I'm looking at what I think is the best source of information available on Revell kits: Dr. Thomas Graham's Remembering Revell Model Kits. He lists the Revell angled-deck Essex-class carrier as having been issued originally in 1958, and the scale as 1/538. It was reissued under the names Bonhomme Richard (1961), Lexington (1962), Oriskany (1968), Wasp (1968), Hornet (1970), Bonhomme Richard (1975), Lexington (1976), and Bonhomme Richard (1979). Dr. Graham's coverage stops with 1979; the kit may have come back one or more times since then.
The reissues saw few changes to the original kit. In its original form it contained a long piece of stiff wire with notches in it; the modeler was to break the wire at the notches and use the small pieces to form the antennas on the edges of the flight deck. Good idea, but I think the wire disappeared somewhere along the line.If I remember correctly, the original "air group" consisted of Cougars, Crusaders, Skyraiders, Skyhawks, and helicopters - plus a traveling crane and a couple of tractors. In later reissues the aircraft complement changed; the Hornet version from 1970 included a miniature Apollo 11 command module. If I remember right, the 1976 Lexington version (which I gather is the one you have; the copyright date might well be a year earlier) depicted her (sort of) in her last role as the Navy's training carrier off Pensacola. I believe the airplanes in that one included some trainers - and the decal sheet included a five-sided box surrounding the forward elevator, to represent the fact that the real elevator had been enlarged during one of the ship's many refits.
I can't help with the decal question. Several "cottage industry" firms are making aftermarket decals for ship models these days; maybe another Forum member knows of one of those products that would be appropriate.
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