1/700 CV-6 Uss Enterprise

[Draco]

With so many WWII paper models that can be done, and with my type 1a submarine almost finished, is time to start another one.

The time has come for the CV-6 Uss Enteprise, the "Big E". This one is based in the Model Kartonowy 1/300 kit, but rescaled to 1/700, and with a lot of planned changes in construction.

So far, I redraw some pieces to be joined from the begining, even before the cut. The flight deck is going to be in relief, maybe with the barrier raised. The curtains covering the hangar deck will be opened and the hangar itself will have transparent acetate reinforcements, to allow the free pass of light and the ilusion that the structure is open and full of planes

Talking about planes, so far I have made just ONE plane at 1/700 scale, so that is going to be the most difficult part of the making of this ship.

[bgt01]

Looking forward to your build. I love the Big "E" and it's great to see a model of her. Good luck!

[herky]

cant imagine doing the aircraft.im building whm nimitz at the moment at 1;250 and the parts for the aircraft even at this scale frighten me

[Draco]

Thanks, bgt01.

Herky, you made me curious. Usually I would made the planes by the end, but now I'll do at least one of each.

Here is a letter size page with twelve F4f Wildcat, twelve Sbd Dauntless and twelve Tbd Devastator.

Size at 1/700 scale:
tbf avenger: lenght 1,78 cm, Span 2,36 cm
sbd dauntless: lenght 1,44 cm, Span 1.81 cm
f4f hellcat: lenght 1,26 cm, Span 1.66 cm
tbd devastator: lenght 1,52 cm, Span 2.18 cm

[Draco]

As I said, Herky tempted me.

Here is the start of a SBD Dauntless at 1/700 scale.

The body is made from a stem of grass, and the wings and horizontal stabilizator are cut from the 3-view drawings that I repeated twelve times each model.

The weel struts will be made from electric wire and the cockpit from a drop of glue (after painting, of course)

[Draco]

Vacations starts, one SBD Dauntless is finished.

Batch building the planes will be easier, of course. What makes me feel good is that the resulting plane "looks" like a Dauntles, I mean, it's not a generic plane but you can recognize the specific model.

Meanwhile I've been researching the color scheme. The ship had many changes in color, planes and armament. At last I decided to do it like it was in 1942, on Midway. It means:
Vertical Surfaces Sea Blue 5-S paint applied without pattern to all vertical surfaces including mast and funnel tops.
Horizontal Surfaces Deck Blue 20-B paint. On aircraft carriers, wooden decks were stained to a color corresponding to Deck Blue 20-B.

Merry Christmas!

[Draco]

Assembling the flattop.

Just placing the fight deck over the hull without the hangar between, but it shows it's size compared with the BB-63 Missouri.

I believed the Enterprise bigger, but not, it looks kind of small.

The SBD Dautles (here compared with the same plane at 1/72 scale) can be seen on the rear lift.

The deck coloring is uncompleted. I'm planing the make it dirtier, with rubber lines from the landings and splashes of grease.

The cuts between wood planks can be seen clearly. They were made with a knife. I'll include the arrresting wires. I'm not sure about cutting the rear lift and displaying it a bit sunken into the hanger

[Aster]

Great job. The plane look like a Dautles

[herky]

Originally Posted by Draco

Assembling the flattop.

Just placing the fight deck over the hull without the hangar between, but it shows it's size compared with the BB-63 Missouri.

I believed the Enterprise bigger, but not, it looks kind of small.

The SBD Dautles (here compared with the same plane at 1/72 scale) can be seen on the rear lift.

The deck coloring is uncompleted. I'm planing the make it dirtier, with rubber lines from the landings and splashes of grease.

The cuts between wood planks can be seen clearly. They were made with a knife. I'll include the arrresting wires. I'm not sure about cutting the rear lift and displaying it a bit sunken into the hanger

that blue is very similar to jsc uss intrepid flight deck

[Draco]

Yes, Herky, the blue must be Deck Blue 20-B, and both carriers must have the same color.

Until the development and spread of the radar at the end of WWII, the americans were big believers of the camouflage.

This pictures show the inner reinforcements of the hangar deck, with a variation: I used acetate instead of cardboard.

The result, as you can see, is almost transparent and will be invisible (I hope) when I cut the hangar curtains and place some of the planes inside.

Talking about planes, there are now a SBD Dauntles, two DBT Devastador (one has the wings folded) and one F4F. Only the SBD has the propeller instaled.