Steve wrote:
How does the Minneapolis kit differ from the others released and is the Minneapolis kit "identical" in content to any of her sister kits in the 1942 time frame? I do not believe this kit represents her as rebuilt but this is based only on the box art posted on a mail order site. As an alternative, can the rebuilt Mineapolis be built by combining this or any other 1942 kit with the 1944 San Francisco?
The '42 Minneapolis kit looks like it has the same kit contents as both the '42 San Francisco and Astoria kits. This is based on the pictures on the Trumpy website, since I don't have the kit in my hands yet.
If you want a late-war Minneapolis, the 1944 San Francisco kit is the only way to go. Since the 1/700 kit includes both turret types, no additional kits should be necessary. (Minnie had the curved-faced turrets while San Fran had the flat-faced ones.) If you want the '45 version of Minneapolis, a twin 40MM and its tub will be needed for the top of turret 2, but most of the other major parts should be there, though some would require modification. You would also need a source for twin 20MM, since none are included with the kit. There were some minor differences in the superstructure, some of which (particularly the shape of the bridge wings) go back to the very austere bridge San Fran initially had when first modernized. Minnie retained a little more of the original pilot house, and had a little less structure at the back of the bridge. The 20MM gallery around the front of the bridge, and the positioning of the 40MM quads were the same on San Fran and Minnie. If you wanted to do either New Orleans or Tuscaloosa, a bit of repositioning on these features would be necessary. Get lots of pictures for the differences. The best source, if it can be obtained, is Steve Wiper's Warship Pictorial #2 on Minnie.