I wrote this in response to Steve's inquiry, but when he mentioned saving it, I thought it might be good to add it here.
Quote:
Steve Joyce wrote:
So in order to convert the Mass to the Alabama and the San Francisco to the Tuscaloosa, what major surgery (like cutting up decks and superstructures) will be required. Minor changes are things i can create out of styrene.
What you must modify depends on the timeframe you want to depict. It looks like the San Fran will be the 1942 version, so I will stick with that. I will list the major differences for Tuscaloosa that I am aware of.
First, the bridge. Tuscaloosa was the first to have the Communications bridge level glassed in. (The level below the navigation bridge.) That level was 1 1/2 levels in height, and Tuscaloosa was glassed in with the windows the "normal" height above the existing deck, with "blank" space above the windows. Some view forward was blocked by turret II, so San Fran (and Astoria and Minneapolis) had a new deck added 1/2 level above the original comm bridge deck, and then it was glassed in at that level. (Placing the windows immediately below the nav-bridge deck.) Not having seen the actual kit, I can't be specific about the needed plastic surgery. However, the windows and deck will have to be lowered without lowering the nav-bridge.
Second, Tuscaloosa had a 20MM gallery added around the front of the bridge, 1/2 level above the comm-bridge deck (or where the "new" deck would have been on the other 3 mentioned units). 4 20MM were carried there.
Third, the rangefinder above the bridge still had the original (as built) angled surrounding shield on Tuscaloosa, while San Fran had an enlarged vertical shield that also held 2 20MM. (Equates to 2 of the 4 20MM on the gallery)
Fourth, the main-deck 5" positions were slightly different. On San Fran (and the others in the class) the middle gun of the 3 main deck guns on each side was inset slightly closer to the centerline than the guns immediately forward and aft. (The splinter screens barely hung over the deck-edge on the center guns, while the next ahead and behind had a significant overhang.) On Tuscaloosa, it was the aftermost gun on each side that was inset.
Fifth, the searchlight tower on Tuscaloosa rested entirely on the intake vent between the funnels, and was therefore narrower (fore-and-aft) than the corresponding one on the San Fran, the corners of which rested on the deck foreward and aft of the vent. New Orleans, Astoria, and Minneapolis had towers like San Fran, while Quincy's and Vincennes's were closer to Tuscaloosa's.
Lastly, the 20MM gallery around the after controls (high above turret III) carried 2 20MM on Tuscaloosa, and 4 on the San Fran. (The 2 missing guns correspond to the other 2 on the Tuscaloosa's bridge gallery, giving both ships a total of 12 20MM at this time.)
Even still, timeframe is everything. Tuscaloosa didn't have any 20MM until at least the summer of '42, so you can find MS-12R photos of her without them. But then, you would have to locate the .50 cal guns, and obtain more ship's boats. The 20MM appear to have been added in stages, so you may see photos with only part of them on board. You have to decide on the exact timeframe, and then decide how much you want to do. It looks as though the kit may give a good starting point, and the changes are probably all very "doable".