1/250 USS Forrestal aircraft carrier (Wilhelmshaven) - Page 5

**BigGiraffe** · #41 04-27-2021, 11:10 AM

Hello,

On the "Retriever" helicopter, I found the small fuselage rings a bit difficult to form because they have abrupt cross-section changes in a small length (difficult to hold with my "big" fingers). And I could not leave extra material around the wheel struts because each of the three legs has to be bent separately to attach to the right place on the fuselage. But, it is all done.

Next, and finally, I will do a pair of "Whales" before starting on the ship.

Best regards,
Kurt

**wireandpaper** · #42 04-27-2021, 11:51 AM

Very important to have your guard helicopter!
Looking forward to the Whales!

**BigGiraffe** · #43 05-01-2021, 10:27 AM

Hello,

The first of two A3D Skywarriors is finished. I'll do the other with wings and tail in the flight position.

This one has a boxy fuselage and that was a little more difficult to form than the round or oval ones. I rolled the corners about where I thought they should go, then adjusted them after connecting the ends of each strip and trying out the frames.

Number #15 is in work...

Best regards,
Kurt

**BigGiraffe** · #44 05-08-2021, 10:06 AM

Hello,

The airplanes are finished. Now they go into storage in a plastic container borrowed from the kitchen until I have a ship to put underneath them.

But one more thing before I start the ship... It's time to put the stand together.

Best regards,
Kurt

**FRD** · #45 05-08-2021, 10:53 AM

Those planes really turned out well...

**wireandpaper** · #46 05-08-2021, 11:59 AM

Bravo, bravo, bravo!
They are going to enhance tremendously your deck!

**BigGiraffe** · #47 05-08-2021, 05:52 PM

Thank you very much!
Kurt

**BigGiraffe** · #48 05-09-2021, 10:43 AM

Good Afternoon,

The stand is made from foam board (When I first started using this material, it was called "foam core"). I've never built a ship anywhere near this large, but I think this will be substantial enough to keep the hull flat during construction. The pieces were assembled using white glue at all the joints, then hot glue around the inner edges.

The stand is 48 inches by 8 inches, with 1 inch high sides. Per the instruction sheet, the ship is going to be the same length as this stand, and a little narrower.

Best regards,
Kurt

**cwiokster** · #49 05-09-2021, 11:54 AM

You are making great progress with this model. Due to being in the "as built" configuration, it is an historical snapshot. Other kits of this class represent the much modified mid-life config with more modern aircraft, so this model is still worth doing as it represents the 'dawn of the Supercarrier'.

I have had this kit in my collection since 1977. I was very disapointed however, by the "Green" color scheme, especially the flight deck. Only recently did the possibility of a recolor caused me to dig it out of storage. I have been scanning and retouching the 'acres' of part sheets ever since, though still not finished. My kit was in the original A2 sheet size, which complicated things, but I have managed to get it down to many more A3/ledger sized files which I can print out. First job was the flight deck, but this is now up for additional weathering as the deck looked too 'fresh'. To be continued......

Wilhelmshaven came pretty close with the aircraft, but there are some notable omissions. A valuable resource is NavySite.de USS Forrestal (CVA 59) Mediterranean Cruise Book 1957 - which has a number of scans and pdf files of old "cruise books" which are a gold mine of info regarding air group composition in any given era. My goal is to model the ship during it's 1957 Med deployment, with air group CVG-1, including.....
VAH-1....A3D-1 Skywarrior [included in kit]
VF-14....F3D-2N Demon (sidewinders) [missing]
VF-84....FJ-3M Fury (sidewinders) [included in kit]
VA-76....F9F-8B Cougar (attack config) [included in kit]
VA-15....AD-6 Skyraider (single seat) [missing]
VAAW-33 (det 42)....AD-5N Skyraider (night attack) [missing]
VAW-12 (det 40)....AD-5W Skyraider ('Guppy'_Airborne Warning) [missing]
VFP-62 (det 42)....F2H-4P Banshee (photo recon) [missing]
HU-2 (det 1)....HUP-1 Retreiver (utility Helo) [included in kit]

the F4Ds & F7Us were on CVA-59 at various times, just not in 1957.

the missing planes may be available in appropriate scales, from Scissors&Planes series, but I haven't really looked yet.

Anyway, I like your building plank of foam board; will keep this in mind!
Good luck with your "keel laying"!

Regards, Jeff C.

**mdesaxe** · #50 05-09-2021, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigGiraffe

The stand is 48 inches by 8 inches, with 1 inch high sides. Per the instruction sheet, the ship is going to be the same length as this stand, and a little narrower.

Your base will fit the hull OK but the flight deck will overhang it substantially - it will end up being around 11 inches wide, whereas the hull itself is only around 6 inches wide.

Maurice