USS Laffey DDG459 Benson Class Destroyer 1942

I felt this kit has many good qualities, the molding is probably the best I have seen. The parts fit is excellent and overall accuracy seems quite good. There are a few niggling points I'd like to bring up, partly because of the confusion it brings. The advertised parts count is interesting since a large number of supplied parts would be for other builds, different ships in the class. For instance, you have three different sets of funnels, round, flat sided and so one but only one version is correct for Laffey. The most surprising factor for me was the photo etch. As beautiful as the plastic molding was, the photo etch is not, it's almost an after though and quite crude in my opinion. Also, the lack of any railings was very surprising. Fortunately I had just finished building USS England for which I had bought the 5-Star super photo etch set for and this contained enough spare railings that I could equip Laffey with the extras. Even though I felt shorted by the omission I thoroughly enjoyed the build and would still recommend the kit even at the price paid.