hamilton

Thanks for your response Chris!
 
Yes I understand - but it's not about a version of the vessel - it's about specific kits that are desirable to build and that create real excitement among the modelling community - yours and Chuck's fall squarely into that category. No offence to Panart, but the Victory you designed just seems better in every respect. I don't necessarily want to build "a" Victory, but I definitely want to build your Victory, if that makes sense.
 
The economics of kit manufacture are unfamiliar to me, so I would never presume the circumstances you face in developing and maintaining your business. That's not what the issue is. It's more that perhaps some business innovation - like Chuck's with the Winnie & Cheerful broken into chapters, or CAF's with their line - will be helpful at sustaining this craft for a broader cross-section of the ship model market. $500.00 is about my limit for a kit - about the price of Chapter 1 of CAF's Granado. I imagine others set their sights similarly or lower. If the Victory or other high end kits were presented in modules, I imagine way more people would buy them and manufacturers could tap into markets for their products that otherwise represent unrealised demand. It requires some innovation and re-thinking on the manufacturer's side, but once that's done.....
 
It's kind of like when the Bell phone company originated, they though that their business model would involve selling expensive devices and connection services to the wealthy - niche product, small market, high price point. Bell (well....Alfred Vail) figured out that the value of their network was based on volume of connectivity - so there was good business sense in expanding the network and lowering the cost of service to facilitate this - a move that led to massive profits for Bell and put them in the catbird seat for network development for a sustained period of time. I believe you, Chuck, CAF are in that position now, representing younger and more innovative entries into the manufacturer's market with an opportunity to refresh things overall - think of the number of kits you have developed in the last 2 years relative to what Caldercraft/Jotika has introduced in the last 2 decades....that says a lot, I think, about market position and market potential. People are excited about your kits and Chuck's too, and this community provides an active following that serves direct promotional functions. It's a great situation! But it could be even better!
 
The idea of the high-value product for the niche modelling market is fine, but there is still money to be made outside of that market with the same product through a different organisation of the manufacture and presentation of the kits. Admittedly I have no idea how offering kits in sections/chapters might affect the cost of manufacture - obviously a big concern - or even if it is a realistic approach to design....but it seems something worth exploring more generally as a means of sustaining the craft and the businesses on which it depends. The modular nature of ship modelling itself also supports this approach.
 
Full disclosure - I'm a philosopher by trade and not an entrepreneur, so my comments here come from a pretty idealised conception of how to run a ship model business - or any business! But at the level of accessibility and market development, it seems to make sense to offer avenues of access that can realise the value of the ship modelling market more fully than the complete high-end product can or does.
 
I hope these remarks are not taken in any way as a slight against any kit manufacturer's practices! More the observations of an envious modeller dreaming of a different world.....
hamilton

Feel like it's more of an educated guess, based on the price of the Vanguard Indy, which at today's exchange rate would set me back $2300 CDN....a desirabe kit, beautifully constructed and well out of my grasp.
hamilton

Thanks for your response Chris!
 
Yes I understand - but it's not about a version of the vessel - it's about specific kits that are desirable to build and that create real excitement among the modelling community - yours and Chuck's fall squarely into that category. No offence to Panart, but the Victory you designed just seems better in every respect. I don't necessarily want to build "a" Victory, but I definitely want to build your Victory, if that makes sense.
 
The economics of kit manufacture are unfamiliar to me, so I would never presume the circumstances you face in developing and maintaining your business. That's not what the issue is. It's more that perhaps some business innovation - like Chuck's with the Winnie & Cheerful broken into chapters, or CAF's with their line - will be helpful at sustaining this craft for a broader cross-section of the ship model market. $500.00 is about my limit for a kit - about the price of Chapter 1 of CAF's Granado. I imagine others set their sights similarly or lower. If the Victory or other high end kits were presented in modules, I imagine way more people would buy them and manufacturers could tap into markets for their products that otherwise represent unrealised demand. It requires some innovation and re-thinking on the manufacturer's side, but once that's done.....
 
It's kind of like when the Bell phone company originated, they though that their business model would involve selling expensive devices and connection services to the wealthy - niche product, small market, high price point. Bell (well....Alfred Vail) figured out that the value of their network was based on volume of connectivity - so there was good business sense in expanding the network and lowering the cost of service to facilitate this - a move that led to massive profits for Bell and put them in the catbird seat for network development for a sustained period of time. I believe you, Chuck, CAF are in that position now, representing younger and more innovative entries into the manufacturer's market with an opportunity to refresh things overall - think of the number of kits you have developed in the last 2 years relative to what Caldercraft/Jotika has introduced in the last 2 decades....that says a lot, I think, about market position and market potential. People are excited about your kits and Chuck's too, and this community provides an active following that serves direct promotional functions. It's a great situation! But it could be even better!
 
