Proposed British N-3 Battle Ship
Reviewed by Timothy Dike
| The Washington Treaty attempted to head off an arms race among the Naval powers after World War Two. One of it's casualties was the British N-3 class Battleship. The name HMS St. Andrew was one possible name had this massive ship actually been built. This ship is well represented in this Imperial Hobby Productions craftsman kit. It includes only the items that are distinct to this ship. The modeler should use parts from the Tamiya Rodney or Nelson for masts and other minor items. In examining this ship, I can't help but wonder what this ship would look like with a flight deck on the aft end. | ||||||||||||
| HULL | ||||||||||||
| The hull is cleanly cast with no defects. Deck planking is good and the anchorways are cast clean so you can add the included chain for a more realistic effect. One nice touch is the scribed location mark for the funnel placement. | Click images
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| SUPERSTRUCTURE | ||||||||||||
| The superstructure parts are well cast with only a little flash on the bottom. The superstructure is pretty distinctive when set in place as evidenced by the views below. The sheer lines of the bridge tower above the ship in dramatic fashion. |  |
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| ARMAMENT AND DETAILS | ||||||||||||
The main guns are cast on gates at the back of the turret.
Openings for the gun barrels and mounting pin are cast on. The gun barrels
are CNC turned brass, really nice looking. They really add to the value
of the kit.
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The secondary guns are cast in metal with separate gun
barrels. The turrets themselves are pretty good, but the barrels have a
bit of flash on them. Nothing objectionable just a bit plain in comparison
to the machined main gun barrels.
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| INSTRUCTIONS | ||||||||||||
The instructions are pretty basic and include a few detail
views. A few extra views would be nice to show the assembly better.
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| CONCLUSIONS | ||||||||||||
This is not a kit for beginners, it requires some experience with resin and metal parts. With a list price of $153.00 it is pretty pricey, but it is truly a one of a kind kit of an obscure subject. The inclusion of anchor chain and machined brass gun barrels adds to the kits value and fans of Never were ships will really appreciate this new release. Thanks to Imperial Hobby Productions for the review sample check their website for a complete list of Ship kits in metal and resin. Mike Bartel the CEO has been producing a lot of these proposed ship designs. Get yours while you can, this is a special interest kit and it is unlikely to be produced again when this run is sold out. |
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