Calling all Essex-class (Cold War configuration) fans

[gtbred]

[alberto_palmieri]

Hi guys; a pair of week ago I bought at eBay :
http://www.ebay.es/itm/261057595955?ssP ... 1497.l2649

and now I realize that have a great problem...HELP !! can you coment who are the difference between those 1:540 Revell�s kit ? this kit (H-375) is a cws versi�n with S-2 air win and Crusader. I saw at this forum and I�m a little confused about difference at Wasp, Hornet, Shangri-La, Oriskany, etc.

I hesitate to do Shangri-La or Oriskany starting my Wasp kit, it�s posible or there are large difference or inaccurate versi�n for it ? I thinking to replace the original island for Starfighter-decals kit (are out of production ?).

Well, I have many doubts, what do yoy advise me ?

Please......

Regards and thank.

Alberto

[Brian J.]

Hi guys; a pair of week ago I bought at eBay :
http://www.ebay.es/itm/261057595955?ssP ... 1497.l2649

and now I realize that have a great problem...HELP !! can you coment who are the difference between those 1:540 Revell�s kit ? this kit (H-375) is a cws versi�n with S-2 air win and Crusader. I saw at this forum and I�m a little confused about difference at Wasp, Hornet, Shangri-La, Oriskany, etc.

I hesitate to do Shangri-La or Oriskany starting my Wasp kit, it�s posible or there are large difference or inaccurate versi�n for it ? I thinking to replace the original island for Starfighter-decals kit (are out of production ?).

Well, I have many doubts, what do yoy advise me ?

Please......

Regards and thank.

Alberto

It would easier to build a Wasp or Hornet with the Revell kit than to do a Shangri-La or Oriskany. If you want the Shangri-La the Renwal kit would be best. An Oriskany would require lots of work too. I believe the aircraft with that kit would be fine for a CVS.

[Mark McKinnis]

There were actually 4 flavors of Angled Deck Essex Class Carriers. The 1/540 revell kits build the following Essex Class SCB-125 ships regardless of what the box art tells you. There was a Lexington, Bon Homme Richard, and Oriskany made by revell but it is the same kit with different aircraft.

Essex
Yorktown
Hornet
Randolph
Wasp
Bennington
Kearsarge

All 7 of these Essex Class Carriers had the Hydraulic Cats and the decks were configured the same way. There may be some differences from the kit with regard to the various radars and antennas.

Nautilus used to do wood decks for this kit that could convert them into Lexington, Shangri La, Bon Homme Richard, or Oriskany. These carriers had Steam Cats and the Starboard Elevator is forward of the Starboard Crane similiar to the 7 ships listed above. Oriskany is a one off of the other 3 but the Stbd Elevator is in the same spot. These involve a lot of work to do the catwalks along the deck.

They also used to do wood decks to make Intrepid, Hancock, and Ticonderoga. If you were to do any of these ships the Stbd Elevator is aft of the Stbd Crane and would require som scratch building to the Stbd side aft of the island.

I have thougt about doing some of these but the aircraft available are not that great after you spend a lot of time doing the conversions. The S-2s that revell did are about the best looking planes that came with the kits so I will probably go with one of the 7 as a CVS.


Good Luck.

Mark










Alberto[/quote][/quote]

[alberto_palmieri]

Thank Mark ! I read at last days about participation of USS Wasp at Cuban missile crisis in 62�and I think may be that I start this versi�n/proyect to assembly my USS Wasp.

Can you acoment if only S-2 Traker was an air wing of USS Wasp at this time ? Some F-8 or A-4 operated from aircraft carrier ?

Regards

Alberto

[Mark McKinnis]

Hi Alberto,

This was the Wasp's Air Group from Feb.18, 1962 - Jun.16, 1962 (NorLant)

CVSG-52 (AS)

Squadron Aircraft
VS-28 S2F-1/1S/1S1
VS-31 S2F-1/1S/1S1
HS-11 HSS-1N
VA-64 DET.48 A4D-2
VAW-33 DET.48 AD-5W
HU-2 DET.48 HUP-2
VRC-40 DET.48 TF-1


This was her Air Group Nov.2, 1962 - Nov.22, 1962 (Caribbean) and most likely the Air Group embarked for the Cuban Missile Crisis

CVSG-52 (AS)

Squadron Aircraft
VS-28 S-2B/F
VS-31 S-2B/F
HS-11 SH-3A
VAW-33 DET.18 EA-1E

It is possible that they put some A-4s on board. Her mission would have been ASW for the blockade and conducting surface searches for ships running the blockade. This is a great site for airwing research:

http://www.gonavy.jp/


Good luck.

Mark

[Dan K]

I was perusing my collection of Maru Specials (which includes 10+ volumes on post-war US carriers up thru the early Nimitz class), when an odd feature on some of the modernized Essex class caught my eye.

This cover shot of Shangra-LA, 6-21-1960, seems to exemplify it best. The forward elevator appears off kilter, and not in line with the ship's axis. You can see how the elevator outline cants towards the catapult track at its aft end. This oddity is not limited to Shangra-La. Several other of the Essex class exhibit it as well, though not all.

Can someone explain?

[Cliffy B]

Sorry if this is old news but check out MT Miniatures latest release

USS Intrepid CV-11 SCB-125 MOD w/ Angled Deck

Note the airwing; Furies, Trackers, Tracers, and Skyhawks. Price is very good and we only have to wait until October!

