The Ship Model Forum

Here is a comparison of the differences between the Kitty Hawk and JFK kit hulls. They just use a different plug for the mold on the front of the bow. As posted before, the JFK hull is even stamped Kitty Hawk inside. You can see a bit of the mold line on the Kitty Hawk bow, right where the bow anchor recess is on JFK.

Adding the sonar dome. Merit/Trumpeter used the same hull as the Kitty Hawk kit, with just the bow anchor "horn" added. The port hawsepipe has to be filled in, and there is no dome. Once the green stuff dries, I'll sand it to shape.

what is that you are doing to the bow?
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/0267azb.jpg
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/0267azc.jpg
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/0267azd.jpg
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/67a.htm

Thanks Dave.

I'll start a WIP thread. Beginning with the bow.

from about 1979 to about 1994. http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/67a.htm

I'm getting ready to start the 1/350 Merit JFK. I want to build her in a mid '80s fit. I have the old D&S JFK book. I'm replacing the kit weapons with Voyager CWIS and NSSM. Aside from deleting the various antenna domes, are there any major changes from whats in the kit? I already plan to replace the F-18s with A-7s and A-6s, and the Seahawks with Sea Kings. And the book isn't clear, when did JFK have the black mast and lower island?

Free Time Hobbies has it listed in it's "Future Release" section. And you can place a preorder for it. But they have no price listed. I would assume the price would be around what the Trumpeter's 1/700 CV-63 & 64 was. Around the $70-$75 price range... And although the release date from Trumpeter is Sept. 2019, usually it's 2 months after that date we see it here in the US. For South America, I would guess the same.

Thomas

Hi..! HLJ and HOBBY SEARCH habe this in pre-order...Free Time Hobbies...??? How mutch this here...???

Regards.

Alberto

Unfortunately, the Trumpeter 1/700 JFK will probably be waterline only. I don't know about you, but I despise waterline ship model kits.

Give it a few weeks, The trumpeter JFK is supposed to be available this month. Sept 2019 Fingers crossed!

Mark

KidCurrie42 has a thread on this site called Carrier builders yard - What's on the slip? in which he builds all the American supercarriers and the Midway. He details the JFK conversion. I strongly recommend that anyone doing a conversion of any Italeri kit look at this thread. It is impressive!

Bill

Looks very good.
I have built both the Italeri Kitty Hawk and Constellation many years ago, and since replaced them with the Fujimi kits. So I have essentially 2 spare hulls to play around with. I also have the hulk of a first-issue Vinson that can supply the deck edge part. In the meantime I'll plough on with the islands.

Thanks,
Roy

Photo attached

Roy,

Unfortunately I only took photographs after I painted the deck. I will need to edit the file, too large for this board. That said, one posted, if you look carefully you can see the splice line. I made a cut normal 90 degrees) to the centerline just forward of the Fresnal landing lens, note the discontinuity in the cat walks. I made a second cut parallel to the center line starting at were the angled deck meets the forward portion of the flight deck. The Kennedy angle deck intersects the forward deck rough at the same place as the port side of the deck angles off as well. This intersection point is further aft on USS America. This is a tricky bit of measuring, sanding and fitting, but I like the end result. Note the number 3 and number 4 troughs that represent the catapults will not line up. I filled the troughs and painted the catapult runs, probably should have added some black to the steel paint, but a decent effect to represent the steel plates over the catapult runs.

Bill

To mclare, gtbred and William Smallshaw, thanks for that;
The project is on long-term hold as I currently get to grips with correcting 3 (out of 4) Italeri CVN-76 & -77 islands to proper length, as well as adding missing structures to 4 Italeri Nimitz-class islands, using spares from the above mentioned kits as well as plastic sheet, strip and a lot of swearing....

William, do you have any photos of the project? as in where to make the cut on the 2 respective flight decks?
Thanks,
Roy

Roy,

I just completed the AMERICA to Kennedy conversion using the Italeri kits. Challenging build, specifically grafting the Nimitz flight deck port angle deck to the America flight deck. Scratch building the after part of the island was also a bit of a challenge. But in the end I am very pleased with the end result. And to your point, it fits with my collection of modern carriers, all of which are Italeri kits.

Bill

Roy the J.F.K and America hull is the same. I use the 1/350 J.F.K hull into the America.

Roy, I know others have answered this, and it's probably a day late and a dollar short, but the America and Kennedy hulls are the exact same. I have the plans and hull sections for the America, as I am building her in 192nd and 350th scale, and they list clearly for CV-66 & CV-67.

Hope it confirms?

Their latest catalog for 2019-2020 now shows a painted box art, so it's progressing!

Any update on the Trumpeter 1/700 JFK kit? Seems like it has gone the way of the Dragon CVAN-65 Enterprise kit.


I was really hoping that it would come out before the Kitty Hawk and Conny.