Gentlemen,

I usually build armor models but I am considering branching out a bit and building the Trumpeter 1/350 Lexington Aircraft Carrier.

I would probably build it out of box. Does this kit reasonably represent the carrier as it appeared during its final action in the battle of the Coral Sea? Are there any modifications needed to represent it at that time?

Do the aircraft in the kit and their markings represent the planes at the time of the battle?

Any input is appreciated.

Thaks.

to answer both of your questions----yes. It is a very reasonable representation. I chose to backdate mine and did a lot research. It is a great kit and I would highly recommend it, It is easy to build and with a PE set from Tom's. Gold Medal, or White ensign will make a nice display piece.

It's not entirely accurate, but even if you build it right out of the box it sure looks like Lexington. I built the kit - it was a fun build. You can see more of it
here

Here is a list of the changes I made to the kit:

Trumpeter 1/350 USS Lexington – corrections/additions/alterations
•The lower hull is a little narrower than the upper hull, and needs to be widened using spreaders to get a snug fit.

•My hull was warped, which gave me trouble when fitting the flight deck – I had to fit the flight deck one section at a time, which let to other issues (seams between the 3 pieces of the deck).

•I found the splinter shields for the 1.1 inch (28mm) guns too shallow and replaced them with spares from my YMW Lexington. Also, pictures clearly show bracing on the outside of these tubs, which I added.

•The splinter shields for the 20mm platforms in the boat pockets are too shallow. I replaced these with brass strip. These also had bracing on the outside of the tubs, which I added with plastic strip.

•The shape of the flag plot platform on the island is incorrect (it should flare out from the bridge), plus Trumpeter omitted the searchlight platforms on the roof of the flag plot. The searchlights should be bumped up a level and a pair of signal lamps added to the navigation level.

•The rear legs for the Trumpeter supplied tripod foremast look “stepped”. These should be continuous, so I replaced them with brass rod.

•The funnel cap is the wrong shape and too wide. Trumpeter molded this piece with “wings” that don’t belong there. The actual funnel cap was curved, not flat, and Trumpeter replicated the curve with these wings. Sand them back till they are closer to the funnel sides.

•The island is too far inboard from the side of the ship. I removed the molded on guides from the flight deck, re-scribed the flight deck and moved it to the correct position.

•The rudder has the right profile, but is the wrong width and shape when viewed from behind. I made it wider to try and more accurately reflect the correct shape.

•Gold Medal Models photo-etch for the Lexington was used.

•Rigging is .003 and .004 monofilament

•Paints are from the White Ensign Colourcoat range.

Martin and Steve,

Thank you very much for your replies to my questions.

Martin, your Lexington is very nice.

Which colors would I need for the paint sceme and what did you use for reference for the rigging?

Thanks, very kind of you to say.

I used White Ensign's Colourcoats on my Lex. The lower hull is their Norfolk 65A Anti-Fouling Red, the rest of the horizontal surfaces are 5N Navy Blue. The steel decks are 20B Deck Blue, while the flight deck is Flight Deck Stain Norfolk 250-N. I used Testor's Gloss Black for the boot stripe.

I used a set of plans from the archives for the rigging plan.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. You may also want to check out this thread over on the Modelwarships message boards, by clicking here