I recently managed to obtain 2 sets of the re-issued Renwall 1/1200 plastic ship kits from the US - thanks Don for your help!

Because I had plans to make several versions of the Hornet model I also took advantage of the news that Antics in the UK had some sets in stock - so I got one of these too. thanks to Roger for the heads up.

When I opened the box it was immediately obvious that none of the kits was going to build into a decent scale model without a lot of work.

However, in spite of this I decided to build the Hornet model to at least 'look like' an Essex class ship from the mid-1960s.

The fit of the parts was poor so say the least and to get the flight deck to adhere to the aft hanger wall I had to weight it down. The upshot of this was quite dramatic - a hump in the flight deck just aft of the port side hanger and a slope in the FD towards the stern.

For reasons I do not understand and cannot explain, I didn't realise this fault was as bad as it was until after I had completely finished the model.

It had to be fixed - and what's more, it had to be fixed without spoiling in any way the paint and decal finish of the flight deck.

Long story short - I managed to do this and after a mishap with the wrong colour grey spray paint, eventually, and after much hard work, the model was finished.

I chose a paint scheme that pleased me - so purists who insist on haze grey shouldn't look at the last photo here!

I will post a more detailed account of this build on the 1250 FB Group with a lot more photos.The photos here show the key alterations and the finished model.