Tamiya 1/700 HMS Repulse By Shane Jenkins

Introduction

HMS Repluse was, along with her sister ship HMS Renown, one of the last Royal Navy Battlecruisers. A plastic kit of this beautiful battlecruiser in 1/700 has long been awaited although 1/700 resin kits have been available for some time. Tamiya have been kitting the main participants of the Battle of the Malay Sea recently and this is a welcome addition to the line. This kit depicts HMS Repulse at the time of her sinking in 1941.

The Kit

The kit comprises 5 sprues (two of which are the same) containing approx 150 parts moulded in light grey - with the exception of the base plate which is moulded in black - plus there is the normal weight that goes in the base plate. There is only a waterline option for this kit. As has become the norm for Tamiya in recent years the hulls and deck are moulded separately as opposed to the older waterline kits where they were moulded in one piece. There is also a detailed instruction sheet with a paint guide using Tamiya colours - whilst I understand the marketing imperative here, I do wish that Tamiya would include the actual paint colours as well so that we can make our own judgement on what paint to use. Also included is a small decal sheet for the Walrus aircraft.

The turrets are particularly good and the rest of the kit is finely moulded within the tolerances of the plastic injection process - although some modellers will want to avail themselves of the various replacements offered by the aftermarket industry. At the very least, most modellers will want to wait for a dedicated photo-etch set for railings, ladders, etc.

Conclusion:

This excellent kit has been long awaited and kudos to Tamiya for giving 1/700 ship modellers what they wanted. If Tamiya follow their normal pattern a kit of HMS Renown should be out soon as well. There are also plenty of conversion topics for HMS Repulse here, indeed you could almost do a WW1 version, but that would take some scratchbuilding to accomplish - certainly a between the wars version would be easily done. I think this kit may just what I need to get me started on a Battlecruiser build series - watch this space!! This kit deserves to have good sales and I recommend it highly.

Review sample courtesy of SANDLE Hobbies

Disclaimer: For those who worry about such things, yes I do own SANDLE Hobbies and sell the above kit among others.