You just gotta love this kit…
It’s been around forever, it’s cheap, under $20 online and frequently discounted, 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.
Her modest details are well executed with:
– Bold deck lines and details
– Nicely rendered superstructure with open portholes
– Sharp turret rivets
– Hull plating
– Separate parts for launches, searchlights, and AA
I’m no Arizona expert so I can’t vouch for accuracy but to my untrained eye she looks about right but definitely not in her Pearl Harbor configuration. That may be this kits biggest fail. Though there’s no doubt she’s an excellent base if you do decide to mod her up.
Unfortunately I didn’t take any before pics of the unassembled kit. As this is a totally out of the box build, that may not matter much. You can still see what you’re in-for from the finished pics. I’ll mention that flash was average to low, with a minimum of time spent trimming and sanding parts before assembly.
One more tidbit of info
when I stumbled upon this kit at my local Michael’s, I’d just read about the new paint scheme historians now believe Arizona had received just before the Pearl Harbor attack. I just couldn’t resist putting the new colors on her and I think they suit her nicely. Maybe someday I’ll rework her a bit, rig her up proper but right now, I like her as is.