Brazil Sao Paulo carrier in 1/400 scale

She's coming together nicely.

I read various reports that she still has SIMBADs...but I cannot find any.

All I have ever seen are a few 12.7mm machine guns.

So, mine will not have any defensive armament. But I will have eight A-4 Skyhawks, four S-2s and two S-70 helos.

I started this session by completing the building and painting of the airwing. I added the landing gear, the drop tanks for the A-4s, and the small photo etch propellers for the S-2 Trackers. Then I painted them in a light ghost gray, with black cockpits, tires, and propellers.

One thing lacking is 1/350 scale Brazilian decals for these aircraft. I cannot find any Brazilian decals in this scale for the A-4s , the S-2s...or for that matter, any other Brazilian aircraft. I will have to place the aircraft without those markings and I regret that...but perhaps some day OI will find them and can add them later.


I then added the photo etch sensors for the island and other domes and sensors on the island. At this point I also added the decals.

The photo etch was taken from left overs from some of my other photo etch kits to mark the three main radar masts.

I added some radar domes that are seen on the Sao Paulo as well. The decals consist of the "12" for the pennant number. On the actual ship this is preceded by an "A" but I do not have an white, shadowed As that are of the right size. I positioned the decals so that a future date I can add them and have them line up appropriately.

While doing this I also added details to all of the sponsons, including some of the enclosures the Brazilians put over the now empty 100mm gun emplacements. This also included the life rafts and some various equipment I obtained from left overs on other models. I also added the ship's launches on the deck on the starboard side below the island and flight deck.

As you can see from that last picture, she is looking really nice now.

In the next session, I will add the photo etch railing and then position the aircraft on the flight deck and complete the model.

Hey Jeff quick question has any one or any country still putting the elevators on the middle of the deck instead to the side on their carriers or any flat tops?

Equation said:

Hey Jeff quick question has any one or any country still putting the elevators on the middle of the deck instead to the side on their carriers or any flat tops?

Click to expand...

On the larger, new fixed wing aircraft carriers...none.

However...the Japanese Hyuga has both in the flight deck. The Japanese Izumo has one in the flight deck and one on the edge. The Cavour has one in the flight deck and one on the edge. The Indian Virkamaditya has both in the flight deck (bit this is because that is how the Soviet Union designed the original Kiev class). The new Australian Canberras have on aft on the edge of the flight deck, but the other is forward of the island in in the flight deck.

The US Ford class, Nimitz class, Wasp class, America class all have all of theirs on the edge of the flight deck.

The Russian Kuznetsov, Chinese Liaoning, the new Indian Vikrant, the new Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth all have them on the edge of the flight deck.

I began this session by adding the air wing to the deck of the Sao Paulo. The air wing I have built consisted of:

8 x A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft
4 x S-2 Tracker patrol aircraft
2 x S-70 ASW/SAR Helicopters,

I started this session by gluing down the complete air wing on the flight deck of the Sao Paulo.

I added one A-4 taking off at the end of the deck from the bow catapult and four more A-4 skyhawks lined up along the starboard bow.

I added one S-2 Tracker at the wiast catapult with another waiting for launch. Two more S-2s are parked next to the island.

One S-70 is being towed off of the starboard elevator, and another is shown in take-off position between the waist cat and the stern of the vessel.

Finally, I have three A-4 Skyhawks parked around the aft end of the flight deck.


At this point it was time for me to add the photo etch railing. There was a lot to add...but luckily, in my last build, between the photo etch that came with the USS Iwo Jima, LHD-7 kit by Gallery, and the after-market, complete photo etch kit I bought from White Ensign models, I had a lot of 1/350 scale railing left over. More than enough to do the Sao Paulo.

The flight deck is surrounded by an enclosed service walkway except along the starboard side by the island. The Island and the sponsons required a lot of railing, as did numerous auxiliary decks along either side of the vessel.

With the photo etch railing complete, I then added the various antennae and sensors around the flight deck as well as the propellers. This completed the building of the model and left her looking very well indeed.

With all of that done, I then did some touch-up paint work, added two coats of dull/flat clear coat paint, and took the final display pictures.

First, the overall pictures from all quarters.