Jump to content

Aurora 1/600 CV-60 Saratoga


ghodges

Recommended Posts

Our club is doing a museum display at Jacksonville Beach to help celebrate 75yrs of Mayport Naval Base. This is the first of a couple of carrier builds I'm contributing: the Saratoga, which was based here for most of the 60's and 70's.

 

This is the old 1/600 Aurora Forrestal kit. The decals were totally unusable, but I found some large yellow numbers to use on the flight deck. All other lines, as well as the catapults are painted. I placed white decals over black ones on the island to get the shadow shaded numbers. The name on the fantail was done with rub-on lettering.

001_5.jpg

 

003_8.jpg

I didn't worry about accuracy or detailing, though I did replace a couple of the radar parts on the masts because the kit parts were so flashed over as to be unusable. This was an OOTB build, as well as an exercise in carving flash and sanding knock-out pin marks (and I was only about 85% successful!).

 

The aircraft in the box were actually from an older release, being all Cutlasses, Furys, Tigers, and a few Skyhawks. I'm going to try to get some 'Nam era aircraft later for the flight deck, after the museum display is over.

 

All in all, I enjoyed this build, as it's the first carrier I've built since I was a teenager (and I think it was THIS kit!), and didn't have to fret about "getting it right". Now, on to the Revell 1/547 Midway I got in the mail today, which will be built as the FDR!

 

GIL :smiley16:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nostalgia Modeling at its best. You did a nice job on an ancient kit. Remarkable how good these oldies can look with a little (a lot?) effort.

 

Good luck finding 1/600 aircraft. You might try finding an old Airfix Forrestal kit. Buy a junked one on ebay as long as it has the a/c.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, Gil,

 

Unfortunately I just read above you are/were looking for the Revell USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. I have an original but slightly started one in its original box that I could have given you for this museum project. It comes complete with the engraved (actually raised) outlines for the decals. The decals are 60 years old and somewhat yellowed, but with the decal outlines you can mask the outlines and airbrush the yellow paint.

 

Ed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Ed, but I got a Revell 1/547 Midway (from the Midway museum in San Diego!) that I'll build as the FDR. I actually got 80% of it assembled today (SO much easier than building an airplane! :smiley2: ), and it's at least a full step above the old Aurora carriers, but then it's also 10-15yrs younger, being molded in 1971 (as opposed to the late 50's for the Forrestal kit).

 

GIL :smiley16:

Edited by ghodges
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's an excellent PE set for those old Revell kits that really dresses them up. Kind of pricey, but makes the final product really pop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Regardless of the box or reissue, the USS Midway (1960 & 1975) and USS Coral Sea (1961, 1966 motorized, & 1975) in 1/547 scale all trace back to the Revell molds of the original 1954 kit of the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (1954 & 1961). The removal of decal outlines and perhaps changing out some of the deck aircraft would be the only changes to the basic original kit. Revell got a lot of mileage out of that original kit. If you happen to have the G-311 Victory at Sea "S" Gift Set (1955) with the FDR included, don't build it--the collector value exceeds $600.

 

The included aircraft with the FDR include Cougars, Corsairs, Skyraiders, and Piasecki helicopters.

 

Mark, this will be the straight deck version of Midway prior to the angled deck conversion on display in San Diego.

 

Ed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That explains a lot then Ed. In that case, I already have a Franklin Roosevelt kit in the stash. I'd intended to build all three models. I think I only have the Roosevelt to do. Thanks for the clarification!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...