Some time ago I posted a diorama depicting a scene on board the Essex just after the sinking of the USS Princeton (CVL 23).
Leyte Gulf; the Orphans of the USS Princeton.
On the day the Princeton sank during the Battle of Leyte on 24th October 1944, nine Hellcats were airborne and all found a temporary new home on board the USS Essex. The remainder of VF 27's aircraft were lost.
So, after initially thinking I'd do this build as a 'black ops' mission and just do a headline after finishing, I've decided that I just can't help myself from posting a build (surprise, surprise). I wanted also to support Jaime's brilliant Nose Art Group Build but for some time couldn't decide what to contribute. All of VF 27's Hellcats were painted with the Cat Mouth nose art, one of the most instantly recognisable and iconic squadron emblems in aviation history.
So, inspired to some degree by Paul Barber's build of his Storch...
http://imodeler.com/groups/battle-of-kasserine-passtunisia-campaign-build-group/forum/topic/rommels-taxi/
I have decided to go with an 'organic' approach to this build, which I hope will bring something a bit 'left of field' to the party.
The initial work gets right to the heart of this build, with the nose art up and centre from the beginning.
I'm thinking initial traction will be a little slow on this one but we'll be full steam ahead after my Kasserine Pass build is completed. As has been the case with my modeling projects recently, I'm trying something a bit different to try and stretch the comfort zone a little and maybe develop the skill set. As Jeff Bailey might say, "your mileage may vary..."
2 additional images. Click to enlarge.