PLAN Liaoning, CV-16 in 1/350 scale, Trumpeter Kit# 5617

Re: 1/350 Scale Model, Trumpeter Kit# 5617, PLA Navy Aircraft Carrier

Jeff Head said:

Progress on my 1/350 scale model of the PLAN Carrier. Here's a quick look at where she's at. I wiill update thisModel Build thread later today. Lots of work left to finish the deck markings and then the entire airewing.

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Wow...great job on the model Jeff! That was fast, I remember you were priming the main hull before painting, like last week.

Re: 1/350 Scale Model, Trumpeter Kit# 5617, PLA Navy Aircraft Carrier

Here's my latest update to the PLA NAvy Aircraft Carrier model build as of today, March 26, 2012:


There are many decals for the main deck landing and takeoff positions and the safety markings and parking spots. Some of these decals are long and the builder may be advised to cut some of the longer ones in two for placement without damage.

As always, clean the surface well with water and mild soap or cleaner to ensure all oils are removed. A possible initial spray of gloss coat is possible, but I have had good experience without that and so just cleaned what I had already painted.


Then it was time to begin the landing area and take off area for the fixed wing aircraft. Please note, that the deck has these markings etched into it, but many of the dashes and lines have small protrusions for detail. These need to be sanded, ground, or cut away so the decals will lay flat on the surface and avoid protrusions and deformation of the decals. I accomplished this with an exacto knife and sand paper and then repainting those areas effected.


With the deck markings and the detail thus far, it makes for some good looking pictures:


And nice close ups, for example, like the Optical landing system along the outside edge of the deck. The railings and ladders are now all in place.


Next is to finish the props, propellers, and rudders, and then the big job of building, painting and detailing the airwing. I intend to have ten J-15 fighters, four KA-27 ASW Helos, three KA-31 AEW Helos, two Z-9 transport helos, and two Z-8 SAR helos along with a full compliment of deck equipment on the deck and visible in the hangar or on the elevators.



So, once again, this is where I have gotten to date. My plan over the next few weeks is the following, and, as usual, I will update this posting as I go along:

- By April 16th, 2012: Complete all aircraft and deck equipment building, painting, decals, and aircraft and equipment placement.
- >By April 23rd, 2012: Paint and place all all 1/350 scale personnel on the carrier, complete carrier and place on stand.

At that point I will be finished with my PLA Navy Carrier from Trumpeter. Then, I will build my priniple PLAN Escort for the carrier, Trumpeter's DDG-170, Lanshou Type 052C destroyer. This is the Chinese Arleigh Burke-like destroyer with PARS, battle management and VLS air defense missiles. After that, I will build Hobby Boss's PLAN SSN attack submarine, the PLAN SSN-405, ChangZheng5, a Type 091 Han class SSN, for escort duties. Then, rather than build the other three surface combatants (Trumpeter's DDG-168, Guangzhou; DDG-139, Ningbo; and FFG-570, Huangshan) as part of the Chinese Carrier Strike Group, I will build the initial portion of the US Navy Carrier Strike Group.

That US CSG will be centered on Tamiya's 1/350 scale USS Enterprise, CVN-65. I will build Trumpeter's USS Bunker Hill, CG-52, and the Los Angeles Class attack sumbmarine (which I have already completed), Testor's SSN-764, USS Boise (It was actaully the San Juan, but I built and marked it as the USS Boise) which I have already completed.

Then back to finish the Chinese CSG, and then finish the US CSG with the following five vessels: Trumpeter's DDG-82, USS Lassen an AEGIS destroyer, Trumpeter's USS Iwo Jima LHD-7, Trumpeter's USS Freedom, LCS-1, Cyber Hobby's USS Independence, LCS-2, Hobby Boss's USS Texas, SSN-775. I already have completed Tamiya's 1/350 scale USS New Jersey battleship to the late 1980s upgrade and modernization (with the Tomohawks, Harpoons, CIWS, and SH-60 helos). When a USS Gerald R. Ford comes out, I will add it to this group along with another AEGIS Cruiser and Burke DDG.

Outside of the new Trumpeter Type 054A FFG-570 Huangshan which comes out in May (and which I have pre-ordered), I already have all of these vessels and the photo etch sets to go with them. I will post seperate postings/threads/pages for each build as I go through it.

