Calling all Essex-class (WWII configuration) fans

[Tracy White]

A place called Warship Hobbies picked up the line and sells them in the US through an eBay store.

[ah3000mk1]

Along a similar line to the question by Mikevpd:

I am starting a CV-19 Hancock, with the Dragon kit, - instructions specify twin 20-mm, and both MS-21 & MS-22 are spec'd for 1945.

But, she has the intriguing MS-3a scheme shown for 1943; might give that a try...would that have been with single 20-mm?

Regards,

ah3000mk1

[Tracy White]

Twin 40MMs weren't until 1945, essentially.

[thefenders]

Just picked up a Trumpy 1/350 Essex with White Ensign PE (4 sheets) for $80!!! I just had to tell someone who understands, because when I told my wife, she just had this blank look in her eyes.

[ModelMonkey]

Just picked up a Trumpy 1/350 Essex with White Ensign PE (4 sheets) for $80!!! I just had to tell someone who understands, because when I told my wife, she just had this blank look in her eyes.

He shoots, he scores! Wow, $80 for all that!

[2whl]

Just a question from a newbie. I have the Trumpeter 1/350 Essex and the instructions call for everything to be painted Navy Blue. Is this correct? I started going through this thread, but haven't seen anything yet and it's 110 pages long.

[MartinJQuinn]

Just a question from a newbie. I have the Trumpeter 1/350 Essex and the instructions call for everything to be painted Navy Blue. Is this correct? I started going through this thread, but haven't seen anything yet and it's 110 pages long.

If you are building her "as built" when she was first commissioned, then yes, overall Navy Blue (aka Measure 21) is correct. She didn't get painted in dazzle until 1944.
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/020983.jpg
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/020972.jpg

[Mark McKinnis]

Just a question from a newbie. I have the Trumpeter 1/350 Essex and the instructions call for everything to be painted Navy Blue. Is this correct? I started going through this thread, but haven't seen anything yet and it's 110 pages long.

That is the challenge of those paint schemes! Not making it look like a big blue brick.


I am trying an experiment with a Lexington doing the MS-21 which is a similar issue. So I started by spraying light ghost gray and then a light coat of 5N over that. When I spray the 5N Blue, I spray perpendicular to the waterline. This is giving a subtle weathering affect of the blue fading unevenly. So far so good. Then a blue wash on a tan flight deck will give the big blue brick some contrast as well.


When I get a chance, I will post a pic or two.

Good Luck!

Mark

[scratchshipbuilder]

I've been reading and reading on this thread, and I found a breakdown on what can be done with the dragon kits as far as what ship you can get from each. I think it was before their Hornet and Franklin though. A lot of those kits are either unobtainium or unaffordable now. Is there an up to date article, section in a book, or page in this thread that breaks down what you can build with what on Dragon and Trumpeter?

[Tracy White]

Dragon's "Hornet 1945" is actually sorta badly named. It's an early service configuration and the best start point for any early service of the class (long hulls side, natch). I think Trumpeter's 700th Franklin is the same as the Yorktown - essentially a late-war fit. My recollection is that they were fairly similar to their 350th scale big brothers in detail.

Dragon Hornet 1945 is the best for early war fit, Dragon CV-16 Lexington best for mid and late war fits.
Trumpeter CV-9 is their best for early-war fits and the CV-10 and -13 for later war fits, but if you do something like Intrepid, you might need one of each for all of the parts whereas the Dragon Lexington includes early and late parts and is better for mid and late war changes. I don't have that info in my head for the long hulls and would need some time to look over the offerings and report back. The conventional wisdom on the long hulls has been a bit erroneous though, so take your preconceived notions with a grain of salt.

[scratchshipbuilder]

Thanks, for the purpose of reading through this thread, since according to Navsource Essex was commissioned 31 Dec 1942, I guess that makes it easy for this class, Early is '43, mid war is '44, and late is '45?

Also cool because Dragon Lexington is everywhere. I just paid bux delux for a Dragon Hancock

[Tracy White]

I view early as until about April 1944 and late as from about October/December 1944. April '44 was when Essex had what was essentially the first major overhaul and change and we start seeing the extra quad 40mms sprouting. Yorktown, Bunker Hill, Franklin, and Ticonderoga were overhauled in short order starting in October 1944 and came out with a lot of similar alterations, and in between those periods was sort of a mish mash (Intrepid, for example, had the extra three starboard quads added under the island but retained the single quad on the stern whereas the others got the three and the double quad 40mm installation on the stern at the same time [note, from memory and I might be wrong - still at work so no time to look at notes for an hour or two]).

This is entirely my categorization though. Others may have one that makes more sense or logical breakdown.

[Tracy White]

Quick note on the long hulls since I mentioned them and want a bit longer of a work break. Conventional wisdom had been that they launches with a short flight deck and then had them extended and filled in by the time they reached the pacific, but in fact each ship was different.

Ticonderoga had the FORWARD deck extended to the regular length before she left the east coast, but there wasn't enough time to extend the stern until she went in for repair of Kamikaze damage she received in January '45
Randolph had both ends extended before she left the east coast.
Hancock had the short deck the entire war, but had the large notch for the third Mk 37 filled in at Pearl Harbor in March of 1945.

