I hope you will be able to obtain a copy of the AOTS Takao book. It is a must-have as it graphically illustrates the answers to many of your questions.
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I have an Aoshima 1/700 Takao with the Flyhawk 1942/44 PE Set. This same set should work with the Atago to produce the Atago in 1942 as well (for the Solomons' operations), should it not?
Yes. Differences between the two ships are extremely minor. The most noticeable is the arrangement of the auxiliary piping to either side of #1 funnel. The arrangement of the piping, deck vents and equipment varies slightly between all four sisters (note: Pit-Road and Aoshima use Takao's pattern for all the sisters; not sure about Fujimi.)
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Also, from reading the thread, the Chokai and Maya seem to be more similar to each other than to Atago or Takao.
All four sisters were nearly identical until 1938, save for the minor differences partially described above. In 1938, Atago and Takao were given another modernization that reduced the area and topweight of the bridge, reduced the foremast, eliminated the enclosed aircraft hangar and replaced it with a well deck, moved the mainmast aft, increased the torpedo armament, added larger hull bulges, modernized the fire control (particularly for the HA AA mounts) and a bunch of other changes. Chokai and Maya were scheduled to receive the same upgrade but the run up to war pre-empted anything other than some minor upgrades.
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So, could I build a 1942 Maya from a 1942 Chokai? What differences would there be?
Yes. See above for differences.
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Also, for the Chokai/Maya, which kit would be the better choice? Aoshima makes a Chokai for 1942 (need to remember to slice off those enclosed observation platforms at the front of the bridge), but the Fujimi seems to have the better detailing for just the plastic.
Having labored greatly over several of the Aoshima kits, I think I might advise to try the Fujimi kit. The Aoshima kits have wonderfully correct shapes and scale but, the detail is woefully lacking. I probably spent close to 750 hours correcting my Aoshima Chokai kit:
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html Fujimi seems to have corrected its errors with the Takao kit, so I think it's a good way to go.
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But for the Aoshima, the Flyhawk Detailing set will work for many of the details.
Fujimi produces comprehensive PE sets for its kits, so that might be worthwhile. Fujimi also has issued a PE set for the Fujimi Takao kit.
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But I understand that the bridge is different between the Takao/Atago and the Chokai/Maya. What is different?
I'm posting several photos below to give you an idea.
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Also, if I went with the Fujimi kit, what all would I need in the way of PE to get the windows done, railings, degaussing cables, etc. to get the kit as detailed as the Aoshima with the Flyhawk PE?
Again, PE sets are available for the Fujimis.