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This model was supposed to be my practice "return to modeling" model, but I seem to have decided to make it a show piece if I can.  I have purchased the Gold Medal Models photoetch set,  Starfighter Decals markings for the Saratoga and another set for the attached air wing embarked on "Sara's" last cruise, and various modeling accessories that I was going to build up "over time".  Over time turned out to be about a month which made my wife quite happy.  The kit was actually Revell's Forrestal but since I could get the decals for the air wing I decided to transform it into the Saratoga.  This required some modifications to the sponsons but everything else seems to be the same.

I started in the middle of February 2009.
When I started I intended to practice techniques and not do a real good job.  I scribed the catapult groves freehand and then drilled tie down holes in the flight deck (what a pain) with a pin vice.  Half way through the holes I decided that this was too much work for just practice so I decided to be more serious.  Unfortunately the freehand catapult groves were already done, but they don't look too bad for all that.  Although Revell passed the kit as a post SLEP Forrestal they did not modernize the flight deck shape.  I added a modern extension to the port side using styrene and am quite pleased with the result.

New Decals and Gold Medal Photoetch

Replaced molded pipes with stretched sprue and remodeled elevator supports with styrene.  Also added a small hangar deck so a plane can be coming out onto the lowered elevator.  Notice in some pictures the molded rails are trimmed off to accommodate the PE rails.  I decided that even without the PE removing the rails looks more realistic than with them.  From a scale distance you cant see the rails anyway.

Selecting proper color for "Haze Gray".  Tamiya spray can of haze gray was way too dark and blue.  After testing several brands and shades of gray I decided that primer was the best color.  However, I discovered that if you hand paint primer over primer it removes the dry primer and makes a mess.  I mixed a few paints to try and get close to primer gray and painted them on the primed inside of the hull.  Look what happened (red arrow). 

Hull airbrushed with proper gray color and black anti-fouling color.
 

Painting and Decaling the Flight Deck.  Number is hand painted.

Weathering the Flight Deck.  I may have gone too far considering that I have to add some lighter weathering to get a better color and I might fade my lines too much.

Added some rust and weathering to the hull.  I really like the rust but I put a bit much on.  I also added some rims around the 3 line holes on the front but they did not turn out to well.  I used stretched sprue after trying bent wire and other things.  Need to find a better way to do this.

The island beginning to take shape. 

First Ever Photoetch Part Assembly - The Aircraft Crane

Bending the Flight Deck Ladders.  What a pain.  Check out the relative size to the knife blade.

Joining the Flight Deck and the Hull

Everything Together for the First Time

Starting the Photo Etch in Earnest.  I attached the flight deck access ladders first and that was a mistake since I am snagging them and bending them as I handle the model.  I moved to everything under the flight deck after that because with that done it can just sit on the work bench most of the time.  As I was working I was thinking "What a pain", but as things came into shape I started to get more and more excited.

Extending the wings on one of the F-14s

Super out of Scale CWIS on the Forward Port Sponson.

The Peace De La Resistance - Photo etch radars and such on the island

Adding the rest of the photo etch.

Arrestor Gear - Made with fly tying fishing line.

Cables Added to the Elevator.

Antennas made from steel wire.

Added rigging using more fishing line.

PE Jet Blast Deflector with my uneven hydraulic rams (it still looks good I think).

My own addition, the Fresnel Lens made from spare PE and wire.  It looked far better before the paint revealed where the globs of glue were.  I may make another one.

I found some laser printer decal paper so I decided to redo the wings on the island.  Awesome new way to detail models!!!  Note the wings I painted previously.

The Air Wing with aftert market decals.  I just put on the big ones, but they had decals so small it would be near impossible to work with them.

1/540 scale crewmen - They look much better when you are not so close.

Some scale shots

The Base.  Painted blue, then coated with Liquitex for waves and the foam backing developed real waves.  Took almost 100 pounds to epoxy it flat into the frame.