help needed with CV-16

My father in Law was a member of the USS Lexington CV-16 crew from 1943-45. He passed away in 2003. My wifes brother had a Revell Model, which he gave to me so I could build it and display it on a shelf under his flag. I really want this piece to be outstanding in his honor but am at a standstill on how to begin.. So far I have gotten the Paint which is the correct for that time frame according to the Lex website. It's Navy Blue 5-n. That's it. I also understand that the scale is wierd like 1/540 or something like that. I would like to find as much etched brass, that I can, so the detail is precise. Any advice from this group will be deeply appreciated as I have never put this much thought in any model but need to for this one.

In regards to color, are you aware that the model is not in the WW-II configuration? The model represents the carrier as she looked in the 50s and

60s, which is quite different than WW-II. Ie., there are no 5inch guns on the deck, the island is shaped differently, and an angled deck was added. I think the blue that you mentioned was a wartime camo color, and wasn't used on the ship, as modeled by Revell.

If you want a model of the ship that looks like what your father-in-law served on, it would be better to get one of the Trumpeter 's Essex class carriers. They don't have an older version of the Lexington yet, but the other carriers, being of the same class, will look more like the WW-II Lex, than the Revell kit. And, they are1/350, so, there are brass sets available for it as well.

You can still display the Revell Lex, but blue is not apprpriate for that model as an overall color. Ron