Triumph Models
1/700 HMS Lion


 
 
Reviewed June 2025
by Martin J Quinn

HISTORY
HMS Lion was a battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s. She was the lead ship of her class, which were nicknamed the "Splendid Cats". They were significant improvements over their predecessors of the Indefatigable class in terms of speed, armament and armor. This was in response to the first German battlecruisers, the Moltke class, which were very much larger and more powerful than the first British battlecruisers, the Invincible class.

Lion served as the flagship of the Grand Fleet's battlecruisers throughout World War I, except when she was being refitted or under repair. She sank the German light cruiser Köln during the Battle of Heligoland Bight and served as Vice-Admiral David Beatty's flagship at the Battles of Dogger Bank and Jutland. She was so badly damaged at the first of these battles that she had to be towed back to port and was under repair for more than two months. During the Battle of Jutland she suffered a serious propellant fire that could have destroyed the ship had it not been for the bravery of Royal Marine Major Francis Harvey, the gun turret commander, who posthumously received the Victoria Cross for having ordered the magazine flooded. The fire destroyed one gun turret which had to be removed for rebuilding while she was under repair for several months. She spent the rest of the war on uneventful patrols in the North Sea, although she did provide distant cover during the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1917. She was put into reserve in 1920 and sold for scrap in 1924 under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. 

For more on the battlecruiser Lion, visit her Wikipedia page here, which is where this abridged history was pulled from.
The Triumph Models HMS Lion

I've been a fan of all things "battlecruiser" since the early 1970's, when my parents bought me "Warships and Sea Battles of World War I" from a mall bookstore one night. I spent hours going through this book, look at the drawings and photos, and instantly became hooked by the allure of the battlecruiser. So I was interested when Triumph Model announced a 1/700 HMS Lion, and even more pleased when they agreed to provide this review sample. 

According to the instructions, this model of Lion can be built as a either a 1914 or 1916 version.  The kit comes in a sturdy box with dramatic artwork of Lion at speed on the top, and 3D renderings and information on the side. The boxing of this kit is very professional, akin to other mainstream manufacturers, and not one typical of a secondary or cottage industry release. 

Inside the box, the model is protected by a foam insert with multiple pockets, covered by a foam top.  Laying on top of the foam lid are the instructions and the photo-etch.  Upon removal of the instructions, PE and foam lid, you'll find a the hull, which is also wrapped in bubble wrap, inside the largest pocket, while the rest of the parts - all 3D printed - are in the other pockets.  The smaller parts are either wrapped in bubble wrap or plastic bags. 

THE HULL 
The hull - which is cast resin - scales out about 3 1/2" feet short in length, but spot on on beam. It is crisply cast with lots of great detail.  The hull planking is probably slightly over scale, but much more subdued than that on their 1/700 HMS Glorious, and will probably look fine under some paint.  There are nice planking details, with butt-ends, a think torpedo net shelf, and some vents, bitts and anchor plates cast to the deck.  A lot of detail are 3D printed and to be added later, so this should make painting the hull a bit easier. The only blemish I found on the hull was inside one of the barbettes, which won't be seen.  The bottom of the hull has a large casting block on it, which will have to be removed, but prevents the resin hull from warping.

There are nice portholes with eyebrows on the hull, as well as clever openings in the sides of the hull, which are to accommodate the torpedo net davits, those being a combination of brass rod and 3D printed parts (the 3D printed parts will slot into the hull opening). The parts of the superstructure cast integral to the hull - like the aft casemate/ boat stowage area - have finely detail watertight doors and more of the same portholes found on the hull sides. 

3D PRINTED PARTS
The rest of the parts - outside the brass - are all 3D printed, spread across 35 print rafts of various sizes.  Some are printed in a horrid orange color, while most are printed in black.  Details are generally very well done across all the parts. 
SUPERSTRUCTURE & FUNNEL PARTS
The forward superstructure is printed as one piece.  Details are good, outside of some chalky residue on the lower part of the structure, which seems like it will come off easily.  My only concern is that it will be a little challenging to paint and add PE rails to the decks to this part. 

The three funnels are each a single part, with support ribs running horizontally around the funnels, separate piping running vertically and thinly printed funnel grates on top of each.  The smaller forward funnel does not come with the option of the clinker screen and cowl that Lion was fitted with in 1918, to help reduce funnel gases hampering bridge operations.

Curiously, there is a (nicely done) stern walk included on the same print raft as the funnel.  Lion and Princess Royal, with their officers quarters moved amidships, had no such feature.  So, I'm not sure why that is here, unless Triumph are planning to do a Queen Mary as a future release, as that ship did have a stern walk.  However, her two forward funnels were a different shape than those of her sisters. 