The idea of the high-value product for the niche modelling market is fine, but there is still money to be made outside of that market with the same product through a different organisation of the manufacture and presentation of the kits. Admittedly I have no idea how offering kits in sections/chapters might affect the cost of manufacture - obviously a big concern - or even if it is a realistic approach to design....but it seems something worth exploring more generally as a means of sustaining the craft and the businesses on which it depends. The modular nature of ship modelling itself also supports this approach.
 
Full disclosure - I'm a philosopher by trade and not an entrepreneur, so my comments here come from a pretty idealised conception of how to run a ship model business - or any business! But at the level of accessibility and market development, it seems to make sense to offer avenues of access that can realise the value of the ship modelling market more fully than the complete high-end product can or does.
 
I hope these remarks are not taken in any way as a slight against any kit manufacturer's practices! More the observations of an envious modeller dreaming of a different world.....
hamilton

Thanks for your response Chris!
 
Yes I understand - but it's not about a version of the vessel - it's about specific kits that are desirable to build and that create real excitement among the modelling community - yours and Chuck's fall squarely into that category. No offence to Panart, but the Victory you designed just seems better in every respect. I don't necessarily want to build "a" Victory, but I definitely want to build your Victory, if that makes sense.
 
The economics of kit manufacture are unfamiliar to me, so I would never presume the circumstances you face in developing and maintaining your business. That's not what the issue is. It's more that perhaps some business innovation - like Chuck's with the Winnie & Cheerful broken into chapters, or CAF's with their line - will be helpful at sustaining this craft for a broader cross-section of the ship model market. $500.00 is about my limit for a kit - about the price of Chapter 1 of CAF's Granado. I imagine others set their sights similarly or lower. If the Victory or other high end kits were presented in modules, I imagine way more people would buy them and manufacturers could tap into markets for their products that otherwise represent unrealised demand. It requires some innovation and re-thinking on the manufacturer's side, but once that's done.....
 
It's kind of like when the Bell phone company originated, they though that their business model would involve selling expensive devices and connection services to the wealthy - niche product, small market, high price point. Bell (well....Alfred Vail) figured out that the value of their network was based on volume of connectivity - so there was good business sense in expanding the network and lowering the cost of service to facilitate this - a move that led to massive profits for Bell and put them in the catbird seat for network development for a sustained period of time. I believe you, Chuck, CAF are in that position now, representing younger and more innovative entries into the manufacturer's market with an opportunity to refresh things overall - think of the number of kits you have developed in the last 2 years relative to what Caldercraft/Jotika has introduced in the last 2 decades....that says a lot, I think, about market position and market potential. People are excited about your kits and Chuck's too, and this community provides an active following that serves direct promotional functions. It's a great situation! But it could be even better!
 
The idea of the high-value product for the niche modelling market is fine, but there is still money to be made outside of that market with the same product through a different organisation of the manufacture and presentation of the kits. Admittedly I have no idea how offering kits in sections/chapters might affect the cost of manufacture - obviously a big concern - or even if it is a realistic approach to design....but it seems something worth exploring more generally as a means of sustaining the craft and the businesses on which it depends. The modular nature of ship modelling itself also supports this approach.
 
Full disclosure - I'm a philosopher by trade and not an entrepreneur, so my comments here come from a pretty idealised conception of how to run a ship model business - or any business! But at the level of accessibility and market development, it seems to make sense to offer avenues of access that can realise the value of the ship modelling market more fully than the complete high-end product can or does.
 
