Revell's 1/426 Scale USS Battleship Arizona Model

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Comments welcome:

You just gotta love this kit...

It's been around forever, it's cheap $19.00 anywhere/anytime and frequently discounted to $14.00, it's fun to build - only takes a few days to paint and complete (as is), and it still looks pretty darn cool. Sure the details could be better and her molded on rails can't compete with photo-etched parts, but for less than $20 she's a big, sassy, battle-wagon. Part of her charm stems from Arizona's dreadnought origin. She practically struts her clean, industrial revolution era, steam-punk lines. The modest details present are rendered nicely with clear deck lines and details, open portholes in the superstructure and sharp turret rivets and hull detailing. I can't vouch for accuracy as I'm no Arizona expert - but to my untrained eye she looks about right, (but definitely not in her Pearl Harbor configuration) and I think she'd make a decent base if you do decide to mod her up.

Unfortunately I didn't take any before pics of the unassembled kit, but as this is a totally un-modded build that may not matter much - you can still see what you're in-for from the finished pics. On the raw kit - I will state that flash was average to low, with a minimum of time spent trimming and sanding parts before assembly.

One more note: I'd just read about the new paint scheme historians now believe the Arizona had received just before the Pearl Harbor attack, when I stumbled upon this kit at my local Michael's. I just couldn't resist putting the new colors on her and I do think they suit her nicely. Maybe someday I'll rework her a bit and rig her up proper, but right now I like her as is.