Board Thread:Game Updates/@comment-25730832-20151013050733/@comment-26574811-20151106064909

Qunow wrote: What Shimada Fumikane said were just referring to the official twitter account's avatar being remodelled type of taihou which I read it as in the game's sense and while those characteristic are just like what kai taihou improved over taihou, at least her gallery is still writing her as Taihou class. Yet he still officially confirms that Taihou-Kai was based on Kai-Taihou-class. Actually, lengthened hull alone proves that they are NOT different remodels of the same ship, because this is not technologically possible. You can't just cut through the hull and add another section out of nowhere (at least not without modulated design), you have to build a new one from scratch.

And it's not just the CG. Her lines and other settings of Kai form are also based on Kai-Taiho (reinforced AA, re-painted flight deck etc.)

Gallery has to claim her as Taiho-class no matter what, because it is generally (with exceptions like upcoming Kii/Super Yamato) the game's policy not to introduce historically uncompleted ships. But that doesn't stop a ship's Kai from being based on another ship/ship class.