I have this strange addiction to 1/700 aircraft carriers. Over the past year and a half, I have built three of them and now am about to embark on my fourth.
My father served on the Lexington from 1955 thru 1957, so I have built it a number of times from the old Revell and Renwall kits, and back in 1991, scratchbuilt it in 1/700, but I never built the Lex in its WW2 configuration. I did just complete CV2.
The Lexington was commissioned and put to sea in February 1943, so I signed up to do the Dragon kit in 1/700 for the 1943 Group Build. I had a wonderful experience with the Dragon 1/700 scale Randolph kit when I used it as a base to build the USS Oriskany. So I look forward to enjoying building their Lexington.
I hope to round out my collection.
I decided to try my hand at doing a build log, please bear with me, I work full time and have many other hobbies, so I may not be posting for days, but here we go…
The unboxing and planning stage. I did not purchase a PE set since I have aquired quite a collection of WW2 Essex PE parts when I built the Oriskany that I never used, so hopefully I have everything.
Taking inventory and started to plan the build process. I will start marking up the instructions as to how I plan to build the assemblies in conjuction with painting.
And as of today, doing trims and pre-fits and deciding how to go about the sub-assembly of the hull and when to paint.
Its going to be a slow start and build. I got some other commitments this month that are keeping me from working on the Lexington. I did get a little done last night.
The 1/700 Hasagawa Essex was about it for anything scale. Revell and Lindberg versions of WW2 Essex carriers were great to slap together on a Saturday afternoon when you couldn’t go outside and play.
The Dragon kit is a really well engineered and molded kit.
This is my Hasegawa ESSEX from a few years ago. I served on ESSEX in the early 60’s. The kit is kinda a generic Essex class, so to make it CV-9,
Scratchbuilt hangar deck, reworked stern gun and director tubs, Lighted the hangar deck, cut out many of the roller curtain doors (thats how I remember them most of the time), and a few other details.
The picks of it with the HB lights on don’t show up well in a lighted room, nor do they do so well with the room lights off. Oh well.
That looks beautiful, EJ! Though, that doesn’t look like standard blackout discipline [;)]
I have the same project on my bench, too. Well, it’s moved really more to the Shelf of Doom. I’ve got the hangar deck roughed in, and I have frozen at the step of redoing the stern. I’m finishing her as the Essex, recovering aircraft on her very first deployment. The kit aircraft will go in the hangar, and Trumpeter replacements on the flight deck.
You’re off to a good start, Scott. That kit looks sweet! It looks like it’s engineered to let you show some good hangar detail as well as external detail.
I know what you mean. I am working towards building our first nine carriers in 1/700. When Aoshima brought out its Wasp kit a couple of years ago, it fulfilled a wish of many years. Now if someone would bring out the Ranger in 1/700 injection-molded plastic, I’d be all set.
I don’t want to hijack this thread - PM me your e-mail address if you wish and I’ll dig up some photos of the stern conversion and a few other bits I did.
You done wonders to that old kit. It really like it.
Thanks guys for the input. For the moment I will be taking a short break from the Lex build to concentrate on the Warspite I am working on for the British Ships GB. I want to get it done before November 11th and the 100th aniversary of WW1.
I thought I’d show that the Dragon kit has a complete hanger deck. I have a number of PE sets I have collected from other projects to detail this kit with.
Thanks. It was a fun build. Being an old USS ESSEX CVS-9 crewman, serving on “The Oldest and The Boldest”, I love those ships. I’ve done the Hasegawa, Dragon and Trumpeter ESSEX in 1/700, and the Trumpy in 1/350. Working on a vintage Revell 1/540 angle deck ESSEX with major changes and improvements to it. That was MY ship, and I want to do that one RIGHT. Did a Trumpy Yorktown in 1/700 also.
Keep up the good work. I’ll be following with intrest. Those ships of the ESSEX class were great looking in my opinion, not to mention the historical significance.
Well, I’m back to working on my Lex. I had been missing working on a 1/700 ship. Not much progress yet. Putting in all the roll up doors and other details in the hanger.
I also am still trying to decide if I want to make it a full hull or waterline. I can’t make up my mind.
Will be watching with interest, I built this Kit about 10 Years ago and have another 4 of the Dragon Essex Kits in post war guises. Very nice work so far…Cheers mark
Hi Check, glad to have you aboard. I have this build assigned to both your 1943 and 1944 GBs. Not much changed on the Lex other then some armament and the change from the SBD to the SB2C.
You too Surf. I am glad you are familiar with this kit. This is the second Dragon 1/700 carrier I am doing and I think these kits are fantastic.
I hope to fire up the airbrush tonight and start painting the hangar bay and doing base coats on the flightdeck.
