The USS Hornet CV-12 was a short hull Essex class
carrier launched in 1943. The second carrier to bear that name. Weighing
in at 27,100 tons she was a new breed of carrier designed to take the war
to Japan. She wasted no time in getting the job done participating in raids
on Japanese held islands early in 44. She was there for the Marianas invasion
and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Later she supported the capture of
the Palaus and Philippines. She sent aircraft to help fight the Battle
of Leyte Gulf and then operated in the South China Sea.
In early 45 her aircraft bombed Formosa and the Japanese home islands.
She provided air support for the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Her
aircraft helped sink the mighty Yamato and Hornet remained in the area
until she sailed into a typhoon and had her flight deck damaged. Hornet
returned to the states for repairs and overhaul. The war would end before
the repairs were made, but Hornet would continue to serve on helping to
bring the troops home. She was placed into reserve in 1947. In 1951
she was recommissioning and was modernized to SCB-27A and rejoined the
fleet as CVA-12. In 55, she received an angled flight deck and had her
open bow enclosed.
Hornet was converted into an ASW carrier and redesignated CVS-12 in
1958. She operated off Viet Nam in the late 60's and served as a recovery
ship for the Apollo 11 and 12 missions to the moon. By now there were newer
larger carriers in the fleet and Hornet was spent the next 20 years in
mothballs. She was destined for the scrap heap, but thankfully is preserved
today as a Museum ship in Alameda,
California.
Hornet received the Presidential Unit Citation and seven battle stars
for service in World War II.
This is Dragon's latest Essex class carrier release. Going back to basics
the correct parts have been included and one new sprue to allow you to
build an accurate model of the Hornet as she appeared in 1945. |
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| HULL |
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| The hull a short hull molded
in one piece with a separate hanger deck and lower hull.. There is some
really nice porthole detail with eyebrows (rain gutters) above them and
plenty of piping, vent, and other detail. The many openings to the hanger
deck are all left open with separate roll up doors that can be shown open
or closed. |
Click
images
to enlarge |
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| HANGER DECK SPRUE A |
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| Probably the most exciting item on this kit, is this detailed hanger
deck. It included some interior details and nice deck plate details. |
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| FLIGHT DECK SPRUE B |
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| The flight deck looks like the one in the
USS Essex CV-9, however there are two catapults, one slightly offset
from the front of the deck. The deck on this carrier is also shorter to
clear the field of fire for the bow mounted anti aircraft guns. This is
typical of Long Hull type Essex Class carriers. The deck is nicely
engraved with some really intricate planking and tie down detailing. Note
the deck elevator for a close-up of this pattern. |
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| SPRUE C |
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| This sprue is identical to the one in the Essex kit. It contains some
of the walls that form the hanger deck as well as the separate roll up
doors. Various platforms and other details are very sharp. You might also
notice that there are carly floats molded on the underside of many of these
platforms. One other thing that I noticed was the absence of those dreaded
Aztec
stairs. Finally a kit that you don't have to try to scrape them off the
platforms. |
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| SPRUE D |
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| This sprue is similar to the one in the Essex kit except it has been
extended on the bottom side to include the four platforms and sponsons
shown below. The other items on the sprue include the walls and doors seen
on the above sprue. It also included the boat cranes and deck edge elevators
as well as the folding deck antenna masts. There are two different deck
edge elevators; one with molded on underside detail and one without. The
latter is designed for use with the included photo etch fret shown below.
Again the modeler is presented with a choice in how they wish to build
their ship. |
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| SPRUE E |
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| These sprues include many of the gun platforms and bridge platforms.
Notice that in most cases the underside bracing is present. There are also
several extra platforms that are not used on this kit. Stay tuned for details
on future releases. Dragon has more in store for us in the future. Also
notice the open grills in the top of the funnel cap, nice! |
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| SPRUE F |
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| More platforms for the 20 mm guns. The other parts on this sprue are
not needed for the Hornet. |
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| SPRUE G |
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| This sprue contains many platforms exclusive to the Hancock. The only
ones you will need are the 40 mm guad tubs. |
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| SPRUE J |
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| A stand is included to mount your ship on. |
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| SPRUE K (x2) |
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| This is the weapons sprue and there are two of them in the kit. It
includes the many anti-aircraft guns and various fittings used on the ship.
