom that will greatly simplify the attachment of the supports. The mast yardarms have eyebolts that will add detail and could simplify rigging the model at the very least by showing where the lines are attached on the yards. Other parts on Fret I are the three bases for the pompom mounts, boat thwarts and night life buoys.

Stainless Steel – Fret H Starfish, Yardarms & Thwarts – Fret I

Bulkheads – Fret J
There are only two parts on Fret J. Both of these are for angled superstructure bulkheads, which replace plastic parts C21 and C21. On the front side they are the same satin finish with polished raised detail for the three portholes on each side. Also they have a cable with brackets running the length of each bulkhead. On the back the bend point are incised to simplify the bending process and give a sharp angle to the bends. 

Bulkheads – Fret J Ladders, Louvers & Grates – Fret K

Ladders, Louvers & Grates – Fret K
This fret is about 60% inclined ladders. Twenty-six inclined ladders in nine different patterns are included. The instructions reflect which type replaces each type of plastic ladder. Most have perforated gutters and all have bendable foot treads. Further augmenting the inclined ladders are ten platforms for some of the inclined ladders. There are twenty open mesh louvers, which are placed over the ventilator intakes on stand alone ventilator fittings and some bulkhead ventilator openings. Both stack grates are also found on Fret K.  

Breakwaters & Supports – Fret L

Breakwaters & Supports – Fret L
Half of this fret are parts for the breakwaters and starfish supports. The breakwaters replace the plastic versions and bend point are incised to facilitate crisp folds. Incise lines are also found for attachment of the separate gussets found on this fret. Most of the remainder of Fret L are vertical ladders and awning stanchions. Other included parts are two distinctive boat cradles and radar center post. 

Box Art

Instructions
Eight pages of instructions are included in this set. The first page is just a parts inventory for the kit. For the next seven pages Lion Roar presents a series of modules for different subassemblies. For the items covered, these are just fine. However, I did notice that more than a few things were not covered. One example is the lack of mention for location for some types of railing. Also, what are those H3 parts and where do they go? Where do you attach the cable/hose reels? There are more omissions than just these three examples, so it would help to be armed with some references. The instructions are the weakest area for this set, however, the quality of all of the parts that are used on the Hood kit, more than overcomes the deficiencies of the instructions. 

Instructions

Verdict
This is the most ambitious 1:350 scale deluxe photo-etch detail set yet from Lion Roar. Not only are there thirteen small to medium size frets of photo-etch, but also there are even more value added features than found in prior Lion Roar sets. With the addition of brass gun barrels, brass propellers, metal anchor chain and now resin turrets that correct the errors of the Trumpeter turrets, Lion Roar packs a lot of benefit to the Hood modeler in this set. 

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