Reviewed by Timothy Dike
The recent release of the Trumpeter USS Nimitz and the USS Lincoln in 1/700 scale modelers finally have some very detailed options for their Supercarriers. Those kits come with some pretty nice decals, but they lack some of the nice details, but they are ship specific and lack many of the little details. So what do you do if you want to use your Trumpeter kit as the basis for one of the other Nimitz class carriers? Well number one, you get this new set from Gold Model Models with all the decals you could possibly need. 

This set comes on a single 4" by 10" sheet printed in six colors in very high resolution. The numbers are done in the correct Navy style font in a variety of styles including the black shadow, solid white, and white outlines. Not only is the Nimitz class represented, but you also get numbers for the Big E, Forrestal class and Kitty Hawk class. So those old Revell and Italeria kits can be brought up to date as well.

The Battle E markings and "Beware of Jet Blast" decals are done in several different types for specific ships. The Enterprise decals include the "Hormuz Highway Patrol", kill marks, and other awards. 
click to enlarge
 
FOR ALL SHIPS: 
  • Eight red warning circles in two sizes for rotating weapons mounts
  • twelve bomb jettison ramp markings for flight decks
  • assorted awards with hashmarks in full color and in two sizes for bridge wings
  • yellow & red flight deck elevator and ordnance elevator striping
  • white and red forward flight deck striping
  • ten sets of underwater hull draft markings in black & white
  • 18 sets of Flight Deck Electrical Power Hatch striping
  • ships' names ranging from Forrestal (CV-59) to George H. W. Bush (CV-77.)


FOR ENTERPRISE: 

  • Hollow white outlined flight deck numbers in the correct shape
  • "Big E" marking for rear of island
  • "USS ENTERPRISE CVN-65" titles for the island front in two sizes and three variations for three different eras
  • Aviation Boatswains' Mates' Wings, ship's plaque, and small black eagle for lower island front
  • five "Beware of Jet Blast Propellers and Rotors" signs in four styles for different eras
  • "Hormuz Highway Patrol", kill marks, and related awards for late 1980's period.
FOR NIMITZ-CLASS:
  • Correctly shaped hollow and solid numbers for flight decks including one set of oversize solid "68" numerals for an early Nimitz
  • correctly shaped shadowed and non-shadowed white numbers for islands of all ships in the class
  • assorted island signs for damage control equipment
  • twelve different sets of Aviation Boatswains' Mates' wings for all ships' island fronts to represent a variety of eras
  • nine sets of "Beware of Jet Blast Propellers And Rotors" warning signs for islands representing all ships and several eras.
INSTRUCTIONS
The instructions are great, they show where the specific decals are applied, they also show when they were applied. There are plan view drawings showing deck marking, such as the ordanance jettison ramp locations, and flight deck electrical hatches. Profile views include island drawings for the various carriers with the "Battle E" and "Beware of Blast" noted, and overall ship views of the Enterprise and Nimitz..  
Conclusions:

This is a great little set for 1/700 scale carriers that can be used for any of the big carriers on the market today. It will add some color to those Haze Gray ships. You will also have plenty of  extra decals that can be applied to other ships. 

This is set #700-4D USN Supercarrier Decals (1/700 - 1/720 Scale) with a list price of $9.00 a great price for this extensive set.  It is available now direct from Gold Medal Models or where ever fine ship accessories are sold. Click the image on the right to visit Gold Medal Models website to see more of their photo etch sets


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