Calling all USS Enterprise CV-6 fans

[JariL]

Hi,

Does anyone have an idea to what extent the new Pontos models / KA Models Enterprise sets in 1/200 could be used for Hornet? Parts below the flight deck seem to be pretty much compatible but are they? I am mainly interested in the hangar deck side doors and the flight deck support structure at stern.

Best regards,

Jari

[sgtryan13]

Hi,

Does anyone have an idea to what extent the new Pontos models / KA Models Enterprise sets in 1/200 could be used for Hornet? Parts below the hangar deck seem to be pretty much compatible but are they? I am mainly interested in the hangar deck side doors and the flight deck support structure at stern.

Best regards,

Jari

I have the Hornet specific set for my build, I haven't gotten to the stern supports yet, but there are minimal hangar details in the set, mainly just a few small platforms, a few sets of stairs and ladders and a section of rail for along the funnel platform, they could easily be used in any of the other 200 scale ships, so unless the enterpeise set has a lot more hangar details those should be fine. Hopefully the instructions in the enterprise set are better, these ones are pretty awful.

[Blue Devil]

I'm getting started on the I Love Kit Enterprise and have a color question. Specifically the forecastle and fantail areas. In mid-1943, were the decks in those areas deck gray, like the hanger deck, or deck blue? And what about the flight deck overhangs in those areas (and along the sides of the ship). Would they be white, sea blue, deck blue, or what? There are pictures of those areas in mid-March, 1942 on pages 38 and 39 of the Doyle Enterprise book, but the overheads are in shadow so it's hard to tell.

Thanks!

Michael

[Blue Devil]

I'm getting started on the I Love Kit Enterprise and have already run into an issue. I thought it would make sense to add the degausing cables before I painted the hull, so I got out the parts and the instructions and... it doesn't work. I'm starting from the port bow and the instructions call for using PE part E-23. But if I position that piece to go under and around the forward sponsons, which it looks like it has to do, it doesn't get anywhere near the bow, and doesn't have a upwards angle to the forward part to go over the hawse pipes. And I don't see any extra part that would fill in. Could anyone (Martin) who has built the kit help me out here?

Thank you!

Michael

[MartinJQuinn]

I'm getting started on the I Love Kit Enterprise and have already run into an issue. I thought it would make sense to add the degausing cables before I painted the hull, so I got out the parts and the instructions and... it doesn't work. I'm starting from the port bow and the instructions call for using PE part E-23. But if I position that piece to go under and around the forward sponsons, which it looks like it has to do, it doesn't get anywhere near the bow, and doesn't have a upwards angle to the forward part to go over the hawse pipes. And I don't see any extra part that would fill in. Could anyone (Martin) who has built the kit help me out here?

Thank you!

Michael

Michael,

The kit supplied PE, in general, is not that good, and the degaussing cables, in particular, sucked. I made my own from plastic rod, using lots or photos to guide me. David Doyle's Enterprise book was very helpful. I used .20 rod, IIRC (but it's been a few years). If I had to do it again (and I do have another in the stash), I might go with a thinner rod instead.

HTH!

[Blue Devil]

Well, that explains THAT! Thanks. I may have to get some .010 or .015 rod stock (if I can find some.)

Michael

[Mgunns]

