If you order this model, make sure you have small fingers or tweezers. Some parts are so small that they should have been one part. Some pieces are so small they are even hard to see, and then easily break when separating them to be assembled. Very difficult, a magnifying glass would be handy too. Be patient with this one.

A lot of small parts

I just finished this model a few days ago. it took me about 5 weeks to paint and assemble. it turned out very nice. i gave it it a 4 star rating based on the following pros and cons

pros: perfect size, not to big not too small. all the pieces were included, i wasnt missing anything. easy to paint the lines on the deck with clear indication of where they should be. lots of planes included (48). pieces fit well together when gluing them. not a lot of sanding to make pieces fit together, it is molded well.

cons: 1) instructions suck! they leave a lot of guess work. i had pieces left over that werent anywhere mentioned in the instructions. huh?? but the ship looks fine without them. 2) too many planes. and too many outdated old type of planes. out of 48, i only used 16. just the f-14 and f-18's. i gave it a more realistic "working" look. 3) the lines to paint the hull were very faint, or just not there in places. using tape i did a good guess job. 4) it would have been nice to have the f-14s with wings in the out postition. they are all in the swept back position. you cant really show them ready for take off like that. 5) i also feel the planes are not truely to 1/600 scale. they seem a little larger than scale to the ship. also a reason i only used 16 planes. 6) the hull comes in 2 pieces. this is totally unesseccary. they could have made it one piece and all would be well. but its NOT split down the middle. they cut striaght down through the ship from top to bottom about 3 inches from the front. it snaps into place but you still need to glue it to make it sturdy. ive never seen a company make a model like this. its either 1 piece, or split down the middle with a left and right half. not a front and back. the deck is 1 piece. ...why??

one more thing to include, and academy should try this with their carriers. i modified the deck with actual arresting cables. before gluing the deck to the hull, i took a drill and using a 1/16th inch bit, drilled 8 holes where the cables end and go down below. then underneith the deck i glued 2 rails running from front to back, and raised just a little bit from the deck. once the pieces dried, i strung sewing thread across the top of the deck and tied it to the rails that i made underneith. on the 3rd cable, if a plane were to be landing, i gave some extra slack when tying it. and using a small spare piece that was extra, i glued a little landing hook on one of the f-18's (cause it would look really odd to use the f-14's ), and staged a plane actually landing on the carrier. it turned out very well. and looks very believeable. its a lot better than just painting 4 lines. even if you dont have planes actually landing.

Easy to assemble. Yg

I liked that it isn't very hard to complete and it is well made product
A little expensive nevertheless