While my build of the 1/200 Titanic is my primary focus for now, I do have the Trumpeter 1/200 USS Arizona on the slips. This is actually my second attempt at creating my own memorial to the sailors and their ship, lost to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour, Sun Dec 7th, 1941. I've visited the memorial at Pearl a number of times and it is both haunting and captivating, so I was determined to do this build justice. I really wasn't happy with the quality of my first attempt, so was lucky enough to gain financially authority to purchase a 2nd kit, and start again. 
The re-release of this model was modified to produce a radio-controlled version, also released by Trumpeter, and this resulted in a couple of changes to the interior of the hull mold and some of the decking, but nothing too drastic in the grand scheme of things.
The hull of the model comes in two sections, which generally join quite well and are held together with screws fore and aft, in addition to gluing. Of course, like any two piece hull, there was a was of Tamiya putty required gap fill followed by some vigorous sanding. Once joined and fully primed, I added some additional details missing from the model, such as the keel strakes, hull risers over the torpedo bulge and the AVGAS pipe on the port side.
One big difference between the original kit and the updated one was the inclusion of a large hole in the amidships decking area, obviously to enable access to the RC equipments and running gear. The first of my kits had a complete deck, so I needed to modify this version of the model to allow for some minor interior details for the 5" casement guns and ensure a nice fit for the wooden deck. The 'enclosure' is by no means perfect, but it is covered up by the wooden deck, so no real concern.
Finally, for this entry I purchased the following upgrades to the kit:
The re-release of this model was modified to produce a radio-controlled version, also released by Trumpeter, and this resulted in a couple of changes to the interior of the hull mold and some of the decking, but nothing too drastic in the grand scheme of things.
The hull of the model comes in two sections, which generally join quite well and are held together with screws fore and aft, in addition to gluing. Of course, like any two piece hull, there was a was of Tamiya putty required gap fill followed by some vigorous sanding. Once joined and fully primed, I added some additional details missing from the model, such as the keel strakes, hull risers over the torpedo bulge and the AVGAS pipe on the port side.
One big difference between the original kit and the updated one was the inclusion of a large hole in the amidships decking area, obviously to enable access to the RC equipments and running gear. The first of my kits had a complete deck, so I needed to modify this version of the model to allow for some minor interior details for the 5" casement guns and ensure a nice fit for the wooden deck. The 'enclosure' is by no means perfect, but it is covered up by the wooden deck, so no real concern.
Finally, for this entry I purchased the following upgrades to the kit:
- Mk 1 Design additional Upgrade Pack
- Mk 1 Design Wooden Decks
- Eduard Detail Sets Vols.1-6
- Master Models Main 14" Gun Barrels
- Master Models Secondary & AA Armament barrels.
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