U.S.S. Hornet CV-8, Doolittle Raid, 18 April, 1942, 8:20AM

[Sailor]

Greetings Shipmates,

I am embarking on a project which I have been putting off for years. It may have been some 30 years ago when I saw a model of the USS Hornet with B-25s on display at the SC International Airport. I just had to build one. So, I am about to start a1/350 scale Trumpeter kit of the Hornet. When I purchased the kit, about 10 years ago, there was no 200 scale CV-8 Hornets; if I purchased it today I might be building a 200!

Today this, or any build, has special challenges. I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease about seven years ago. What that means to me as a modeler; what took me one hour to accomplish 10 years ago, now takes me two hours today. Tomorrow is in God's hands; so LORD willing, I plan on finishing this project and several more and hope to be able to share the journey, as much as I can, with you.

The photo is a display of the kit parts. They are currently in the containers on a shelf. The idea is to move them over to another shelf as a completed model! BTW, there are a few other parts than those which came with the kit: air wing & bombers 1,016, 4 sheets of PE, crew figures approximately 300, and scratch build hanger deck 23, Plus I planned on building a 1/48 scale Doolittle B-25, TBD-1 Devastator, SBD-3 Dauntless, and F4F-4 Wildcat. I once had a grandiose vision which are now mostly dreams that could have been!

I appreciate anyone who stayed with this ranting; I will try to keep you updated!

 

[blakeh1]

Good luck with it and god speed.

Sorry about that diagnosis.

I have family members who have the disease and I can imagine it gets tough to work sometimes, especially in this hobby

I just finished a 1/700 scale Hornet and 1/72 B-25 with Doolittle raider markings myself

Looking forward to seeing that stuff in a larger scale

 

[BarleyBop]

Looks like a challenging but rewarding project!
I'll be following with interest.

 

[BOATMAN]

AN SO WILL I AN HI Sailor so sorry to hear about your probs AN HOPE YOU BUILD THIS lovley carrier OK AN yes GOD WILLIN an best regards from my wife jen as she has cancer but at the moment she is able to carry on thank goodness BUT SHE DOES HAVE BAD DAYS AN GOOD DAYS so as she says its a case of puttin one foot in front of the other an carryin on as best we can an she is right SO GOOD LUCK to you sir on this build as i will be followin avidly as what with kevins big battle wagon build an yours an the chap doin the PLAN destroyer an my hornet build we now have some fantastic models bein built on this superb forum as these will be very instreting to all so im followin your build sir
ATB FROM CHRIS AN JEN

 

[Sailor]

I have been doing lots of research for this project; as well as working on a case for my USS Constitution and a diorama of a Sherman tank and Willis jeep. It is time to start mt Hornet project. Thank you for the comments on my health problems; what that means is that any progress that I make is on a snail's pace.

The first thing is a correction. The 1/350 kit lacks the morning rings on the front of the hull. So, I made some corrections:

 

[BOATMAN]

HI Sailor well good luck on your hornet build as mine is still building but i havnt been able to do any building for a week or so as life has got in the way an just had to buy a new windows 11 laptop an all the add on 's so its been quite a exspensive week oh dear an they are comin in a few days to fit me in a new firbe broadband which they say is 4 times faster if it is to be beleived that is an jen an i hope you can manage with your probs
lookin forward to your build sir ATB
chris an jen

 

[BOATMAN]

Yes, life sure can get in the way of our modeling! I haven't touched a model in two days because I got so far behind on finances. I am hoping for big progress on one of my projects by Sunday. The key word is patience!

YES Sailor you need plenty of that to do this modelin lark but you sir just take your time an enjoy it thats the main thing
ATB SIR
chris an jen

 

[Sailor]

Today I glued The hull to the hull. With the morning wrings in the bow that brings the 350 scale Trumpeter up to the place where the 200 scale started.

Does any one know what the two rings in in the bow of a war ship are called? They are used to tie the ship to the doc.

 

[BOATMAN]

Today I glued The hull to the hull. With the morning wrings in the bow that brings the 350 scale Trumpeter up to the place where the 200 scale started.

Does any one know what the two wrings in in the bow of a war ship are called? They are used to tie the ship to the doc.View attachment 156694

WELL i think you are refering to these wrings enrnt you Sailor they are called fairleads with rounded edges so the mooring rope wont get damaged but i maybe wrong on that an shot of my hornet sorry dint get the hull level when i took the pic
chrisb

 

[Sailor]

I want to show that I am still working on my Hornet project. I have the flight decks installed. The mid flight deck and stern deck fit nicely. Not so well with the bow deck. That was my bad! Part of the problem was building the fairleads on the bow that left an uneven surface for the deck to fit into the hull; and the other probable was I did not recognize the miss-fit between the sides of the hull and the deck until after I glued it in. It was not worth pulling apart; s

o that means about a 2 hour delay while I fill/sand both areas!

 

[BarleyBop]

Way to keep with it!

 

[BOATMAN]

HI Sailor any more done on the lovley model ?
chrisb

 

[BOATMAN]

HI Sailor any more done on the lovley model ?
chrisb

chrisb

 

[Edbert]

Today I glued The hull to the hull.

She's not gonna float with all that weight.




