Trumpeter WWII Aircraft Carriers

ddp59 wrote:

are you talking about the yorktown of the yorktown class or the essex class?

Yeah, they're totally confused right now. 

The Essex-class and Yorktown-class carriers are significantly different.   They are not just gray with airplanes on the roof as many airplane-interest modelers believe.

The sole Yorktown-class carrier made in 1:350 scale plastic is the Hornet (CV-8) by Trumpeter.   Nautilus Models makes a resin replacement island which will ease the modificaction of the Hornet to either the Yorktown (CV-5) or the Enterprise (CV-6).  You also need to address the shape of the flight deck.  It was different in the Hornet from the Yorktown/Enterprise.  Nautilus Models will help you there with a lazer-engraved replacement.   The Hornet is one of Trumpeter's earlier works.  They have matured and grown since then.   The main gripe which I have heard about the Trump Hornet is the shape of the bow -- it is too bluff and cargo ship-like.   IIRC there were some conjectures that the kit was pirated from a Blue Water Navy resin kit.  

Trumpeter hasn't done the Enterprise from the Hornet yet (several years later).   They would have to redo much of the molding to fix the things which are not right for the Yorktown/Enterprise.   Don't hold your breath for a plastic Enterprise from Trumpeter.   I don't see it happening, at least not in the forseeable future.

The USS Yorktown (CV-10) was a member of the Essex (CV-9) class.   It is often referred to as the Yorktown II.   Trumpeter makes a model of the Yorktown II.  The Essex kits, and there are several, are much improved in shape and 'accuracy' over the earlier offerings.  The Trumpeter Essex kits were developed in conjunction with Tom Harrison of Toms Modelworks.  Tom leased the rights to his resin masters for his 1:350 scale Essex to Trumpeter.   Tom also gets first crack at the initial production runs against which he can fit his brass sets.  He also gets to critique the kits.    Tom's Liberty ship was also the master behind the Trump Liberty ship.

The Essex-class and Yorktown-class carriers are significantly different.   They are not just gray with airplanes on the roof as many airplane-interest modelers believe.

Yorktown class.

Here's a link to an on-line article someone did of converting a Trumpeter 1/350 Hornet to the Entrprise.

http://web.mac.com/davidgatt/iWeb/The%20Carriers/CV6%20Enterprise.html 

Trumpeter 1/350 USS Yorktown, what is this kit like?

I agree with you honneamise, why put som expensive aftermarket products to a toy.  I´m curently building a line of cargo ships and tankers from the Revell and Imex kits. The Revell´s kit´s of cargo ship and the tanker is old and need lots of rebuilding, but the hulls is ok. Same for the Imex kit. If there where some better kits on the market i buy them instead. But  there are only this kit´s to choise from, that´s why good research on my objekt its the key to success. But that´s only my opinion. I have being out on the www. for mounths now, and thank´s to all nice people on different kind of forums, and my one research mayby i can get a nice replica of the real ship.

This hobby is for fun, and my way to do it, is only my way, good luck on your new project, Phanter 88.

Hasse from Sweden.

I must say that while I was pleased by the first look of the Trumpeter kits, most of them are a mixed bag IMO. The detail is state-of the art but I love a fine hull shape - and this is where their kits make me scratch my head....

The Hornet has hull lines so completely incorrect that I decided to stay away from the 1/350 and 1/700 kits (the smaller ones are usually just scaled down from the bigger ones). Revell´s old 1/489ish kit is crude but has a MUCH better hull. If you compare the hull pieces it looks like an Iowa next to a Liberty ship, they have nothing in common. 

The Essex class ships look better but are also incorrect in hull shape - not very noticeable when built waterline, though. In 1/700  I´d say that the Dragon kit will be an easier build but both seem very detailed.

Lexington/Saratoga´s hulls  look surprisingly accurate, but I just cannot stop wondering why a kit has so many parts and still looks kinda plain after assembly.

Even the Nimitz has an incorrect underwater ship, at least the forward section isn´t sharp enough and the bilge keels do not follow the hull shape as they are supposed to. Sometimes I wonder if they actually use any plans for research at Trumpeter. 

 It is just my two cents and I may seem harsh but IMO a decent looking hull ist the base for a good kit - thousands of tiny parts or multi-part aircraft cannot make up for a bad hull shape and the majority of the Trumpeter releases does fail in that department. I admit that if you build waterline, the problem is far less evident, but still, I´m not overly impressed by what Trumpeter has come up with yet.

I am working on the trumpeter USS Ticonderoga in 1/700. so far I am pleased with the kit. It has some gap issues and some of the instruction pictures are not as clear as I would like, so my patience is being tried test fitting things to make sure they are right, but over all I am very impressed by the kit. My skills are not near the level of most of the people here, so my impression my be somewhat skewed. So far it is a fun build.

Steve