This was a challenging build for me. I have disabilities that make all but basic modeling difficult, but I like the challenge of increasing degrees of difficulty in my builds. This model was indeed more of a challenge than I'm used to tackling.
The directions were fairly clear and straightforward. (although something I find vaguely annoying is that in this age of digital everything, most model instruction graphics remain comparatively primitive hand drawings.) The parts sprue was organized and labeled clearly and rationally, mostly sequentially numbered with parts that are assembled together placed together on the sprue. The parts were free of excess plastic, and they came off the sprue easily and very cleanly. They need very little trimming or sanding to make them ready for joining.
There were A LOT of tiny pieces that were a real challenge. In fact, I lost at least half a dozen of those tiny pieces when they slipped out my hand and landed on the dirt floor. But those tiny pieces were part of the challenge (I've since discovered using a small piece of Silly Putty stuck on the end of a dowel makes an excellent tool to hold tiny pieces for assembly.)
The paints were a disappointment, although they were provided with the kit. Following the painting as indicated on the plans required mixing different paints in really bizarre proportions, like 56:1. I decided to omit those nearly impossible color mixtures for ones that were close. I also chose to paint the hull the good old fashioned haze gray I remember from my time at sea in the Navy, as opposed to the more realistic camo scheme (Haze Gray and under way). I did most of the painting while the parts were on the sprue.
My only really maddening problem was gluing. Using a CA glue is problematic in that I have great difficulty controlling the flow, so it marred a lot of the fine details when fused. Regular polystyrene glue is just as difficult. But none of that has anything to do with the model per se, just another challenge to face.
In sum, this was a really good and interesting model to build. It was a challenge, though an experienced modeler probably would find it easy. This model helped me move to the next level of difficulty, and I intend to use what I learned to build the USS Indianapolis, relabeled as the USS Portland (CA-33)
Pros: Clearly, rationally organized sprue; clean parts; excellent replica of the actual ship; moderate challenge.
Cons: Sometimes muddied directions; paint requires mixing in bizarre ratios.