HMS Hood Cobi Model Kit

[AdmiralThunder]

So, this past Christmas I was given a Cobi model kit (HMS Hood # 4830). I used to love doing models (the plastic ones with glue, paint, decals, etc...) as a kid. However, now that I have been hit by MS, which has impacted my vision, and to some extent my hand coordination and dexterity, I really can't do those anymore. My friends got me the Cobi kit after I had mentioned they looked like Lego models and that I thought they would be interesting and I might be able to do them. I had mentioned Hood, Bismarck, Arizona, and Missouri as ones of interest, and they got me Hood knowing it is a favorite of mine from history (I make them watch Sink the Bismarck with me every chance I can LOL). 

I finally got around to working on it about 3 weeks ago. The kit has 2613 pieces in it and the thing is HUGE (34.6" long). I wanted to be sure I had time to work on it and get it done fairly quick and not get sidetracked leaving it unfinished sitting around just waiting to get knocked over, pieces lost, etc... Between MS episodes, IRL crap, etc... I kept putting it off. But I finally said it is time and got started. 

It actually took me 3 weeks in total to finish but I had days where I did not work on it out of frustration (more later), because I had IRL stuff that took priority, vacation, etc... I actually only worked on it 5 days in those approx 3 weeks. I was a nervous wreck with it sitting unfinished on the card table and kept the door to my room closed and locked so no one would walk in and hit it LOL. I finished it up yesterday morning.

Overall, I am happy with the experience. No question Cobi makes a quality product and for "Legos" the ship looks pretty darn good. I am not happy with a few things in the directions however and plan to write Cobi about it (for what good it will do - but it doesn't hurt). I would absolutely get another kit from them as it was a lot of fun. Three things I will mention here (I also mention them in the video below)...

1. if you plan to try doing one, do yourself a massive favor and get some modeling anchor chain to replace the manually assembled nightmare they give you. OMG the pieces are so small you have to use tweezers to put the chain together. Thank God they give you extra links because they break and also go "twang" and fly off the tweezers like a spring never to be seen again. I got like a dozen extra pieces in my kit and had just TWO left over when I finally got the 3 sections of anchor chain I needed made. I had to stop after making the first one for 2 days before going back I found it so frustrating (my bad vision and uncooperative hands did not help). IMO for the $1 it would cost Cobi for the 3 short pieces of chain vs the assemble yourself crap they give they should do that. I know the whole point is to build the ship from pieces but that = from bricks (their Legos) NOT little, tiny, microscopic pieces of chain. It sucked so bad. UGH! If I ever do another (I want to but room to display it is an issue) I 100% will buy a 1 foot length of modeling anchor chain and just cut my own.
2. Another real bone of contention with Cobi I have is related to the ship masts. They did an absolutely horrible job making it clear which of the multiple (pieces and lengths) grey dowels go where and on which mast assembly. They also have stuff spread out all over in multiple bags (within the main #'d parts bags) vs bagging things together and labeling it so you know what the *&#@% goes where. It was a major PITB making the 2 mast assemblies because you just can not tell accurately which grey dowels get used on which part. It's a lot of trial and error which would be ok except it cause you to assemble and dissemble things a lot and these bricks start getting loose if you take them apart a lot. By the time you get it right, if you have to keep taking it apart to change the dowels for a different set so it all fits properly, things are a bit loose. They need to do a better job ID'ing which ones go where. I will definitely go over that when I write to them about the issues I had. Not sure I would buy another kit with mast assemblies (Arizona would be a nightmare)? Maybe just ones with superstructure and single pole masts vs tripod ones like Hood has.
3. The other big issue I have is they have you put the prop shafts and props on way too early (very early in build actually - see video below). This becomes an issue when the hull is basically formed because it ends up sitting flat on the table while you work which causes the props and prop shafts to be right against the table. It keeps knocking the shafts off (the mounting tabs get very loose the more it happens which makes it even worse) and I had 2 of the 4 props have a blade break off despite being super careful and trying to let that area hang off the edge of the table. At some point you slide the hull across the table without realizing it and then stuff gets knocked loose or even broken. You can actually easily put them on at the very end as the last thing if you very carefully laid it on its side or had someone hold it for a second. The other option would be to wait until all the hull is done and then have you assemble the stand and put the hull on it. The stand is super rigid and holds it great. It would keep the props and prop shafts up off the table and it would still be stable to work on. If I ever do another kit I will probably build the stand when the hull is done and put it on it and THEN put the props and prop shafts on.

