Lexington vs Lexington...

The only Trumpeter 1/700 Lexington I could find is a model of the first carrier of that name, CV-2 - the ship that was built in the 1920s and sunk at the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942.  The DML kit represents the later Essex-class Lexington, CV-16.  They are, of course, extremely different-looking ships. 

Trumpeter makes several other Essex-class ships on 1/700 scale; converting one of them to the Lexington probably wouldn't be difficult. 

I don't have either of the two kits in question, but I do have one of the other DML Essex-class kits, the Hancock.  It's an outstanding kit - a staggering parts count, photo-etched parts, aircraft molded in clear plastic (paint everything but the canopies), a reasonably detailed hangar deck, and an optional transparent flight deck.  I've also got the Trumpeter Saratoga (CV-3, sister-ship of the Lexington).  It's also a superb kit.  I picked it over the Lexington because I'm attracted by the Saratoga's peacetime configuration (with 8" gun turrets and beautiful old biplanes).  The Trumpeter Lexington is in WWII configuration (no 8" guns, remodeled island, and WWII aircraft).

The Steel Navy website ( www.steelnavy.com ) has reviews (extremely favorable ones) of most of the DML Essex-class kits.  I've read almost nothing but positive comments about any of the kits we're talking about here.  These are great days for the twentieth-century warship modeler.

jtilley wrote:

The only Trumpeter 1/700 Lexington I could find is a model of the first carrier of that name, CV-2 - the ship that was built in the 1920s and sunk at the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942.  The DML kit represents the later Essex-class Lexington, CV-16.  They are, of course, extremely different-looking ships.  Trumpeter makes several other Essex-class ships on 1/700 scale; converting one of them to the Lexington probably wouldn't be difficult.  I don't have either of the two kits in question, but I do have one of the other DML Essex-class kits, the Hancock.  It's an outstanding kit - a staggering parts count, photo-etched parts, aircraft molded in clear plastic (paint everything but the canopies), a reasonably detailed hangar deck, and an optional transparent flight deck.  I've also got the Trumpeter Saratoga (CV-3, sister-ship of the Lexington).  It's also a superb kit.  I picked it over the Lexington because I'm attracted by the Saratoga's peacetime configuration (with 8" gun turrets and beautiful old biplanes).  The Trumpeter Lexington is in WWII configuration (no 8" guns, remodeled island, and WWII aircraft). The Steel Navy website ( www.steelnavy.com ) has reviews (extremely favorable ones) of most of the DML Essex-class kits.  I've read almost nothing but positive comments about any of the kits we're talking about here.  These are great days for the twentieth-century warship modeler.

One thing I was hoping for with the Trumpeter kit, that I don't believe it includes, is PE...I am assuming that DML includes PE radar arrays in their kits? Trumpeter also includes clear a/c...Maybe I can find some AM PE for CV-2...

I have an itch to build a historic carrier of WW2 and I feel that the Lady Lex (CV-2) would qualify as one...?

The second carrier Lexington (CV-16) was indeed named in honor of the first (CV-2).

At the time of Pearl Harbor there were seven American aircraft carriers in front-line service:  the Lexington, Saratoga, Ranger, Yorktown, Enterprise, Wasp, and Hornet.  Four of the seven, the Lexington, Yorktown, Wasp, and Hornet, got sunk by the end of 1942.  Those four names were used for new Essex-class carriers that were commissioned before the end of the war.   (The other three names, Ranger, Saratoga, and Enterprise, have of course been recycled for new carriers since then.)  People have, quite understandably, been getting them mixed up ever since.  No less an historian than John Keegan included a photo of the wrong Yorktown in the chapter on the Battle of Midway in one of his books.

The Trumpeter Lexington and Saratoga kits are first-rate - and I agree that, in their old, prewar configuration or their WWII guise, they make about the most spectacular-looking aircraft carrier models imagineable.  There are big differences between the two kits.  If you want to build one of the ships in WWII configuration you need to buy the Lexington kit; if you like the prewar configuration the Saratoga is the one to get.

Gold Medal Models makes an outstanding set of photo-etched parts for both ships:  http://www.goldmm.com/ships/gms7032.htm .

Good luck.

Additionally, the Dragon CV-16 is a late-war fit, with twin 20mm guns and quad .50 cal army mounts... I provided them with research and critiques of the CADs while they were working on it and we weren't able to get them to fix everything but it came out nice!

If you want to read up on the Quad 50's I posted Lexington's report on them here. 

Congrats on nabbing a Lex, Manny. I don't know if it is a good idea for cotton smoke. Will it hold up over the years? The deck's basic color should be deck blue but it should be heavily weathered however. It was a stain that was applied to the wooden deck, not paint. And yes, she was long; 888 feet, that was 68 feet longer than her successor, CV-16, an Essex class carrier. She was originally laid down as a battlecruiser.

I am looking forward to seeing pictures of your work.

I certainly don't want to discourage anybody from trying any modeling technique of any sort, but I have to say that over the years I've seen an awful lot of attempts to represent smoke with cotton and I've never been favorably impressed with any of them.  That's not to say "it can't be done," but frankly I've never had much inclination to try it.

The most effective "imitation smoke" I've ever seen on a model of any sort was in an article I saw in a model railroad magazine years ago.  They guy had carefully carved a chunk of styrofoam into the shape of a smoke cloud, airbrushed it in various shades of grey, and plugged it into the stack of his HO steam locomotive.  The locomotive running around the track with such a thing attached to it would have looked ridiculous, but as a prop for a photo it looked great.  Whether that idea could be adapted to work in a ship diorama I don't know.

That brings to mind a stupid experience I once had in my brief, long-ago career as a local hobby shop clerk.  I very nice gentleman came into the store just before Christmas wanting to buy an HO locomotive for his kid.  He wanted one with a smoke unit.  I got out a fairly expensive steam engine (I don't remember the manufacturer) and put it on the test track, making my standard, in-advance explanation:  "Don't expect this little model to put out a big cloud of smoke, like a real steam engine.  If it did, it would drive you out of your house."  The locomotive ran beautifully for about two feet, then suddenly stopped.  There was a vaguely electric-sounding "pop" - and a huge cloud of smoke erupted from it.  Great way to lose a sale.

subfixer wrote:

The deck's basic color should be deck blue but it should be heavily weathered however.

The validity of this statement depends on the time period; if you are doing her at Coral Sea she was about three and a half weeks out of Pearl, where she had been freshly repainted. This would have included 250N Blue Flight Deck stain and most likely a light blue paint for the deck markings similar to duck egg blue in the Model Master's line. There would be some weathering but I wouldn't say it would be heavily weathered.

If you haven't looked over "Calling All Lexington CV-2 Fans" on  ModelWarships.Com it's well worth a read.

Not yet. But it will be my 2nd carrier.  My first is the hasegawa 1/700th "Zuiho":

subfixer wrote:

Fine work on the Zuiho!

subfixer wrote:

Supposedly, the deck camoflage was to make her look like a capital ship from the air, thus discouraging an aerial attack. You did it justice.