I’ve had a Hasegawa Hancock (long hull Essex)and three sets of Dragon KW aircraft in the stash for some years now. Time to finally build them! I’ve also got the Tom’s Modelworks ESSEX set and a Starfighter Decals post war Essex sheet in bound to use on this one. I’ll use the Panthers and ADs from the Dragon sets and add a few Corsairs that are included in the Hasegawa kit.

I’ve got some basic construction and painting done over the last two days. In addition to the deletion of all the 20mm guns fir a post war ship, the 40mm tubs were reduced too. One of the first tasks for this project is to eliminate evidence of the starboard side 40mm tubs. Easy enough.

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Great entry and ditto start indeed, my friend @j-healy!

I’m a bit of a boat nerd myself. I built a bunch of these waterline kits back in the 80s. Unfortunately, they didn’t make the cut for the move. I do have a decent stash of unbuilt waterline kits to start afresh. Time to get busy because the parts are only going to get tinier as my eyes and fingers get older!

Humbrol 128 is a solid choice, my friend @j-healy. I would go for it, too. My "rule" is that if it looks right, it probably is. Pity about the decals, still, nothing unsolvable, just more time consuming.

I installed the major bulkheads today. They fit pretty well except for a gap at the front of the port forward 5” gallery. I’ll fix that with a bit of plastic sheet. With regards to paint, I settled on Humbrol #165, Medium Sea Grey. I literally looked at every gray paint that I have and think this one has the best appearance for this application. The island has a thin coat of neutral gray while the bulkhead next to it is in Medium Sea Grey.

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Thanks, George. It’s starting to look like a carrier. Modelwarships.com has a ton of Essex builds to refer to and is helping immensely.

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@j-healy - the Ghost Grey should work good for Haze Grey, particularly in this small scale.

If you are doing Happy Valley as she was when she saved the day at the outset of the war, she had one squadron of Panthers, two squadrons of Corsairs and a squadron of Skyraiders. Her 4-plan e night fighter detachment was F6F-5Ns!

Valley Forge's July 4 1950 strikes on Pyongyang convinced Stalin not to give the Norks the full support of the V-VS.which saved the UN forces on the peninsula.

Looking amazing, my friend @j-healy!