Anyway, despite the griping and whining above it was a lot of fun and someday I want to do another. 

I had some family members who were very interested and wanted to see how to do it. I ended up making a video. It is a bit long but if you are curious to see what is involved check it out. I built the ship in 2 page sections (the directions/manual) and then took a picture of what got done vs pictures of every single step. With so many pieces that would have been too long. As it is there are 100+ pictures of just building it LOL. 

Just thought some of you might be interested. Note - I used my WOWS replay intro because I didn't feel like coming up with one just for Cobi models. I added a descriptive image to it showing it is a model kit but it is my current replay intro overall.

FWIW...

EDIT - there are a couple small pieces (dowel pieces) missing in the video. I finally figured out where the extra pieces I had left went (back end of ship - 1 on superstructure in a base with a hole through it to make a radar/range finder thing and 2 little small pieces by the rear guns in Y shaped holders that make scopes or some such) but it was after taking the pictures for the video. Somehow I missed them during assembly but have since fixed it (wanted to note it in case you see it in the video - it is way easier to see it there than in person actually).

Edited June 13 by AdmiralThunder

[Admiral_Karasu]

BZ @AdmiralThunder

An excellent account, thank you.

From decades ago, I remember both legos and model kits. I remember looking at sailing ship kits with awe but never really got into those, the only one I worked on was the Santa Maria, but I never got the sails hoisted on her for some reason. The sails were made of white plastic, that I remember. I remember working on completing three other ships, too, the Iron Duke, the Vanguard, and the Titanic, the latter being the infamous Revell kit. I also recall WW2 planes, and oddly also some vintage car kits. Lol, for reason I don't think I ever had tank kits. I remember having one actual lego kit, but that was a passenger ferry.

 

[HogHammer]

5 hours ago, AdmiralThunder said:

I had some family members who were very interested and wanted to see how to do it. I ended up making a video. It is a bit long but if you are curious to see what is involved check it out. I built the ship in 2 page sections (the directions/manual) and then took a picture of what got done vs pictures of every single step. With so many pieces that would have been too long. As it is there are 100+ pictures of just building it LOL. 

Just thought some of you might be interested. Note - I used my WOWS replay intro because I didn't feel like coming up with one just for Cobi models. I added a descriptive image to it showing it is a model kit but it is my current replay intro overall.

Simply a fantastic job.  The finished HMS Hood looks great.

And, as always, terrific video.  Glad you shared your experience.

[clammboy]

Nice video and great job on the Hood she looks fantastic @AdmiralThunder

[Guest]

8 hours ago, AdmiralThunder said:

So, this past Christmas I was given a Cobi model kit (HMS Hood # 4830). I used to love doing models (the plastic ones with glue, paint, decals, etc...) as a kid. However, now that I have been hit by MS, which has impacted my vision, and to some extent my hand coordination and dexterity, I really can't do those anymore. My friends got me the Cobi kit after I had mentioned they looked like Lego models and that I thought they would be interesting and I might be able to do them. I had mentioned Hood, Bismarck, Arizona, and Missouri as ones of interest, and they got me Hood knowing it is a favorite of mine from history (I make them watch Sink the Bismarck with me every chance I can LOL). 

I finally got around to working on it about 3 weeks ago. The kit has 2613 pieces in it and the thing is HUGE (34.6" long). I wanted to be sure I had time to work on it and get it done fairly quick and not get sidetracked leaving it unfinished sitting around just waiting to get knocked over, pieces lost, etc... Between MS episodes, IRL crap, etc... I kept putting it off. But I finally said it is time and got started. 

It actually took me 3 weeks in total to finish but I had days where I did not work on it out of frustration (more later), because I had IRL stuff that took priority, vacation, etc... I actually only worked on it 5 days in those approx 3 weeks. I was a nervous wreck with it sitting unfinished on the card table and kept the door to my room closed and locked so no one would walk in and hit it LOL. I finished it up yesterday morning.

Overall, I am happy with the experience. No question Cobi makes a quality product and for "Legos" the ship looks pretty darn good. I am not happy with a few things in the directions however and plan to write Cobi about it (for what good it will do - but it doesn't hurt). I would absolutely get another kit from them as it was a lot of fun. Three things I will mention here (I also mention them in the video below)...