Other "superstructure" related parts include bulkheads, spotting top, platforms, a searchlight/director tower and platform (what goes on this platform depends on what year you are depicting your Lion), jack and flag staffs, and davits for the ships boats that lie abreast of the forward funnel. 

TURRETS/WEAPONS
There are eight print rafts dedicated to the main and secondary weapons.  Four of these are the main battery turrets, which have nice details.  Although had to see with the Mk1 eyeball, there is rivet detail on the turret roofs, and the sighting hoods are open at the front.   The other weapons rafts consist of blast bags - there are two different sets, each with a different orientation, so you can adjust the elevation of the main barrels - as well as barrels for the secondary battery (these have small blast bags) and a very small print raft with a single 3" AA gun, for those building the 1916 version of Lion. 

BOATS & RAFTS
There are two print rafts, each holding four ships boats.  Details are nicely done, with fine rails on the tops of the cabins of the powered boats, and decking detail on the decks of some of the other boats.  Some of these are printed some finely that the sides of some the hulls are translucent. 

VARIOUS OTHER 3D PRINTED PARTS
The rest of the 3D print runners contain a variety of items,  Detail is generally very thin and finely done.  The only parts I question are the anchors, as the shape at the tops of the flukes looks a bit too squared off to me.  Among the parts on the rest of these rafts are: boat cradles, cable reels, davits, vents, bridge equipment, the aforementioned parts for the torpedo net davits, as well as lots and lots and lots of (what I assume are) deck hatches in various shapes and sizes.  There is also a print raft that contains nothing but small davits for the torpedo nets.  These are very small and very finely printed.  They'd also be a nice item to be packaged and sold separately to use on other manufactures World War I battleships and battlecruisers. Finally, there are three print rafts containing anchor chain.  These are incredibly delicate looking.  It amazes me that these can even be printed.

DECALS
There are two very small decal sets, each with two White Ensigns and two Union flags.

BRASS PARTS
Turned brass barrels for the main battery, to be attached to the 3D printed blast bags, are included. At first glance, I thought the turned brass barrels were going to be too short.  However, after putting the barrel into the 3D printed blast bag, and laying it up next to the turret, the length compares favorably with the turrets/barrels from other brands.  Though the Triumph barrels may be a little too small in diameter. 

Also included are six pieces of brass rod, in different widths and lengths, for the masts and torpedo net davits.  These will all need to be cut to the appropriate size - dimensions for each are given in the instructions.

PHOTOETCH
Three photo-etch frets come with the model. Included on the largest fret are railings - with and without "canvas dodgers" - boat cradles, inclined ladders, vertical ladders, supports, and the deck for the aft casemate/ boat stowage area.  The middle sized fret has what looks like portholes on it, while the smallest fret has two inclined ladders and small plaques with the ships name on it. 

INSTRUCTIONS
The instructions very similar to Flyhawk's, being printed on both sides of a large piece glossy paper, in color.  There is a parts manifest and individual steps with 3D rendered images.  The parts are color coded - red for 3D printed, "yellow" for brass rod or photo-etch.  The parts manifest shows the numbers for each part on each print raft, which is very helpful, since the rafts themselves (outside of one or two) don't any identifying numbers. 

The bottom of the back side of the instructions has the color callouts, showing Lion in a dark grey.  As far as I can tell from looking at my references, and online, Lion was wearing light gray by the latter stages of 1914. At one point she was painted overall light gray, with a dark gray band on the hull, and possibly bands on her funnels, like Tiger.  She was definitely painted overall light gray by time Jutland rolled around. As always, check your references. 

CONCLUSIONS
Triumph Models HMS Lion kit is very well done. I like the combination of the cast resin hull with the 3D printed parts, brass and photo-etch. The boxing and packaging is very good, while detail is excellent all the way around. This is a complete kit - the only thing you'll need to fashion is a torpedo net. Otherwise, everything you need is in the box.  In my opinion, this kit eclipses the earlier Combrig HMS Lion, which is now going on 15 years old.  This is also a giant leap forward from Triumph's earlier release of the World War II carrier HMS Glorious.  The only nitpicks are the slightly over scale hull plating, and that the hull is approximately 3 1/2 scale feet short, though I only realized that after measuring. 

This is Triumph Models 1/700 HMS Lion, kit number TM70011. The kit is currently selling online for about $70.00 USD, but with astronomical shipping prices to the US, due to the current (June 2025) trade tensions. Modelers in other countries may be able to source it at a lower cost. Highly recommended for anyone who has built a resin or multi-media kit before. Anyone who has not might find the plethora of very small, delicate parts challenging. 

My thanks to Triumph Models for providing this review sample.