[scratchshipbuilder]

Can I get a Measure 32, Design 3A version out of this Dragon Hancock when it get's here without major surgery? Should I be thinking of buying a Lexington parts kit?

[Tracy White]

Quick survey of this review looks like all you'll need to do is cut the notch in the port flight deck for the third Mk37 that wasn't shipped. If you live up to your forum handle it shouldn't be hard at all.

[pete wenman]

Gents hi

I hope this is the correct place to start.

I'm an Aviation Artist, who tries to limit my work to NavAir, for which I use model reference of varying standards as I see fit. ( I was a keen modeller before moving to working on canvas)

I'm now looking to build a Korean War Essex Class, - I'm not really fussed which one, although Boxer, Princeton and Philippine Sea all seem possible. Ideally with "brown" deck.
To this end I'm planning on going with one of the 1/350 Trumpeter kits of the long hull Essex ( I assume there is not much difference between the Tico or Hancock kits ) with the Pontos late detail set.

Now the big question is what changes are needed for say a 1952 Essex pre SCB-27.

Areas that come time mind
Reduction in the number of 20mm guns
Ascertain which 40mm Quads were retained
Arresting cables and barriers
Changes to the mast and antenna configurations.

My reading to date suggests the changes needed are not too major, but I'd be grateful for some clarification from those that know better.

Any help appreciated

P

ps my art can be found here if anybody is interested
http://www.navairart.com

[Tracy White]

I like your work, so I'm going to post a working link as I think yours has an extra "/url" in it - http://www.navairart.com/

My specialty is WWII, so I won't be of much help for Korea. I can say that Essex herself and Princetomare probably out if you "gotta have" a wood colored deck.

[MFH]

Gents hi

I hope this is the correct place to start.

I'm an Aviation Artist, who tries to limit my work to NavAir, for which I use model reference of varying standards as I see fit. ( I was a keen modeller before moving to working on canvas)

I'm now looking to build a Korean War Essex Class, - I'm not really fussed which one, although Boxer, Princeton and Philippine Sea all seem possible. Ideally with "brown" deck.
To this end I'm planning on going with one of the 1/350 Trumpeter kits of the long hull Essex ( I assume there is not much difference between the Tico or Hancock kits ) with the Pontos late detail set.

Now the big question is what changes are needed for say a 1952 Essex pre SCB-27.

Areas that come time mind
Reduction in the number of 20mm guns
Ascertain which 40mm Quads were retained
Arresting cables and barriers
Changes to the mast and antenna configurations.

My reading to date suggests the changes needed are not too major, but I'd be grateful for some clarification from those that know better.

Any help appreciated

P

ps my art can be found here if anybody is interested
NavAir Art

FWIW, I believe USS Bon Homme Richard (CV-31) was recommissioned largely as she had been at the end of WW II, the only "short-hull" to see service with only the single bow mount after they were all mothballed. No idea as to flight deck color. Not what you're looking for, but she'd be unique.

[MFH]

I view early as until about April 1944 and late as from about October/December 1944. April '44 was when Essex had what was essentially the first major overhaul and change and we start seeing the extra quad 40mms sprouting. Yorktown, Bunker Hill, Franklin, and Ticonderoga were overhauled in short order starting in October 1944 and came out with a lot of similar alterations, and in between those periods was sort of a mish mash (Intrepid, for example, had the extra three starboard quads added under the island but retained the single quad on the stern whereas the others got the three and the double quad 40mm installation on the stern at the same time [note, from memory and I might be wrong - still at work so no time to look at notes for an hour or two]).

This is entirely my categorization though. Others may have one that makes more sense or logical breakdown.

Here's my slightly different categorization (;)): Lex had the first repair/refit after her torpedo damage off Kwajalein. During her repair/refit is when she got the 3 outboard 40mm quads below her island and the two quad 40mm mounts starboard aft, which all the mid-1944 carriers got. IMO, she kind of lead the way of adding additional highly visible/distinguishable 40mm quads. I am really surprised she didn't get the bigger flag bridge at this time, which Essex got just a few months later. (I'd love to know why!)

Essex got the first flag bridge retrofit to see action (Intrepid might have slightly beat her to completion, but she didn't see action until mid-summer '44). But Essex only got a few (four, IIRC) additional 40mm mounts, and the starboard aft weren't even moved outboard during the war. It's not like she had to go through the ditch again. Maybe a difference between the two could be explained by the shipyards that repaired them: PSNY for Lex and Hunters Point for Essex (IIRC without going to reources).

I agree that starting with Yorktown in the late summer of '44, she became the pattern for the "ultimate" configuration that combat experience determined for the rest of the other "single-40mm-bow-mount ships" (CV-13, CV-17, CV-11, CV-16, CV-18, CV-12, etc.) that followed.

(I'm tired and I hope that makes some sense... Off to bed!)

[pete wenman]

Cheers gents for the replies and for Tracy for correcting the bad link. Glad you like my work.

I've posted this over on the Cold War thread, but the Korean non SBC-27 Essex's really seem to straddle both threads. Cv-47 seems a good option with the following configuration.



P