turangi

Some more progress to report. I made the hangers for the torpedo, perhaps the most challenging task so far. As others have mentioned using the suggested method of riveting the parts together with a brass pin was quite difficult. At first I was using the light hobby hammer with little success so I switched to a heavier hammer and punch. cut the pin barely above where it protruded and gave it a substantial blow and it seemed to work somewhat better. I also managed to break a part by over bending it but fabricated a new one using brass from the PE matrix. I also included a Tamiya Diamond file in the tool picture, great for cleaning up PE parts! I am having a disagreement with myself whether to round the area of the boiler end where the chimney attaches. I am afraid if I muck it up I won't talk to myself for a week. I'll let you know what happens. I also included a couple of photos of the method I used to attach the gun to its base. The wings on top are constructed using a brass part mounted to aluminium tubing, after building them I thought it would be useful to put a pin through the tubing to attach the mount to the base. Alas I had cut them too short so I inserted a smaller diameter tube inside the larger and put the pin through it. Worked well.

A bit more progress to report. I have filled sanded and painted the hull. I gave it one coat of lacquer and ran out so more is on order as I am sheltering in place right now. I finished the engine and gun and am happy with the results. I will start work on the torpedo and hold off on installing boiler, engine etc. until I put a couple more clear coats on the hull, don't want to damage the paint. I hope everyone is well and staying safe!

Welcome! Flew into Sydney last Friday from Auckland, just in time, today I would be in isolation for 14 days. Hope you all stay well and get through this!!

Very heavy snow went through here yesterday about noon for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, I was at the airport trying to get to Washington DC for my brother-in-law's burial at Arlington National Cemetery. Several flights to DC cancelled and I did not make it, very sad.

I'm no expert but I have had some luck wetting the line a bit before hanging with weight and when dry apply a bit of beeswax. I use this to apply the wax, very easy to pull the line through. https://www.amazon.com/Dritz-622-Beeswax-with-Holder/dp/B00AQ7CVPO/ref=asc_df_B00AQ7CVPO/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=216539702338&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2393104508206025834&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021508&hvtargid=aud-801738734305:pla-350804685305&psc=1

Thanks Jim!

Your model looks fantastic!! Looking forward to seeing the final product!

Did some more work on the boiler. The instructions showed the steam dome perched on the top of the boiler and the wood strips going down to the boiler, it seemed to me a rather tenuous connection. What I did was glue a piece of balsa to the bottom of the dome and then carved it roughly to shape. I then wrapped sandpaper around the boiler and slid the dome along the length to get a better shape in fit. I then attached the wood strips to the dome and did a final sanding and installed it. I am pleased with the way it turned out and it seems very strong.

I have made a bit more progress. I have added all the rubbing strips to the hull, added the trim boards and finished painting the interior. I have started on the boiler and rather than installing the wood on the exterior of the boiler one bit at a time used the following method: I sealed and stained the the 24" strips then cut them to rough length. I then lined them up and applied packaging tape to their rear and glued them in place in sections of 8, rather less tedious than doing one at a time. I secured them with rubber bands while the glue dried. I did relieve the frames a bit where the tape was to prevent the strips from being a bit high at the gluing area above and below the tape, relieved areas indicated by arrow, the tape actually was quite easy to remove after installation. I sealed and sanded them first as I was afraid that any glue squeeze-out would negatively effect the application of stain. I didn't bevel the strips on the edges as there was no a need to be waterproof and I suspect the boat was not built to yacht standards. I also installed triangular pieces at the forward end of the lower deck, looks better I think and prevents a crew member from falling in the gap and turning an ankle while rushing to load and fire the gun!

Looks like it is knitting a tail warmer.

Exquisite model with wonderful details!

I have made some progress since my last post that I had finished the planking. I did an initial smoothing of the planks with cabinet scrapers. Great tools! I then did some filling and another light scrape followed by an initial sanding. Did some more filling and sanding then then applied sanding sealer and sanded again with fine paper. It feels quite smooth to me but I guess the proof of the pudding is in the eating so when I apply paint I'll see how well I did!

I have found that using a pre-stain wood conditioner to allow the even penetration of the stain really helps. I also use the Minwax gel stain and it is easy to control the color. I rub it in with like shoe polish with a cloth and it allows me to to make it as light or dark as I desire.

Thanks Stuglo, I do intend to use a sanding sealer after an initial fill and sand and then a final sand with fine paper. Acrylic has a propensity to raise the grain also if a sealer is not used I have found. Like you, I miss Floquil paints.😪

Thanks to all for the replies!