This is a build in progress of the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier (CVN-80) currently under construction in Newport News, Virginia. The ship is expected to be commissioned in 2031 and set to sea sometime after that. I hope my model is completed by then! The model is 1/350 scale, using the Trumpeter USS Ford kit as basis. Because the actual ship is far from completed, I feel I have considerable artistic license, especially regarding the configuration of the hangar. A considerable amount of research has been conducted to understand how the hangar and flight deck is configured but ultimately this will be an approximation. My objective is to build a representation of the Enterprise as it might appear around 2040, a little worn and certainly busy. Aftermarket products include ION (figures), HS Models (some deck equipment and other details), 3D WILD (some aircraft and deck vehicles), l’Arsenal (weapons and weapon carts), and Evan Designs (LEDs and fiber optics). One amusing observation: Trumpeter is a China-based company producing a detailed 1/350 model kit of a new U.S. aircraft carrier; however, it doesn’t sell a 1/350 kit of the new Chinese carriers Shandong and Fujian.
