bigjimslade wrote:Looks like GMM is the only game in town.
Thing's I'd like to to find:
Deck decals. Looks like GMM made them at one time but no more.
Lighting plans for the deck.
Measurements for the various antenna (such as the new landing antenna).
Now that the GMM decals are no longer available, allow me to ask:
What is/are the best alternative(s)? Both for the ship and airwing?
As for decals for 1/350 CVN-65. Here a 2 options that I know about. I think there may be a few others. But others here may know more about those. Again here are the ones I know about...
Boatswain Model has a sheet or the ship and 2 sheets for the air wing. One for 1982 & one for 2012... I have not used or seen any of their sheets. But I have heard good reviews. I'm sure there are those on here that have used them & could tell you what they are like. I plan on getting sheets from them for CVN-65 & others... http://www.boatswainmodel.com/products.html
Starfighter Decals also does ship & air wing sheets for various eras of the ship & air wings. Not used their sheets yet. But I have seen their sheets at the 2014 IMPS national convention. Very high quality sheets!! http://starfighter-decals.com/1350-de.html
I can vouch for Starfighter decals, I have the CVW-17 the airwing set for Big Es airwing 1996 and it is stunning! The sets include both squadron markings and the various walkways and intake warnings etc.
Plenty of sets are included to produce a good sized airwing and instructions include aircraft colour schemes.
Freetime is listing a pre-order for 1/700 Cyber-Hobby CVAN-65 Enterprise. I bit on it but I wonder if this is another false hope or will this kit finally make an appearance?
I got an e-mail from Free Time about the kit today, saying it will be available and quantities will be limited... I had placed a pre-order about 2 years ago for the kit from them. So I called them to see if it was on my account. Due to their change over with the website/servers/etc... It was not, so I placed another pre-order. But the lady on the phone said if I received that e-mail, it means they received notice the kit was on it way to them at some point. But she could not tell when...
Sure hope this is not another false hope from Dragon/Cyber Hobby...
wvtomcat65 wrote:I got an e-mail from Free Time about the kit today, saying it will be available and quantities will be limited... I had placed a pre-order about 2 years ago for the kit from them. So I called them to see if it was on my account. Due to their change over with the website/servers/etc... It was not, so I placed another pre-order. But the lady on the phone said if I received that e-mail, it means they received notice the kit was on it way to them at some point. But she could not tell when...
Sure hope this is not another false hope from Dragon/Cyber Hobby...
Thomas
Another internet hobby store (in the USA) has her up for pre-order with a December delivery but Dragon USA took down their posting (which had a September delivery).
wvtomcat65 wrote:As for decals for 1/350 CVN-65. Here a 2 options that I know about. I think there may be a few others. But others here may know more about those. Again here are the ones I know about...
Boatswain Model has a sheet or the ship and 2 sheets for the air wing. One for 1982 & one for 2012... I have not used or seen any of their sheets. But I have heard good reviews. I'm sure there are those on here that have used them & could tell you what they are like. I plan on getting sheets from them for CVN-65 & others... http://www.boatswainmodel.com/products.html
Starfighter Decals also does ship & air wing sheets for various eras of the ship & air wings. Not used their sheets yet. But I have seen their sheets at the 2014 IMPS national convention. Very high quality sheets!! http://starfighter-decals.com/1350-de.html
Hope this helps,
Thomas
The artwork looks first rate from some of my personal photos from the 82 cruise. You are still going to have to recreate the decals for VRC-50 "Foo Dogs" and their C-2A Greyhounds, and VQ-1 Worldwatchers flying the A-3Ds as they are not included.
"It's hard to make things idiot proof because idiots are so damned ingenious!"
PergerCRO wrote:Where can I find info about number of airplanes in airwing in her '82 period ? I found what types she carried, but couldn't find info about actual number of airplanes.
When we put to sea for the 82-83 cruise, to the best of my memory, we had the following counts:
A-3D 3x, A-6 10x, KA-6A 4x, C-2A 2x, E-2C 4x, EA-6B 4x, F-14s 24x, S-3A 10x, A-7E 24x, SH-3 6x. Total Count: 91 aircraft assigned. Yes, we were crowded, but the handlers did over 10,000 "cruchless" moves during our deployment.
"It's hard to make things idiot proof because idiots are so damned ingenious!"
