Accurate Miniatures

1/48 WWII Carrier Deck Display Base For any WW2 / Korea era US Aircraft

Stock Number: 9951

Reviewed By  Charles Landrum, IPMS# 26328

MSRP: $17.99 Review copy provided by Accurate Miniatures - www.accurate-miniatures.com There have been a series of bases made over the years for model aircraft display. Some have been printed on cardstock ready to display, while others have been injection molded or cast in resin and require the modeler to paint the deck. Accurate Miniatures has jumped into the act with a new idea on the pre-printed deck. They are offering either a USN WWII Carrier flight deck or a perforated steel plate deck. Accurate Miniatures has put a lot of thought into the design of these bases. These are not the traditional printed cardstock deck section, instead the bases are printed on 10 point SBS board and laminated on 20mil poly board to provide rigidity; it is then UV coated to resist fading. The base fits in the IMEX 2504 and 2514 display cases and also will fit in the AMT case of the similar size; I have not tried it in the Trumpeter case. The carrier section represented is the center-depress elevator on the ESSEX Class. It is well worn and weathered and included patches of leaked lubricants; the reference markings are suitably worn too. It looks the part and is generic enough in coloration that it is suitable for use well into the 1950s if not beyond. I like that the deck is suitably dull in sheen, although I am sure that you could apply a flat coat to dull it further. As you can see it looks realistic under a model.

The only drawback with the base is the white edge of the poly board. I plan to blacken my edge with either a Testor's paint pen or a Sharpie marker. As I found with the Eduard base of the same area on a CV, your display options are limited. I would like to see AM also offer a section of the flight deck that is just straight planking. Such a base would allow modelers to connect a series of bases to build a flight deck perhaps for a diorama or a group display. I hope that AM is also planning to offer these in 1/72 and 1/32. I applaud AM for moving into this area and producing a base that is ready for use out of the package. You will want to pick up at least one! Thanks to Accurate Miniatures for the review base, and IPMS/USA for the chance to review it.

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