The ships are scaled up but all share the same scale.

Ships are about double but it seems larger. If you take a Kamikazee near a town and start shelling it, the ship is larger than the town and the guns have to depress quite a bit to hit a church steeple. Seems i figured Kami was around 1000 feet long but forums have consistently agreed 2x.

If you pull up to a wharf i seem to remember the main deck being 4 stories high.

Its one if the ways they adjusted hit rates for interesting gameplay no doubt. The danger shadow is significantly enlarged by a 2x increase in scale.

I find it hilarious that a monstrous Kamikazee the size of an oil tanker looms over the town and blasts away with guns the size of 16"

Coupled with the wonky shell paths it makes for a lot of hits over a dismal 2% which would turn off everyone but that i would enjoy.

One of the major forks taken in the game IMO. Would be a significantly different game if hit rates were 2% for everyone except late US and UK vessels.