Once the US and PLAN groups are built, I intend on building complete Russian (centered on Trumpeter's Kuznetsov) and UK (centered on the HMS Queen Elizabeth if it is available, and if not then on Airfix.s HMS Illustrious) strike groups as well. Once the models are available, I'd like to build a Japanese group centered on their new 22DDH carrier and the Hyuga, an Italian Group centered on the Cavour, a French Group centered on the De Gaulle, a Spanish Group centered on the Jaun Carlos, and ultimatly an Australian Group centered on the new Canberra. If they ever build the models, an Indian group centered on either the Vikramaditya or their new ADS Carrier the Vikrant would also be nice. You can see all of these carriers at my site:

All of these along with their escorts will be in 1/350 scale. Literally years worth of building.



...and most of their surface escorts at:



Jeff Head
March 26, 2012

Equation said:

Wow...great job on the model Jeff! That was fast, I remember you were priming the main hull before painting, like last week.

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Well, I actually started the model on MArch 2nd...and then posted my first thread on MArch 14th. Now it is March 26th, so I have been going 3 1.2 weeks. I still have a lot to do...getting all the aircraft and deck equipment built and placed will take 2-3 more weeks.

Re: 1/350 Scale Model, Trumpeter Kit# 5617, PLA Navy Aircraft Carrier

Jeff Head said:

I built models as a kid too...it taught me patience, attention to detail, how to read and follow technical instructions, and a lot of self respect and sense of accomplishement.

All very good traits for later in life when you are out in your trade or profession and earning a living for a family.

I'm glad to pass those kinds of things on.

I also teach them to shoot, hunt (though after my cancer and surgeries I am not as good at that as I used to be), and especially about the US Constitution and the underlying moral and republican principles that form the foundation for true liberty and the true free market and how they are meant to work, and how that majic produces prosperity and lifts all who desire to become engaged and be lifted...and the dangers of forgetting those principles.

Not to be too political...it's really more about fundamental principle, but if you're interested, read this article I had published in several journals and online publications:

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Anyhow...being a grandpa is a lot of fun and I am thankful to have suvived to be able to enjoy it and make the most of it.

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Amen to the fun of being a grandpa, we have 11 grandchildren and twin daughters who will be 14 in a month, I probably need a lot of prayer for that. We have a blended family, so it is challenging, but very rewarding!

Re: 1/350 Scale Model, Trumpeter Kit# 5617, PLA Navy Aircraft Carrier

Again great work on the model Jeff, but it makes me nervous seeing you place the model on the arm rest of a chair for photos, don't want anything bad happen to it.

Re: 1/350 Scale Model, Trumpeter Kit# 5617, PLA Navy Aircraft Carrier

Equation said:

Again great work on the model Jeff, but it makes me nervous seeing you place the model on the arm rest of a chair for photos, don't want anything bad happen to it.

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Hehehe...thanks equation. Those two arm rests are very secure and act like a stand for me. When they get big I place them there to do the deck painting and decals.

She's coming along nicely. I bought additional J-15s (Actually SU-33s that I will pain as J-15s) and carrier deck equipment for this model so I could have a larger airwing and more detail on the deck. That's coming next and I expect will take 2 or more weeks to complete.

Air Force Brat said:

Amen to the fun of being a grandpa, we have 11 grandchildren and twin daughters who will be 14 in a month, I probably need a lot of prayer for that. We have a blended family, so it is challenging, but very rewarding!

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Yes it is very rewarding. I love taking them to movies, teaching them to build models, and now for the older ones, helping teach them to shoot.

A great responsibility being a grandpa, but a wonderful and rewarding one.

One of the boys starts on a 1/350 scale USS Constitution this week, and the other starts on a 1/350 scale USS Ohio SSGN, the same one his Dad served on before he was promoted to squadron.

Re: 1/350 Scale Model, Trumpeter Kit# 5617, PLA Navy Aircraft Carrier

Absolutely great stuff Jeff, looks really impressive, mostly because it's so detailed. That sure takes some self control to fiddle around with all that small stuff and not get angry at it
Could you just simply order another set of just aircraft & deck equipment from the retailer to add to your model?

Anyway, looking at this one alone, your final collection will for sure be deserving of a dedicated room for proper display. Have you already set up a place in the house were all those models will go and wich no other family member will be able to step into without your approvel and supervision?

Re: 1/350 Scale Model, Trumpeter Kit# 5617, PLA Navy Aircraft Carrier

Scratch said:

Absolutely great stuff Jeff, looks really impressive, mostly because it's so detailed. That sure takes some self control to fiddle around with all that small stuff and not get angry at it
Could you just simply order another set of just aircraft & deck equipment from the retailer to add to your model?

