Kit: Battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth 1915 Fit

Scale: 1/700 waterline

Producer: Waveline

Medium: Resin and white metal

Strengths: Cleanly cast, clear instructions, and easy assembly

Weaknesses: Etched Brass not included

The Queen Elizabeth was the first ship to utilize the outstanding 15-inch British naval gun, an example of which guards the entrance to the Imperial War Museum in London. First Sea Lord Winston Churchill was the moving force behind the adoption of this outstanding weapon. The gun's additional weight precluded the use of a fifth amidships "Q" turret, conventional battleship practice prior to the QE.. This had the benefit, however, of enabling her to ship more powerful and better arranged machinery. The Queen Elizabeth could move her 33,000 tons (full load) at 24 knots, making her the first "fast battleship".

Waveline and an American resin caster, Corsair Armada, are currently setting the standard in 1/700 resin cast ship models. The Queen Elizabeth kit is, in a word, superb. Hull and upper works are resin and the many fittings are precise white metal castings. At US $85 the kit is not cheap, but read on to see why Waveline kits are worth every penny.

Hull: A beautiful one-piece resin casting crammed with exquisite surface detail. Minimal cleanup is required and the surface bits have a delicate, jewel-like quality the likes of which I've never seen in a 1/700 scale kit. The teak deck is represented by finely scribed deck planking. The anchor chains are cast integral with the deck and are quite acceptable. Length and beam both scale out within inches of published dimensions.

Superstucture: More finely cast resin pieces. Deck structures are keyed to fit into the corresponding openings in the lower hull casting. Waveline's ability to produce paper thin, "in-scale" blast shields and deck structures is most impressive.

Main Guns: The four twin 15-inch turrets are detailed resin castings. The barrels are white metal with very nice cast-in blast sleeves at the base of each barrel.

Secondary Armament: The deck mounted guns and blast shields are more of the same jewel like white metal. The twelve casement mounted 6-inch guns are white metal with integral blast sleeves.

Masts & Cranes: Instructions are provided for fabricating masts and cranes from brass (included). This step is not difficult and should not put off anyone who thinks that resin kits require some sort of advance building skills. This one does not. Even with injection molded kits where the masts are provided I usually fabricate them from brass rod. It is an easy step that adds tremendously to the "look" of the finished product.

Miscellaneous: Davits, searchlights, launches, rafts and all manner of small bits and pieces are white metal castings of extraordinary quality and "scale" appearance. I'm sure there is something that Waveline has omitted but I haven't found it as yet.

Etched Brass: none included. Add deck railing using the appropriate Tom's Modelworks or Gold Medal Models fret.

Instructions: Excellent. Exploded view drawings show parts placement and necessary dimensions, and there are 1/700 starboard and plan views as well. Both a parts diagram and a parts list are included. The instructions are in Japanese, but this is not a significant drawback.

Cost: US $85 from Pacific Front.