Whif aircraft carrier in 1/48?

Sensemann · March 28, 2012, 04:11:58 PM

I cant get the idea of a 1/48 carrier outa my head especially with this F-4 swing wing Im working on but the wife said no because of space available and funds. Was wondering if anyone wanted to do a partnership on it. Was thinking a German flat top since in the 70s they were looking at buying one of our soon to be decomissioned non-nuke angle decks. Between a ship and a airwing thats a lot of what if to build and a lot of options on aircraft. Navalized Tornado IDS or Alpha Jet A for strike, navalized F-104 F or F-20 to compliment the Phantoms ect.....

RussC · March 28, 2012, 08:02:59 PM

It is certainly do-able, and much more practical if you don't think of making the entire ship but a portion of it, such as a cross section or a side section. Here is a sectional of a 1/144 carrier I made a few years back.

craigdwpa · March 29, 2012, 06:02:58 AM

WOW!!!! I want one!!!!!!!!

NARSES2 · March 29, 2012, 07:04:15 AM

That's really neat Russ

RussC · March 29, 2012, 07:19:24 PM

Thanks !

Sensemann · March 30, 2012, 09:31:38 PM

That is sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!! But I still got my heart set on 1/48 tho. Bigest problem is where to put the boat!

PR19_Kit · March 31, 2012, 12:56:36 AM

Quote from: Sensemann on March 30, 2012, 09:31:38 PM
That is sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!! But I still got my heart set on 1/48 tho. Bigest problem is where to put the boat!

You could knock down your house, build the boat and move into it perhaps?

RussC · March 31, 2012, 02:56:27 AM

Quote from: Sensemann on March 30, 2012, 09:31:38 PM
That is sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!! But I still got my heart set on 1/48 tho. Bigest problem is where to put the boat!

If you do a cross section in 1/48, it is do-able. Taking the widest flight deck thats possible, the USS Midway- you need exactly 5 feet width and a decision about how deep the section will be. If you look at my model, you see that it started with a solid back and got a little bit of a dark cave look going. You could either make an open back to let light in, or start thinking about an LED system. Three feet of ship length should get the point across and place two planes back to back.

So it will be a piece of serious furniture when finished. You will probably have the same tempt as I did to model the ships "island" and bridge to further emphasize what it really is. After that, its just a matter of deciding what ship to do or maybe do a what-if ship of your own design. One thing will be likely- you will be the first on this planet to attempt it, or at least part of an exclusive club with members that can be counted on one hand.

Sensemann · March 31, 2012, 10:45:22 AM

Yea theres only one that I know of and it was a 1/48 USS Enterprise full build, which was bought by the Navy and is a museum piece in Norfolk. I was thinking on similar lines to that one but a what if on the nation. In the late 80s the American DoD saw a need for another pair of carriers and had 2 recently decommissioned CV supercarriers. One was offered to Germany to add coverage from the North Sea to the Barents Sea and one to Italy to have a permanent CV stationed in the Med. Both nations turned it down due to funding but the German one almost happened. I forget and cant find which ships it was but it would be a fun what if to do a Bundes-marine CV refit with full airwing. They were looking into a ew version of the Tornado IDS in the early 80s so theres the SAM suppression and strike squadrons with a navalized IDS. Was thinking about the proposed twin F 104G concept (I think it was Dornier) evolves into a twin engine naval version to supplement the Phantoms. I can cover most of the air wing and all the support equipment/weapons, just need some like minded partners to make the whole thing come together. Ive been working on the aircraft list and have some intresting ideas so far.

Nick · April 01, 2012, 04:03:55 AM

I remember seeing a 1/48 carrier at the Fleet Air Arm museum. It had been built by RN or shipyard apprentices. She was a WW2 ship, possibly HMS Furious and the model was easily 8ft long. Photos are on my home PC so will have to wait til Tuesday, if I still have them.

famvburg · April 05, 2012, 08:41:57 AM

I remember back in the mid - late '80s an outfit called Super Ships, IIRC, made a 1/72 fiberglass model of the USS Nimitz. Finished, it was 15' long & 4' or 5' wide at its widest. The hull was fiberglass (three 5' sections) & you used plywood for the deck. The island was resin or fiberglass, IIRC. Back then, I think it was $1500. Dunno what ever became of them. i think FSM had an article on someone's build as well as Scale Ship modeler back then.

su27rules · April 05, 2012, 09:25:16 AM

Sweet!!

PR19_Kit · April 05, 2012, 10:59:03 AM

IIRC there's a 1/48 scale full hull carreir in the US Navy section of the Smithsonian Annexe in Washington DC.

The only time I've ever been there, some 25 years ago now, I was SERIOUSLY impressed as after looking at the amazing model you walked over a gantry in the museum and went through a carrier elevator hatch in the side of what looked like a FULL-SIZE carrier! That took you into a hangar deck with 1:1 scale WWII and modern jets on display, in rather a similar fashion to the Carrier display at the FAA Museum at Yeovilton. The Smithsonian USN display was one of the best museum displays I've ever seen anywhere.

Perhaps one of our US members could confirm the existance of the model I mentioned?

scooter · April 05, 2012, 04:44:41 PM

Quote from: famvburg on April 05, 2012, 08:41:57 AM

I remember back in the mid - late '80s an outfit called Super Ships, IIRC, made a 1/72 fiberglass model of the USS Nimitz. Finished, it was 15' long & 4' or 5' wide at its widest. The hull was fiberglass (three 5' sections) & you used plywood for the deck. The island was resin or fiberglass, IIRC. Back then, I think it was $1500. Dunno what ever became of them. i think FSM had an article on someone's build as well as Scale Ship modeler back then.

I remember seeing that article, IIRC. That build was RC'd, and detachable into three watertight sections for ease of transport. He'd built the full CAW for her as well, and had three car batteries for the running gear. I also remember reading an article in a different issue of FSM or RC Modeler or some such on a North Carolina dentist's 1/48 build of a WWII US Heavy Cruiser, the exact class I can't recall off the top of my head.

Captain Canada · April 05, 2012, 05:02:20 PM

This is the 'what if' forum, not the 'lunatics asylum'....no, wait......

144th scale ? Nuts.....72nd scale ? Nuttier ! 48th scale ? That's bordering on root vegetable

Would be pretty neat to see, tho. Especially covered in some of the a/c you mentioned here.

So, who's gonna step up and help the man out ?