This will actually be a WIP backlog starting over 4 years ago.
Already since I completed my HMAS Canberra in 2017 I´ve been contemplating to build her sister HMAS Australia, despite the fact she was not a direct participant in the Savo Island battle. I resisted the temptation to buy the respective Kombrig resin kit as I had other models planned with higher priority, but I started collecting photos and other material on her WW2 fit. Although the Kombrig Canberra was not that bad, it´s still quite basic so I´ve been hoping for something better.
Then Aoshima started releasing their Kent-class cruisers in 1/700 one after another and my heart started beating faster. The choice grew all the time: HMS Dorsetshire and Cornwall (both as sunk), two versions of Norfolk (1942 and 1943) and finally Kent (Benghazi attack in 1940). They were said not to be bad, Aoshima even released a more precise version of Dorsetshire after modellers discovered they messed up the scale in the first attempt. Then Flyhawk announced 1/700 HMS Dorsetshire for 2020! That would certainly be a killer when released but they usually take quite long to actually launch a kit after it is announced. More importantly the Dorsetshire (of a later London class) did not seem to be the best starting point for Australia in 1942, there were quite a lot of differences so it would take more effort to convert. On the other hand, Flyhawk´s quality is astounding, they are clearly the top of the market these days. And the next question is they may come up with some other ship of the class in the end after all those Aoshima´s releases.
I only resisted until the beginning of the first Covid lockdown in 2020 before ordering the Aoshima´s HMS Kent, the closest of sisters to Australia´s wartime fit. The main area that seemed in need of modification was the upper deck around the funnels as Australia had her AA guns one deck lower. Kent´s aft superstructure has not been modified as heavily as that of the others, so it´s closest to Australia, and they both had the armour belt installed (as opposed to Canberra).
To be continued
The only reason why to use the Kombrig hull in case of Canberra these days would be that missing torpedo belt.
Overall, compared to the recent 1/700 kits produced by e.g. Flyhawk or Fujimi - but also to 15 years old Hasegawa Aoba and Furutaka classes! – it´s below standard these days. The good news though was that the hull and deck were clearly the best of the kit, nicely and crisply molded. It´s really a pity Aoshima didn´t do a better job, and the 1/700 Kent by Trumpeter (that did not exist at that time) would have been a better starting point in many respects.
or small cylindrical parts that are easier to cut off plastic rods than do from PE. That was in fact behind me starting with designing PE cause I disliked me not being able to become a good scratchbuilder, especially when it came to repeating parts.