1/350 scale CVN-90 USS United States Stealth Aircraft Carrier

[seadude]

[Old Wombat]

Nice! That should keep you busy!


I have quite a few 1/350 aircraft ... a fairly large box full of boxes.

[Captain Canada]

That's alot of airwing ! Going to be sweet.

[seadude]

That's alot of airwing ! Going to be sweet.

Yes, it is a lot. But the pictures I posted further above, and the last 3 posts I made on Page 20 of this thread, show only a small "fraction" of the aircraft I've bought over the years for various model ship projects.
A modern US aircraft carrier typically has an airwing of about 70-75 aircraft aboard. Though this could increase depending on the carrier's mission and other needs.
A carrier airwing will have roughly the following:
About 40-44+ fighter aircraft for carrier strike missions. About 10-11 aircraft per squadron. 4 squadrons total. Usually F/A-18E's, F/A-18F's, and/or F-35C's.
About between 5-10 EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft. Six might be a normal amount.
About 4-5 E-2C/D Hawkeye early warning aircraft.
About 2-3 C-2A Greyhound (or CV-22 Osprey) aircraft for carrier on-board delivery.
About 10-15 SH-60 Seahawk helicopters for various missions. Though 10-12 is the normal amount.

The one or two things I don't like about all the aircraft I have to build are:
1. I wish the aircraft would not have been molded in clear plastic.    I hate it.
2. The resin F-35's and the X-47's have very tiny photoetch pieces for the landing gear doors and a few other things. I may have to skip using that stuff as it's too tiny to see and work with.

[seadude]

P.S. - Something else I forgot to mention.
I probably won't put any unit markings on any of the aircraft. This is a what if future carrier about 30 or so years from now. Who knows what squadrons it will or won't have. Squadrons can be established or disestablished over time. I'll still put the U.S. national insignia on as well as "US Navy" lettering. But other than that, I'm not going to spend a bunch of time putting itsy bitsy teeny weenie tiny squadron markings on that will be too time consuming. I know the extra markings would look nice and all, but my eyesight wouldn't be able to handle all the strain of night after night after night of constant markings being added. Sorry, folks.

[kerick]

I understand completely!

[Old Wombat]

I understand completely!

Yep!

[NARSES2]

I honestly didn't know that you could get 1/350 aircraft kits, I assumed they'd just be a solid moulding/3D print. I struggle with 1/72 now 

[seadude]

I honestly didn't know that you could get 1/350 aircraft kits, I assumed they'd just be a solid moulding/3D print. I struggle with 1/72 now 

Yeah, Trumpeter makes a bunch of various modern and WWII offerings. Though I can say I'm NOT a fan of clear aircraft.
I can't begin to tell you the amount of clear aircraft parts I've lost already.     
And trying to find them when they drop on the floor? Forget it! You can't see/find it. It's gone forever.
Thank God I bought plenty of extra boxes so I can make extra aircraft if something happens.
One aircraft I wish Trumpeter made is some 1/350 scale EA-18G Growler aircraft. I've searched, but haven't found any.
I know 3D-Wild website makes some. But I'm not paying $25 for only 4 aircraft.
I've got an extra box of Trumpeter F/A-18F aircraft. I'll have to build those and modify them into EA-18G's.

[kerick]

Put a sock or nylon stocking over the end of the vacuum cleaner hose and vacuum around you desk. It might just pick up lost parts without damaging them.
Modifying an F-18F to an EF-18G should be doable in 1/350th without too much trouble.
Carry on my friend! You've got something really good going on here.

[seadude]

Put a sock or nylon stocking over the end of the vacuum cleaner hose and vacuum around you desk. It might just pick up lost parts without damaging them.
Modifying an F-18F to an EF-18G should be doable in 1/350th without too much trouble.
Carry on my friend! You've got something really good going on here.

An F to a G should be doable. If you take a look at the Trumpeter assembly instructions for an F-18F at the top of this page, the aircraft would be built pretty much as normal. Only thing I'd have to add is maybe using some thin styrene rod or whatever to scratch build the ECM pods that get attached on each wingtip since the EA-18G Growler is an electronic warfare aircraft and doesn't carry Sidewinder missiles on the wingtips.

[seadude]

Ok, here's what you've all been waiting for..........or not. 
The aircraft have all been finished building. But painting will be another chore entirely and could take up to 2 months.
Right now, I need to relax my eyes after working with so many small parts.
Painting and decaling of the aircraft will be done later maybe in January.
The only aircraft I don't have yet are some 1/350 scale MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aerial refueling drones.
I'd like to have at least 6 to bring my total aircraft count to 75.
3D-Wild website said they have plans to sell some in the future, but I'm not sure when.
These are aircraft that are currently being developed and flight tested by the US Navy for use aboard carriers.

[Captain Canada]

That's quite the collection! For sure it will be alot of work finishing all of them.

[seadude]

That's quite the collection! For sure it will be alot of work finishing all of them.

Yep. A lot of work indeed. But I'm skipping a bunch of stuff due to parts that are too small to handle as well as me having bad eyesight. Case in point is a bunch of really tiny photoetch for the aircraft like landing gear doors, missile launch rails, etc. Too small and too time consuming. I don't want to add to the carpet monster's appetite any more than I have to.

[Old Wombat]

Doing well with those micro-monsters, mate!