Trumpeter USS Nimitz CVN-68 1976 1:350 – build review

By Louis Carabott
Kit Ref: 05605

A few words from Geoff…
The work that Louis puts into his maritime scale models is extraordinary and add to that the lighting effects, super-detailing and other elements you end up with something special – and that’s what we have again here with his build of the Trumpeter CVN-68 USS Nimitz in 1:350 scale.

We already have a few of Louis’s builds in SMN and you’ll fine them in Maritime-Finished Now – take a look after reading this and you’ll see what I mean.

It seems that USS Nimitz is getting a new lease of life as I write these words (October 2016) with Tamiya releasing their 1:48 scale model of the awesome F-14A Tomcat – a hugely and eagerly awaited all-new-tool of the type. The aircraft (as if I need to tell you!) and the USS Nimitz are immortalised in the films: Top Gun and The Final Countdown and if you like either of the subjects mentioned they are an absolute must-see. It’s worth mentioning that AMK is also scheduled to release their all-new-tool 1:48 scale F-14D Tomcat in 2016.

You could write a book

Given that Louis has taken 2 years to complete his model and that it’s taken over 1,532 hours of work, you could indeed write a book about this project. Instead, we do have a short feature article from Louis where he very kindly explains his approach and main work involved. You certainly get a sense of what can be achieved with some help from one or two others with technical knowledge, patience and skill applying all you know to some significant modelling problems and challenges and with perseverance to get to a successful conclusion – and wow! What a great end result – congratulations Louis.

Here’s a quick look at Louis’s finished model and then you can follow the build to the end – over to you my friend…

Construction…