Review

The USS Lexington (CV-2), an aircraft carrier built in 1921 on a battle cruiser hull, helped stem the tide of Japanese domination of the Pacific Ocean during World War II. Trumpeter Models has captured the carrier in a 1:350 rendition that's more than 30 inches long when completed. The kit allows for waterline or full-hull construction. I chose the waterline option when building this 583-part kit.

Performance: The parts for the Lexington kit were well cast and fit together properly. Some particularly fine parts, like those on the aircraft, seem like they could have been molded in fewer pieces. There are a number of very, very small and delicate parts, such as the 20-mm cannon shields and the 50-caliber machine guns, so a pair of hobby tweezers and a hobby knife are a must.

The instructions are done entirely in schematics with no verbal cues. By and large the instructions are easy to follow, but sometimes seem to go out of a logical order like suggesting the cranes, cutters and other parts be attached to the flight deck before the superstructure and smokestack are attached.

There was some very minor warping in the top of the hull, but that was easily remedied by holding the flight deck with rubber bands while glue dried. In all, the model took several hours of work to build. This is a gorgeous model - accurate when compared to historic photographs and WWII recognition manuals.

Because the Lexington was sunk in May 1942, models of it retain the elegant look of the ship. It represents the profile of the armament of the U.S. Navy prior to late 1942, early 1943 when they started loading antiaircraft guns in every nook and cranny.

For a modeler with a handful of 100+ part plastic kits already completed, the Lexington will present a suitable challenge. This is a pleasure to put together for a serious modeler, but don't buy it for your child as a Christmas gift to interest them in ship modeling.