I have the 1/200 Enterprise kit and plan on doing it as it appeared at Midway. The kit as it is, represents the ship post October 1942, (I'm pretty sure) as it provides for the 40mm guns replacing the 1.1's and has the platform for the searchlight cut back for a single searchlight. In the images attached you can see the quad 40mm mount molded into the catwalk. To do Midway, that has to be removed. As mentioned there needs to be 1.1 emplacement above the clipping room. I will probably use the gun tubs as provided in the kit for the 1.1's as there isn't enough information as to the shape of the ones for the 1.1's. I will have to scratch build one for the 1.1 emplacement over the clipping room. As the searchlight platforms reflect a later fit, I will make the larger platform as was there at Midway. There may be other smaller details that I am missing but for now, those are the glaring differences from the kit presentation and how Enterprise was fitted at Midway. I think I have read every page of this discussion, all very interesting. Many of the links early in the discussion are now dead. Sadly, I can't seem to find the information on the shape of the 1.1 tubs, so I will go with the kit provided ones and make the one myself. I haven't begun the model yet as I am finishing up my 1/350 Intrepid build, but this is next on the docket. Oh, the 1.1's are included on the plastic trees, but there are no instructions as to assembly and I know that there are PE parts for them to complete them, which aren't present on the PE Frets for Enterprise but are present on the 1/200 Yorktown kit. I am getting aftermarket 1.1's and 20's. Once I get started on this, I will post a build log on picture post and see how it goes. Great information here, thanks all for sharing your knowledge and images of the ship and drawings. I also ordered the KA/MK.I PE set for the kit as well, which comes with 3D printed or resin boats as the ones in the kit are horrible. I don't know why they didn't use the molds from their 1/200 Arizona as those boats are pretty decent, requiring some drilling for port holes.

[Blue Devil]

Good luck, Mark! I'm having enough fun trying to do the same thing to the 1/350 kit. I do know that the smaller kit still has the parts for the 1.1 mounts and tubs from the Yorktown, but don't know if the 1/200 version has the same. I have screen shots of the 350 Yorktown instructions if that would help you at all. And Dick J mentioned a while back that the Big E actually had 2 20mm single mounts on the fantail, which I did find a picture of in the Doyle book. Odd place to put them, pretty limited field of fire, but I'm sure it was temporary.

Michael

[Dick J]

And Dick J mentioned a while back that the Big E actually had 2 20mm single mounts on the fantail, which I did find a picture of in the Doyle book. Odd place to put them, pretty limited field of fire, but I'm sure it was temporary.

Yorktown and Enterprise had their initial 20MM installs done in a hurry. The two 20MM on the fantail of each were intended to be cut into the aft round down of the flightdeck. Obviously, this entailed a significant amount of structural work to cut into the round down and build the tubs. Yorktown was lost before this could be done. Enterprise had it done just after Midway. Between Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz, the single tubs were expanded to the more familiar double tubs on each aft corner, and she retained that part of the config to her end. Hornet had the single aft-round down tubs installed before she left the east coast.

[Mgunns]

Good luck, Mark! I'm having enough fun trying to do the same thing to the 1/350 kit. I do know that the smaller kit still has the parts for the 1.1 mounts and tubs from the Yorktown, but don't know if the 1/200 version has the same. I have screen shots of the 350 Yorktown instructions if that would help you at all. And Dick J mentioned a while back that the Big E actually had 2 20mm single mounts on the fantail, which I did find a picture of in the Doyle book. Odd place to put them, pretty limited field of fire, but I'm sure it was temporary.

Michael

Thanks Michael: I did some more studying on the 1/200 Enterprise comparing photo's to the kit and marking the instructions accordingly. The Trumpeter kit also provides the four 1.1" guns and provides the three tubs for the quad forty's. The tubs are the wrong shape for the the 1.1's so new tubs will have to be have to scratchbuilt, not too difficult I wouldn't imagine. The forward bandstand is wrong for a Midway Enterprise too, as it had two 20's so that has to be changed, again, no biggie. I do have the 1/350 Yorktown and Hornet kits, so thanks for the offer, but won't be needed. I have the Doyle book coming as well as the updated "The Big E" with photo's by Edward Stafford. I read the Stafford book several years ago; it was a great read, could hardly put it down, so looking forward to to getting into it again, this time with Pictures, so even a Marine can follow it this time.

As an aside, I have gone through pages and pages of forum material Under the Completed models and found one post of a completed 1/200 Hornet: in the Picture Post Under Construction, I have not found one blog or post about building the 1/200 Enterprise, I did find one post on a 1/200 Hornet that stopped in 2019 so not a lot of 1/200 Yorktown Carriers being posted on the forums.

