Well its been a few months since my last post here. In that time I have been continuing work on the San Fran in small steps. I finished it two weeks ago and here are the pictures. The floatplane and anchor chaine are still missing, but the rest is done. Here is the conclusion. The kit is not great. In fact it can not measure with Hasegawa, Aoshima, Dragon or Tamiya kits. Its cheap, thats right, but I would gladly pay more, if only the quality would be better. Im so dissapointed with the quality that I have resigned to buy the USS Hornet from Trumpeter, even thou its my favourite carrier. I simply dont have the time or will to correct all the issues with that kit. I have already started my new project - USS Livermore from Dragon. The difference in quality is reamrkable. So much so that Im not bothered by the fact that this destroyer costs more than Trumpys heavy cruisers...

Naseby,

First of all, great job on the San Francisco! Your completed build does not at all suggest that there were any issues with the Trumpeter kit. The final result just looks damn good!

And I agree, sometimes troublesome kits just aren't worth the heartburn. A few years ago I built the Trumpeter Hornet to the point that it was about 80% done, complete hangar deck and all -

- but by that point I was so tired of it (especially that uncorrectable hull) that I sold it unfinished to another modeler. I regretted the wasted effort, but it was a relief to get it off my hands!

Anyway, you did good staying the course with your San Francisco. It is a fine example of making a great finish from a less than perfect starting point. Bravo Zulu!

Tim

Great Job Naseby!

you've done the San Fran justice and made an average kit into an awesome model! This is definitely something you can be proud of!

I agree with both you and Tim: some kits are not worth the trouble.

In days gone by if a kit was released of a subject that i'd been chomping at the bit for, i'd be at my LHS, cash in hand in an instant. These days though, i tend to wait a bit and see what the reviews and build logs say about the kit before i volunteer for any possible heartache...

That being said, I wouldn't say that Trumpy is alone in creating work for us-the KGV I'm working on from Tamiya has sure taken a fair bit of elbow grease to bring her up to scratch. (The molds could sure use some investment to bring them into the 21st century )

Russ

Great work, Naseby! I especially like the weathering and the paint patches.

I hope to one day build the Academy Indianapolis.

Cheers!
Stefan

Wow, excellent job!! I remember very well how you struggled with the oddities and imperfections of the kit - there is nothing left to be seen, you turned it into a really great model! That is really stunning!

Jan

Thanks for the comments.

@Tim You made quite a job on the Hornet. Its a shame the kit is so bad. But lets hope that we will see a better one in the future.
@ Russell I completely agree with You that some kits are not worth spending time on, even if they represent the only option for a certain subject. As a huge IJN fan Im preaty lucky because japanese kit manufacturers have preaty much covered the whole WW2 fleet in 1/350 and most of those kits are great.
@ Hallo Stefan. Schone grusse nach Schweiz. Ich habe die Indy von Academy auch gekauft und sie ist qualitativ sehr gut. Der Bausatz ist ja auch fast 10 jahre junger als die San Francisco.

Hello Naseby:

I am impressed with the way your model turned out. I am presently in the final throes of the Trumpy 1/350 CV3. I feel your pain. The main thing is you persevered and finished the thing and it looks great. I too like your use of oils for the subtle weathering and highlights, especailly on the 8" 38's.

Best

Mark

Thank You Mark. I hope You will show us some pictures of the finished Lady Sara soon. Its a shame that Trumpeter didnt make a better job on that kit. But with the new Yorktown class from Merit, there is hope that both Lex and Sara will also come as a new and better offering in the future.

Hi Naseby,

Cracking on the San Francisco, really impressive, the camo, the weathering etc.

Have enjoyed the thread.

Si