coulterww wrote:
Secondly, the kit had 20mm guns forward of the bridge on either side of the CIC and #2 5" mount... the Bush had been upgraded with the anti Kamikaze mods by then (for all the good it did her) so I'd need both the forward and midships 40mm mods.
I was directed to Model Monkey's website and he had the proper square bridge and square bridge 01 level and CIC I needed as well as a better flat back Mk.37 director.
I think you are working based on a few misconceptions about the configuration. Depending on how much of a "rivet counter" you want to be on this, these conceptions need to be corrected, and a bit of design history is needed.
Early square bridge Fletchers had a broad front on the open bridge. The lower deckhouse sides came forward to the open bridge front bulwark and angled only slightly at the face. Three 20MM were positioned forward of the bridge, one on either side of the O-1 level and one on centerline at the bridge level. Later, 40MM twins replaced the 20MM, but this change was started in 1943 and so was NOT part of the anti-kamikaze upgrade. For most Fletchers, the deckhouse below the bridge was trimmed back and the face of the open bridge was significantly narrowed. This is the "standard" configuration which Model Monkey's parts are designed for.
However, three square bridge Fletchers had a non-standard configuration; Ammen, Mullany and Bush. On these three ships, the original bridge face was not trimmed back and the "tubs" for the MK-51 directors for the 40MM were projections from the forward bulkhead of the open bridge. Model Monkey's pilot house will work as-is, but the deck and CIC part will have to be modified for Bush's unique config. These three ships were some of the earliest to get the 40MM forward and the installation was very cramped. This is probably why later upgrades had the bridge face trimmed back.
One other misconception is about Bush getting the "Kamikaze mod". That official mod program didn't start until after the heavy attacks off Okinawa, one of which sank the Bush. So the good news is that Bush didn't have the quad 40MM amidships, but still had all 10 torpedo tubes. So that makes a few less parts that will have to have expensive upgrades. (But if you somehow have photos showing otherwise, I would be very interested in seeing them.)
Attached is a link to a photo of Mullany, post-war, with most of the visual obstructions forward of the bridge removed. Note the shape of the lower deckhouse (unchanged from the original config). Bush's lower deckhouse would have been the same.
http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/pix1/0552835.jpgThe next link is for a view that you probably already have. Note the tubs for the MK-51 directors projecting from the corners of the open bridge face. Also note how wide the space is between the tubs, again unchanged from the as-built config.
http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/pix1/0552913.jpg