Reviews : Revell-Germany Flower Class Corvette HMCS Snowberry

I find Revell models to be of inconsistent quality. Most are OK at best, but occasionally they hit a home run. This one of those times. I bought this model as a challenge to myself, and because I'm fascinated by the Battle of the Atlantic in WWII. The Flower-class corvettes were instrumental in escorting convoys in the early stages of the war. They were said to Roll on wet grass, and they were miserable vessels for the crew. But they were relatively cheap, fast and easy to build, and capable doing damage under the right circumstances. Assuming a Level 5 might be a bit much, at the price it was worth a try. When I opened it, I was indeed dismayed by what I found: 12 sprues loaded with small parts. Having bad experiences with Revell parts sprues in the past and terrible instruction manuals, my heart sank. Ten pages of instructions didn't ease my concerns. As soon as I started the build, it was clear this would be different from my previous experiences with Revell. The instructions listed which sprue every part was located on, making them relatively easy to find. Not only that, each part was exactly reproduced on a graphic image, showing where the part was located on the sprue without the clutter of the of the posts holding each part, making the process of finding the part all that much easier. I immediately found the tolerances for the parts to be well above average. The parts required minimal trimming, and went together flawlessly. The attachments points for even the tiniest parts were clear on both the model and the directions. The assembly sequences were logically organized and easy to follow. Not unexpectedly, placement of the smaller parts required wearing loupes and gentle touch, but that's what Level 5 models are all about. As long as I took my time, the detail was incredible, and added greatly to my understanding of how the real vessels looked. The painjt scheme, again not unexpectedly for a Level 5, called for mixing paints. I opted to use paints that were close enough. I thought the included stand was sub-par, so I made my own using a scrap of oak. That was the only significant flaw in this otherwise outstanding model. If Revell would only make this their standard for all models, I would certainly buy more of their products. As it is, I would highly recommend this outstanding model. It did not disappoint me in any way, and I'm a bit of a clutz.

This was a difficult build with many parts, but it was worth it. I purchased two models and built one with some wear and tear on it which you can see from the pictures. There was some flash that required sanding, but in general the parts fit well. This is not for a beginner and it requires a lot of patience.

Highly detailed kit and a true level 5 skill level required. I believe it is just as difficult as it's platinum big brother in 1/72. I will know more as the project progresses.