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

[NARSES2]

I just have to applaud both the level of and attention to detail 

[seadude]

I just have to applaud both the level of and attention to detail 

Thanks. I'm really trying to push myself with this build. This is the largest model I have ever built and I want to put as much effort and detail into it as I can.
But..........I'm not going to get everything right. Despite it being a whif, I'm also trying to stay within some technical believeability and reality.
There's going to be some nitpickers at a future show or on social media who will eventually say a carrier didn't have this or that item doesn't look right, etc.
All I can say to them is that I tried my best. It's my model and I'll build it my way. 

In other news............
I may be ordering a LEGO display case for my carrier tomorrow. Why LEGO? They're a hell of a lot cheaper than the standard fancy wood display cases people get/make.
A local plastics company near me gave me a quote of $370 to make a display case. A LEGO display case I saw online that would fit my carrier is about $220. And with free shipping too!
That's quite a difference in price. 

[seadude]

And another picture dump for today. I can add more blue barrels if needed. But for now, I only added 35 pieces.
I'll see how that looks and I'll add more in the future if people think I need more.

[seadude]

DONE! Just the ship only though.
The aircraft (60+) and the flight deck vehicles were all painted long ago.
They all just need decals and detailing which will be in August and September.
The Tilly crash and retrieval crane and also the MQ-25 unmanned refueling aircraft were ordered 2 days ago from 3D-Wild. I hope to have them sometime by September.
The display case will be ordered tomorrow hopefully.
I'm exhausted with this beast. I need a break. I'm taking the next few days off.
If anybody has questions, just post away and I'll answer as soon as I can.

Pics of the finished ship below. Just the ship only.

[philp]

Looks great.

Are you going to Nats in Hampton?

[seadude]

Looks great.

Are you going to Nats in Hampton?

Nope, I won't be there. Too far for me to travel. Would love to go as there's a lot of interesting naval stuff around that area.
As for what future contests my carrier might be at, there's a "slim" chance it might show up at the Butch O'Hare show in November. I don't know yet.
Otherwise, the next possible show is Mad City in Madison next year in March.
What shows I take this carrier to the rest of this year all depend on when I finish the aircraft, get a display case, and get a small display plaque for the base.

[Old Wombat]

Well, for what it's worth, I think she looks brilliant, mate!   

Excellent work!    

[scautomoton]

You have set the bar suitably high with this one. What a beast!

[NARSES2]

    

[seadude]

Well, I pulled the trigger. Figuratively, that is.
Just finished ordering a LEGO display case from Kingdom Brick Supply. 
https://shop.kingdombricksupply.com/products/10318-concorde-display-case?_pos=1&_sid=662dc929d&_ss=r
The LEGO Concorde display case is the only case big enough for my carrier model.
Well, maybe not. There's one or two other cases that are big enough. But they are TOO big and cost a little too much.
Anyway, the case I just bought cost me a total of $219. And I get free shipping too! 
Estimated arrival time to me might be 1-2 weeks. I'll post pics of it after it arrives and when I get it all set up.

[seadude]

In other news............

I've been doing some thinking lately on all the aircraft for the carrier.
I've got American insignia roundels, but their a mishmash of different types and styles and colors.
All of them are for modern US Navy aircraft, but some are multi-colored, some are lo-vis, and some are black colored.
I don't have enough of the multi-colored ones. And the lo-vis ones will only show up on certain paint colors.
The black ones are mostly for Marine aircraft.
And some of the roundels on the decal sheets are so tiny, that they'd be impossible to apply to the aircraft.
So if I use what I've got, I'll have a Frankenstein fleet of aircraft with "uneven" roundel markings. 
I did take a look at GHQ Wargaming website and they do sell U.S. modern aircraft roundel markings..........but in 1/285 scale. Not 1/350 scale. It's close, sort of. I might buy a sheet or 2 to test them out before I commit to buying/using any more.
My hopes of having a LOT of aircraft on the carrier are slowly getting quashed day by day. At the rate things are going, I'll be lucky if I even have a dozen aircraft on the flight deck.
Flight decks that look mostly bare with few aircraft on them just don't look that good on display or at a contest. At least to me they don't. But other people's mileage may vary.
Tomorrow or later this week, I may go to a local trophy/awards shop and inquire about getting a small nameplate made for the display base. Depending on what they give me for a price quote, I may keep the lettering short. I'll probably just have it say "USS UNITED STATES CVN-90".
What I'd really love is to have the letters all in red, white, and blue colors like the following. But whether the awards shop can do that is unknown.

U = red
S = white
S = blue
U = red
N = white
I = blue
T = red
E = white
D = blue
S = red
T = white
A = blue
T = red
E = white
S = blue
C = red
V = white
N = blue
- = red
9 = white
0 = blue

[Captain Canada]

Amazing. So much thought and detail put into this one.

[seadude]

In other news............

Went to an award/trophy shop today to inquire about getting a nameplate made to put on the display base.
I don't think I'll get anything too fancy. They said I could choose between plastic or metal nameplates.
I'm thinking maybe something 6" inches long x 1" inch wide maybe? Just something that says "USS UNITED STATES CVN-90".
I asked them if they could do each individual letter in a different color like I mentioned in my post further above.
They said they can't do that. Bummer. 
Estimated cost for a nameplate would be $50-60.
Other than the nameplate, I still hope/plan to have a US flag patch on the base, a US Navy emblem patch on the base, and a display of each of the 9 different aircraft this carrier will carry on the display base.

[Gondor]

If the letters are etched into the name plate, why not paint the recesses in the colors that you want and wipe away any excess. Masking beforehand would help as well. A similar process is used to create the black letters you see on business name plates.

[seadude]

If the letters are etched into the name plate, why not paint the recesses in the colors that you want and wipe away any excess. Masking beforehand would help as well. A similar process is used to create the black letters you see on business name plates.

I could try and do that. All depends on how big the lettering is on the nameplate as well as any other factors.
But I've got time to decide on what I'm going to do. Won't be getting the nameplate yet for quite a while.