by Keith Bender
1/350 USS Enterprise CV-6 (Blue Water Navy)
This model was built on a commission for a client who owns several of Adm. Bull Halsey's hats. He felt it was only right that he should have a model of Enterprise in his collection. I felt it was right too. I used the old Blue Water Navy kit which is far from anything close to a good model. There isn't one piece that could be used right from the box. Even the PE was a nightmare which much of wasn't used. It took two weeks of sanding and reshaping the hull before any kind of assembly could start, other then putting the two hull halves together and only then after they spent some time in the oven to bend the warp out of them.
The planes I used are all Trumpeter. I think I'll make fishing sinkers of the metal ones that came with the kit unless one of you would like them please let me know. I will say the best part of the kit is the PE flightdeck. It is very well done and beats the resin or wood decks we have. Something to think about if your building a full hull Enterprise from yard period 43 or later. She had four bladed propellers by then.
In all this wasn't a pleasure to build. However I do invite kits like this into my shop. I like a challenge and this one provides that and some. Also I believe it improves your modeling skills. Now to move on to something much easier, a scratchbuilt 1/192 USS Alaska CB-1.
