Kent,
Great to hear from someone else who has done this. I would LOVE to see yours. I did this conversion in 1991 for my Father of the Lexington CVA 16. He was on her shakedown cruise in 1956. He became a Plank Owner so the model is sitting on the original piece of Teak planking with the plank owners certificate and a color panoramic of her joining the 7th fleet behind it.
He cried when it was presented to him, so be prepared for tears.
His cruise book "Ichiban" was the best reference since it had tones of pics of the reconstruction and changes they made during and after the sea trails.
I also had a book from the Yorktown that had line drawings of the deck and island in 1/720 scale, so it was easy to make templates. Tom's Modelworks railings were used throughout.
My conversion was a blast to build. What materials are you using for the hurrican bow? I used all Evergreen plastic for the entire conversion. Was it fun to build the starboard and port elevator? I was able to use the bottom part of the kit island and the stack as supports for the new superstructure.
Will you be adding planes??? Try making a Cutlass? Skyraiders are easy to make from TBMs. So are Banshees with a little carving, sanding, and replacement of the wings. I carved out a mold in Cedar and poured some Courgars out of resin.
I get a lot of modelers asking about this conversion but have never taken the time to make a "how to" article. Have you thought of it? I have been contemplating making a conversion of the Trumpeter 1/350 kit unless the rumored Panda kit is worth anything.
Scott