1. if you plan to try doing one, do yourself a massive favor and get some modeling anchor chain to replace the manually assembled nightmare they give you. OMG the pieces are so small you have to use tweezers to put the chain together. Thank God they give you extra links because they break and also go "twang" and fly off the tweezers like a spring never to be seen again. I got like a dozen extra pieces in my kit and had just TWO left over when I finally got the 3 sections of anchor chain I needed made. I had to stop after making the first one for 2 days before going back I found it so frustrating (my bad vision and uncooperative hands did not help). IMO for the $1 it would cost Cobi for the 3 short pieces of chain vs the assemble yourself crap they give they should do that. I know the whole point is to build the ship from pieces but that = from bricks (their Legos) NOT little, tiny, microscopic pieces of chain. It sucked so bad. UGH! If I ever do another (I want to but room to display it is an issue) I 100% will buy a 1 foot length of modeling anchor chain and just cut my own.
2. Another real bone of contention with Cobi I have is related to the ship masts. They did an absolutely horrible job making it clear which of the multiple (pieces and lengths) grey dowels go where and on which mast assembly. They also have stuff spread out all over in multiple bags (within the main #'d parts bags) vs bagging things together and labeling it so you know what the *&#@% goes where. It was a major PITB making the 2 mast assemblies because you just can not tell accurately which grey dowels get used on which part. It's a lot of trial and error which would be ok except it cause you to assemble and dissemble things a lot and these bricks start getting loose if you take them apart a lot. By the time you get it right, if you have to keep taking it apart to change the dowels for a different set so it all fits properly, things are a bit loose. They need to do a better job ID'ing which ones go where. I will definitely go over that when I write to them about the issues I had. Not sure I would buy another kit with mast assemblies (Arizona would be a nightmare)? Maybe just ones with superstructure and single pole masts vs tripod ones like Hood has.
3. The other big issue I have is they have you put the prop shafts and props on way too early (very early in build actually - see video below). This becomes an issue when the hull is basically formed because it ends up sitting flat on the table while you work which causes the props and prop shafts to be right against the table. It keeps knocking the shafts off (the mounting tabs get very loose the more it happens which makes it even worse) and I had 2 of the 4 props have a blade break off despite being super careful and trying to let that area hang off the edge of the table. At some point you slide the hull across the table without realizing it and then stuff gets knocked loose or even broken. You can actually easily put them on at the very end as the last thing if you very carefully laid it on its side or had someone hold it for a second. The other option would be to wait until all the hull is done and then have you assemble the stand and put the hull on it. The stand is super rigid and holds it great. It would keep the props and prop shafts up off the table and it would still be stable to work on. If I ever do another kit I will probably build the stand when the hull is done and put it on it and THEN put the props and prop shafts on.

Anyway, despite the griping and whining above it was a lot of fun and someday I want to do another. 

I had some family members who were very interested and wanted to see how to do it. I ended up making a video. It is a bit long but if you are curious to see what is involved check it out. I built the ship in 2 page sections (the directions/manual) and then took a picture of what got done vs pictures of every single step. With so many pieces that would have been too long. As it is there are 100+ pictures of just building it LOL. 

Just thought some of you might be interested. Note - I used my WOWS replay intro because I didn't feel like coming up with one just for Cobi models. I added a descriptive image to it showing it is a model kit but it is my current replay intro overall.

FWIW...

EDIT - there are a couple small pieces (dowel pieces) missing in the video. I finally figured out where the extra pieces I had left went (back end of ship - 1 on superstructure in a base with a hole through it to make a radar/range finder thing and 2 little small pieces by the rear guns in Y shaped holders that make scopes or some such) but it was after taking the pictures for the video. Somehow I missed them during assembly but have since fixed it (wanted to note it in case you see it in the video - it is way easier to see it there than in person actually).

great video buddy  . 1 notable note you mentioned at the beginning of the video was  HOOD was a battle cruiser NOT a battleship ( it is in the game ) ive been arguing for a few years with people  who claim she was a battleship in real life .

HMS HOOD official website for those interested H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood (hmshood.org.uk)

 

[AdmiralThunder]

57 minutes ago, Gaelic_knight said:

great video buddy  . 1 notable note you mentioned at the beginning of the video was  HOOD was a battle cruiser NOT a battleship ( it is in the game ) ive been arguing for a few years with people  who claim she was a battleship in real life .

