Gold Medal Models

HMS HOOD Detail Set   & HMS HOOD Gold Plus Extra Details Set For the Trumpeter 1/350 HMS Hood

Stock Number: 350-37; 350-37A for the Gold Plus

Reviewed By  Charles Landrum, IPMS# 26328

MSRP: $42; $28 for the Gold Plus Available directly from Gold Medal Model www.goldmm.com or through retail outlets. I would like to thank Loren Perry of Gold Medal Models for this review sample. HMS HOOD is one of the iconic ships of history, whose tragic end made it an enduring British symbol. A detailed large-scale kit of this sleek battle cruiser has long been on the wish list of modelers around the world. Trumpeter has done it justice in their 1/350 kit, but HOOD is such a symbol and so well studied that no matter how good the kit, loyal HOOD fans will surely want to replicate every detail of the ship. There have been other companies that have already released sets for this model, but Gold Medal Models enters the fray with a very strong entry. I don't know what is in the water on Loren Perry's Island in the Pacific Northwest, but it must be good for the eyes and hands! Wow! These offerings trump his previous sets both in scope and detail. The basic set is a large 7 x 10 inches and densely packed with double-relief etched detail. It will address all of your basic brass detail needs and a lot more. It will take months to apply all of this detail. In what has become Loren's signature style, the basic set includes a double relief etched figure of VADM L.E. Holland. To supplement the basic set, the Gold Plus extra detail set gives you more configuration and detail options, all in a 4 x 7 inch brass sheet which is also double-relief etched. The aircraft catapult is a beauty of detail, thanks to double-relief etching. Here is a breakdown of the details you will find in the basic set:   -  More than enough liferails, all pre-measured and including windscreens where appropriate   -  Inclined and vertical ladders   -  Accommodation ladders   -  Watertight doors, both open and closed   -  Capstan and brake handwheels   -  Hawsepipe covers   -  Jacobs Ladders for boat booms (a first!)   -  Cable reels   -  Finely detailed vent screens   -  Porthole gutters (a major eyestrain!)   -  Turnbuckles and eyebolts for rigging   -  A replacement rigged yardarm   -  Gun details for 4in 45, quad .50 cal and 2 pdr Pom-Pom guns   -  Leadsman platforms (a welcome addition)   -  Degaussing cables (wartime service)   -  Boat details including oars, rudders, propellers and seaboat jumping nets   -  Type 279 and 284 radars   -  Aerial spreaders   -  Main derrick and small derrick details   -  Boat davits plus gripes (another nice feature)   -  Boat cradles   -  Life raft details   -  Funnel bars   -  Quarterdeck hatches and covers   -  Admiral's cabin window details   -  Letters for the HOOD name boards with jig   -  And of course VADM L.E. Holland!

I can't believe what detail Loren has kept in this set! But if you must have more, there is always the Gold Plus set, which includes:   -  The catapult fitted from 1929-1932 (beautiful bolt head detail!)   -  The associated crane   -  Launch cradle   -  Floatplane details   -  Jack staff and flag staff   -  Boat gunwhales and bench seats   -  Boat gratings   -  15inch gun tompions (Wow! In polished brass! Forget the IPMS rules on drilling barrels!)   -  Awning stanchions with small eyebolts etched in and drilling jigs (Inconceivable!)   -  Skylight covers   -  Turret aircraft platform sections   -  Davits stowed and deployed (and etched for rigging!)   -  Life buoys and racks   -  Fighting top windows   -  Semaphore signaling stands with arms   -  Boat boom brackets   -  More eyebolts   -  More doors   -  More oars   -  More J-bar davits   -  More boat cradles

The instructions provided are clear and comprehensive in typical GMM fashion. Loren even explains the time period for certain details, eliminating the guesswork if you lack exhaustive references. Still it would not hurt to round up a few for these sets. My only quibble is that some of the details provided in the Gold Plus set are also referred to in the basic instructions like the awning stanchions and the jigs for drilling mounting holes - which can be confusing if you did not by the Gold Plus set. The brass in GMM sets is easy to work but sufficiently thick so that it is not easily bent on accident. I am by no means an expert on HOOD but I cannot see any detail overlooked. These latest sets from Gold Medal Models are a must if you want to build HOOD and given my experience with the quality of the product line, I would recommend it over all the rest. For what you get in details, the price is very reasonable. Loren has another winner - strongly recommended!

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