HMCS St. Laurent were the first class of warships designed and built in Canada, and they were also one of the first Cold War designs to enter service. This class of seven ships was designed to operate in an NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) warfare environment, and many of the design elements reflect this. This classs of destroyers were designed for a mostly anti-submarine role, escorting and patrolling in the North Atlantic.

This class was armed with twin 3"/50 open mounts, which were later enclosed during refits performed on the class. They also carried the triple-barrelled Limbo ASW motor system (two mounts), an evolution of the Squid ASW weapon (which was itself a replacement for Hedgehog/Mousetrap), 2 torpedo throwers and 2 single 40mm "Boffin" mounts.

This kit of St. Laurent is representative of her appearance in the late 1950's. By 1963, this class had been upgraded to Destroyer Helicopter Escorts (DDH), with the addition of a Variable Depth Sonar and helicopter handling facilities; these changes necessitated the removal of one of the Limbo mortars and the aft mounted twin 3"/50.

St. Laurent is cast as a full hull model, in a green-grey resin common to The Resin Shipyard. As has been seen with other Resin Shipyard full hull kits, St. Laurent has a seam running along the keel line, with a pour plug stub in the approximate center of the hull. The hull is slightly textured, but will only needs some slight touch-up to prep for paint. The NBC doors which cover the anchors hawses are molded closed on the hull. Blige keels are placed separatly, (photoetch keels included) but have locations indicated on the hull (scribed lines), as do both the prop skegs (scribed outlines) and twin rudders (holes). The instructions also indicate there should be scribed marks for placement of the sonar dome, but they appear to be missing.

Most of the superstructure is molded on to the hull, as are the main gun tubs. The tubs are nicely thin and crisply detailed, but they are a bit out of round, when viewed from above. The rounded deck edge forward is a feature of this class, adding to their unique visual appeal. There are holes and bases on the deck for bollards, but the posts themselves must be created using plastic rod.

The well for the twin Limbo ASW mortars is nicely detailed, and will look good when fully assembled.

Over 30 resin parts make up the rest of this kit. These parts come wrapped in protective bubble wrap, snug in a plastic box- usual practice for Resin Shipyard. This packing method seems to do well in protecting the smaller parts from damage. One small resin wafer with the prop hubs, mast tops, and torpedos was placed in a small plastic baggie inside the box; presumably for additional breakage/loss protection.

These parts cover a wide range of details, and includes an amidships deck for the 40mm Bofors "Boffin" powered mounts, ships boats, the funnel and mainmast base. There is also plastic and brass rod included for various other masts, reels and shaft needs.

There are some parts that don't live up to Resin Shipyard's normal standards. The searchlights are fairly basic and not at all crisp, and the 3"/50 guns are underwhelming. The Limbo mortars looks convincing, but having hollowed barrels would have been a nice touch.

St. Laurent has two sheets of brass, relief-etch photoetch. These parts are all clearly numbered, and are sequential, running from Sheet 1 to Sheet 2. With 68 different types of parts, numbering well over 100 in total, the photoetch in this kit is one of the star performers. The etch also includes name boards for all six members of the class.

As expected in photoetch this extensive, there are various etched radar antenna, platforms and yardarms to detail the masts of your St. Laurent. All these parts should be quite impressive when fully assembled.

The railings are in short sections, to ease accurate placement of the life raft cannisters, but may prove an additional challenge to some modellers to get the multiple short sections to align properly.

The included Limbo well cover, fully deployed and in sections for storage, is a nice touch; if modelling St. Laurent in a heavy-seas diorama is desired, closing off the well would be a nice detail.

Three decals sheets make up the decal complement of this kit; a set of Canadian Naval flags, a set of St. Laurent class markings, and a set of generic black and white Canadian markings, which include bridge window decals, draft markings specific for St. Laurent.

Resin Shipyard's multi-page, multi-color instructions are quite extensive and information packed. As usual, close study of the directions is indicated when building this model, and black numbers still indicate resin parts, red numbers indicate photoetch.

Detailed color instructions are listed on the final page, in Model Master, Testors, and FS colors. The Resin Shipyard has worked with White Ensign Models to develop the appropriate grey-green of Canadian Navy Grey, which is available separately. (Colorcoats M23 RCN 501-509)

The Resin Shipyard's latest 1/350 kit, and they continue to grow their line of modern Canadian naval subjects. Like other offerings, this is a well-put-together kit, and should be a fun build for anyone. The uncommon subject matter has much to offer those who are jaded with what is available on the market. Recommended for any modeller with previous resin and photoetch experience.

This is kit #C-04 with a MSRP of $165.00 CDN$, or about $160.00 USD.

This is only one of the many kits produced by The Resin Shipyard. See the whole line on their website. Next up from Resin Shipyard: 1/350 HMCS Fraser DDH variant.