USS Ticonderoga CG-47
by Paul Helfrich

1/700 USS Ticonderoga CG-47 (Minicraft)

This is the Minicraft model of the first Aegis cruiser, the USS Ticonderoga, CG 47. The kit is made of hard, brittle plastic and is definitely not a state-of-the-art kit. Everything looks a bit heavy for the scale. I believe you can get a better 1/700 Aegis cruiser from Skywave, Dragon, or Fujimi. However, it does have one thing going for it, which is a low price. So this one will not be going to any contests, but I enjoyed seeing what I could make of it.

The kit includes the option of the VLS system or the original rail missile launchers, as well as the different masts for both the early and later ships in the class (early ships had quad main masts, later ones had tripods). I built my Tico with the original quad mast and the original missile launchers, which I find more visually interesting than the VLS. The helicopters included with the kit were really lumpy, so I replaced the copter with an extra from a Trumpeter Iowa-class battleship kit.

The missile launch was an attempt to add some action to an otherwise fairly basic build.