Premium Series USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71 3D Metal Model Kit Fascinations

I decided to go ahead and place this review shortly after starting this build. I have done a few others including the millenium falcon. My first one.. Challenging.. Fun then I did tbe cut away U boat type 21.. Again fun and challenging. I am about half way thru tbe Iowa class battleship. That one.. Is big.. Can be trouble for those not accustom to these type models. Not one you should consider building first. As for this one? The CVN-71? Definitely NOT for beginner builders. The instructions are there... But please.. Look at where the end result of each step is bringing you.. See what you need to accomplish.. And take the instruction as a guide.. But do what your gut is telling you.. Because if you are ine of those ppl who have to follow every instruction to the "T"? You will hate this model before you even get to step 4. It is extremely challenging. My vote? Build a couple simple ones first. And tools.. Tools... Tools! Make sure you have the right ones for all of these models.. I use a pair of small angle cutters I modified by grinding the nose tighter to snip the parts off the sheets. A good pair of small needle nose pliers.. And 2 types of tweezers... One that can go flat longways.. And one that is a flat nose... I put photos of what I use. I love these models.. And when guests come over the marvel at how cool they are.. Enjoy.. It is a rewarding feeling when you look over what you built.

Great

Looks Like I get to be the first to review this new model from Fascinations Iconx line! I have been looking forward to getting this kit every since I first saw it was going to be released. Ok, I started on this today and have been able to get steps 1 and 2 complete, which are building the radar tower (I think) and control tower. Let me say that they have some of the smallest parts I have every worked with on any of these models!! I hope everyone has a lighted magnifying glass like I do, because without one its going to be very difficult to see what you are doing. It has taken about 3 1/2 hours to complete these 2 steps which consist of about 20 parts. I'll add more as I get more completed. For now I'm attaching a picture of these first completed parts. One thing I want to point out to anyone building this is that for part #15 the instructions show the part with the engraved side up. However before you start to bend it into shape flip the engraved side down and then follow the bending diagrams. Let's just say I learned this the hard way. lol Next is the flight deck. Nothing too complicated here, but some of the edges that need bent are very long. A long straight pair of needle nose pliers help with this process. I attached a picture to show the size of the model. On with the build...most is rather straight forward if you have built any of these models. I did encounter several areas that I think Fascinations needs to look at. The first has to do with part #54. the sides of this part are of equal length, but the right side needs to reach farther back then the left side because of the piece it attaches to, part #53. On their stock photo 54 appears to be angled back slightly which would allow the part to fit properly, but the bottom of 54 is cut at a 90 degree angle and can't angle back for the tab to reach. Next has to do with the fit of part #27 and #56. These parts overlap each other on the left when trying to attach the flight deck. This keeps the flight deck from mounting flush as it should. The last area if found an issue with when attaching the flight deck is on the left rear of the ship. The rear of part #26 is too long and hits part #34, again keeping the flight deck from mounting flush. One picture I attached shows the flight deck is properly aligned because the tab directly above part 26 can clearly be seen, so alignment is not the problem. I trimmed all of these parts, but unfortunately only after the parts were assembled and then had to be unassembled, which of course leaves marks that are visible. Overall I gave this model 4 stars, only because of the couple issues I found or would have given it 5. I attached a couple pictures showing the main sub-assemblies and the finished model. Also I attached a picture of the aircraft that come with the model. these are pretty basic of course but are not bad. I would suggest test fitting the main sub-assemblies to the flight deck before permanently attaching them to see if your model has the same issues or others I did not encounter. If it does please add a review mentioning what you found so we can let Fascinations know so these can be corrected. If you like to build this line of models, you will definitely like this one. Note this is for someone with previous experience with these models, not for the first time builder.

This was fun. Nice finished product. The difficulty I had with assembly was more about me and less about the model, but there are a couple steps where the directions we're a little unclear. All in all, fun, would buy again.

Hmmm. I had trouble with some of the instructions. In step "2" (I struggle to call these steps), the island was folded, and then the instructions said to places pieces into the island. Since I had to undo the island a few times, The whole island collapsed and broken at the joints due to turning too many times. Another part of the island had a curved piece around it. After one attaches this piece, how would they twist the tabs of the next piece? Some of the pieces are quite difficult to remove from the sheet (specifically the radar mount, which I bent due to how thin it is - the thinness makes it difficult to remove from the sheet due to two attachment sites, and the layer above the island as it had 3 attachment sites and could not easily be twisted out, the instructions didn't seem to otherwise say how to remove, as an exacto-knife cannot cut through the metal). I still need to finish the rest of the build though (and obtain some glue), otherwise its turning out quite nicely.

I purchased this as a gift and the recipient loved it! He said it was fairly easy to assemble. If you like models, you will like this!

Sheerness, warmth and thickness? Why am I rating a model kit based on that criteria? The model kit is awesome! First metal kit I have done. Getting better each step. Takes patience and tools but is awesome. If you like models, this is a great product.

Made out of metal, and the pieces fall apart because they have a crease to fold them, so don't fold them more than needed. The pieces are NOT numbered like in a traditional model, the pieces are very very small and then you have slots to put them in, BUT once you add a piece together thru these microscopic slots you then have to bend the piece after the slot to keep in place. Very difficult to do, like i said if you like working on wind up watches this is the model for you, or if you like to get frustrated while building a model then this is again for you. HIGHLY DO NOT RECCOMEND THIS MODEL.

Bonne qualité

Very Very small!

Loved it, another one done and on display, the quality of these are terrific and are a great hobby. I wear reading glasses and a headlight when doing these, really helps, If you’re thinking about doing these kits,maybe start with a little easier one, the difficulty rating of each of these are printed on the packaging of each, If you find it frustrating, walk away for awhile, it’s not a race, and really pay attention to the detailed instructions. Once completed, you will be very happy with a properly assembled model.