[Timmy C]

@Dan: I think it's because it's the catapult tracks that are off-kilter - this picture shows it well: http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/023846c.jpg

[Dick J]

The forward elevator appears off kilter, and not in line with the ship's axis. You can see how the elevator outline cants towards the catapult track at its aft end. This oddity is not limited to Shangra-La. Several other of the Essex class exhibit it as well, though not all. Can someone explain?

The elevator is not what is off kilter. The modernized Essex's were divided into two major groups (although with some sub-groups). Those modernized under SCB-27A received the H-8 hydraulic catapults. These still fit along the same line as the earlier H-4's, but were longer. However, those modernized to the SCB-27C standard had C-11 steam catapults. The steam cats were enough longer than the hydraulic ones that maneuvering an aircraft into the small space between the bridge and the after end of the starboard cat would have been difficult for most aircraft and impossible for some. The solution adopted was to move the after end of the cat inboard, but the presence of the forward elevator prevented the rest of the cat from following suit. So the catapult ended up angling to the starboard as the aircraft moved toward the bow. This also required adding a slim triangle of deck to the starboard side of the flightdeck forward of the elevator to prevent the aircraft's starboard landing gear from falling off the side before the plane crossed the bow ramp. For some reason, the designers followed suit by angling the port catapult as well. So it was the cats that didn't align with the centerline axis, not the elevator. The SCB-27C program included the Intrepid, Ticonderoga, Lexington, Hancock, Bon Homme Richard, and Shangri-La. Of the SCB-27A's, only Oriskany (the prototype) had enough beam to upgrade to -27C standards. So these 7 would all show the anomaly that you noticed.

[Dan K]

Thank you, gentlemen. One picture and a very few hundred concise words does the trick.

Dick, I did pick it up for Lexington, Intrepid ,Bonhomme Richard, and Shang without too much trouble.

[Jeffcsr]

It's been awhile since I've been on this thread. Has any SCB127A conversion kits for Trumpy's 1/700 Essex' been released? I abandoned all my previous carriers I had except for my CV-10 that still sits partly done, still in the box.

[Mark McKinnis]

Nothing yet for either a 27A/C or a 125 ship. You can get the ISW resin Essex 1950 SCB-27A ship in 700th scale. They are not cheap though, $195. Freetime Hobbies has them on sale at $175. It is a pretty nice kit. I have two of them.

SCB-27A, Lake Champlain CV-39
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

and a 27C, Hancock CV-19
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

I am working on the Ships&Co. SCB-125 Intrepid. Not a great kit, especially for $250.00 without aircraft or PE!

There are still no plastic offerings and not even any good rumors. MT Minitures is doing a 700th scale SCB-125 Intrepid but it has a "Franklin Mint" look to it in the pics and less of a scale kit from appearances.

We shall have to keep waiting. I am working on doing a 1/350 build of a SCB-27A Kearsarge using the ISW conversion kit and I am planning a SCB-125 Bon Homme Richard. I am using a 1/350 Trumpeter Ticonderoga kit as a starting point for both builds.

[Tracy White]

Hey all, some photos I found of CV-33 Kearsarge undergoing her SCB-27A in 1951-2 are now online at Navsource:
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/33.htm#023359

[Mark McKinnis]

Nice shots and they look very helpful for my Kearsarge project.

Thanks for posting them Tracy!

[gtbred]

anybody is gonna build a 1/350 SBC-27A?

[Cliffy B]

Look what Revell is re-issuing!!!

05121 USS Hornet (CVS-12) (August 2013, 22.99 Euro) (Scroll about 3/4 down)
http://www.plastik-modellbau.org/blog/r ... 2013/2013/

That's about $30.30 USD!

Mark, how stocked are you with your detail parts and aircraft? You'll hopefully be getting a bunch of orders

[gtbred]

If they only would do a 1/350 Oriskany.

[Mark McKinnis]

anybody is gonna build a 1/350 SBC-27A?

I am doing a 1/350 27A now. I am doing Kearsarge 1953 ish using a Ticonderoga donor kit with the 1/350 ISW Essex Conversion Set.

http://ironshipwrights.com/pages/Essex.html

It is a pretty nice set. I would like to get another one to do a 1/350 SCB-125 Bon Homme Richard. ISW does not have any in stock and I am not sure if they would do another run of those sets. With the 1/350 L'Arsenal Panthers, Banshees, and Sky raiders, and the Trumpeter Corsairs, you can do a nice 27A. With the Corsair Armada Crusaders, Skyhawks, and L'Arsenal Sky Raiders, you can do a nice 125 ship.

Maybe if a few of us asked for the conversion set, they might do another run. I am not looking forward to scratch building the island and 5" galleries for my 125 build. I did buy a set of plans that I still need to convert to 1/350 scale.

[gtbred]

anybody is gonna build a 1/350 SBC-27A?

I am doing a 1/350 27A now. I am doing Kearsarge 1953 ish using a Ticonderoga donor kit with the 1/350 ISW Essex Conversion Set.

http://ironshipwrights.com/pages/Essex.html

It is a pretty nice set. I would like to get another one to do a 1/350 SCB-125 Bon Homme Richard. ISW does not have any in stock and I am not sure if they would do another run of those sets. With the 1/350 L'Arsenal Panthers, Banshees, and Sky raiders, and the Trumpeter Corsairs, you can do a nice 27A. With the Corsair Armada Crusaders, Skyhawks, and L'Arsenal Sky Raiders, you can do a nice 125 ship.

Maybe if a few of us asked for the conversion set, they might do another run. I am not looking forward to scratch building the island and 5" galleries for my 125 build. I did buy a set of plans that I still need to convert to 1/350 scale.

Cool Mark, I'm going to make one more Charlie,then that will be that.