John,
I was equally dismayed by their modern 1/350 USS Missouri. I had hoped that, for the price, it was a new molding with suitable bulkhead details, decent photo etch parts, etc. Instead, Tamiya simply used their USS New Jersey as the basis and simply made some modifications to the Fire Control Tower to reflect differences between New Jersey and Missouri. There were the same old Aztec stairs, plain bulkheads, solid radars, etc. I did notify Tamiya of my dissatisfaction.
Bill
I have built the Tamiya 1/700 C-6 and now have the CDV-5. These kits are old and not nearly as well done as the newer Dragon and Trumpeter 1/700 carrier kits. What is surprising is how few kits there are in this scale for the Yorktown class ships that did so much to save the U.S’s bacon in 1942. Lenny.
It’s a mystery, Lenny.
My own theory, in particular when Hasegawa started out, is that the Japanese companies kitted the ships that they sank. Even recently, the Independence and the Gambier Bay.