Converting Tamiya's 1/350 scale 1982 USS Enterprise CVN-65 to her 1990 appearance.In 1997, my wonderful wife gave
Tamiya's 1/350 scale USS Enterprise CVN-65 kit to me as a wedding present. I built it OOB rather hurriedly and it just didn't appear up to its potential. So, after seeing Bert Kinzey's
USS Enterprise in Detail book filled with great photos, I decided to strip it of paint, alter some of the kit's features to
convert the model to Enterprise's 1990 appearance (enlarged sponsons, etc.), and add a hangar deck.
Tamiya released the kit in 1984 and depicts
Enterprise as she appeared about 1982 (small port sponsons), after the "Big Refit" where she lost her "beehive". Bert Kinzey's photos of
Enterprise were taken in the summer of 1990 (large port sponsons) at the beginning of a "Complex Overhaul" (COH) at Newport News. Some changes were needed to update the kit's features to accurately portray the model as the ship appeared in 1990.
Here are two brief summaries, one posted by Jon and the other by Charles Landrum, describing the changes needed to build the ship consistent with her 1990 appearance (thanks, Jon and Charles!).
Jon wrote:
September 1985
1) Text "USS Enterprise CVN-65" painted on the front of the island was painted there for the "Peace in the Pacific" ceremony on September 2, 1985 for the 40th anniversary of the end of WWII. (thank you Ned Wilson)
Dry-dock at Hunters Point, San Francisco (September 1986 till Spring 1987)
1) CIWS mounts were upgraded and internal ammo supply to an external ammo storage.
2) The forward port CIWS sponson was doubled in size by length. The other 2 mounts had large cradle structures added.
3) Chaff launchers were added at various points around the ship, with the platforms to support them.
4) The Large "BIG E" on the back of the island was first painted on in the spring of 1987 right after being towed back to Alameda from the dry-docking but before work-ups began.
Operation "Praying Mantis" (April to July 1988)
1) The "Hormuz Highway patrol" graphic over Elevator 3 was painted on as were the sinking ship markings on the island. (thank you Ned Wilson)
Winter of 1988/1989
1) camera enclosure was updated. (thank you Ned Wilson)
World Cruise (September 1989 to March 1990)
1) world criuse painting over elevator #1.
2) Bert Kinsey photographed the ship for his detail and scale book in the summer of 1990. (thank you Ned Wilson)
And from Charles Landrum:
Charles Landrum wrote:
I was the First Lieutenant on ENTERPRISE from Dec 1995 to Dec 1997 and can provide some clarity.
COH - Complex overhaul - an overhaul that makes major configuration changes or repairs. [Enterprise had a] COH and refueling overhaul (March 1990 to September 1994) - Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock.
This was a major refueling overhaul which involved a drydocking. Major repairs were made to the engineering plant, catapult system, and electronics suite.
CIWS enclosed, port forward sponson, structure outboard the island and sponson on port side of the stern enlarged providing maintenance access out of the weather).
New approach control radar and platform installed starboard quarter just aft of the B&A crane and on fantail platform
SPS-48E and SPS-49 V5 radars installed.
Ships boat dollies (original equipment) and old boats were removed.
New weather SATCOM antenna installed (dome on portside by Cat 4) also INMARSAT antenna in this location.
Here are some work-in-progress (WIP) photos of the model. As of this writing the CIWS sponsons and major hull components have been enlarged or corrected and I am starting to detail the island.
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File comment: Enlarged, corrected port side CIWS sponson for 1990. The unaltered kit's sponson is correctly sized for an earlier period than the "Hormuz Highway Patrol" I was modeling.
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File comment: Newly painted flight deck, new flight deck stripes (a few more to go), and new GMM decal set (superb, especially the foul lines, though cutting the lines from the paper sheet is not for the feint of heart). I drilled out all the aircraft tie-downs by hand with a pin-vise (tedious but worth it) then sanded all the raised detail off of the flight deck. She looked so much better with all that out-of-scale raised detail gone. The deck got new paint and a coat of Future to to help accept the decals better.
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File comment: Note the enlarged CIWS platform on the far (starboard) side of the flight deck. This will abut the island.
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File comment: Enlarged, 1990-corrected port, aft CIWS platform and added transom details. Notice that there are no life raft canisters around the Sea Sparrow missile launcher platform. The Tamiya kit has them here but Big E never carried canisters here. The concussion from a missile launch would activate the canisters.
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File comment: Detailing the island. The decals are about to be removed, the paint is being lightly sanded smooth, and certain shapes improved. The CIWS platform has been greatly enlarged and further detailed.
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File comment: New storage locker with open doors and reinforcement fillets to the radar platforms.
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File comment: You'll see some new details to the mast (not yet done), window framing improved at the corners of the island, new wiper motors for the windows installed, new maintenance platforms around PRIFLY and a new finer antenna extension installed.
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File comment: Now with some additional Gold Medal Models PE details (much more to be installed, e.g. railings and ladders), paint and GMM decals.
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File comment: Ah, yes, much better. And much yet to be done.
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