by Paul Helfrich
1/350 USS Saratoga CV-3 (Trumpeter)
This is one of the biggest models I've ever made. I built it for an older gentleman I know who had the kit but didn't want to try and build it himself. So it's also going to be the first kit I've ever done specifically for someone else. Which is fine, because I'm running out of places to put these things!
The USS Saratoga and sister ship USS Lexington were originally laid down to be two huge battlecruisers but were converted to aircraft carriers under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. The model shows her as she would have appeared about 1929 or so.
My friend specifically asked that I not build the airwing...not that I'm complaining...but I built one F3 just for the heck of it.
I found that everything I had read about the kit was true. The fit between the upper and lower hull was TERRIBLE. I did a lot of puttying and sanding, only to have the joint crack in a few places when I glued the flight deck in place. Knowing what I know now, I might have gone for the waterline option if I had it to do over again.
Other than the bad fit of the big pieces, the kit is very nicely detailed and the Gold Medal Models detail set fits it like a charm.
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