/s

 

[BOATMAN]

HI again Sailor just wondering how come you dint drill out the port holes ? or are you goin to just paint them in ?
chrisb

 

[BOATMAN]

HI SAILOR any more done on this build ?
chrisb

 

[Sailor]

HEY MATES! About a month ago I decided to reboot my Hornet project. That meant temporarily shelving several projects to allow me to start in the beginning of April 26. I tacked in with Taniya Cement (Orange cap) the main bow and stern structures; which allowed me to dry fit with tape the hanger wall and decks. The walls were pretty good with a little sanding;
The decks re pretty good but I will not know for sure until I put them together.

My next move is to determine which hanger doors were open at the time of the launch and cut them out.

 

[BOATMAN]

HEY MATES! About a month ago I decided to reboot my Hornet project. That meant temporarily shelving several projects to allow me to start in the beginning of April 26. I tacked in with Taniya Cement (Orange cap) the main bow and stern structures; which allowed me to dry fit with tape the hanger wall and decks. The walls were pretty good with a little sanding;
The decks re pretty good but I will not know for sure until I put them together.

My next move is to determine which hanger doors were open at the time of the launch and cut them out.

View attachment 186300

ANY chance of some full size pics Sailor as these small pics dont show the detail PLEASE
chrisb

 

[BOATMAN]

HI AGAIN Sailor just wondering are your planes in kits like mine an in glass plastic ?
chrisb

 

[Sailor]

ANY chance of some full size pics Sailor as these small pics dont show the detail PLEASE
chrisb

Not yet, I'm working on better photos.You are looking at an IMG file; just click on it to enlarge it.

I Ilike your new rack Your Hornet fits nicely on it; and she is really shaping up. Need to ask you about your deck. I believe it is wood? It currently has conventional flight deck markings. Is that temporary, or is it a permanent decision?

 

[BOATMAN]

Not yet, I'm working on better photos.You are looking at an IMG file; just click on it to enlarge it.

I Ilike your new rack Your Hornet fits nicely on it; and she is really shaping up. Need to ask you about your deck. I believe it is wood? It currently has conventional flight deck markings. Is that temporary, or is it a permanent decision?

HI Its a plastic flight deck

 

[BOATMAN]

HI Sailor any chance of an update on your build ?
chrisb

 

[Sailor]

Hey gang, following is an update on my Hornet CV-8 project progress (or, lack thereof). Actually, I do not have a problem operating at PD speed, because that is the best I can do and the remaining option is to stop trying. I do hope I can finish this project, and the next, B-24 being serviced in No. Africa; and the last, the Robert E. Lee on the Mississippi River!

My current sub-project is to cut out hanger doors out of the walls. The first problem was to determine how many doors were open on the stormy morning of 18 April 1942, not many! Starboard was easy; there are two photos of it. Not-so with the port side. lacking a time machine,I decided to go with a theme similar to the box art !

So there you go: starboard on top and port on bottom. Plus the ship.


To give you an idea of PD speed . It took me 35 hours to accomplish the cutting which you see. Most modelers could build the whole ship out of the box in that time. I'm open to Q&R; please remenber that everythjng is in PDS. Happy modeling!!! 5/10/26

 

[BOATMAN]

HI Sailor thanks for your update as very sorry on your probs but regards your hangar doors opening as i know you want it as accrute as poss but will you be fittin in your hangar all the planes ? as i wanted that too but if i only have just a couple of doors open due to stormy wheather then all the work on the planes wont be seen as thats why ive made mine open as many as i could on the show side ? an jen an i hope you feel better sir an try not to stop tryin to build this model as it will be a cracker
chrisb an jen

 

[Ron2]

Greetings Shipmates,

I am embarking on a project which I have been putting off for years. It may have been some 30 years ago when I saw a model of the USS Hornet with B-25s on display at the SC International Airport. I just had to build one. So, I am about to start a1/350 scale Trumpeter kit of the Hornet. When I purchased the kit, about 10 years ago, there was no 200 scale CV-8 Hornets; if I purchased it today I might be building a 200!

Today this, or any build, has special challenges. I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease about seven years ago. What that means to me as a modeler; what took me one hour to accomplish 10 years ago, now takes me two hours today. Tomorrow is in God's hands; so LORD willing, I plan on finishing this project and several more and hope to be able to share the journey, as much as I can, with you.

The photo is a display of the kit parts. They are currently in the containers on a shelf. The idea is to move them over to another shelf as a completed model! BTW, there are a few other parts than those which came with the kit: air wing & bombers 1,016, 4 sheets of PE, crew figures approximately 300, and scratch build hanger deck 23, Plus I planned on building a 1/48 scale Doolittle B-25, TBD-1 Devastator, SBD-3 Dauntless, and F4F-4 Wildcat. I once had a grandiose vision which are now mostly dreams that could have been!

I appreciate anyone who stayed with this ranting; I will try to keep you updated!

View attachment 153705

I saw these advertised on FB. Was thinking of getting it for myself. I thought you may be interested too. Basically it's a set of tweeezers mounted to a base so if your hands are shaking it's not as much of a factor.

 

[BOATMAN]

HI Ron good idea but for me i use helping hands jigs but for some one who havnt got them this is a very good idea spot on sir
chrisb