Various radar's and other detail items are also included. 5" 38 cal guns
are included in both open and closed types. The 40 mm guns are not bad
but the gun barrels are a little thick. The 20 mm are also a little thick,
but I really like the way they are molded. The front shield is offset from
the pedestal and the separate gun can be mounted at any angle just like
the real ones. You also get Mk-51 directors, searchlights and even some
pelorus mounts. All are as fine as injections molding permits in this scale.
Not to be overlooked are the nice life rafts that have some nice netting
molded on. |
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| SPRUE L |
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| The island is another really nice part in this kit. The main sprue
pictured below is from a very complex multi-slide mold that allows for
detail to be molded on almost all sides. On a conventional mold, there
are two halves and the parts need to be able to slide out of the mold.
This prevents some surface detail from being included as it would be scraped
off as the part was ejected out of the mold. The mold used here has what
are called slides that pull from different directions. This allows detail
to be cast on the sides and then before the part is ejected those parts
of the mold slide out of the way preserving the detail. These types of
molds are expensive and require quite an engineering effort to design.
This goes to show that Dragon is committed to offering the most
accurate kits to modelers and is willing to invest in the Research and
Development to bring it about. |
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The bridge has all kinds of detail on it from extensive conduit piping,
to the watertight doors and molded on ladders. The four dual 5" 38 cal
gun mounts on this sprue are a testament to how detail can be preserved
with this type of molding technology. The sights on the gun houses rival
that that we see in resin kits. |
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| SPRUE M |
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| This sprue contains some of the quad 40 mm gun tubs that mount under
the flightdeck but all you need are a couple of parts off this sprue. |
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| SPRUE R |
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| This new sprue made just for this ship and contains the bridge parts
specific to Hornet. |
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| PHOTOETCH |
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| Two photoetch frets are included that will allow you to replace some
of the molded on details. The lower frame of the deck edge elevator and
open radio antenna. You also get radar's and other platforms. There is
also a variety of deck personnel in various poses that will lend action
to your deck. |
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| DECALS |
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| The decals by Cartograf include the aircraft insignia that were
used during the war and include the red outlined insignia used briefly
by some squadrons. The deck striping and lines are well done. They are
all nicely registered and much improved from the typical kit supplied decals. |
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| AIRCRAFT |
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| The aircraft in this kit are simply the best available
in this scale. They are molded in clear plastic so you can mask off the
canopies and when you paint them. When the paint dries you peel off the
masking and are presented with a nice clear canopy. |
| SB2C Helldiver Dive Bomber (x3) |
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| These are molded with separate propellers and landing gear. Panel lines
are recessed and the lines of the aircraft look accurate. |
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| TBF Avenger Torpedo Bomber (x3) |
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| These torpedo bombers have recessed panel lines and folding wings.
Separate gear and propellers are included. |
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| F6F Hellcat Fighter (x3) |
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| Also molded with folding wings and separate landing gear and props. |
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| INSTRUCTIONS |
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| The instructions are a six page booklet showing the assembly
in a step by step process that is easy to follow. Very thorough and well
illustrated. Camouflage is shown in Measure 32.
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| BONUS SPRUE (x2) |
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| Here's another nice touch, a bonus tug boat to help you dock this carrier.
It will help give you an idea of this ships immense size when displayed
alongside the carrier. This tug is not just an extra thrown in, it is an
all new mold produced with the slide molding technology that is fast making
Dragon
famous. |
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| REFERENCE |
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| The most obvious differences between the Long Hull and
Short Hull Essex Class carriers are shown below. Notice the difference
in the shape and length of the bow.
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| CONCLUSIONS |
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 This
kit is extremely well designed and packed with options. It is the obvious
choice if your wanting to model an accurate Hornet. The kit offers a lot
of options and the level of detail is very good. Dragon
USA lists this kit with an MSRP of $37.95 US. But the last time
I checked it was on special for a whole lot less. Check out all the new
Dragon kits online at Dragon
USA. |
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