Calling all Forrestal-class & Kitty Hawk-class fans

[gtbred]

1/350 CVA-66 AMERICA 1973 Nam

[Mark McKinnis]

Nice work red!

[gtbred]

Thanks Mark!

[Guest]

Hi Greg,

Do you have any updates on when the 1/720 parts for the Ranger will be available?

Regards

Craig

[roym]

Another here waiting on Ranger sponsons

[bioshock73]

Someone needs to do a late service Forrestal class in 1/350 and in styrene. I'd love to do a mid 90's Independence as it was my first duty station.

[Guest]

Hi folks.

I hope everyone is well as can be. While waiting for Greg's very awesome pieces for the Ranger to come online does anyone know if there is the same available for the 1:720 Kitty hawk CV-63 for the period during 1980-1999? Also has anyone printed the Enterprises superstructure for the same period? I've seen there is a Revell kit available but it has the 1960's t6o 70's superstructure in place, which I don't want.
I've searched all over Shapeways but can't find anything for said boats. I've found the superstructure for USS America CV-66 but from what I can tell that is quite different to the Kitty Hawks island.
My plans are to do a harbour setting but with ships in it that I have either been on or seen in person. I've got the Carl Vinson coming so will be hitting up Greg's Shapeways parts for that over the coming months so at least I can start on that one.
Anyway thanks in advance and stay safe.

Craig

Hi Craig,

I plan to use the island and sponsons from the Arii 1/800 New Enterprise kit (the island is actually 1/720) on my Revell Enterprise to do a late version. For Kitty Hawk, really the Italeri kit is actually the America tooling with a slightly different island. You will need to go 1/700 Fujimi (as I did) or Trumpeter to get anything resembling Kitty Hawk. America's flight deck layout is different as are all the sponsons, ironically the Italeri America tooling makes a decent if basic America but is very wrong for CV-63 or -64.

[Craig Robbo Robinson]

Hi Craig,

I plan to use the island and sponsons from the Arii 1/800 New Enterprise kit (the island is actually 1/720) on my Revell Enterprise to do a late version. For Kitty Hawk, really the Italeri kit is actually the America tooling with a slightly different island. You will need to go 1/700 Fujimi (as I did) or Trumpeter to get anything resembling Kitty Hawk. America's flight deck layout is different as are all the sponsons, ironically the Italeri America tooling makes a decent if basic America but is very wrong for CV-63 or -64.

Good to know about the Enterprise, so thanks. I've been looking at the Trumpeter kits for Kitty Hawk & Connie,. They are expensive but worth it to get them close to period. As you say the Italeri does resemble America more than the Kitty.


Thanks.

[waltsar]

I'm building a 1/350 scale USS America as she was at the commissioning in 1965 (I'm a plank owner). In 1965 the lifeboats /rafts were in open frame cages that look like they were about 3'X4'X8'. From the research materials that I've been able to find it looks as though the liferafts were located only on the starboard side of the flight deck mostly in the area near the island. It seems odd that there would not have been liferafts on the port side.

Does anyone know or can steer me to info that would clear up this question?

I have photos of America from the early '70s onward that show the liferafts contained in smaller sealed gray pods on both sides of the flight deck.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm getting close to the end of this build and would really like to get this part of it right.

Thanks,
Walt

[Mark McKinnis]

Greetings,

navysite.de has a link for the cruise books for ships. I think the lifeboat racks you are looking for are shown alongside the port side of the flightdeck.

https://www.navysite.de/cruisebooks/cv66-65/042.htm

Hope that helps,

Mark

[waltsar]

Mark,

Thanks for the reply. I have the maiden cruise book and have already looked at the photo you linked. Since the ship always berthed the starboard side to the pier, where the quarterdeck is, I assumed the photo is of the starboard side. And yes, those are the liferaft racks I'm referring to. Are you certain that this photo is of the port side? If so, you've solved my problem.

Thanks again,
Walt

[Timmy C]

is portside because with starboard side you would see 3 elevators & the island

The starboard aft-most elevator, viewing aft, would fit that criteria. No, the better "tells" for it being the portside are the lack of the crane and two large openings on the sponson, which are only present on the portside and are absent on the starboard side of the ship (in their entirety when look aft, and present as several more openings of varying sizes if looking forward).

[Admhawk]

There are 5 on the bow section, 2 under the F-4 wing drop tank. There are also some under the deck overhang on the right edge of the photo. You can just make them out in the black and white photos.







