1/72 The planes of USS Shangri-la (Various)

As an interesting aside from building boats and ships, I thought it would be fun to assemble a model of each plane that hooked a wire and was catapulted off the bow. Shangri-la became a test platform in the fall of 1944 for three experimental ideas that the Navy was contemplating bringing into the carrier arsenal. All on the same day, a P-51 fitted with a tail hook and named by the Navy “Sea Horse”, a F7F Tigercat, again fitted with a tail hook, and a PBJ, painted in the tri-color scheme and equipped with a tail hook, each had a turn at landing and launching. The P-51 even had a go on the forward elevator where it was struck below and tested on the hanger deck. The wingspan was such that allowed it to fit on the elevator without folding wing tips. The Tigercat just wasn’t suited to carrier landing and stress cracks and even structure fracture and separation soon ended any further plans. The Doolittle raiders left the Hornet to bomb Tokyo without a catapult, but the windy weather and the speed of the carrier got them off successfully without a stall or a plunge into the sea. Imagine the size and weight of a B-25 slamming down on a flight deck. Anyone interested in this history can find the complete story by searching on the internet or library.

My models are all 1:72 scale. It is cool to see them side by side to get a understanding of the relative size difference. (The Sea Horse looks like a hummingbird next to the PBJ) The F4U, F6F, P-51 and Avenger are all Academy kits. The Tigercat is an old Monogram Heritage kit that I successfully bid on Ebay for $8. The PBJ-1H is the Hasegawa kit. The Helldiver kit is from Academy that depicts VB-85 that operated off the Shangri-la.

All kits were built out-of-the-box, only adding radio wires and attachment points. I made my own air group decals from white Testors decal paper. Paint was from various sources. The gloss sea blue was Testors enamel from a rattle can. Deep sea blue is acryl Model Masters, as is the silver, intermediate blue, and insignia flat white, and a custom mix for the top surface of the fuselage forward the cockpit on the Sea Horse. Future sealed the paint before oil based colors for weathering and some air brushing.
 
 

Gallery updated 2012

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