Dan:
Thanks so much for this thread. I have done a fair number of airplane models, but decided move to ships: more appropriate for this navy vet, and I was tired of breaking balsa and tearing tissue paper. I got the Ranger as a gift after finishing the Model Shipwright series, but then found that there wasn't a thread on the Ranger to help a beginner along. James's thread was great, but I really wanted to see how someone other than the "professionals" did it, and what problems they had. I just finished planking (and filling); getting ready to paint. Again, thanks!