The baskets were replaced with the Barrels in the late 70's

[gtbred]

Good Luck on your build.

[DougC]

Is there any difference between Trumpeter's 1/700 Constellation and Kitty Hawk?

[Timmy C]

Yes there are differences. You can compare their instructions here:
Kitty Hawk: https://www.super-hobby.com/products/US ... 39005.html
Connie: https://www.super-hobby.com/products/US ... 76439.html

Most notable, Connie has C and D sprues while Kitty Hawk has A and B sprues, reflecting the differences (though I can't tell you whether they're all the differences).

[Guba]

I served aboard Conny, yes there were differences. Kitty and Conny were homeported in San Diego and berthed at the same dock. Not only were there differences in the sponsons, but also the islands.

[waltsar]

Any ideas why there is no 1/350 scale model of the USS America CVA66? There is a model of CV1 and then many iterations of other carriers through the years including CV 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, etc up to but not including the USS Ford (notice, no number 66).

I'd really, really would like to understand why this ship, USS America CVA/CV66 is being snubbed. By all accounts, she was a good ship. She performed well during her 31 years of service - saw armed action on several occasions with distinction. She seems to have done her job at least as well as the other ships mentioned here.

Not only is the hobby industry ignoring this ship but so is the navy, seems she's the bastard child for some reason, so they sank her, WTF?

[ModelMonkey]

Here are the US fleet carriers and whether or not they have been kitted in injection-molded plastic in 1/350 scale.

CV-1 Langley: yes
CV-2 Lexington: yes
CV-3 Saratoga: yes
CV-4 Ranger: yes
CV-5 Yorktown: yes
CV-6 Enterprise: yes
CV-7 Wasp: no
CV-8 Hornet: yes
CV-9 Essex: yes
CV-10 Yorktown: yes
CVS-11 Intrepid: yes
CV-12 Hornet: no
CV-13 Franklin: yes
CV-14 Ticonderoga: yes
CV-15 Randolph: no
CV-16 Lexington: no
CV-17 Bunker Hill: no
CV-18 Wasp: no
CV-19 Hancock: yes
CV-20 Bennington: no
CV-21 Boxer: no
CVL-22 Independence: yes
CVL-23 Princeton: yes
CVL-24 Belleau Wood: no
CVL-25 Cowpens: no
CVL-26 Monterey: no
CVL-27 Langley: no
CVL-28 Cabot: no
CVL-29 Bataan: no
CVL-30 San Jacinto: no
CV-31 Bon Homme Richard: no
CV-32 Leyte: no
CV-33 Kearsarge: no
CV-34 Oriskany: no
CV-35 Reprisal: no
CV-36 Antietam: no
CV-37 Princeton: no
CV-38 Shangri La: no
CV-39 Lake Champlain: no
CV-40 Tarawa: no
CV-41 Midway: yes
CV-42 Franklin D. Roosevelt: no
CV-43 Coral Sea: no
CV-45 Valley Forge: no
CV-46 Iwo Jima: no
CV-47 Philippine Sea: no
CV-59 Forrestal: no
CV-60 Saratoga: no
CV-61 Ranger: no
CV-62 Independence: no
CV-63 Kitty Hawk: yes
CV-64 Constellation: yes
CVN-65 Enterprise: yes
CV-66 America: no
CV-67 John F. Kennedy: yes
CVN-68 Nimitz: yes
CVN-69 Dwight D. Eisenhower: no
CVN-70 Carl Vinson: no
CVN-71 Theodore Roosevelt: no
CVN-72 Abraham Lincoln: no
CVN-73 George Washington: no
CVN-74 John C. Stennis: no
CVN-75 Harry S. Truman: no
CVN-76 Ronald Reagan: no
CVN-77 George H. W. Bush: no
CVN-78 Gerald Ford: no
CVN-79 John F. Kennedy: no
CVN-80 Enterprise: no
CVN-81 Doris Miller: no

Not yet any Midways, Forrestals or Fords.

Of 70 subjects, 20 have been kitted, or 29%.

[Mark McKinnis]

Nice work Steve!

With this Island:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/KMRL4 ... 1&li=shops

You could do a 1/350 scale USS America CVA-66 by kit bashing a 1/350 scale Constellation Kit + JFK Kit. I may get around to that someday. Too many projects, not enough time..........

Mark