Looking for guidance and suggestions with upgrades

[Docbritofmf]

So, I recently decided to get back into modeling again and would really like to build the Ship I served on in the Navy but would like to make sure I do it to highest level of detail I can afford.

The ship I'm looking to build is the 1/700 Hobby Boss USS Kearsarge LHD3. I've located the kit and it includes see photo etch but not alot doing an internet search I located the flybeck kit that includes the deck and most hand rails but I'd like to go further and find kits to upgrade the aircraft and LCACs LCDs that are included in the kit.

I'm having a hard time tracking parts for this model and could use advice and suggestions to gather up the complete kit before I start the build any suggestion and ideas would be greatly appreciated

 

[urumomo]

Welcome aboard , shipmate !
I was on the Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71

Where all have you searched already ?
Here's more PE @ HLJ -- Trumpeter and Hobby Boss are the same outfit so parts should fit . Mostly .
Pretty much all out of stock but it gives you an idea what's out there :
https://www.hlj.com/search/?q=lhd-3
Just getting back into scale and you're going full photo-etch huh ? I hope you like that stuff , especially in 1/700 .

 

[urumomo]

Scale Hobbyist ,
https://www.scalehobbyist.com/catag...1-detail-set/EDU00017033/product.php?kw=lhd-3

 

[Docbritofmf]

Welcome aboard , shipmate !
I was on the Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71

Where all have you searched already ?
Here's more PE @ HLJ -- Trumpeter and Hobby Boss are the same outfit so parts should fit . Mostly .
Pretty much all out of stock but it gives you an idea what's out there :
https://www.hlj.com/search/?q=lhd-3
Just getting back into scale and you're going full photo-etch huh ? I hope you like that stuff , especially in 1/700 .

So I found the kit for the base set from eBay and then the flight deck and other stuff from random searches like Eduardo and some other brit site honestly this is the first model I've ever built that will have photo etch, the base kit comes with some but very basic stuff I heard that the flight deck upgrade really makes a difference but since I served on the ship I really wanted to do it right.
I would prefer the 1/324 kit but it's 248 dollars base and there isn't enough room on my desk when I finish it.
I've been slowly building a kit of paints brush's and tools gotta get a decent airbrush with some fine point tips.. which I was planning on inheriting from my father but my mother didn't realize she was throwing away money so lol gotta buy some new ones I'll check those sites you listed thanks for the help
I attached the Arizona model I'm working on which I absolutely dislike it's in a weird scale and there like little to no upgrades out there so I'm gonna try and practice rust work and stuff I did a decent wash on the plastic wood deck that the kit came with

 

[Docbritofmf]

Welcome aboard , shipmate !
I was on the Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71

Where all have you searched already ?
Here's more PE @ HLJ -- Trumpeter and Hobby Boss are the same outfit so parts should fit . Mostly .
Pretty much all out of stock but it gives you an idea what's out there :
https://www.hlj.com/search/?q=lhd-3
Just getting back into scale and you're going full photo-etch huh ? I hope you like that stuff , especially in 1/700 .

I was also considering buying the LHD1 wasp 1/324 kit and just changing it to the Kearsarge since they are extremely close in construction is have to change a few things but from what I remember aside from deployment load out they are virtually the same ship

 

[urumomo]

Scalemates is a good resource to see what has been produced for the market : https://www.scalemates.com/

 

[the Baron]

Welcome to the Herd, Doc!

Do you have the HobbyBoss Kearsarge yet? You might need to see the kit, to decide how much aftermarket detailing you want to ad.

I have the HobbyBoss 1/700 Arizona kit, which I am converting to the Pennsylvania circa 1935. I was gung-ho for the project when I started, but over time, the soft detail and bad engineering of the kit soured me on it. It's been on my Shelf of Doom now for 10 years. I think I even have a thread here in the forum for it. I've resolved to finish it this year, but I've done all of the detailing work that I plan to, just adding PE rails. HobbyBoss can be very inconsistent, that is, some kits are awful, others are very nice.

The HB Arizona is a distant cousin to your kit, by the way. That's the old Revell kit, which was released back in the 1950s. It's been in their catalog ever since, in that original box scale (ie, engineered to fix in a box of specific size, not to a consistent scale), and scaled down to 1/720; and boxed as the Pennsylvania as well. I built them when I was a kid, enjoyed them thoroughly, back then.

I say it's a cousin, because back in the 70s, it was copied in the PRC and released by several iterations of state-sponsored model companies, including Banner, and the forerunner of Trumpeter. If you can find any of those releases, you can see the common engineering, such as the horizontal seams on the deck house and the superstructure decks, the way the fighting tops are molded, the way the hull is broken down.

Trumpeter's 1/200 scale kit is a completely new, different, original design, unrelated to that heritage.

I look forward to seeing your build, when you get started!

Best regards,
Brad

 

[Wolf Star]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Docbritofmf]

Brad, thanks for the explanation of the kit, I have been building some cheap kits that hobby lobby had on sale as away of getting some practice in on some of the areas I have a hard time in. I picked up that kit with out much research figuring alot of the battleship kits are popular and have alot of aftermarket additions unfortunately not the case for the Arizona, which is sad cause though it's not as prestigious as say the Missouri it's got a spot in all sailors hearts due to its tragic fate and history post pearl harbor.

I decided to practice weathering and rusting as I like the idea of the ship looking like it should a battle harden war scared work horse not pretty but it's prowess showed in it's engineering. I was hoping to find a wood deck kit but no luck.

One of the areas I have little experience in is airbrush work. Truthfully paint jobs aren't my strong suit and brush work is hardly something I'm proud of I picked up a few cheap air brush kits but after frustration with them clogs, leaks, broken parts I decided I would have and bought a nice iwata neo gravity feed brush. Boy can I feel the difference in quality I gotta get used to working with it now.

Also since I sorta finished the Arizona or at least as much as I want to mess with I decided to pick up a modern ship kit to start getting the feel for painting and building something closer in style to my goal kit the Kearsarge.

The kit I found was an Academy CV 63 kitty Hawk 1/800 scale. It was the only other ship kit they had at my local shop (one day I'm gonna commute to a actually hobby shop). While most of the instructions are not in English the kit is very different in style then others I've worked with as far as packaging lay out and what's included in the box.

I'll start with the parts, very nicely tooled and clean with sharp detail they are practically paint ready off the sprues and the places they connect have good clean indents
The instructions are alittle tricky but that maybe because they are not traditional style like revell or trumpeter at least not in there lower end kits.

Disapointing however is again I have found a lot with no great aftermarket parts .. but I'll make due truthfully this kit checks a few practice boxes modern style ship, flight deck, aircraft, and super structure.

I'm gonna give it a go and post my work for suggestions or at least that's the plan I hope. I do tend to get busy cause I like to keep busy so it may come in drips and drabs but I due appreciate all your help so far you all have been extremely welcoming thank you