HMS HOOD official website for those interested H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood (hmshood.org.uk)

 

My personal opinion is that Hood is closer to a Battleship than a Battlecruiser. The armor is closer to that found on Queen Elizabeth vs traditional Brit BC’s. I referred to it as a BC in the video as that is what the Brit’s did. I know it is a hotly debated topic.

Edited June 13 by AdmiralThunder

[Admiral_Karasu]

2 minutes ago, AdmiralThunder said:

My personal opinion is that Hood is closer to a Battleship than a Battlecruiser. The armor is closer to that found on Queen Elizabeth vs traditional Brit BC’s. I referred to it as a BC in the video as that is what the Brit’s did. I know it is a hotly debated topic.

Apparently, it depends on who you ask. For the Royal Navy, the Hood was a battlecruiser, while as far as the US Navy was concerned, she was a fast battleship.

[AdmiralThunder]

@Admiral_Karasu @HogHammer @clammboy @Gaelic_knight 

Tagging you folks in as you replied to the OP and I wanted to you to see this.

As I mentioned in the OP, when viewing the video I noticed where I had missed a couple parts. A radar/range finder thing dowel and then 2 pieces that go in Y holders on the rear deck by the main guns. The video was already done and I wasn't redoing it. But this morning I got out the direction books and my spare parts bag to see what was up. As you near the end of such a massive project you get a little blurry eyed and brain dead and can miss a tiny detail; and yup I did LOL.

This is the picture I saw where it was obvious it was supposed to be a radar/range finder thing. I just missed adding the dowel. I had 1 dowel of that size left so easy fix.

I saw in this picture of the rear deck where I had missed adding something to 2 Y holders by the rear guns. I am pretty sure I missed it as they were on the back side of how I built it and the gun barbette and other stuff kind of blocked me. I was trying not to spin it much to minimize prop damage.

I went back through the last manual to try and see where I flubbed it. Found it on the 1st page. DOH! The directions actually call for 2 black pins with round heads being inserted (not sure what they are supposed to be?). Aw crap! When I was done I had just a few small pieces left and a couple where the black round head pins. As I couldn't see that they went anywhere, and believing they were extra parts, I added them to holes in the deck up front by the anchor chains as I thought it looked better. Like this...

So I looked at what spare parts I had left. No more of the black ones (sad face). I did have 1 extra grey of that type and an extra small grey dowel (used those earlier in the same Y holders to make sort of a spotting scope thing I think). My options were remove the black pins from up front and put in at the back where they should go -OR- use the extra grey stuff which would look ok and still fit with the rest of the ship while leaving the back up front where I felt it looked better with vs without.

For now I am leaving the black up front and I used the extra grey at the back. It's a PITB getting those pins out of the deck so for now the black stays where it is. If it starts bugging my OCD I will swap them. For now however it looks like this which is better than the empty Y holders as shown in the video. I could also write Cobi and see about getting 2 extra black pins too.

[Guest]

it dont matter if you missed  or forgot a few little pieces  it was still a great video and thank you for sharing 

@AdmiralThunder

[Guest]

I started this HMS Hood model 3 years ago and never had the chance to finnish it . 
 

[clammboy]

1 hour ago, AdmiralThunder said:

@Admiral_Karasu @HogHammer @clammboy @Gaelic_knight 

Tagging you folks in as you replied to the OP and I wanted to you to see this.

As I mentioned in the OP, when viewing the video I noticed where I had missed a couple parts. A radar/range finder thing dowel and then 2 pieces that go in Y holders on the rear deck by the main guns. The video was already done and I wasn't redoing it. But this morning I got out the direction books and my spare parts bag to see what was up. As you near the end of such a massive project you get a little blurry eyed and brain dead and can miss a tiny detail; and yup I did LOL.

This is the picture I saw where it was obvious it was supposed to be a radar/range finder thing. I just missed adding the dowel. I had 1 dowel of that size left so easy fix.

I saw in this picture of the rear deck where I had missed adding something to 2 Y holders by the rear guns. I am pretty sure I missed it as they were on the back side of how I built it and the gun barbette and other stuff kind of blocked me. I was trying not to spin it much to minimize prop damage.

I went back through the last manual to try and see where I flubbed it. Found it on the 1st page. DOH! The directions actually call for 2 black pins with round heads being inserted (not sure what they are supposed to be?). Aw crap! When I was done I had just a few small pieces left and a couple where the black round head pins. As I couldn't see that they went anywhere, and believing they were extra parts, I added them to holes in the deck up front by the anchor chains as I thought it looked better. Like this...

