U.S.S Hornet (CVS-12)

The USS Hornet was an Essex-Class carrier launched late in WWII. After an angled-deck conversion, it served in Viet Nam and was used as recovery ship for the first two manned moon landings (Apollo 11 and 12). This Viet Nam-era version of the carrier is depicted in Revell’s kit. This model has not been available since the 1970’s. Revell USA announced its re-release around 2010, but discovered that the mold had sustained too much damage to produce the kit at that time. Revell of Germany decided to release the model in late 2013, much to the delight of kit collectors and those who fondly remember building the kit over a generation ago. Today’s purchasers should be warned that the kit has issues pertaining to the age of the molds and period of when they were first made. First, the good. The kit depicts a historical event, the recovery of Apollo 11. included is a small Apollo command module (It is less than a centimeter wide in 1/535 scale!). Revell of Germany has produced an excellent decal sheet with numbers for famous Sea King “Helo 66,” the helicopter that recovered the Apollo 11 crew after their splashdown from humanity’s first landing on the moon. The instruction sheet is well-done and includes a parts map to aid in construction. The price of this kit is very low, which should delight those who held off purchasing at rare-kit prices on eBay. Next the bad. As mentioned previously, the mold from which this model was made has seen better days and this is apparent from what appears to be a crack that runs along the keel. Fortunately, this is easy to fix with a small amount of trimming and sanding, but there are other areas where the old molds show their age. Flash and sinkholes are prevalent on many parts and the sprue attach points on the hull and deck make it difficult to remove these sprues without damaging some details. No fighter planes are included—it would have been nice had Revell thrown in a few Skyhawks and Crusaders, but the modeler will have to make do with the included Sea King helicopters, C-1 Traders, and E-1 Tracers (four of each). Photos of the ship underway typically show these aircraft lined up on deck, so their choice for inclusion in the kit probably provides a realistic representation. Also included is a mobile deck crane and a half-dozen aircraft tow tractors. The decal sheet includes insignias for each aircraft. In 1/535 scale, they are tiny but this is a very nice bonus that will add visual interest to the completed model. Fit is about what one would expect from a kit of this vintage, that is to say not great. Plenty of trimming, shimming and filling will be needed. To those modelers who enjoy this type of work (and there are still many of us) then there is plenty to love. Perhaps the most glaring accuracy snafu is the lack of the prominent radome at the rear of the island. Also missing is a hangar deck floor but the enterprising modeler should be able to scratch-build these items (and maybe a few Crusaders and Skyhawks). However, Revell depicted the intricate-looking lattice structure of the folding deck-edge elevator and the details on the side-walls that attach to the hull as separate pieces below the flight deck are nicely detailed and will look great with some washes and dry brushing to enhance these features. In summary, modelers with some experience should enjoy this kit if they understand that there will be more work involved than simple assembly and painting. The nostalgia/kit collector crowd will be happy to purchase at a price similar (adjusting for inflation) to what it was back in the day. Kudos to Revell of Germany for producing this kit and pricing it to reflect its shortcomings.

well this kit is big about 21s long it has a one piece hull the parts are molded from a very old 1960's vintage revell kit. This means you will be cutting away a lot of flash(ie: extra plastic that leaked from the molds). The worst paty being the girders that go under the elevators these girders are in a cross hatch design and each of those little squares will need to be shaved clean of flash. The rest is no real problem as far as flash goes. The flight deck will give minor trouble as it usually is bowed a little in the middle. However fear not all that is needed is rubber bands and a good amount of glue the parts on this kit are thick so melting isn't a problem. the hangar walls go on fairly easy. the cranes do not rotate nor do the guns. The planes on this ship are for sub hunting so not many fighters or bombers. The decals are large and easy. The deck vehicles are not very detailed but with a little shaving of flash and some paint they look descent. the island is real easy to build but the windows are a pain to paint. when i built this kit the 1st time when i was 12 i put bb's inside as ballast and would float her in the tub or the pool and had a blast. This kit will be a good challenge for the new modeler but not obnoxiously so.

Where to start for this kit. The biggest pro is the price and the size. It is a decent size ship without breaking the bank. There are some slight problems with the intructions and showing where parts should actually go, but for the most part they are pretty clear. There is tons of flash on the parts that needs to be cleaned up which can be a pain and take up a lot of time. To go along with the flash, i encountered a lot of fit issues which required lots of putty. You will need a lot of putty to cover all of the ejection pin marks too. Due to the price I'd recommend this kit to anyone. It's not a completely horrible kit, just needs more work than most. It's perfect for someone who has never made a ship before or for someone looking to improve their skills.