Forces of Valor Stuka opinions?

[aferguson]

I"m thinking of geting an FOV Stuka, specifically the Snake Stuka Ju-87R but would like opinions of it before i buy. The FOV Stukas look pretty decent in the pictures i've seen but would like any first hand opinions if possible.

I know the Corgi one is nicer but it's also a fortune.

[cnq]

I don't have the 1/32 version but have the FOV 1/18 Snake Stuka and it's a good model. Very durable and have good detail.

[aferguson]

FOV version is 1/72 actually. I don't think they made one in 1/32. The 1/18 would be 21st Century, not FOV.

[[CAT]CplSlade]

Yeah, they only did it in 1/72.

[Dauntless]

I think they are ok, and a good alternative for the early Stukas if you can't get a Corgi for a decent price, which is what happened in my case. I don't have any Corgi Stukas to compare, but would like at least one.

The shape of the FOV looks right, though I couldn't tell you if anything is off as I'm no expert on Stukas.

I say go for the snake version. I have four different ones and it's my favorite of the FOV's.

The problem I have with most of the lower line FOV's is the play features or hatches on a few of them, like the Zero's engine, same with the P-47 and FW-190. Those pieces detract from the profile, especially on the Zero which looks wrong. Though I put up with the P-40 Tomahawk because it's the only one out there in 1:72 diecast, besides the knockoffs. At least the Stuka has just a cover over the engine, the same as a Corgi. The weathering and colors on these don't look too bad. Fixed gear so no worries there.

When I picked mine up they were less than $10 a piece at Target, so a good buy back then. I bought four of them.
They do come with pilot and gunner. No swastika.
You are bound to have QC issues like glue marks. None of the cockpits fit flush on the back of the gunner stations on mine, but maybe they're supposed to be that way? When they came out I thought they were the best looking of the FOV planes with less things that looked off or wonky if that makes any sense.

[aferguson]

thanks D. Well, the Corgi Snake Stuka is butt ugly. The paint job is poor in my opinion. Wrong colour and hard edged mottle. They fetch over $100 on Ebay! The Corgi airframe seems more refined than the FOV, though.

But the Snake FOV looks pretty good.....has a nice dusty weathered look to it. Unfortunately they aren't cheap, going for $40 or so.

Really erks me to see what diecasts are costing now and what they cost just 4 years ago. Good HM's were around $35......now they've over doubled. I know i'm not saying anything new here.

[Dauntless]

Had no idea they were going for that much. To be honest I don't think it's worth $40.

The mottling on the FOV is definitely not hard edged, but has an airbrushed look to it.

Yeah much of the 1:72 market, at least the single engine WWII seem to be of fading interest. Everybody gaga for 1:48 I guess? Good for me I'm still into the smaller scale.
Every once and a while you catch some deals somebody unloading some good stuff at auction. Picked up a couple of htf Corgi Me-109's not too long ago for a lot less than usual, but listings are thin this time of year it seems.

[tmanthegreat]

I have both and would rate them as being very similar. The FOV Stuka is actually more detailed in a sense than the Corgi version in that it has an opening engine, with the cover closing up nicely, plus the option for either bombs or droptanks on the wings. FOV has the pitot tubes on the wings. Cockpit detail is similar, but the Corgi is probably somewhat better. Corgi also detailed the bomb trapeze better.

I have an FOV Stuka in a weathered "winter" scheme from their first "Action Grade" run at Target from 2005. Its held up quite well and looks great. I recently decided to get another FOV Stuka that was in the standard green color and settled on the latest release (which is actually Rudel's early Stuka and similar to the 1:18 21c version). It cost $30 and had glue stains on the underside where the flaps had been glued to the wings as well as some other imperfections with the paint. (Mind you, my FOV Stuka from 2005 has perfect markings and no QC issues...) So, a little bit annoyed, I ordered another of the same version of the new FOV Stuka, figuring my first was a lemon. Second one had no glue stains on the wings, but had a horribly misaligned German cross insignia on one side. I basically combined the fuselage from the first Stuka with the wings from the second and have an acceptable model... Unless you are getting an older FOV version, I'd stay away from the new one.

[hworth18]

I have had both and the FOV is not a bad version and probably one of the better molds. I think the only thing I saw wrong was that the FOV version has 2 pitot tubes.

[aferguson]

thanks for all the feedback guys, very helpful

[Epap]

I have the FOV Stuka in question. As Harry says, it has two pitot heads so you want to cut the one on the left wing off. Also, the wash is a tad on the heavy side and the spinner is a little loose. Still, I'd recommend it as it does have more detail than the Corgi Stuka, which doesn't have a pitot head, and, overall, the FOV appears more like a real bird that has seen some action.

[aferguson]

opened my FOV Snake Stuka today. At first i was a bit taken aback as it's not what i'm used to seeing from drawings and built models of the Snake Stuka. The green is much lighter and the inked panel lines/wash was pretty heavy.

However, after looking at it for a few minutes i really like it now. It has a faded, dusty, bedraggled look to it befitting a german plane in the desert. So i'm quite pleased with it.

[Dauntless]

Cool that you got one Aferguson.

I've pretty much gotten all I want from FOV. A few duds, but some of them are better like the Stuka.

Though the Welch P-40 Tomahawk comes with u/c landing gear now. Like to get one in flight and another to make into a Kenneth Taylor.