I find most battleships, no matter how good looking in pictures, end up looking a bit "fat" as full hull builds. Maybe an as-built Maryland could be full hull, but a 1941 version with those bulges (bear in mind Trumpeter's bulges are also way too big to be accurate) is not appealing. Make her waterline (I did
).
The kit is great overall but the PE is quite soft and a bit fragile. I have worked with PE before but never cage masts so this was a bit new for me also.
For the cage masts, basically you need a tapered tube, something like a pen or a fat paintbrush handle will do provided it has a constant slope from one end to the other. Then you just roll it up. Like I said it is very soft so it will roll readily. Do it slowly and carefully, it is MUCH harder to undo if you roll too far. Once the seam touches, run some CA glue down it to finish it off. You will find once it's glue up like this it's surprisingly stiff and strong (the shape is very good structurally, hence why it was used). Still handle it with care as you can dent it and make it oval if you fiddle with it too much. I would not roll them up until you are also ready to stick them to the hull. Again, use CA for this as nothing else will stick brass. Position it carefully because it sets super-fast so you don't get a second chance.
Also, always paint all the PE on the fret before trying to remove it or put it together.
Good luck, the Colorados are a majestic class of ship indeed!