I'm new to this forum and it has been a massive help in gathering information to start tweaking the 1/350 USS Enterprise from Tamiya. The one question I do have, I know that Trumpeter seemed to have got the catwalks wrong on their Nimitz kit, some should have been grid pattern type deck rather than solid, however was this also the case with the moulding of the Big Es deck from Tamiya? Should any of the flight deck edge catwalks not be solid as they are in the kit? If so which ones?
Also thanks for the information on the Elevators, seems I now have some WEM deck that I will no longer need to portray BIG E on her final cruise.
Thanks in advance for your help, and as I said it has been a great read and very comprehensive.
In regards to your question, most of the catwalk area around the flight deck should be perforated steel plating as far as I can tell from my research. However, there are some areas that are solid. If you do a google search for "CVN-65 catwalks", you should find some useful photos in regards. I have included one below showing the perforated ones of Enterprise, which are different from the "grid" pattern that Nimitz has.
Honestly speaking though, the holes in the perforated plate are so small, you could get away with doing solid catwalks in 1/350 scale. It's just a matter of preference. If you do decide to find material to replicate the perforated catwalks, I wouldn't blame you for wanting to as I am doing the same on my Enterprise build. I think it will add extra detail to the model for the eye to catch. Good luck on your build and I hope you post your build progress here for all of us to see.
White Ensign Models does a photo etch set for the Trumpeter Nimitz that includes the perforated catwalks. I have not seen a similar set for CVN-65 Enterprise. There are also sets for CV-6, CV-8, and CV-9.
It would be a pricey venture, but you might be able to use that set as a source of material for an Enterprise project. It might take more than one set. I have not compared the catwalks between Enterprise and Nimitz to see the differences. I would imagine that the WWII sets would be more of a stretch but if you are cutting to fit, they might provide a resource as well.
Thanks Doug and Mark, I found some catwalks for carrier at WEM, so have ordered those and will see what they look like, and will make a decision from there.
Doug,
I wish I could say I would follow in your footsteps and just do it anywya, but after looking at your build of Big E in 2001, it is a phenominal ship you are putting together. I will be happy with solid cat walks as long as mine looks as half as good as yours! I have sent a couple of messages to you, but turns out cause I am new I can't do that just yet, essentially all boiled down, is there somewhere I can get a referecne to the size shape and number of the hull stifffeners you ahve added in your build?
I almost have everything sourced, including the 2012 airwing decals from Boatswains Models, just superb. I have also found some E model Superhornets on Shapeways which are just superb and far more accurate than trumpeters offering, so all should be moving ahead shortly. I also hope you don't mind, I am waiting a referecne CD, but am using your build as a start point. Hope that is ok.
So I received the catwalks from Toms Models the other day, and are perfect for the Enterprise. From what I can see in reference pictures, the catwalks are solid around the firefight and refueling hose drums etc, but with the perforations everywhere else? If that is the case, then this one sent will go close to replacing those parts of the original Tamiya moulding.
One last thing, anyone have a good plan view shot of the stbd aft missile launch platform? from what I can tell it was extended when the ship was fitted with RAM, but I can't find a decent overhead of the plan view of it.
I now have all that I need to start the build for Big-Es final cruise, and have started marking out what I need to cut, shunt, thin, change or replace. I have never done a carrier, so this should be interesting.
Does anyone know for sure, is the Dragon/Cyber Hobby Enterprise kit project dead?
Sure looks like it to me.
Regardless, I'm off to restore/modify my Revell 1/720 kit (built around 1987 OOB) to something resembling late '90s fit. And the spare 1/720 kit I have will be as per the box, just to see can I do any better. Anyone got a 1/800 Arii island for trade/sale?
As soon as I have time that is. Have been planning the above for years and was hoping to have it done before she was decommissioned.
roym. That seems to be the million dollar question. Lol... We have seen the test shots. They have even been on display at hobby shows internationally. But yet, nothing... I'm like you. Wanting this kit to come out, and getting frustrated with delay after delay. Granted, my main focus as it relates to a CVN-65 kit, is my 1/350 one. But, a 1/700 one will be a nice one to build as well... Dragon's site updated the release date the other day. It had it listed as a Feb 2017 release. But after we went into March, they changed it to an April 2017 release date... Below is the link to the page...
Not really, they are test shots, no surface detail on the flight deck, no instructions, and dozens of unidentified parts make it more like a very complex 3D puzzle. I did assemble the Bee Hive without issues though. I was waiting for an exploded view before attempting further assembly. Lots of $$$ spent on the tooling, it would be a shame not to finish this kit. Dragon remains silent on the matter.
