I've done some research into IX-304 and it looks like the vessel's had a number of various deck installations including (possibly fake) gun installations at various times, so there's a lot of opportunity to show the vessel at various stages of testing.
USA, Cleveland Class
USS Atlanta IX-304 (DATE)
(Hawkeye)
I think the best method to depict this ship will be to pick a date where you can find the best available reference images and drawings and go from there. I wouldn't bother trying to display every possible iteration of it because I think that might be impossible.