"This inbox review is of Admiralty Modelworks latest 1/700 scale resin offering, HMS Glorious, 1918."

Vessel History

HMS Glorious was a warship of the Royal Navy. Built as a "large light cruiser" during World War I, Glorious, her sister HMS Courageous, and half-sister HMS Furious were the brainchildren of Admiral Lord Fisher, and were designed to be "light cruiser destroyers". They were originally intended to be heavy support for shallow water operations in the Baltic Sea, which use ultimately never came to pass. She saw action in World War I, and then was converted into an aircraft carrier. Evacuating British troops, she was sunk in 1940, with the loss of over 1,200 lives.

Glorious was built by Harland and Wolff, Belfast. The design was for a light battlecruiser; while having 15-inch (381 mm) guns, she was actually classed by the British Navy as a light cruiser because of her light armour protection. Her keel was laid down on 1 May 1915, the ship was launched 20 April 1916, completed on 14 October 1916, and Glorious was commissioned in January 1917. She cost £2,119,065 to build.

Her machinery was essentially similar to an earlier light cruiser, HMS Champion, with two sets to drive four shafts. During a test in 1917, Glorious managed to fire a torpedo out of one of her submerged torpedo tubes while moving at full speed. Under normal conditions, the firing of the underwater tubes could be done at speeds of no more than 23 knots (43 km/h), because of potential damage caused by water pressure at higher speeds. Her secondary guns were a new type of triple 4-inch (102 mm) gun, intended to provide a high rate of fire against torpedo boats and other smaller craft. However, as it turned out, the loaders for the guns would get in each other's way, and the rate of fire was far slower than three single mountings. One interesting note is that it was observed that Glorious was actually 1½ knots faster on full load than when in normal loading condition. Because of her light construction and other faults, causing more than average time in the repair yard, she was nicknamed 'Uproarious'.

When Glorious commissioned, she was the flagship of the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron, and later the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron. On 17 November 1917, along with Courageous and Repulse, she engaged light German forces in the Heligoland Bight, sustaining no damage. In 1918, short take-off platforms for aircraft were mounted on both 15-inch turrets. On 21 November 1918, she was present at the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet. In 1919, she was attached to the Gunnery School at Devonport as a gunnery training ship. Later, she became flagship of the Reserve Fleet.


Specifications

Name: HMS Glorious
Ordered: 14 March 1915
Builder: Harland and Wolff, Belfast
Laid down: 1 May 1915
Launched: 20 April 1916
Commissioned: January 1917
(Completed 14 October 1916)
Fate: Sunk by Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during the evacuation from Norway,
8 June 1940.

General characteristics

Displacement: 22,360 tons full load as battle cruiser
Length: 786.5 ft (239.7 m) overall
Beam: 81.5 ft (24.8 m)
Draught: 24.9 ft (7.6 m)
Propulsion: 18 Yarrow small tube boilers, 235 psi
Four Parsons geared turbines producing
91,195 shp (67 MW) driving four shafts
Speed: 31.42 knots (56 km/h) (trials)
Range: 5,860 nautical miles (10,850 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h)
(11,000 km at 30 km/h)
3,250 tons oil
Complement: 829

Armament: (as built)
Four × 15 in (381 mm) (2 × 2)
18 × 4 in (102 mm) (6 × 3)
Two × 3 in (76.2 mm) AA
14 × 21 in torpedo tubes (4 × 3 on deck, 2 submerged)

Armor:
Deck: 1 inch
Belt: 3 inches
Turrets: 9 inch face, 4.25 inch top
Barbettes: 7 inches
Conning tower: 10 inches

Aircraft carried: two

From Wiki

the model kit...

This new full resin gem of an offering from Admiralty Modelworks comes to the modeler packed inside a very sturdy, hinge-top style cardboard box, measuring in at 16 3/4" x 4 3/4" x 4 1/4". Inside the box, you will find nestled amongst the packing peanuts 26 sealed bags of parts (some holding multiple lugs and other treasures), as well as a very well protected main hull assembly, wrapped thrice in bubble wrap, with extra wrap on the hull ends to eradicate any shipping damage to the kit in transit to the modeler.

I counted about 112 separate resin kit parts (not counting all of the tiny boat chocks!) cast in light gray resin, medium hardness, very clean, very crisp and clear detail throughout...the detail is quite amazing, to say the least, mates.

