Academy Warspite

I have the review kit on the bench this very moment. If you like classy old ships then save up for this one. It's a good kit. Not perfect but darned good. Molded in 1944 "ground pounder" bombardment fit but it can be back-dated to 1942-43 by leaving some parts off and filling a few holes. The photo etched detail set is going to be necessary. No etch in the kit except for the heavy cranes. Detail level is good. Not stunning with 1200 parts, but darned good. If you want a Warspite then you won't be disappointed in the Academy offering. A fun build with lots of good detail where it counts. 

Two reviews Online:

ModelWarships

InternetModeler

Thanks for the links Tracy. Looks to be a pretty decent kit and that upgrade set should turn it into a work of art. Asahme about the molded angle of the main guns but that shouldn.t be too hard to fix.

I will likely pick one up to add to my stash and build one day. I like her battle record better than any of the other 1/350 WWII Royal Navy Battleships and Battle Cruisers available.

What needs to be done for 1942/43?

Less anti-aircraft mainly. I don't have exact locations, this is just what a cursory examination revealed.

The repairs after the Fritz X hits in late '43 included removing the Walrus planes and adding a half dozen 2 pounders around the catapult, adding two more 2 pounders on the bridge deck, adding another AA control radar to the aft deck house, and I'm sure a bunch of other things. Academy gives you two bulkheads, E-49, to replace the gun tub/bulkheads for the '44 fit on the bridge. The holes around the catapult are easy enough to fill with .035-.040 rod and paint to blend in. The single AA control is shown but not explained in the instructions. Basically fill the two holes in the riser and just glue down one unit instead of two. 

I'm sure someone, Tracy perhaps, has a long and complete list of things needed to backdate the Warspite, but it sure seems like it can be done pretty easily. 

There are other corrections needed to the kit, mostly minor stuff, but still wrong. I can't spell them out here at the moment however. 

I'd love to see a pre-1937 version from someone. There's no way to do that from the Academy kit but maybe someone else will issue it? We can hope. 

I would like to modify the kit to her 1939-1940 appearance, as she appeared when destroying the German destroyer fleet in Norway.  I like the clean look.

Bill

Too bad it's not the WW I version.

That being said, it looks like a very nice kit. Price appears to be reasonable too.

Hey,

I believe Trumpeter's 1/350 Queen Elizabeth is going to be an earlier fit, possibly 1918 like it's 1/700 release and I also saw on a few different forums that Academy may add more Warspites/Queens of different fits.  Although I build armor, I'll definitely will buy it.  Now only if some one will make a 1/350 plastic Rodney/Nelson and my favorite Agincourt...

I'd love to see an early QE class and hopefully someone will provide it? The ships are vastly different. I actually prefer the older twin stack look. Much sleeker and just as nasty. If it comes to pass I'll be building that one too. It would be great to have the early and late models side by side in the display case. By WWII all five barely looked like the same class anymore. However they sure were effective.