USS Arizona BB-39

This kit has been released by Trumpeter, Banner, MiniHobby and now HobbyBoss. The hull is split into upper and lower halves which makes building a waterline model easier. The tripods for the fighting tops don't fit very well and I replaced them with brass tube and where they passed through the lower superstructure had to be adjusted to fit right. The forward and main fighting tops lack detail so I used Gold Medal Models photoetched detail set for this kit to upgrade the surfaces of both units and the lattice work yard arms on the forward top are included in the set and they replace the incorrect solid ones in the kit. The bilge keels should be lower down than molded on the kit. I replaced the main turrets and guns with 3-D printed items from Model Monkey since these are more accurate than the kit pieces and cost less than resin or metal parts. If I build another one of these I will no doubt use Model Monkeys' superstructure sets to avoid dealing with the fit issues with the kit parts. I built the Tom's Modelworks resin kit of the Arizona some years ago and even though it was well made and accurate it was a long, tedious and complex build. So even with all the fit issues of this one and aftermarket parts used it took a fraction of the time and it is a respectable replica of the the ship that symbolizes and embodies 'A day that will live in infamy'.