Reviews : Atlantis USS Ticonderoga CV-14 Aircraft Carrier

This is an Essex class Ship Construction Bureau (SCB) 125 rebuild. Box art is excellent and I appreciate the thickness of the hangar bulkheads and the holes to support them on the hull. It went together really well. Some parts are molded right onto the bulkhead that would've been more realistic if they were separate. The deck has a lot of molded in detail that makes decal placement easier. I compared the island to one I had kicking around from the Revell USS Wasp-- pretty close! The Wasp elevators I have are more detailed and I retrofitted my Tico with them for a better look. Now, for the problem areas. All of the SCB-125 ships had bridle horns in front of the catapults. Early aircraft were held to the shuttle by a cable that stayed with the ship once the plane was launched. The bridle catcher in the forepart of the flight deck are missing. I had to scratch build mine as it's a pretty glaring loss. They didn't really disappear from US carriers until the 80's when all of the aircraft had purpose built catapult connections on the front strut. Heck, even the F-4 Phantom used bridles for launch. Some great videos on Youtube showing them in action. I was excited for the airgroup-- early to mid 50's planes would've been great, but the detail was really lacking. Sure, they were planes, but the molding lacked any real way to be realistic. I had the airgroup from the previously mentioned Wasp of S-2 Trackers, A-4 Skyhawks and F-8 Crusaders so my deck is populated with them. Overall, this was a fun build. Goes together easy, a lot of quality in the construction and some good design elements. Does lack the detail and some basic errors. It would be a great kit for a beginning ship builder to practice on and work their way up. I am looking forward to what else Atlantis brings out.

There's been an influx of Renwal kits from the 1950s newly released by Revell and in this case Atlantis. Excellent design quality. Some flash but low considering the age. The kit represents one of the Essex Class long hulls: CV-14, CV-15, CV-19, CV-21, CV-32-38, and CV-39. The difference between the Revell rendition and the Renwal/Atlantis release is in scale 1/530 vs 1/500 respectively (very close), and most of the Revell kits reflect the short hull design. Otherwise they are nearly identical. Both kits are from the same vintage, but I feel the Renwal/Atlantis release is designed better and goes together better. Aircraft are comparable/inter-changeable. This is an excellent price for this beginner's kit. The level of detail is quite good although molded in, also reflective of the 60+ old design. If you're looking for a good starter model, at a reasonable price, that has some other follow-on kits such as AAN601 USS North Carolina also available from Atlantis this is a great choice.

Easy build but lacking some details. If you are not looking for a super Duper detailed kit, this is the one for you. A much easier build than the new kits that have 800+ parts! I did like the fact that it gives you a few options on deck and plane selection. This is a great kit for the average modeler!!

NICE KIT 1/500 SCALE,WITH DECK VEHICLES, HELICOPTER,F9F PANTHERS WITH FOLDED WINGS,SOME F9F FULLY EXTENDED WINGS,A3D SKYWARRIORS,DECK CAN BE PAINTED AS EARLY ESSEX OR LATER WHEN UPGRADED TO A ANGLED DECK