I hope these remarks are not taken in any way as a slight against any kit manufacturer's practices! More the observations of an envious modeller dreaming of a different world.....
hamilton

I really hope Amati considers releasing this in chapters like CAF's models.....this would make it more accessible to those of us who model on a limited budget! I'm guessing the retail price on this kit will be around $2000....not a realistic prospect for many, myself included.....with many desirable kits priced so highly (and understandably given rising costs of materials, particularly wood), it makes good business sense to widen the market by providing a more modular approach to building....but that may just be my view from the cheap seats.....
hamilton

I really hope Amati considers releasing this in chapters like CAF's models.....this would make it more accessible to those of us who model on a limited budget! I'm guessing the retail price on this kit will be around $2000....not a realistic prospect for many, myself included.....with many desirable kits priced so highly (and understandably given rising costs of materials, particularly wood), it makes good business sense to widen the market by providing a more modular approach to building....but that may just be my view from the cheap seats.....
hamilton

Well - now I feel like I've already presented the big reveal even before the model is actually done....but as noted before, I still have a few little things. This week I installed the fore boom crutch, the sheer poles on the lower shrouds (photo below shows sheer pole clamped to the fore & aft-most shrouds to facilitate lashing them to the central two - clips are then removed and other lashings added) and tonight I took an hour after dinner and completed the running lights, which I knocked together from some 1/8" dowel and 3/64" x 3/16" lime. I could not figure out how these would have been actually installed on the shrouds, so I ended up drilling a couple of holes in the back face of the lights and lashing them onto the shrouds. Pictures follow
hamilton
 

It's a possibility. At the moment, I don't know.
 
 
I wouldn't surmise at this point.
 

Missed your last question from your latest post....I use a scalpel blade to shave off thickness of the planks where they buckle out from one another and then sand them as smooth as possible. I also use (as many do) healthy doses of wood filler (actually I use acrylic modelling paste, which I find to be a very good product for this purpose) will help with any cracks or seams and then more sanding. 
 
Is this a double-planked hull? I can't recall from when I built it, but I thought it was only single planked.....In any case, on this model it isn't necessary to get a pristine planking job on the hull - unless you don't plan on painting it. Once you fill and sand the planks and paint them, you will not see any of the imperfections of the planking itself.
hamilton

I built this kit over a decade ago so my memory is foggy, but the cutwater you refer to above is to be added along the keel edge forward - you need to leave a gap in the planking from the bottom of the keel (horizontal section) forward and then add the cutwater as a strip between the plank-ends once the planking is complete. I hope this helps with your first question.
 
As for question 2, I'll be honest and say I haven't read the other members' responses, so I may be repeating here, but I believe this is just to ensure consistency in its width after you plank the hull. This part of the build was, I recall. confusing for me too as it wasn't clear whether I was supposed to plank over the keel all the way to its base or only to the bottom of the bulkhead frames. I believe I planked only to the bottom of the frames to maintain the width of the laser cut keel and not thicken its width by planking over it....I also hope this response is clear....
 
This was a fun build as I recall, and I think it's a good one for getting into the hobby as long as you keep in mind that the rig on this one is quite a bit simplified from the actual vessel (good for learning the basics) and that the small scale sometimes makes it a bit tricky. But if you approach it as a learning experience, then you can start to hone skills that will help with the next one. Have fun!
hamilton

Missed your last question from your latest post....I use a scalpel blade to shave off thickness of the planks where they buckle out from one another and then sand them as smooth as possible. I also use (as many do) healthy doses of wood filler (actually I use acrylic modelling paste, which I find to be a very good product for this purpose) will help with any cracks or seams and then more sanding. 
 
Is this a double-planked hull? I can't recall from when I built it, but I thought it was only single planked.....In any case, on this model it isn't necessary to get a pristine planking job on the hull - unless you don't plan on painting it. Once you fill and sand the planks and paint them, you will not see any of the imperfections of the planking itself.
hamilton

Looking great Greg! Nice work on the catheads and the fore deck looks nicely arranged!
hamilton

Another update - I finished the catheads and anchors.  I didn't keep a whole lot of notes on this work during construction and install, so a pretty simple explanation.  First of all, I did not like the Britannia castings of the catheads in the kit.  So, like many others who have built this Bluenose, I scrapped the castings and created my own version.  Not sure if they are totally in scale, but pretty close.  For the pole portion of the catheads, I used a 1/32" brass rod and a small 1/8" square wood strip, sanded and tapered. At first, I bent the rods a bit too low (in that first pic), but before placing them on the ship, I adjusted their height.  I also made a small little "stand" for the rod to sit in on the deck, using a rounded-off dowel cut very short. 
 