So I looked at what spare parts I had left. No more of the black ones (sad face). I did have 1 extra grey of that type and an extra small grey dowel (used those earlier in the same Y holders to make sort of a spotting scope thing I think). My options were remove the black pins from up front and put in at the back where they should go -OR- use the extra grey stuff which would look ok and still fit with the rest of the ship while leaving the back up front where I felt it looked better with vs without.

For now I am leaving the black up front and I used the extra grey at the back. It's a PITB getting those pins out of the deck so for now the black stays where it is. If it starts bugging my OCD I will swap them. For now however it looks like this which is better than the empty Y holders as shown in the video. I could also write Cobi and see about getting 2 extra black pins too.

Lol Admiral I see that your slight case of OCD when it comes to Wows and the missions the campaigns having almost every ship doing every thing in record time. Seems to also pertain to your modeling and ship building as you have left no stone unturned . Great job again.

[AdmiralThunder]

26 minutes ago, clammboy said:

Lol Admiral I see that your slight case of OCD when it comes to Wows and the missions the campaigns having almost every ship doing every thing in record time. Seems to also pertain to your modeling and ship building as you have left no stone unturned . Great job again.

You have no idea. Since I posted the above this morning about discovering the errors, and fixing the Y holders wrong, it has bugged me so much I removed the black pins from up front and put them in the rear Y holders as the directions called for. I was sitting here minding my business and the damn thing was calling to me "I'm not right...you know it...how could you leave me like this...fix me..." LOL.

The other thing bugging me is what Cobi put them there to represent? I have looked at pics of Hood, plans of Hood, etc... and I don't see anything there like that? I am wondering if they are supposed to represent deck vent tubes? The grey Y holder would be the tube and the black pin head would represent the opening maybe?

OCD is an SOB.

Edited June 13 by AdmiralThunder

[AdmiralThunder]

1 hour ago, Gaelic_knight said:

I started this HMS Hood model 3 years ago and never had the chance to finnish it . 
 

If you still have it finish it up. OMG it would kill me not finishing it LOL.

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, AdmiralThunder said:

If you still have it finish it up. OMG it would kill me not finishing it LOL.

ive got a lot going on just now @AdmiralThunder at the moment national defence is relocating me to another base  .

 

[Guest]

its all go next week 

 

[I_cant_Swim_]

15 hours ago, AdmiralThunder said:

Just thought some of you might be interested

Yes, very nice AT! Got me interested so I've been looking up some model kits on Amazon. Yamato, Bismarck, HMS Belfast, Missouri.... there are a few out there. I'm just not sure if 1:350 scale is appropriate. But I'd love to give it a go. Your fault, again. 😊

 

2 hours ago, Gaelic_knight said:

I started this HMS Hood model 3 years ago and never had the chance to finnish it

You know you just have to finish it somehow, sometime soon, and show it to us. 😊

[Guest]

13 hours ago, I_cant_Swim_ said:

You know you just have to finish it somehow, sometime soon, and show it to us. 😊

i will eventually  when i get settled into my new home 

Edited June 14 by Gaelic_knight

[AdmiralThunder]

2 hours ago, I_cant_Swim_ said:

Yes, very nice AT! Got me interested so I've been looking up some model kits on Amazon. Yamato, Bismarck, HMS Belfast, Missouri.... there are a few out there. I'm just not sure if 1:350 scale is appropriate. But I'd love to give it a go. Your fault, again. 😊

 

You know you just have to finish it somehow, sometime soon, and show it to us. 😊

The Cobi kits like Hood that I did are 1:300. They are BIG just FYI. You need a lot of room to display them. 1:350 is even bigger. 

Edited June 14 by AdmiralThunder

[Guest]

and this was my first attempt at a diarama 

material used  :

balsa wood ,tin foil ( squished up  then opened flat to create waves )3 different layers of paint lightly painted over the tinfoil to form the water color  ranging from 

midnight blue as the base color  to a lighter shade of blue with some aqua green color for the top of the water 

the water effect round the ship and water explosion ( top right corner ) with ripple effects  was done using special water effects glue ( white in the bottle but dries clear ) made by woodlands scenic's

[Admiral_Karasu]

Good morning! .. as comrade Milensky said some 27 years ago, if you wish to learn another view point on what the 'joy of modelling' is all about, watch this clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBURlcNpfoo