20 Questions about:
 
The Foresight RN River class 1/700 kit

Price? – about £38 in the Uk for a pack which contains 2 kits, so £19 a ship

Where to buy? – available in the Uk from Dorking Models or can also be bought from Hobby Link Japan 

What’s in the kit? – The pack consists of two plastic sprues, each with a complete kit on it, hull is moulded in two halves, decks are separate and there is a choice of weapons fits. No resin or metal parts.

First impression? First impression is good, logical breakdown of parts, cleanly moulded, no breakages, flash or moulding faults.

Quality of hull and large parts? Very good, looks the part, dimensions seem fine to me. Only issue is that there is some straking on the hull which I found to be a bit heavy and I think warrants sanding back.

Quality of small parts? Generally very good, boats, davits , guns etc nicely moulded. There are optional parts such as single or twin mount for B position. Depth charge throwers seem a bit too large. A minor gripe is the lack of surface detail on the radar lantern.

Decals? None present which is a pity as these vessels virtually always wore pennant numbers.
Instructions? Instructions come with typical exploded view drawings, well printed, easy to follow and with logical steps.
 Assembly? On the whole an easy kit to build, but the fit of the quarterdeck to hull will leave a gap that needs filling.

Does anything need replacing? Yes. At the very least, the mast needs replacing with metal. Whether one chooses to rig or not, plastic masts warp over time. Also needing attention is the prominent X-shaped bracing which supports the bridge wings. Although credibly attempted in plastic, my feelings are that lattice work always looks a lot better in photoetch. For an in-port view, when the radar lantern would be covered in canvas you can use the kit part, but it is best replaced. The funnel cage is moulded solid and is also best replaced in photoetch. The kit will also need inclined ladders, railings, DC racks. I found the wapons and boats in the kit to be generally acceptable but there are finer versions available.

What extra parts would I recommend?
(a)    lattice work, I obtained from GMM’s IJN carrier PE fret, always a useful source                   
(b)   guardrails, inclined ladders, funnel grate – all came from WEM’s Askold fret
(c)    radar lantern – available as a resin part from WEM
(d)   life raft skids, DC racks – from WEM’s J,K,N class fret
(e)    alternate weapons – available as resin items from either WEM or Niko

Is there a dedicated PE fret for the kit? No. Nor am I aware of one being planned.  I did not buy extra PE for my build but used parts I already had to hand.                               

Available references? There are plenty to choose from. Peter Elliott – Allied Escorts of WW2, Frigates of the Royal Canadian Navy 1943-1974 – K Macpherson are the best ones I have in my personal library. A search on abebooks.com will reveal there are plenty of others available for the River class in different navies. Not a practical modelling reference, but nonetheless an interesting book is River Class Frigates and the Battle of The Atlantic by Brian Lavery.

Camo patterns?  I’ve not found a lot that gives accurate colour information. Would suggest to find photos and compare with known colours on other vessels. Cross-referencing with Alan Raven’s books on RN camo will be helpful.
Rigging? This  can be reasonably well determined from the good quality photographs in the Macpherson and Elliott books.

Can different versions be made from the kit? Yes. Over 100 of these ships were built and served in plenty of  navies. Changes for most would be relatively minor, apart from the radically rebuilt Canadian vessels which formed the post-war Prestonian class. For those so-inclined, plans of the Prestonian class are frequently available on ebay.
Would I recommend this to a beginner? No. Mostly due it being expensive.

Is it value for money? Debatable. Compared with other plastic ship kits of the same size, this is an expensive kit, indeed resin kits escort vessels which include PE parts will work out about the same cost as building a River out of the box. That said it is an unusual subject for a kit, is of good quality and many regular 1/700 builders will probably have the upgrade parts as leftovers from other projects. I think it also gives the opportunity to easily add an attractive vessel with an interesting history to one’s fleet, hence I do recommend this kit.

Would I buy other products from this manufacturer? Yes, certainly.
Any other business? I really enjoyed building this kit and I hope everyone else who buys one does too. I would welcome more its from this manufacturer and I hope that the kit sells well.