      
 
I really had to study and refer to several resources, especially the Bluenose II - Saga of the Great Fishing Schooners by L.B. Jenson, which I have referred to quite often in this build for information.  This time it was to remind myself exactly how the catheads work in relation to the anchors and the windlass.  Very interesting and informative.  On page 55 of the book, Mr. Jenson has drawings of the working anchors and cables in various stages of operation, whether it was anchor positions during normal stowage, when the club anchor (port side) was ready to let go for normal anchoring in harbor, or when the fishing anchor (starboard side) was ready to let go.  From that discussion, it appears that there was actually just the one cathead (davit) on board, and they would shift it from one side to the other depending on need.  For this kit, though, we are putting two catheads in position.  As I said, very interesting.
 
With all that said, I placed the port side club anchor on the cathead and ran the anchor chain from the anchor, through the hawse pipe, looped it around the windlass a few times, laid a few flakes of chain on the deck (my flakes did not come out awesome), and the remaining chain in the wooden box.  I thought that all came out pretty well.
 
For the starboard side anchor, the cathead stands empty, with the anchor, wood stock and coiled hemp cable laid on the deck for display.  Under normal stowage, according to Mr. Jenson, this starboard-side fishing anchor would be stowed with the lower fluke lashed to a ringbolt inside the rail with the stock hund outside the rail, nearly vertical against the side (which is pretty much how the port side anchor is secured).
 
       
 
       
 
Dories are next.  And, from what I've read of others' build logs regarding the dories, this will no doubt be challenging.  And, with the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, I will be surprised if I get past these before then.  With that said, to my fellow USA modelers, have a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  To all, fair winds and following seas!

A couple updates...  I needed to complete the work on the chain plates before I did too much more on other things.  I mentioned in my previous post that I figured to have some valid reason for not cutting the holes/slots for the chainplates while I was putting in the rails.  And I was kicking myself now for every one of the twenty (20) slots I had to cut into the rails after-the-fact.  Message to all future Bluenose builders... CUT THE CHAINPLATE SLOTS WHEN YOU INSTALL THE RAILS!
 
OK, enough self-criticism... here's what I was able to accomplish.  I marked the locations of the chainplates on the main rails and the monkey rails based on the plans.  In order to assure that I was drilling the holes on the correct side of the bulwarks and, when drilling the holes in the quarter deck rails, going thru both the monkey rail and main rail, I decided to drill from the underside, from the bottom up, to give myself a better visual of where I was going with the drill bit.  I also was reminded how crucial the placement of the main rails is on top of the bulwark and stanchions, in order to give you the spacing required for these chain plates. 
 
Anyways, I used a #61 micro drill bit to begin each hole/slot and then, using my 2 largest micro-size precision reamers, I enlarged each of the slots until a "test" brass strip could fit into the hole.  The kit-provided brass strips are 1/64" thick by 1/16" wide.  But, when the tops of the strips are folded over to secure the wire holding the deadeyes, that thickness doubles to 1/32" plus a bit more due to the twisted wire thickness.
 
      
 
As the chain plates were slid into each hole for testing, the paint job on the rails and the hull was taking a beating.  Definitely going to require a lot of touchup.  Again, another reason for doing this cutting sooner. <head slap>
 
Actually, preparing the chainplates and deadeyes was the smoothest part of this process.  I prepared a small jig, similar to what was done for the pintles and gudgeons, in order to drill the holes in the chainplates per the plans.  My new Proxxon drill press with the X/Y table came in handy once again!  Then, using a pair of hemostat forceps and a vise, I wrapped the thin brass wire provided in the kit around the deadeyes and twisted them. That is what, then, was secured into the tops of each chainplate.
 
      
 
Long story short (I know, too late for that), I was able to place each of the twenty (20) chainplates and deadeyes in their locations with some work.  Drilled holes in the hull at the chainplate hole locations and, using small brass nails with heads on them and a spot of CA glue, secured the nails to the chainplates to simulate bolts.  I then spot-retouched all of the paint job that I had damaged in the process.  I hope they will all look good once I get to the rigging.
 
        
 
Before I get to the anchors and cathead installation, I wanted to do some additional work on the deck.  I was wanting to place some barrels just ahead of the cabin, but wasn't totally sure how to place them.  I was then inspired by the work that John Ruy has done on his Bluenose, as well as looking at the pictures of the old Bluenose on the Nova Scotia Archives website. 
 
So, I constructed a little rack holding a half-dozen barrels along with a couple other barrels tied to the front of the cabin.  The barrels I used were from Model Shipways, 35/64" x 15/32" (14x12mm), and I think were sized about right.  I also had a slightly bigger alternative, but that sized barrel just looked too big for scale, even for the black ones that are tied to the cabin.  Not perfect, but I think they came out pretty well, and they add nicely to the deck furnishings, as depicted in those old pictures.  Thanks to John for the reminder and the inspiration! 
 
