Starting the Hull

I'm going to build this one as a waterline model so I'll be leaving the lower half of the hull off. The two large braces across the hull opening needed to be removed with a razor saw so the hull will sit flush on the base. After drilling two holes, two 10-32 nuts were super glued to two flush braces for attaching the hull to the base. A couple of styrene strips were cemented in place to make sure the nuts don't break loose and turn when the screws are tightened. The hanger deck fit very good and liquid cement was liberally applied to make it permanent. A little help from some tape and paint bottles kept it in place until the cement dried. The rest of the parts that make up the area between the hanger deck and flight deck were cemented in place with no problems at all. Model Master Euro 1 Gray was painted on the hanger deck and all weather decks. Model Master Light Gray was painted on all the interior vertical surfaces. In order to keep the raised detail from becoming obscured by painting, I'm trying a different technique on this model. I painted all the portholes and raised details on the exterior Model Master Dark Gray. When I paint the hull color I'll go lightly over these areas to give a shaded effect. The third step will be dry brushing the raised details to (hopefully) make them standout.

Opening the Kit

I picked up this kit about a year ago. The USS Antietam CV-36 in 1/700 scale by Dragon. I don't know how many parts are in the kit but there are plenty, especially for a 1/700 scale kit. In addition to the parts needed to complete the model, there are a few duplicate parts molded in clear styrene such as a clear flight deck, sponson and elevators. If anyone chooses to view the inside of the hanger deck this will accommodate them. The hanger is quite detailed and it seems a shame to cover it up, but I think making it viewable only encourages people to handle the model and this is never good. Two frets of photo etched parts come with the kit and include radars, some railings and crew figures. A real nice air group comprised of '50's era jets, props and helicopters promises to make this a fun model. Right now I plan to build this in the 1956 configuration.

Finished

For a kit this old, it went together without any real problems. The deck was a little warped but still glued up pretty good. Making the rat lines is a challenge but doable. I prefer to take photos of my models outside in daylight when ever possible. The natural light adds a little realism and lights everything.