Calling all USS Enterprise CV-6 fans

[ModelMonkey]

Hi Arthur,

There are some interesting (generally very favorable) comments about the 1/350 scale Merit kits beginning here: viewtopic.php?f=46&t=4759&start=520

The Merit Yorktown and Enterprise kits have very good hulls - they do not have the Trumpeter Hornet kit's "supertanker" hull shape. The Merit kits do have heavy and erroneous hull plating which many have disliked. Sandpaper and elbow grease can correct that, if desired.

As an aside, Trumpeter's 1/350 scale Essex class kits have a fat hull, too, but that hull is not nearly as bad as Hornet, and most modelers are happy enough with the Essex kits. Many have been built into brilliant models and appear on this site.

[ArthurN]

Thanks Steve. It looks like a worthwhile project then after reading through the link you posted. I have waited so long for a 1/350 scale CV 6 Big E

[Tracy White]

Don't wait any longer to buy one because they're getting harder to find and more expensive.

[MartinJQuinn]

Enterprise, April 1943

[MartinJQuinn]

Enterprise testing twin and triple 20mm guns, July 1943:

General AA practice a few days later

[Eric Bergerud]

There is a 30 minute in-box review of the Academy kit on YTube by MuseumModeler - one of the few ship fans on YT. He claims scale is excellent for 1/700 scale: under 5' every major dimension and under 1' for island. He claims hull shape very good - more "coke bottle" than Trumpie's Hornet, but lacking a little of the cut of the prow. He does point out that in July 42 there was work done to the E's pilot house, but that these changes are not reflected in the Academy, so it's fitted for Midway but not the summer in the Solomons. He gives no more details on what would be needed to make a Santa Cruz build except for the obvious plane swap.

I've got one now (Free Time is nice place in my experience), but bought it before the Trumpie 1/700 E was announced. I'm going to leave it sealed on the off-chance that the Trumpie is considered a better build. If any wise heads can put to some photos of the pilot house, or new AA that would be needed to make a Santa Cruz conversion I'd be obliged. Frankly, I'm really not sure what I'm looking for.

Eric

[bmkerr]

I just stuffed up my Academy 1/700 USS Enterprise,

Does anyone have a set of deck markings or know were I can get some.

I'm doing a midway Enterprise.

[anj4de]

Hi all...

Just found some cool Enterprise pics from England during the Magic Carpet rides...enjoy!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/michael-a ... 826931110/

cheers
Uwe

[Eric Bergerud]

anj

Those are very neat pics. Wonder at what point it became impossible to operate aircraft. The E was a big ship, but pretty small compared to the Pacific. Is the Sunderland part of the Enterprise group? Where do they come from. The Aussies had some Sunderlands I think - Espitu Santos? I'm sure that patrol planes would have been most welcome near "torpedo alley."

And if someone has a pic that would illustrate the difference between the CV6 at Midway as opposed to the ship at Santa Cruz, I'd love to see it.

Eric

[Tracy White]

Enterprise was at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard finishing repairs from the Kamikaze hit earlier in the year when the war ended. They wouldn't have embarked any planes other than potentially a service hack but even that I doubt.

Details between Midway and Santa Cruz are small enough that most would be lost in a big picture. Look at the AA fit (mixture of mostly 40mm at Santa Cruz vs 1.1"s at Midway). If you can find gallery build ups of a Merit Yorktown at Midway and the Merit Enterprise that should give you most of the details as the Merit Yorktown has the parts to do Enterprise as well and is 98% the same.

[anj4de]

Hello all

I am just fideling around with the new Trumpy 1/700 CV-5 Yorktown. Very nice so far but far more complicated to build then the Academy "big E". Now Trumpeter has announced an Enterprise as well...and when I look at the Yorki parts I get a feeling their Enterprise will be from a different time window then Acadamy's offering. Give away...the rear edge of th flight deck has pre-cut sections for two 20mm at each side where as Academy's (Midway) version has only one. Does that mean we will see a Santa Cruz version? The hull of Yorktown shows two rows of port holes so I guess an all new hull is required for Enterprise anyway.
BTW...the Yorktown kit is the first 1/700 carrier I know that clearly shows the construction of the gallery deck! Similarities to the larger Cold War Intrepid in 1/350 which also has a nice gallery deck on the outside. Nothing inside though on both of them...

cheers
Uwe

[Robbo64]

I'm new to ship building and 1/700 scale. My wife bought me the Academy Big E for Christmas and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. This thread with all you knowledge is going to be so helpful

[Rich Mathsen]

Hi, Robbo. Good luck with your model. Take some time to read through this thread before you start cutting plastic, as there is a lot of good info here, a lot of which you may not find anywhere else. Also try www.cv6.org as a resource. If you have any questions, people here will be very helpful.

Regards,
Rich Mathsen

[Robbo64]

Hi, Robbo. Good luck with your model. Take some time to read through this thread before you start cutting plastic, as there is a lot of good info here, a lot of which you may not find anywhere else. Also try http://www.cv6.org as a resource. If you have any questions, people here will be very helpful.

Regards,
Rich Mathsen

Thank you sir

[Robbo64]

Looking at the instructions I can't see any mention of the rigging, am I missing something here or is this normal? Do I need to look else where for a guide?

[Tracy White]

It's normal. Very few plastic model companies will have rigging diagrams in their instructions. Best bet to start would be her Navsource page, although you might need to pay attention to the date of the photo and use photos of her sister ship if you can't find everything you're looking for.

[AKania]

I'm new to ship building and 1/700 scale. My wife bought me the Academy Big E for Christmas and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. This thread with all you knowledge is going to be so helpful

I just got back into the hobby myself, and had been planning to build the Big E for years. I got the Academy Enterprise for Christmas as well, and it was a fantastic kit to use as a way to learn new techniques and re-learn old ones, all while building a great model! I converted mine to the ship's 1945 appearance, so it took a lot of extra work, but the Academy kit was a great foundation for the build/conversion. I'm sure you will love building your version of the Big E! Look forward to seeing your progress!

[Daytona675R]

Looks like the Trumpeter 1/700 Yorktown CV-5 is out there. 1st listing I've seen is on ebay.
Enterprise can't be far behind...

There she is.

[Dick J]

From what little can be seen, it appears to be close to the Santa Cruz fit, but with Trumpy's usual "omissions". TBD's were gone by then. The hull appears to have the Yorktown degaussing cable pattern, rather than Enterprise's. Nothing that can't be fixed, but annoying. I will still get one.

[Tracy White]

And this could all be fixed if they would just accept help....