        
 
Now I think it's time for the catheads and anchors work.  Let's see how well this goes... 

Well - now I feel like I've already presented the big reveal even before the model is actually done....but as noted before, I still have a few little things. This week I installed the fore boom crutch, the sheer poles on the lower shrouds (photo below shows sheer pole clamped to the fore & aft-most shrouds to facilitate lashing them to the central two - clips are then removed and other lashings added) and tonight I took an hour after dinner and completed the running lights, which I knocked together from some 1/8" dowel and 3/64" x 3/16" lime. I could not figure out how these would have been actually installed on the shrouds, so I ended up drilling a couple of holes in the back face of the lights and lashing them onto the shrouds. Pictures follow
hamilton
 

Hello there:
 
So the sails and running rigging on the Bluenose are now complete, though the model itself needs a number of finishing touches, namely:
 
1. The fore boom crutch - some quirks of the model as built will require me to position this differently than the plans, which presumably means it will differ from things on the actual vessel....oh well!
 
2. Barrels - there is room on the rack I made forward of the cabin for 2 more and I think this will look better than the 4 I currently have....
 
3. Sheer poles - on the lower shrouds - a pretty straightforward element
 
4. Running lights - I have to consider how to approach these - I had thought of doing what I did with the MS Phantom (my very first model) and banging something up that more or less suits the purpose, but after all the effort on Bluenose I feel like I need to try something more authentic....
 
5. Dorys - I had a go at these this past Spring, but I found it very difficult to get the basic parts of these together using the jig design included on the plans - I've seen other Bluenose builds using these to good effect, so I do plan on having another concerted go, but I feel like I need enough time and leisure to really focus on it - this is not the kind of thing (for me anyway) that I can just nibble at with 30 mins here or 1 hour there....
 
6. rope coils - I've never been to concerned with these in previous builds - though I did make an effort to add them to the Armed Virginia Sloop that I built was back in 2010 or something - one of the models of which I'm the proudest - and considering (once again) the effort put into Bluenose it seems appropriate to me to go a bit of extra distance with these details.
 
Here are a few photos of the model as it stands. The first one shows the 1:64 Bluenose next to the (now pretty ratty) 1:100 scale Amati version I built back in 2012. Enjoy and happy modelling
hamilton
 
 

Very quick update - with minimal time to spend on modelling each day, I managed to fabricate and rig the jib sail - there was nothing trickier about this than the other sails, though I did work out a better way to add the brass rings that lace the sail onto the jibstay - with the jumbo jib, I rigged the sail on the model first and then added the rings - a big mistake as this ended up putting a lot of pressure on the rig and I accidentally pulled a couple of things out of alignment and had to re-do them, which (as many of you will know) gets harder to do the more the model gets built up and the more you have to navigate the spider's web....this time, I opened the rings, added them off the model, and made temporary lines at the halliard and the tack to steady the sail in place. I could then easily pry the rings closed one-by-one, then add the rigging features. This proved to be much easier to accomplish without risking damage to the model.
 
In any case, here is a photo - I posted this already in the "state of the build" thread elsewhere on MSW, so if it looks familiar, that's why! Enjoy and bye for now
hamilton
 

Yes - the Santa Claus approach (making a list and checking it twice) is to be advised at this point - I definitely found that I'd missed a couple of things that it would have been better to add earlier at this stage - the rig is shaping up for you now, though John! Looks great - can't wait to see the next phase
hamilton

Yes - the Santa Claus approach (making a list and checking it twice) is to be advised at this point - I definitely found that I'd missed a couple of things that it would have been better to add earlier at this stage - the rig is shaping up for you now, though John! Looks great - can't wait to see the next phase
hamilton

Main Top Mast…


Main and Fore Top Masts are completed.
Cheers 🍻 
 

Fore Topmast complete…

Replaced the CA glued Hilliard Shackles with the newly soldered one. Touched up the top tapper and placed the Gilt Ball. I cut off a white sewing pin 1/8” from the head a C A glued it in place. Trucks for the Flag Halliard Re so small at this scale, I will represent the truck with black thread. 
 
Now maybe I can move on to the Main Topmast. Cheers 🍻 

Managed to resolve one of the issues noted above - fitting the main cabin bulkhead back under the poop deck. My results are not as clean as I'd like, but since this area will be pretty hard to see when all's said and done the clumsiness of it will likely fade a bit. 
 
