| The Ticonderoga was a slight modification
to the Essex Class Carrier design. The primary spotting difference is the
extended bow, with dual 40 mm gun galleries. The Ticonderoga was active
in the Pacific from late 1943 and was one of many Essex Class carriers
that took the war to the Japanese held islands. Operating out of Ulithi
as part of Task Force 38, she helped break the Japanese hold on the Philippines.
She took part in strikes off Formosa and operated in the South China Sea
attacking enemy shipping. A Kamikaze succeeded in hitting her and causing
extensive damage to her flight deck in January 45. Tico was sent to Puget
sound for repairs and emerged in time to help American forces in the conquest
of Okinawa. She remained in the area for the rest of the war participating
in attacks the home islands.
The Ticonderoga survived the war and made many Magic Carpet runs to
bring home US Troops. She was placed in reserve and sat until the 50's
when she was extensively modified to handle the larger Jet aircraft of
the times. She returned to the Pacific during the late 50's and the South
China sea for the Viet Nam war. In 1973 she was deactivated and struck
from the Navy list.
Ticonderoga received five battle stars during World War II and three
Navy Unit Commendations, one Meritorious Unit Commendation,
and 12 battle stars during the Vietnam War. |
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| HULL PARTS |
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| As with their other 350 scale ship, this one has a full
hull or waterline option. The lower hull is molded in red plastic and the
other parts in gray. The upper hull includes a separate bow section that
is typical of the Long Hull Essex Class carriers. |
Click images
to enlarge |
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| FLIGHT DECK |
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| The flight deck is molded as a three pieces with lots of surface detail.
The elevators are molded open so you can position them full up, down, or
any point in between. As nice as this deck is, the modeler will have to
chose as to whether to lengthen it for a post shakedown version. Those
issues are covered in Tracy
White's review. |
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| HANGER DECK |
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| A full open hanger deck is included in this kit. The hanger
deck is done is two main sections with a separate bow insert. The deck
has steel plate detailing and seems to fit together well. The Essex class
had a lot of roll up hanger doors so there is a lot of detailing possibilities
here. The bow deck has anchor ways without the anchor. This is a plus to
me, as I prefer using real chain for anchors where possible. |
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| SPRUE A |
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| The first sprue mostly includes hanger deck walls. These are well molded
and even the roll up doors are detailed on the inside. Gun tubs for the
20 mm and 40 mm guns are pretty well done too. |
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| SPRUE B |
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| More walls and other parts on sprue B. There is a good amount of detail
molded into the surface including nice door and hatch detailing. |
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| SPRUE C |
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| Not only are the outside walls well detailed but so are the inside
ones. |
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| SPRUE D |
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| The various gun platforms have bracing molded on the underside as well
as having relatively thin splinter shielding, and where appropriate exterior
bracing. |
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| SPRUE E |
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| The elevators on this sprue have the same level of deck detail as on
the flight deck. Many of the Island platforms are included on this sprue.
They too have thin shields and underside bracing. |
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| SPRUE F |
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| These are the main island parts. Like the other parts in this kit,
the walls have hatch and plumbing detail molded on. Ladders are molded
on and nice enough that most modelers will not wish to replace them with
Photo etch. |
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| SPRUE G |
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| This is the main weapons sprue and there are two of them in the kit,
so you will have a few extra parts for the spares box. As with some of
their other kits, this one has separate sides for the 5" twin gun turrets
allowing for more surface detail to be molded on. The 20 mm guns are pretty
nice, but no shields are included for them. The 40 mm gun mounts and the
5" gun mounts are well done and composed of several separate parts. This
allows you to pose them at any firing angle, and gives you more superdetailing
options. |
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| SPRUE H |
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| This last sprue has some of the Ticonderoga specific platforms and
parts. They are typical of the quality found on the other sprues. |
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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 gray, black, and clear plastic so you
don't have to mask off the canopies and landing gear parts if you don't
want to. These aircraft also benefit from the CAD technology. These
are molded with separate propellers and landing gear. Panel lines are recessed
and the lines of the aircraft look pretty accurate for this scale. There
are four of each in the kit, but they are also available separatetly in
six packs. |
| F4U Corsair Fighter (x 4) |
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| F6F Hellcat Fighter (x 4) |
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| SB2C Helldiver Dive Bomber (x 4) |
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| TBF Avenger Torpedo Bomber (six included). |
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| SBD Dauntless Dive Bomber (x 4) |
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Aircraft types carried will vary based on the ship and time period you
are modeling, so you may need more of some of these aircraft. Each type
is available separately as well. |
| DECALS |
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| The decals are pretty good, with deck markings and and plenty of markings
for the aircraft. The white markings on the sheet don't show up well against
the light colored carrier sheet so I apologize if the pictures doesn't
show them very well. |
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| INSTRUCTIONS |
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| A 20 page instruction booklet is included to guide you through a step
by step assembly process. The parts are all called out and placement is
well illustrated throughout.
A nice B sized color sheet is included with camouflage markings for
the ship and aircraft. Paint colors are called out as well. |
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| Conclusions: |
|
 Yet
another impressive kit from Trumpeter. This is kit #TSM-5609
1/350 USS Ticonderoga CV14 Aircraft Carrier with a suggested list price
of $129.95. This is an great price for such a large well detailed kit.
While there are some things that some modelers will want to fix, this is
still your best bet for a 350 scale Essex class carrier. The potential
for superdetailing is enormous.
Thanks to Stevens
International for the review sample. They are the exclusive importer
for Trumpeter kits in the US. If your hobby shop does not carry Trumpeter
kits have them contact Stevens
International or try their Hobby Shop Locator to find one. |
