by Luke Bucci
1/700 IJN Fuso AA refit (Hypothetical) (Aoshima)
Since the Imperial Japanese Navy modified old battleships for new uses, I decided to convert the Fuso into a proposed, but never started, anti-aircraft refit. I used the older Aoshima Fuso kit and kept only the hull and B turret barbette. Everything else was either scratchbuilt or aftermarket or borrowed from other kits. This model was built in 1997. In theory, by removing four main turrets and some armor, there would be room for additional boilers and engine rooms, which should result in an increase of speed close to the Kongo class, thus making the AA Fuso a viable carrier escort. Removing casemate secondary armament would give more room for crew accomodations. Of course this conversion would be radical and probably more difficult than new construction, but it makes for an interesting subject.
