You know, for less than $15, Amazon has several 1/72 Tamiya Corsairs available. That's a lotta bang for your buck. These things are nuts - industry standard, almost perfect, incredible fit, great detail....to my way of thinking, $15 is GREAT value for a super high quality model.
In truth, I'd rather have a great starting point - it's ALWAYS easier to get an awesome result with one of these kits than trying to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. Those little Tamiya 1/72 scale kits are the bee's knees.