Aircraft carriers......(model making)

[rdcl]

They say a man needs a hobby! Firearms & model-making have been my hobbies since childhood. Well, here is my 3rd and LAST Nimitz-class carrier. My previous build was the Carl Vinson.....built for a retired Navy man. This one is for me. One day I'll get it done. Coffee cup is for sense of scale....

 

[rdcl]

A few more......Not nearly finished. Lots of details to ad on yet.....Island is not finished.....not to mention the entire airwing. each aircraft is a mini-kit in itself.....and I've got 60/70 of them to assemble!

 

[rdcl]

Here is the un-finished Nimitz next to my Enterprise (CVN-65). This Enterprise I finished about 25 years ago and the model is rather dusty despite being kept in a glass case for years.

 

[rdcl]

F4 Phantoms.....

 

[rdcl]

A Tomcat in progress...

 

[rdcl]

close up.....

 

[Garland]

Looks like a challenging but fun project!

 

[rdcl]

 

[rdcl]

So, these are just models....Salute to all you guys out there having actually served on the real thing!

Russ

 

[nostraDONus]

Amazing work with very impressive detail. Nothing like the models I built 40+ years ago.

 

[Faulkner]

Very nice Russ!!

I used to build 1/48 scale WWII era aircraft and I was pretty anal about the detail. I would detail them after specific historical aircraft that I'd seen pictured in books. For example, I did a redentation of the F4F Wildcat that Joe Foss flew with the Cactus Air Force off Guadalcanal, Pappy Boyington's F4U Corsair from VMF 214 (though they weren't assigned specific aircraft), David McCambell's F6F Hellcat Mitzi II, and Ensign George Gay's TBD Devastator from the Battle of Midway.

The most challenging I did was a B-25b that was detailed like Captain Ted Lawson's 'Ruptured Duck' from the Doolittle Raid. In 1/48 scale, a B-25 is a pretty good size.

I ended up selling them to help pay for college tuition and I was very surprised at what people will pay for quality finished models.

 

[sjmjax]

Impressive work.

Here's another example of dedicated model making....

The Matchstick Ships of Phillip Warren | Oddity Central - Collecting Oddities

 

[MaximumLawman]

Very impressive.

 

[chud333]

Takes more patience and better eyesight than what i have sir.
Those are wonderful looking pieces of Americas Military Might.
You do good work.


chuck

 

[Faulkner]

Impressive work.

Here's another example of dedicated model making....

The Matchstick Ships of Phillip Warren | Oddity Central - Collecting Oddities

Wow, that matchstick fleet is very impressive.

 

[zonker5]

Beautiful work! Thanks for sharing.

 

[HAWKEYE10]

Needless to say I am very impressed. Don

 

[pineappleshooter]

Now you need to do a submarine to sneak up and sink them all! YNC(SS), USN (Ret)

 

[mc5aw]

Russ ... That is some exceptional work. Thanks for sharing your modeling skills.

 

[S&WIowegan]

Beautiful work! One of my daughters served on the Vinson on a round the globe tour. The tour included three Months in the Persian Gulf launching aircraft over Iraq. She was a Hazmat storekeeper and worked on the hangar deck during launch ops....got a little hot!!

Do you have any pics of your Vinson model?