Actually everything is pretty good for a late 80s fit but I know there are the Bushmaster guns at WEM and resin Phalanx systems. I believe there are .50s out there too. The Bushmasters came and went a lot however. From what I've read and heard the ship was issued the Bushmasters for a single patrol or mission and then they were removed and put back into stock. It seems odd, but I guess that's the way it was?
The kit parts are pretty accurate and detailed. Resin replacements probably wouldn't be any improvement. But adding things that changed along the line or were added later would make the ship more accurate for a different time period. Like any U.S. ship, nothing stayed the same for long.
I know I'll be adding some guns after I get the ship back, I just think she looks better with a pair of Bushmasters on her, either on the upper bridge platforms or down on the upper deck near the main mast. Both positions exist on the kit and it looks strange without something there.
I just finished adding all the rest of the stuff to the main mast this morning. Things are looking properly cluttered and busy now. The railings weren't as intimidating as they looked. Everything takes a bit of skill and steady hands, but it can be done without too much trauma. The main radar is, by far, the most difficult to build. Just take your time and don't rush things and it will work. I built, destroyed, and rebuilt mine about three times. Heck, I glued it to my thumb twice and had to soak the whole thing in Acetone to scrape the skin and excess CA off of the screen.
But in the end it worked. The photoetch is pretty solid and doesn't fall apart all that easily, thank goodness.
I'm impressed with the kit. VERY impressed.
![[linked image]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3021/3077577396_2bfd2a71af_m.jpg)
Illegitimi non carborundum
In memory of Denis Keegan.
