USS Enterprise

Ever since I was a kid I wanted to build this model. There was just something about the square bridge that piqued my curiosity, so I finally did it. Of course with a Revell Model kit you know what you are getting, a bit of a challenge with firmly fitting parts and alignments. Net result is a model to be proud of especially if you go the extra mile with rigging, painting, and if good enough, aging it. This is the Big E as she was originally built so its a nice piece of carrier history as well.

The Revell Germany 1/720 scale USS Enterprise, CVN-65, model is a 50 year old Revell USA kit. I first built a Revell Enterprise in the 1970s and it was dated then. It is a reasonably accurate semigloss medium grey plastic depiction of Enterprise as she appeared in the Operation Sea Orbit era (circa 1963-66; with two yardarm mast and without angled-deck bridle-catcher horn), but suffers from the lack of crispness and fine detail typical of such an old and worn out mold. For example, the propeller shafts and masts are too thick and are not really circular in cross section. The Mk 10 Terrier SAM launchers are wildly inaccurate. The included aircraft are also very poor, with single seat Phantoms In addition, with the very many changes that she underwent over her half-century of service, it doesnt have much post-Vietnam era accuracy. The most obvious: the model retains the billboard SPS-32/SPS-33 radars and beehive ECM dome removed from the island, and doesnt have the Phalanx CIWS and Sea Sparrow SAM sponsons added to the hull, in Enterprises 1979-81 nuclear refueling. The ubiquitous life raft canisters surrounding the flight deck of American carriers also stand out in their absence. Another debit: the decals only include hull numbers; quite meager compared to Italeris 1/720 American supercarrier, and Revells own 1/720 LHA and 1/700 LHD kits with complete deck marking decals. (The 1990 Hunt for Red October special issue Revell Enterprise had complete deck marking decals. Why doesnt Revell keep printing them?) On the plus side, the model is easy to build straight; its from an era when models were intended to be built by children. There very many registration aids, such as hidden tabs, slots and cutouts. The island is a wonderful 3-D jigsaw of interlocking pieces. The multi-piece hull has alignment tenon parts, but needs care to ensure the flight deck sets completely level. Unfortunately, this kit is your only 1/700-720 choice, as it is the only Enterprise ever made in these scales. Thats why I keep coming back to it, but I'm always wishing for an updated model.

I built this kit at least twice over the years. It represents Enterprise as originally built. However, with a little imagination, a sharp x-acto knife and some support from your spare parts stash, it can be converted to the Enterprise of more recent service. The kit itself is good. The fit is tight, there is no flash or sanding required. Detail is on par for the scale and perhaps a little better than average for a molding of its era. I believe this kit first appeared in the 1970s. I intend to purchase it again and do a conversion on it to bring it up to its latest version prior to decommissioning.