In-box review of L'Arsenal 1/700 HMS Sheffield

[Mike E.]

Below please find my in-box review of the long-awaited 1/700 L�Arsenal kit of the WWII-era Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Sheffield (1942).

References used: in the absence of reliable drawings or plans of Sheffield in the fit depicted in the kit (Battle of the Barents Sea, December 31, 1942), I consulted line drawing and photos depicting Sheffield in earlier and later configurations which were found in the following references:

--Alan Raven and John Roberts, Town Class Cruisers, Man �O War 5 (Arms and Armour Press, 1980)�which has a centerfold profile painting of Sheffield as she appeared in Winter 1941/42;

--Alan Raven and John Roberts, British Cruisers of World War Two (Naval Institute Press, 1980)�which has a profile line drawing of Sheffield as she appeared in Winter 1941/42;

--Norman Friedman, British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After (Naval Institute Press, 2011)�which has a profile drawing of Sheffield as she appeared during the Battle of the North Cape in December, 1943;

I also consulted photos of Sheffield on the Imperial War Museum website. Since the main differences between Sheffield in her earlier and later configurations had mainly to do with her anti-aircraft and radar fit, these line drawings are still very useful as references.

Finally, I used the line drawing of HMS Southampton (profile and plan view) in the Friedman volume�she was a close sister to Sheffield�to assess the accuracy of the kit�s various deck levels and platforms. I photocopied all of the aforementioned line drawings and reduced them to 1/700 scale so I could check the size and configuration of the various kit components against them.

The kit is cast in light cream resin. Larger components come as separate items while the numerous smaller, more delicate items (sights and directors, winches, hose reels, ammo lockers, searchlights, paravanes, carley floats, ships� boats, etc.�the kit consists of 263 resin parts in all) are integrally cast with protective gates to prevent breakage. Bulkheads are paper thin, and the casting quality of some of the smaller items�such as the quad pom-poms�is simply amazing. There are two detailed and comprehensive relief-etched PE frets, and very detailed instructions with a part list and painting guide.

As best as I can tell, the kit is dimensionally accurate and proportionally correct. The length and beam are spot-on. The hull is beautifully rendered: the sheer is accurate, the knuckle is correct (a detail manufacturers often get wrong), the flare beneath the knuckle is not overdone, the metal deckplates on the forecastle feature a delicate non-slip pattern, and the deck planking is understated. Deck fittings and fixtures are consistent with available references. Deckhouses, searchlight platforms, bridge structures, and stacks are cleanly cast, and are likewise consistent, shape- and dimensions-wise, with available references. I particularly liked the wind baffles on the bridge, which consists of finely cast resin vanes overlaid with PE brass strips. This is a feature rarely attempted in this scale.

There are a few minor inaccuracies, but they are easily corrected: 1) The porthole configuration is correct for Sheffield as built, but not for her wartime appearance, when many portholes were covered over, although this is easily corrected with filler or PE porthole caps. 2) The top line of the armor belt should extend to the main deck level�it is too low. Purists will want to rectify this this with this thin plastic strips. 3) Viewed from above, the stem/bow should be more sharply pointed. This can be fixed in a few seconds with a sanding stick. 4) The starboard aft hawse pipe was, I believe, plated over by December 1942, so it should be covered over with small plastic ellipses cut from thin sheet stock. 5) The CAD drawings on the box-top and in the instructions correctly show Sheffield with a tub-mounted 20mm gun on X turret, yet the instructions shows the 20mm gun mounted on X turret without a tub; consistent with this, the kit lacks a gun tub. However, photos show that during the period depicted, Sheffield carried a tub-mounted 20mm on X turret, per the CAD drawing.

The quality of the hull casting, however, was not up to the standard of the kit�s other resin components. There were numerous pinholes along the waterline, the bollards were incompletely cast, there were bits of foreign matter trapped just below the surface of the casting, and there was a small pit on the forecastle deck likely caused by foreign matter in the RTV mold, which will be difficult to fix with filler without sanding off some of the deck planking details. After bringing this problem to the attention of L'Arsenal, they responded that they had previously identified and pulled a handful of defective hull castings, but would be glad to replace any substandard hulls that had escaped quality control checks and made it to market. Customers that encounter this problem can get in touch with L'Arsenal at larsenal2.0@gmail.com for a replacement hull. Thank you L�Arsenal for standing behind your product!

The verdict? I have been waiting for this kit for years, and am delighted with it. The L�Arsenal kit is an accurate rendering of HMS Sheffield as she appeared at the Battle of the Barents Sea, and can be modified without too much effort to depict her earlier or later in her wartime career. This kit is an excellent value for the money, and I look forward to future offerings by L�Arsenal. Highly recommended.

Postscript: my replacement hulls arrived today and they are cleanly cast, defects-free, and exquisite. Thank you L'Arsenal!!!

[Miguel]

Your reviews Mike are as usual superb, but .... man ,You should include a couple of photos ,as the old saying
one image tells more than a thousand words
anyway ...thank You for the review.
Regards

[MartinJQuinn]

Thanks Mike, great review.