[Mgunns]

And Dick J mentioned a while back that the Big E actually had 2 20mm single mounts on the fantail, which I did find a picture of in the Doyle book. Odd place to put them, pretty limited field of fire, but I'm sure it was temporary.

Yorktown and Enterprise had their initial 20MM installs done in a hurry. The two 20MM on the fantail of each were intended to be cut into the aft round down of the flightdeck. Obviously, this entailed a significant amount of structural work to cut into the round down and build the tubs. Yorktown was lost before this could be done. Enterprise had it done just after Midway. Between Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz, the single tubs were expanded to the more familiar double tubs on each aft corner, and she retained that part of the config to her end. Hornet had the single aft-round down tubs installed before she left the east coast.

Thanks for posting that Dick: I will keep that in mind when I get to building the model. It's up next after my Intrepid build.

[BilltheXtreme]

Hi guys, me again, I was wondering if the original four 40mm quad tubs near the island could have been modified during the war? I know the 40mm have been installed during september 1942 in a hurry before Santa Cruz so maybe the tubs are the same as the 1.1 inch and during the big 1943 refit she received new �official�� Bofor tubs. I was looking at different photos and it could be possible ?

Hugo

[Mgunns]

Hi guys, me again, I was wondering if the original four 40mm quad tubs near the island could have been modified during the war? I know the 40mm have been installed during september 1942 in a hurry before Santa Cruz so maybe the tubs are the same as the 1.1 inch and during the big 1943 refit she received new �official�� Bofor tubs. I was looking at different photos and it could be possible ?

Hugo

I read through this entire thread a couple of weeks ago, and I believe one of the modelers stated that the tubs were different, being larger to accommodate the quad Bofors. I have looked at actual images of the tubs for the 1.1's and my personal opinion is that it would be up to the modeler to determine the size difference, if there was on. I am going to use the kit tubs for my 1.1's as I have no idea what the difference or dimensions are. If you come up with something, post it please.

[Dick J]

Checking the photos, the tubs were definitely changed prior to Santa Cruz to accommodate the newly installed quad 40MM. If you doubt it, check the raised mount just forward of the bridge. The 1.1 tub was at the back of the clipping room while the quad 40MM tub overhung the front of the structure. The tubs do not appear to have been significantly altered during the big 1943 refit.

[BilltheXtreme]

Thanks guys for the replies, I just bought the Ka Model detail kit with full wooden deck, the tubs are way more accurate than the Trumpy one. Another question and not a little, I think there is not really an answer on this topic, when these sponsons (starboard and port side) were removed ? The Trumpeter kit has it but in Santa Cruz checking the photos I think they were inexistant.







It would be an important change if I have to remove these.

Hugo

[Dick J]

Those "sponsons" were actually guards for the catapults, the ends of which overhung the hangar deck edges. They were similar in concept to the prop guards, but were obviously more robust. Yorktown was lost with hers in place. Immediately following Midway, Enterprise and Hornet had the hangar cats removed as topweight compensation for all of the radar and AA improvements, and the guards were removed at that time. No "sponsons" for either Eastern Solomons or Santa Cruz.

[BilltheXtreme]

Thanks Dick, I didnt even know that the Yorktowns had these hangars catapults. I will remove these.

[BilltheXtreme]

Me again,

Are we sure that she had her SC-1 on the smokestack in place in Santa Cruz? We have only photo when she was un Noum�a with the radar in place.

Thanks,

[Dick J]

There is a post-repair photo taken outside of Pearl where Enterprise ran a quick trial that shows the platform in place without the antenna. But there are also a number of photos taken during the battle where existence of the antenna can just be made out. They are not clear enough to ID the radar if you didn't already know to look for it, but knowing where to look, the "blur" is in the right place in the photos.

[BilltheXtreme]

Thanks again Dick, yes I saw that photo in the thread but impossible to find it elsewhere on the web, I wonder where it came from, but I can see that ��Blur�� alright.

About portholes here is a photo of my WIP CV-6, do I need to cover the portholes under the degaussing cables, or they were presents during Santa Cruz ?