Anyway, looking at this one alone, your final collection will for sure be deserving of a dedicated room for proper display. Have you already set up a place in the house were all those models will go and wich no other family member will be able to step into without your approvel and supervision?

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Thanks, scratch!

Trumpeter and other companies make extra aircraft of all types for the various 1/350 scale models. No J-15s yet per sey, but SU-33s, KA-27s, KA-31s, and many, many others (US, Russian, British, etc. World War II through present times). Have not seen any J-10s or Z-8s or Z-9s, but enough of those came with the model.

I have eight J-15s and six SU-33s that I will paint up as J-15s, so that will actually be 14 J-15s. I have four each of the KA-27s and KA-31s, but could buy more in lots of six, and I have four Z-8s and two Z-9s.

And yes, we have my model shop room set up for display as well. I have grandsons who I am helping build their own models and they come in with reverence...the little grand children only come in supervised (because of the glue and other materials as well as for the models). Thios teaches good things. Patience (as you spoke of), attention to detail, following technical instructions, persistance, planning, etc., etc. All good for a multitude of future professions. And, of course, the gratification and appreciation that comes after a lot of work and a good finished product.

Anyhow...I'm really enjoying it. It's something I did as a teenager, then again in my mid 30s and now in my mid 50s...and will probably now keep doing it the rest of my life or as long as I am able.

Re: 1/350 Scale Model, Trumpeter Kit# 5617, PLA Navy Aircraft Carrier

What are the best model companies out there? Are there any American model companies left? I remember Revell(?) and there was another one. I wanted to go back to model building years later from when I was kid building them but saw the whole industry was scarce and very few stores carried them in the SF Bay Area. The only models left I saw were small in scale and very undetailed, almost to the snap-on quality of models when I was a kid.

Re: 1/350 Scale Model, Trumpeter Kit# 5617, PLA Navy Aircraft Carrier

AssassinsMace said:

What are the best model companies out there? Are there any American model companies left? I remember Revell(?) and there was another one. I wanted to go back to model building years later from when I was kid building them but saw the whole industry was scarce and very few stores carried them in the SF Bay Area. The only models left I saw were small in scale and very undetailed, almost to the snap-on quality of models when I was a kid.

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Revell is still around and produces some very good models. Lindberg, as far as I know, is gone. Testors is still out there. But the best companies now are Trumpeter, Tamiya, Hasegawa, HobbyBoss, Dragon, CyberHobby, and Airfix.

There are several companies that build GREAT aftermarket kits for almost all the most popular models fom all of the makers. White Ensign, Toms Model Works, Gold Medal Models, Eduard, etc. These photo etch brass/metal parts, sensors, handrails, ladders, etc. add a lot of astounding detail to the kits. Trumpeter and Tamiya have gotten into that business as well because so many people buy them. I know I do and in the pictures above you can see them.

The best mortar and brick store in terms of a chain is, IMHO, Hobby Town. Boise, Idaho is a relatively small city at about 200K population, but there is a very very good Hobby Town here, and another about 25 miles west in Nampa. ID. I would check them out. They usually have good enough prices that they are competitive with online stores once you factor in their shipping costs.

Online I use MegaHobby, SacleHopbbyist, HobbyLinc, eTamiya, LuckyModels, Cybermodeler...and on eBay there ar a bunch of large, good "stores" under Toys and Hobbies - Plastic Models. I have gotten some real good deals there too, either from those store fronts, or from individual selling models they do not intend to build. In fact, I recently got the AirFix 1/350 scale HMS Illustrious for $44 plus about $10 shipping. A good deal less than I could find it at Hobby Town or on any online store front.

Hope that helps...but as you probably know, be careful, it is quite addicting once you get into it, and not cheap...though I tell my wife at least it is not RC Ships and Aircraft...those babies run into the thousands of dollars for the bigger vessels. At Hobby Town here in Boise they have a 1/144 scale Arleigh Biurke RC vessel that runs $1200 for the vessel itself...but of couirse, it gets out on a lake and actually powers itself around at your control. Imagine getting some kind of bottle rockets and rigging up the VLS to launch on command at RC airplanes flying around...LOL. So, when I spend $60 for a good 1/350 scale USS Lassen or other model its not so bad.

Re: 1/350 Scale Model, Trumpeter Kit# 5617, PLA Navy Aircraft Carrier

Thanks for the info. I'll check it out. I can't walk into a toy store or hobby shop in my area these days and find a good model.