Does anyone have the instructions for the Aeropiccola sectioned Essex ?

[Gnome]

A few days ago I bought this vintage Aeropiccola sectioned Essex kit. It lacks the instructions manual. Anyone have one or know where I may find one?

 

Thanks

[Don]

I built this model about 35 years ago.  If I remember correctly I did not use any manual just the plans.  It was straight forward and turned into a very nice looking model.  Not the most historically accurate but decent to display.  It is the only model I haven't given away.  

 

So if you have the plans you are good to go.  Start a build log, I am sure if you have questions you will get answers and be able to complete it model.

 

Don

Edited June 20 by Don

[Gnome]

On 6/19/2025 at 7:17 PM, Don said:

I built this model about 35 years ago.  If I remember correctly I did not use any manual just the plans.  It was straight forward and turned into a very nice looking model.  Not the most historically accurate but decent to display.  It is the only model I haven't given away.  

 

So if you have the plans you are good to go.  Start a build log, I am sure if you have questions you will get answers and be able to complete it model.

 

Don

Did the plans come with the kit? I don't have any plans. 

 

The kit I bought is opened and some of the pieces have been removed from the wood sheet. It looks to all be there but I am not sure. 

[Don]

Yes the kit did come with the plans, there were 2 sheets, unfortunately I tossed everything awhile back. Even if a piece or two is missing from a sheet I am sure you could make a replacement easy enough.  

 

There is a build log for the cross section here on MSW by Heronguy, but he has not been active since 2023, it does show both sheets of plans.  Also Aeropiccola made a kit of the full ship in the same scale.  Trippwj has a build log going for that, he is still active on the forum.  You probably could build the model using those 2 sources.  Another good source would be mtbediz scratch build of the Essex he use Aeropiccola plans as a starting point and turned it into fantastic looking model, he is very active on the forum. 

 

Really is a easy build.  Looking back at Heronguy log kind of refreshed my memory.  I basically built everything to fit as I worked my way up from the bottom using the plans as a reference of where approxiimately everything went.  Just make sure the decks and gun ports work out so the cannons fit correctly in the ports.  I remade some parts to get everything to fit and align etc. at that time I only had hand tools to work with.  Everything for this model can be very easily made with just a few hand tools.  With these old kits you have to adjust and fit as you go anyhow, as they are not the most accurate kits, but mine did make a good looking model even though not the most historical accurate.  You could also use some references and add to the basic kit, that would really inhance it, plenty of build logs to help with that.

 

Also you can google to see if there are any photos of the plans by Aeropiccola, there should not be any copywright issues as this company has been out of buisness for a long time.  

 

Lots of info available here on MSW, if you decide to give it a try start a build log and ask questions I am sure you will get all the help you need.  

 

Don

[Gnome]

20 hours ago, Don said:

Yes the kit did come with the plans, there were 2 sheets, unfortunately I tossed everything awhile back. Even if a piece or two is missing from a sheet I am sure you could make a replacement easy enough.  

 

There is a build log for the cross section here on MSW by Heronguy, but he has not been active since 2023, it does show both sheets of plans.  Also Aeropiccola made a kit of the full ship in the same scale.  Trippwj has a build log going for that, he is still active on the forum.  You probably could build the model using those 2 sources.  Another good source would be mtbediz scratch build of the Essex he use Aeropiccola plans as a starting point and turned it into fantastic looking model, he is very active on the forum. 

 

Really is a easy build.  Looking back at Heronguy log kind of refreshed my memory.  I basically built everything to fit as I worked my way up from the bottom using the plans as a reference of where approxiimately everything went.  Just make sure the decks and gun ports work out so the cannons fit correctly in the ports.  I remade some parts to get everything to fit and align etc. at that time I only had hand tools to work with.  Everything for this model can be very easily made with just a few hand tools.  With these old kits you have to adjust and fit as you go anyhow, as they are not the most accurate kits, but mine did make a good looking model even though not the most historical accurate.  You could also use some references and add to the basic kit, that would really inhance it, plenty of build logs to help with that.

 

Also you can google to see if there are any photos of the plans by Aeropiccola, there should not be any copywright issues as this company has been out of buisness for a long time.  

 

Lots of info available here on MSW, if you decide to give it a try start a build log and ask questions I am sure you will get all the help you need.  

 

Don

Hello. Thanks for the info.

 

What scale is this sectioned kit; I can't find mention of the scale on the box. Found a thread from 2014 by trippwj on the full Essex ship by Aeropiccola that says it is 1:70 scale.

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/5089-us-frigate-essex-by-trippwj-aeropiccola-170-scale-pob/

 

[Don]

I believe it is the same scale as the Aeropiccola Essex full ship model, the references that I found are 1:70 and the same overall height of both the section and full ship models are about 29 inches.  

 

Don