Resin Parts Breakdown (corresponding part numbers) as follows :

1.) Hull
2.) Funnel
3.)15" Gun Turrets (x2)
4.) Paravane
5.) Bridge
6.) Bridge Top (bottom)
7.) Bridge Top (upper)
8.) Fore Top/Fighting Top
9.) Director Platform
10.) "A" Turret Platform
11.) Rear Tripod Fighting Top
12.) 15" Fore Director
13.) Fore Director Platform
14.) Airplanes, L-R, Camel, Strutter, Pup
15.) Range Finder
16.) Rear Tripod Mast Platform
17.) Rear Director
18.) Main Derrick Boom Support
19.) Port/Starboard Fighting Lights
20.) Searchlights
21.) Balsa Raft (x2)
22.) Double Stacked Life Raft
23.) Single Life Raft
24.) 3 Pounder Gun (x2)
25.) Wasteny Smith Stockless Anchor
26.) Port/Starboard Torpedo Tubes
27.) Aft Funnel Platform
28.) Port/Starboard Funnel Platforms
29.) 3" HA Gun mount Base (x2)
30.) 3" HA Gun Barrels (x2)
31.) 15" Brass Gun Barrels (x4)
32.) Main Derrick Boom
33.) Fore Upper Mast
34.) Main Upper Mast
35.) 30 ft. Gig
36.) 32 ft. Cutter (x4)
37.) 36 ft. Sailing Pinnace
38.) 50 ft Steam Pinnace (x2)
39.) 45' Admiral's Steam barge
46.) Aft Mast Top
47.) Boat Chocks
48.) 4" Triple Mounts
49.) 4" 45 Cal Gun Barrels

From the large, cast resin ships crest, down to the close-to-microscopic paravane, each part in this kit is equally in detail quality as the previous one. Upon close examination, the casting all looks fantastic, no evidence of any defects, air bubbles, or warping. Resin flash is extremely minimal, even on the most tiniest and delicate of castings. Parts removal from their casting lugs was virtually painless, with a final light sanding to make things ship-shape.

The most impressive of course is the main hull casting, one solid chunk of resin, wonderfully detailed with all superstructure cast as one, multiple deck details, ports, vents, bits, winches, turret bases...it's all here, mates, in finely detailed resin.
The hull scales out perfectly, and as far as this review sample goes, warping was 0% on the assembly. Cleanup on the hull assembly is at a bare minimum, with only a small amount of resin flash on the waterline in a couple spots...this came off with a few swipes of 240X Zirconium, and polished up fine with 1200X, ready to go!

Additional detail materials included in the kit:

40.) Brass Anchor Chain (8" length)

41.) 1.2mm Brass Wire (60mm/2.3" length)
42.) 1mm Brass Wire (128mm/5" length)
43.) Styrene Rod 0.020 (50mm/2" length) x2
*above three for yardarms and mast tops

and even more details...

Super detailing accessories of this kit entail six separate stainless steel photo-etch frets, ranging from the tiny, highly detailed, dedicated airwing sheets, to the master fret of ships details that includes all of the railings, platforms, ladders, gun shields, etc, to enhance your build and bring it alive with detail!

All of the etchings are very clear and crisp, and well labeled for easier use and identification. All frets are packaged wrapped in index paper for protection in shipping.

The ships decal sheet, printed full color in Italy by Cartograf, contains a large choice of jacks and ensigns, as well as a full set of markings for the ships airwing...great color, clarity, and quality, overall.

The kits instruction manual is (as all of Admiralty Modelworks previous) a positive delight...six separate pages, printed double side, gives the modeler 12 pages of construction diagrams all expertly drawn and detailed, as well as sequenced, in construction...one of the most interesting facts is the near total absence of construction text (and not missed, at all) in Admiralty Modelworks instruction manuals, but they are drawn and designed in a manner that text is not necessary in conveying the build process...quite unique, and extremely refreshing!

Photo-etch details are clearly displayed throughout the diagrams, as well as any other super details necessary (styrene rod additions, brass wire, etc), as well as a fantastic full page four panel rigging diagram. On the rear of the manual, you will find necessary and pertinent notes concerning some key areas in the construction process, such as mast, armament, and aircraft assembly.

To top the kit off, Pavel has included a fantastic, fine detailed, resin ships crest, size large, that can be painted up and attached to the display base of your build...pretty cool, indeed!

Final thoughts, and closing...

I can honestly say that this kit is a very impressive piece of workmanship to find in a product overall...from the design and engineering, production and manufacturing, to the packaging and shipping, an extreme amount of caring and attention to detail is apparent from the crew at Admiralty Modelworks...a subject that was a pleasure to examine and research, a kit that was equally a pleasure to work with and review, and I'm sure will be an equal pleasure to build...if you're a fan of early RN vessels, you need this kit...