Hood in 1:700

This is one of those rare cases in which the manufacturers got things right the first time.  Both the Tamiya 1/700 and the Italeri 1/720 versions have gotten almost universally good reviews.  Both are fine kits.  To my eye the Italeri one has somewhat better detail.  (The most conspicuous difference:  the bulkheads forming the after end of the shelter deck.  Tamiya cast the main deck, the shelter deck, the hull, and those bulkheads in one piece, and the bulkheads are blank, vertical slabs.  The Italeri cast the hull in halves, with the decks and bulkheads as separate pieces.  The bulkheads feature ports, hatches, ladders, and the name "HOOD" on each side.)  The Italeri kit also contains parts for the underwater hull; the Tamiya one doesn't.

Both are good enough, though, that I'd suggest making the decision on the basis of the period you want to model.  The Tamiya kit represents the ship as she looked when she was sunk.  Italeri shows her as she looked in the early thirties.  To my eye she looked at her best then - before her secondary armament was changed, her foremast was cut down, and various other practical modifications were made to her. 

Either kit, though, has the potential to be turned into a beautiful model.

The HMS Hood Association Web Site give reviews of both the Tamiya & Italeri kits. Don't know if you have read them. Here is a link.

http://www.hmshood.com/hoodtoday/models/index.htm

I was working on the Tamiya one until recently. Very nicely molded. Had corrected the area under the Shelter Deck as per the instructions in the HMS Hood Association review, but lost interest in it when Trumpeter released the 1/350th. White Ensign models do a nice PE kit for the Hood in the scale.