Hello Pete

Saw the letters from Chuck Treese and have a few points. The new Wasp A515 in my opinion is closer to the Oriskany. The deck is almost an exact match for drawings in Aircraft Carriers of the U.S. Navy by Stefan Terzibaschitsch. Based on information in that book and others and looking at photographs I have come up with the following.

The older Superior model of the Wasp was close to the 1960's configuration of CV-9, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20 and 33 all of which received SCB-27A. The model does not have the stern gun tubs and it appears CV-9, 10 and 15 retained the tubs until decommissioned. Typical shared features include only one Mkl 37 director, flight deck which is straight at the stern, crane aft of the starboard elevator and a single 5" gun just after of the starboard elevator. Oriskany was being built to SCB-27A design

CV-16, 31 and 38 were built to SCB-27. They had 5" gun positions for and aft that were parallel to each other. The Hansa model appears to fit these versions

CV-11, 14 and 19 were also built to SCB-27. They had 5" gun positions for and aft that were parallel to each other. The crane was forward of the starboard elevator and the flight deck angled to starboard at the stern. Attached are two pictures of CV-33, 20 and 34.

CV-33 was made on an older Superior Wasp kit I picked up from Martin Brown.

CV-20 was made from modifying the current Superior kit. I straightened the rear of the flight deck, removed the catapult bridles and reshaped the deck near the island

CV-34 was made from a new Superior kit. A s Chuck mentioned, still a few variations of the Essex class that could be made

Henry

Dear Pete:

I received WASP (A515) today. The bad news is that WASP is not WASP. The good news is that if it were WASP, the model would not be as flexible as to the number of carriers you could create from this model. In reality, this ship is a generic angle-deck ESSEX which most closely resembles SHANGRI-LA or LEXINGTON from which, with a little work, all can be created with little or no difficulty save INTREPID, TICONDEROGA and HANCOCK. For those three, the crane sponson on the starboard side is in the wrong location as in the elevator which for those three should be a little further aft. In checking the available records. I have found the basic things that would need to be done to create all the others which is to pay close attention to either the square or elongated forward elevator and either leave or dispose of the bridle arrestors.

I am very pleased with the overall quality of the model and the first of what I hope will be many will be SHANGRI-LA which requires no modification. It is without a doubt the easiest Superior I have owned in terms of clean-up. Of particular note in my view is the way the mast was attached to the island. It is much sturdier and as such much less likely that it would be damaged by accident. In two words, just great!

Letter # 2

If at all possible, I am more pleased with WASP than I was yesterday. I have finished the clean-up process and have given the first coast of primer to the hull and flight deck, checking for anything I missed in clean-up. I found a few pits under the two forward 5”sponsons which I easily dealt with. I used a primer from Walmart which worked great on this kit. To get enough primer pigment on the completed model, three light coats are in order. The etching on the flight deck really stands out and is probably the best feature overall on this ship.

I believe the way this model is designed with the alignment studs and holes for attaching the flight deck is first rate. Further, I believe that the way the flight deck is scribed without any planking is appropriate for all carrier models. Planking at that scale is very difficult to deal with when you apply decals for flight deck markings and is invariably out of scale anyway.

Now get Wayne to work on a long hull ESSEX such as VALLEY FORGE.*  No starboard side 40mm sponsons (Most of the did not have them.) and an optional island where you can make it either in wartime rig until about 1952 or a post-1952 long-hull with the improved and modified island.

* Your editor is all for that!

Letter # 3 (Several months later)

Within the past few days I have out both of my angle-deck ESSEX’s back in the yard for a complete flight deck redo. I filled all the flight deck etching with Bondo auto-body putty and completely sanded the whole thing removing and/or filling all the etching. I did this to more closely approximate each of the ships I wished to portray.

The second one was to portray YORKTOWN so I had already removed the bridle arrestors from the bow. I had an attack of conscience on INTREPID and could not bring myself to leave my first one as a CVA knowing full well that the aircraft handling crane and flight deck were all wrong for her as well as TICONDEROGA and HANCOCK. It’s like staining MIDWAY with Mahogany stain, Yes, only I would know but that’s the problem!

The next time you produce this ship, may I suggest you mold two flight decks, One should have the bridle arrestors and the other without them. Further remove all of the etching on the flight deck including the elevator etching. Then market WASP without the bridle arrestors as a support carrier and the other as a CVA such as LEXINGTON, BON HOMME RICHARD or SHANGRI-LA.  This would allow you to use the Starfighter decals to delineate the elevators and either the steam or hydraulic catapults as well as the landing areas and ships identification.

Letter # 4

YORKTOWN and LEXINGTON are now complete with the Starfighter Decals I received last week. They are easy to use and give the model just the right touch. As you may remember I don't use a lot in the way of painting on my models. I try to keep them in the spirit of the recognition model with but a few touches of clolr for enhansement. The decals give it just the right amount of detailing so as not to distract you from the lines of the ship itself.

Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Chuck for his comments. Chuck is a first rate naval enthusiast and model builder. Hard to disagree with him when he says WASP is not the WASP. The first master of this model was built about 30 years ago by Superior under contract with the manufacturer of a special antennae that was installed on the ship for an Astronaut recovery mission. The model has always been known as WASP. The current model is an upgrade of the original.

Late word from Chuck…

CONVERTING THE ANGLED DECK WASP (Superior A515) TO YORKTOWN (CVS-10)

The Angled Deck Wasp (A515) represents a generic Angled Deck Essex Class Attack Carrier (CVA). More specifically the three ESSEX’s that were converted to angled deck configuration in one yard period (LEXINGTON,  BON HOMME RICHARD – SHANGRI- LA) rather then go through the intermediate step of 27A modification and then have the angled deck added.

To convert an A515 to Yorktown I took the following steps:

1. There were a few pit marks under the forward five inch sponsons. These were filled with Bondo Putty, let dry (24 hours) and sanded. I then followed this with a wet sanding with 600 grit wet and dry paper.
2. I filled all of the etching on the flight deck including arrestor wires, catapult tracks, and elevator wells with Bondo and again let it dry for 24 hours. The deck was then sanded including a wet sanding, followed by a very, very light coat of inexpensive primer that I get at Wal Mart. The light coat of primer gives you a preview of the deck and you can pick out any of the etching you missed, and take corrective action.
3. I assembled the hull and flight deck after carefully clipping off the bridle arrestors attached to the bow end of the flight deck with a pair of wire cutters. After the hull and flight deck are attached file fill and sand the bow to eliminate any remaining portion of the bridle arrestors and their associated etching. Again a quick light shot of primer in this area shows up anything you missed.
4. Once you are satisfied with the flight deck and bow complete model assembly, prime again overall.
5. Painting: I try to keep in the original spirit of the recognition model. That is a convenient excuse for having very limited painting skill, so my models are all usually in a haze gray with only very few details like the top of the stacks highlighted in other colors. For Yorktown the completed model was sprayed in Tamiya acrylic AS 7 USAAF Neutral Gray right out of the spray can. I get mine at a local Hobby Town, and they keep an adequate supply on hand for me. It is also available by mail order from Squadron Shops. Highlights were done in Testor's Model Master Semi Gloss Black - Leather - and Gloss White acrylics.
6. Decals are from Starfighter. Mark Tutton has a great product and his service is on par with the great customer service we all get from Alnavco. One word about decals though. I had a little difficulty with the elevator decals in the 1/1200 set. They were a little too large for the model and I had to cut them down a wee bit. I think the next time I do one of these I will order the 1/1250 set, and that should correct the problem.

Any of you that read this and wish to do a similar conversion but still have questions, go through Pete at Alnavco he always knows where to find me.