Forces of Valor 1:700 UN861006A Bismarck-class Battleship German Navy, Bismarck, Battle of the Denmark Strait, May 1941

I have all the other Forces o Valor 1/700 ships, and very nice they are too. Not very high end, but then you pay for that sort of model. However, nicely painted, pretty good detail and they look good when displayed. The Bismarck however is another story. While all the other models are painted in total, the Bismark's plastic parts are mostly left the colour of the plastic they are made of. I realise techniques have changed in recent years, a greater use of plastic moulded in various colours, but they does lead to a far cheaper look, very toy like. For example, the plastic moulded deck isn't painted, and apart from details being painted where needed in a different colour, neither is the superstructure, guns, etc. When used, the paints are often the wrong colour, (very bright red for the underside of the boats) making the whole model look a bit tacky. Weirdly, the photos illustrating the model here, and on most other sites, aren't like that, but I'd advise checking the photos on The Fly Mule site which are of the actual item.I haven't decided whether to keep my Bismarck, which will make it one of the few models I've ever sent back. However, given it's price it's simply not worth it., nor am I keen to display it with the others in the condition it's in now. If I keep it then I'll probably repaint large parts of it, rather defeating the object of a prepainted model. I understand that FoV are now made by a different company, or that the FoV company was taken over, whatever. It would appear that in order to make more money and cut costs they decided to cut the quality of their products. If so, it makes these models, once sought after, something to leave on the shelf. Look for the old versions instead because this isn't worth £50+.

I concur with Steven K’s review. The Bismarck is not very impressive at all. Detail, paint and rigging (if you can call it that) is shoddy and excessive use of plastic-formed parts rather gives the entire replica a “toy” look and not that of a quality assembled model. You’re better served bidding or spending £300.00 or more on one of the larger 1:150 scale wood replicas made in Vietnam and available on EBay. If you want the best replica in the Forces of Valor series, it is the USS Enterprise Aircraft Carrier, hands down. Or better yet, buy a quality Trumpeter kit in 1/700 scale and commission someone to build it for you to your specifications.