Manufacturer: Revell
Scale: 1/700
Additional parts: 3D printed aircraft, PE parts
Model build: Aug 25 - Jan 26
USS Independence CVL-22
Revell
1/700
1/700
Wings of Independence
Made with Suno
Pacific Lights
Made with Suno
Deck of Thunder
Made with Suno
USS Independence (CVL-22) was a U.S. Navy Independence-class light aircraft carrier, converted from a Cleveland-class cruiser hull to rapidly expand American carrier strength during World War II.
Commissioned in 1943, she operated primarily in the Pacific, providing fighter cover, strike support, and air superiority during key island-hopping campaigns. Fast, compact, and well-armed for her size, Independence proved the value of light carriers as flexible force multipliers alongside fleet carriers.
After the war, she was used as a target ship in Operation Crossroads nuclear tests before being decommissioned and eventually sunk.
This 1/700 scale model of CVL-22 by Revell was an enjoyable build overall. Originally tooled by Pit-Road, the Revell release (and presumably the original kit as well) suffers from one major drawback: the almost non-existent air wing.
The kit includes only a single SBD and one F9F Panther, the latter never operated from this ship. To properly populate the flight deck, several additional SBDs were therefore produced using 3D printing.
The model was painted using Revell Aqua Color paints, with most shades mixed manually. Photo-etched deck crew figures were added to enhance realism and bring the scene to life.
Unfortunately, the final finish did not turn out as intended. The surface now appears slightly “iced” or frosted, which detracts from the otherwise clean presentation. Sometimes bad luck happens in scale modeling, and it is particularly frustrating when issues arise during the very last steps of a build.
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