There are three components to this bulkhead - a central section with the two doors, and two side panels. These are provided as photo-etched brass fittings, but as noted a couple of posts ago, the central part was too wide for the model as-built. I used the p-e parts for the side panels, and these worked fine. The pillars are also p-e brass, fitted atop .6mm x 3mm tanganyika strips so they stand a little proud of the panels. I decided to finish the pillars white to contrast with the yellow cabin bulkhead.
 
The centre part I scratch-built using 1/64 birch plywood sheeting. I traced the shape of the central p-e part on some card paper and adjusted this until it fit in the appropriate space on the model, then used this as a template to cut a backing from the birch ply. To frame out the panels and cabin doors, I used a combination of 1mm x 2mm and 1mm x 1mm strips, finished yellow. As I say the results are far from perfect, but this area of the model will be barely visible on completion, so I won't mind it too much and have learned a thing or two in the process. 
 
I test fitted these with the sub-decks for the quarterdeck in place, and I will have to make some small adjustments to those subdecks when the time comes to install them so they slot in properly - the back edge will need to be slightly thinned to fit - not a problem I don't think. 
 
Enjoy the photos and bye for now
hamilton
 

Could be a generational thing, Chuck. The more younger members join - which is to be encouraged to keep the craft going for future generations - it's probably to be expected that some of the broader elements of digital culture are going to creep in.....MSW - like most web forums - is old school internet, where it takes human beings to set up and enforce community standards. This is how the whole thing was when I first went online as a teen in the mid-1980s, when the NSF was still running the show. But most folks (young and old) have gotten used to a world where "moderation" has largely been automated through SEO algorithms and algorithmic news feeds, so I don't think there is as clear an understanding of the human labour that goes into managing a site like this and keeping its quality as high as it is. But it doesn't help if users treat the forum as if it were Facebook or "Twitter", where these kinds of posts have literally 0 impact on the management of the platform itself. If I had more time between my young family and my work I'd love to chip in to help with moderation here - I'll reach out once I can afford to retire - in 2043!!!! Waaahhhh!!!
hamilton

Could be a generational thing, Chuck. The more younger members join - which is to be encouraged to keep the craft going for future generations - it's probably to be expected that some of the broader elements of digital culture are going to creep in.....MSW - like most web forums - is old school internet, where it takes human beings to set up and enforce community standards. This is how the whole thing was when I first went online as a teen in the mid-1980s, when the NSF was still running the show. But most folks (young and old) have gotten used to a world where "moderation" has largely been automated through SEO algorithms and algorithmic news feeds, so I don't think there is as clear an understanding of the human labour that goes into managing a site like this and keeping its quality as high as it is. But it doesn't help if users treat the forum as if it were Facebook or "Twitter", where these kinds of posts have literally 0 impact on the management of the platform itself. If I had more time between my young family and my work I'd love to chip in to help with moderation here - I'll reach out once I can afford to retire - in 2043!!!! Waaahhhh!!!
hamilton

Managed to resolve one of the issues noted above - fitting the main cabin bulkhead back under the poop deck. My results are not as clean as I'd like, but since this area will be pretty hard to see when all's said and done the clumsiness of it will likely fade a bit. 
 
There are three components to this bulkhead - a central section with the two doors, and two side panels. These are provided as photo-etched brass fittings, but as noted a couple of posts ago, the central part was too wide for the model as-built. I used the p-e parts for the side panels, and these worked fine. The pillars are also p-e brass, fitted atop .6mm x 3mm tanganyika strips so they stand a little proud of the panels. I decided to finish the pillars white to contrast with the yellow cabin bulkhead.
 
The centre part I scratch-built using 1/64 birch plywood sheeting. I traced the shape of the central p-e part on some card paper and adjusted this until it fit in the appropriate space on the model, then used this as a template to cut a backing from the birch ply. To frame out the panels and cabin doors, I used a combination of 1mm x 2mm and 1mm x 1mm strips, finished yellow. As I say the results are far from perfect, but this area of the model will be barely visible on completion, so I won't mind it too much and have learned a thing or two in the process. 
 
I test fitted these with the sub-decks for the quarterdeck in place, and I will have to make some small adjustments to those subdecks when the time comes to install them so they slot in properly - the back edge will need to be slightly thinned to fit - not a problem I don't think. 
 
Enjoy the photos and bye for now
hamilton