the hull is finally finished. i had to order twice to get enough mahogany to cover it all. the second batch (bought from another shop, not very smart) was much lighter than the first, but i put it on anyway, and have a plan on how to get the right color later. it was not until after i had finished the planking that i noticed that the new "mahogany" was suspiciously similar to red paduc. after a quick comparison i could confirm it was the paduc i had received, not mahogany. but it's too late to take it off now, so i'll just have to live with it...
i've started ti put in the little "frame" things (not sure what it's called) after dressing the inside of the railing. i painted it red, and so will the guncarts be.
and of course, it had to happen, the beak broke.. again! (second time now, same place). this time i fixed it with a brass rod for reinforcement.
i also replaced the front part of the railing with regular basswood (it came precut in plywood in the kit) because of the weird bend i would have to make to it to fit. that ment i lost all the little things that were supposed to support the hand rail (no sure that's what it's called). so i have to replace them and i chose square brass rods that i will secure with round brass rods inside that goes into predrilled holes (if that made sense to anyone)... the little wood pieces on the rail are tips of toothpick to keep paint from clogging the holes.