This was a seven year project that started with the hull of a training aid for Sea Cadets. The hull was brought to the home of Larry Todd, who then essentially scratchbuilt every detail you see. The superstructure was scratchbuilt by Ted Noldy. My measly contribution was the airwing. There are 47 aircraft on the deck and in the hangar bay, which is fully lit. The A-4's and F-8's are 1/100 scale, the A-1's are die cast 1/100 scale with added landing gear and wheels, while the KA-3B is the Revell box scale. I converted one of the F-8's into an RF-8A. Decals were from Starfighter, who enlarged a set of CVW-16 decals for us. One picture shows a sailor "towing" his pants in the water. A story was told to us by a sailor that newbies were given brand new denim pants. They were very blue, and very uncomfortable. The newbies would tie a rope to their denims and let the ocean "wash" them for a bit. They would then send them the laundry. When they came back, they would be much more comfortable to wear. In September, the Oriskany Association is having their reunion in Topeka, and one night will be spent at the museum where the finished model, which is around 9 feet long, will be unveiled.
