OK, I know a lot of you have been waiting for this one for quite sometime. As to accuracy, weell I don't have the foggiest check the other nets to get the blow by blow errors. Now as to the kit. Pretty standard Trumpeter quality. You get a gorgeous paint reference sheet. The directs are in a booklet very straight forward and logical. The parts trees all looked pretty well laid out

The two hull pieces matched up perfectly a problem with some of Trumpeter's earlier kits but one the past couple I've picked up happily no longer have issues. The deck was 2 piece, but it was separated at a good area and looks like a good portion of the split will be masked by the rear superstructure and lifeboats. The main guns had the boot cover fixed so those that like to depict the gunsMost of us will of course want a PE set to replace cranes, catapaults, ladders and 20mm gunshields and of course add railings. The 40mm are crying for better detail which I beleive was an issue on the first peek at the kit back in August, so that one wasn't fixed. Lionroar does make a super set for a reasonable price. To me, it looks like a good non super scratchbuilder kit. For those of us that are pretty happy that this one was made. I would like to see Trumpeter copy Hasegawa's use of clear plastic for the large observation window deck at the bridge. I am fairly sure they are hollow so one can add a piece of clear acetate behind it rather than the old dab a bunch of black paint into recessed area. Should be a great builders kit and I am quite certain there will be afeter market kits out to modify it to New Orleans and Tuscaloosa variants.