Floating junkyard

[Joe C-P]

Hull and superstructure of an Aoshima Kiev, all details from other ships, mostly Russian, a few from a Nimitz, aircraft from many different sets.
I haven't decided on the country, so I didn't put marking on the aircraft. I have a number of decal sets to choose from.

[GTX]

India maybe - someone who uses equipment from all sides.

Regards,

Greg

[Spey_Phantom]

Poland maybe, Finland, Pakistan. would be nice to see those countries have carriers 

[B777LR]

Argentina. They need something new, and the UK wont supply anything, thats for sure. And the Clemenceau has been scrapped, Foch is with the Brazilians, and a new built nuclear powered super carrier is too expensive.

[Joe C-P]

Poland! Yes, that will do nicely. I am an honorary Pole, having been married in a church named after Our Lady of Czestochowa.

Let's see...

Kiev was in a Polish port during the collapse of the Soviet Union, undergoing repairs for the latest engine fire. The new Russian government decided they did not want this tinderbox, so "gifted" it to Poland in return for 1100 cases of good vodka sent to the Duma.

Polish shipyard workers managed to fix things up, then the Navy sailed their new acquistion to Britain for a full overhaul and upgrade. They managed to salvage two working YaK-38s, while the rest of the air group came from the Polish Navy and Air Force and a few surplus Sea Harriers from the British Royal Navy.

Now I need to find 1/700 Polish naval aviation markings.

JoeP

[kitbasher]

Swiss Navy - patrolling Lake Geneva 24/7!

[B777LR]

Swiss Navy - patrolling Lake Geneva 24/7!

It wouldnt even need to leave port to patrol the lake!

[Joe C-P]

View from aft:



Forward:



Amidships. Note MiG-29s by the single catapult added by the RN, the damaged Ka-29 helicopter, one of the two Forgers on the forward lift, and an Aerospatiale Dauphin helicopter ready to take off. Per the practice of the USN and RN, a helicopter is always in the air during flight operations to rescue pilots if an aircraft has trouble on takeoff or landing.



After deck. Here are two of the ex-RN Sea Harriers, the other Forger, and a Ka-29 ASW helo. The yellow line and arrow point to the "ideal" landing spot at number 2 wire of the four arrestors.



Finally a shot of the bow area.



After some debate, the Polish naval brass decided to keep the ship as an aviation crusier, and left the remaining working weapons in place. The ship's current armament is as follows:

Two twin 76.2mm mounts
4 twin 30mm AK-630 CIWS
1 RBU-6000 ASW rocket launcher

The airgroup:
4 MiG-29K fighters
4 Sea Harrier
2 YaK-38 "Forger"
6 (5?) Ka-29 ASW helicopters
2 Dauphin SAR helos

The Polish Navy is considering upgrading the ship's armament, equipment, and air group with British and US help, and making the ship fully compatible with NATO communications standards.
(Yes, I might strip off all the armament and rearm her with NATO weapons.  )

Now all I need is a NAME for my creation.

[Brian da Basher]

How about calling it the Kielbasi?

Seriously, that's one very cool and sharp carrier Joe! I'm glad you could join us and it's always a treat to see a new ship model, especially an aircraft carrier! I thoroughly enjoyed viewing your detail shots and reading the captions. The "mixed bag" of aircraft really adds interest.

Another name for it might be the Kontadmiral Michal Bobrowski (Polish naval head delegate at Danzig) or the Gdansk.

Brian da Basher

[Joe C-P]

Another name for it might be the Kontadmiral Michal Bobrowski (Polish naval head delegate at Danzig) or the Gdansk.

Brian da Basher

I forgot I'd entered this! 

Gdansk is a name I like and a lot easier to spell in 1/700 scale letters. Now I have to decide between US or NATO weapons and equipment for the upgrade. Also need some more aircraft; that deck is rather bare.

JoeP

[Brian da Basher]

I can't argue with that choice, Joe!

I'm really looking forward to seeing you sail across the finish line with this beauty!

Brian da Basher

[Taiidantomcat]

Sleek looking ship!...i could ponder a plan for months and i buy a dozen kits and it wouldn't come out looking nearly as good as your ship built from "junk" 

[John Howling Mouse]

Cool how, from some angles, she looks like a hybrid destroyer of sorts-----then you see the aircraft on the deck.
Even though you did mention it, I'm still trying to figure out which parts were bashed from which model kits and what each kit would look like in its normal configuration.

[sotoolslinger]

Now that is just very ,very cool. It's a nice break from all the boring old airplanes we see everyday