by Hanchang Kuo
1/700 Forbin (D620) (Veteran Models)
This is 1/700 Modern French Navy Horizon class guided missile frigate Forbin. This one is a test shot from Veteran Models of Taiwan. The box I received contains finely cast resin parts with exquisite details. Everyone who has seen any Veteran's product knows what to expect out of the box. This one is no exception. The kit depicts the ship in her late 2007 configuration. There're already a few subtle changes between the kit and the real ship as of now(Feb 2009). No photo-etched fret nor decal or instruction was included with the kit. I replaced the top mainmast with brass rod and added all those tiny antennae from scrap PE parts. Hull numbers come from Hawk Graphics' Modern Royal Navy pennant number decal sheet. Helipad was done by attaching a pre-printed piece of paper to the kit flight deck. Big mistake---any tiny drop of water destroyed a portion of the nicely printed paper. Overall an enjoyable project. Most of my 1 month building time was spent on researching---trying to figure out which piece goes where. Hopefully Veteran Models will have this excellent kit on the market soon.
