USS Arizona BB-39 1941.

Latest release from the Chinese manufacturer Trumpeter is the USS Arizona in 1/200 scale.
A magnificent construction kit; 3 ft. long, hull molded in two colors and turned aluminum 14 in. gun barrels and photoetched parts.

A must-have for every navy buff.....

 

There are two alternatives, one with main turrets painted red on top and one with navy blue on top. Which paint scheme is the right one for Dec. 1941?

 

I thought it was navy blue on 12/7, but I could be wrong.

I love models, but I feel I spend mega bucks on them just to have them destroyed over time.

 

The appearance is too blue. The dark color should be a dark grey rather than the blue shown. The blue as shown became more common after Pearl Harbor and the light grey uppers were dropped. Pennslyvania, Tennessee and, Lexington were all painted that way after Pearl.

 

The navy use those canvas awnings just in port, correct? Were they used for off duty crewmen to hang out on deck without getting sunburned? Maybe Sunday services?

 

Ok, http://www.shipcamouflage.com/usn_bb.htm says that Arizona was color MS-1 (dark grey) in 1941. Don't know how reliable this website is though.

 

Thank you all for usefull information. I'm a model kit collector and I'm collecting far more kits than I build, but this one I'm going to build. In the wake of the release of a large size model kit like this there usually is a rush of aftermarket parts in photoetch and resin. It will be interesting to see what they dish out.

 

I case you havn't found it hope this helps Researcher @ Large - US Navy Turret Top Colors

 

I think I want to investigate that kind of information. Would like to investigate her also.

 

Time for an update on this one. I spent some money last year on miscelaneous aftermarket parts. It usually takes a year or so after the kit is issued untill they all have arrived on the shelves.

Most important are perhaps the references. There are quite a few boks on the market here, but I've chosen 'Battleship Arizona - An Illustrated History' by Paul Stillwell. According to the reviews this book is THE reference on the famous battleship, issued by the Naval Institute Press. This book is out of print and quite expensive on the second hand market, it cost me $300++ to get a decent copy.
Next is USS Arizona by David Doyle and Squadron, it contains mostly pictures.

 

The South Korean company Mk I has made a set including wooden deck sections and photo etched parts. It looks quite impressive, but I doubt I will use all parts. I will probably never finish the model in that case...

I also bought some turned brass gun barrels from US B&D Barrels. The ones included in the kit looked a little bit out of scale, but so do those from B&D. Not entirely satisfied there, I have to do some further investigations.

Die cast anchors and anchor chain from German Aero Naut and brass propellers from G Factor and Trumpeter's own upgrade set.

 

The hull comes in two halves, one upper and one lower. The lower one is molded in hull red plastic. There are several fit issues with the hull, so a certain amount of preparations are required to get an acceptable result.
I had to use heavy clamps to make them fit all right together.

 

When for a brief period I did ship models, I prefered single piece hulls, never could get two-piece hulls to look right

 

It is interesting to note how good look the blueprints included with the model kit. They are definitely a bonus, as good blueprints are not so easy to find. Maybe you naval modelllers can be interested in some blueprints that can be found on http://warshippictures.webs.com

 

So, time has passed. What is the results or your research and build? Please share, how did it turn out?

 

Yes, I am interested also. Sounds like something that would look splendid if you take your time with it. Somewhere here, in this topic, I posted a photo of my Revell model USS Arizona. It is not near what this model has to offer and I did not paint the deck a wood color and it lacks some detail. I only painted the top of the guns a dark gray. But, it is what it is and I like to build some models in my retirement. I also hesitated to paint a black line the length of the hull above the red paint. The only red modeling spray paint I could get was brighter than what was used on the original ship. I believe I paid something like $25.00 for it at a Michaels craft store.