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I've now attached and braced all of the bulkheads. Mostly this work was very straight forward and went along with few difficulties ( after I had spent considerable time opening up the slots when I first fitted them). A couple of the bulkheads were not sized properly and had to be adjusted by adding strip wood on the inner side at the top and reducing the outside by sanding. Kudos to Model Expo for sending me the replacement laser cut sheet that I had requested in just a few days, which allowed me to complete the bulkhead mounting. I braced the bulkheads with strip wood, added wood blocks for mounting the masts and added strip wood framing for the drop down deck planking. Lastly, I sanded the bulkheads to get them level for the future decking. Next, I will do the gun deck gun port framing to help stiffen up the framing prior to fairing. I will leave the stern framing and the bow and stern filler blocks until that's done. Bob

Thanks Rusty. I know you've got other things on your plate, but I'd love to have you doing this one with me. Bob

Thanks Rusty for the kind thoughts. Bob

Thanks, Sjors, Augie and Patrick. Working my way through mounting the bulkheads. Bob

For those wondering if I was ever going to get started -- I finally have gotten underway. Part of the problem was spending some time over a few days on the computer going over some issues with the kit with Sam Cassano, the kit designer. To make a long story shorter, Sam designed an alternate in the kit to allow opening up the gun deck and building up portions of the deck below. There were problems with the plans and the bulkhead former in doing this. Sam will comment here on how he and Model Expo will address these issues. I have now cut the former to do the deck drop downs, cut the bulkheads from their sheets and done some cleaning up on them, attached the rabbet strip, chiseled and sanded to the bearding line at the stern and attached the stem, keel and stern post. Since I am sort of the guinea pig on this kit, I have some comments for those following. The plywood for the former and bulkheads was difficult to work with: one of the sheets was not cut through by the laser and I have requested a replacement because the parts could not be released; even on the sheets that were fully cut, the tabs holding the parts to the sheets were large and hard to cut through -- I gave up on a knife and ended up using chisels; the slots on the former and bulkheads required considerable filing to open them sufficiently to fit; cutting the deck drop downs and the new slots for the affected bulkheads, after I figured out what to do, was hard work with saws and chisels ( hopefully this will now be resolved for the future). Having said all of this, I'm still eager to go forward. Sam is intent on solving any problems and I believe that he will. Next up will be attaching the bulkheads. Bob

Thanks to all for the birthday wishes. Very much appreciated. Antony, it just goes to show how deceiving a picture can be. Bob

Nice work Augie. As a veteran of 51 of them, I can only tell you that the best anniversaries are yet to come. Happy anniversary. Bob

A real post (with some pictures) coming up soon. Sjors, I've made some room for you in front --no second row for you. Bob

Thanks, Marius. I'll be 74 tomorrow, but it's the thought of trying to cut all that framing with a hand saw that keeps me from it. Bob

It's amazing to see the amount of interest in a build of this new kit -- without even a single photo yet. Thanks. Bob

I'll jump on that bandwagon, Marius. Really nicely done. Bob

Nice idea on the drift rail. It's looking great, Grant. Bob

Thanks again, Paddy and Pete. Bob

That's looking really great Paddy. Very neat and precise. Bob

Off and running, Augie. Bob

Ask and you shall get, Ben. Two photos of Triton in her case. The case was obtained from Collecting Warehouse ( the link is in Rusty's log). Quick service and a nice product -- thanks, Rusty for the reference. Bob

Thanks to all for your fantastic show of support. Much appreciated. Sam: It's a way down the road, but that's what I have mind and we'll have to have some conversation when the time comes. Bob

Welcome aboard, guys. I'm ready to give it a go. Bob

Thanks Antony, Wayne and Sam for the interest and confidence. It should be a lot of fun. Bob

Good idea Paddy. I had done something similar on some of the internal planks as well. Bob

Now that my Triton cross-section has been completed, I finally opened the Essex box, which I have had for a few weeks, for a serious look, after a couple of quick peeks. Since it is my intention to alter the kit in various ways, as I did with Fair American and Syren, I won't get involved with a detailed review or critique of the various kit parts. I understand that MS is changing some of the kit items already. I don't know whether those changes will be given to those, like me, who already have the kit. My overall impression is that the kit contains good plans, detailed instructions and a lot of laser cut wood and photo etched parts, as well as metal castings whose utility is unknown to me at this point. I've made some preliminary decisions as to how I will proceed, but a lot remains to be decided as I spend more time with the project. I have the AOTS book on Essex by Portia Takakjian, which I expect to use in conjunction with the kit plans, but I have no idea yet as to how or how much. The one thing that I know for certain is that I will replace the kit basswood with boxwood for the hull planking not covered by copper and with holly for the deck planking. I also expect to carry out the quarterdeck and forecastle deck framing to a more detailed level and to do that with boxwood. It is likely that I will also replace much, if not all, of the kit deck furniture with scratch built boxwood parts. Finally, it is my intention to fully mast and rig the model, whether or not MS issues a second kit for that purpose. I've been looking forward to this build for over a year now and I'm really eager to get started. I hope my old friends on MSW, and new ones as well, will want to look in as I go forward. Bob

Thanks for the kind words, Grant. Bob

Thanks so much, Mark. Bob

Thanks, Pete, Paddy, Antony and Russ. Bob

My best recollection, Ken, is that I used some long brass backing links that I had on hand from somewhere unknown. I cut off one end and then bent that end over. Bob