MisterMeester

The Prow Hawse Port. Used for the center anchor as well as being towed from ahead. It did not look as Trumpeter molded it. I began with filing down Trumpeter’s version. Not sure if that was necessary. It might have helped keep the saw in line. I used a #13 Excel saw blade for the cut. I cut down 25mm. This was conservative, making sure I didn’t cut too far, and fined tuned later. The gap here, on the Starboard side, came away pretty much on its own. For the Port side I had to do some additional cutting. The first additional cut was easy. For the second additional cut I decided to drill holes to make the turn easier. I suppose, in hindsight, I could have made that cut coming up from the bottom instead. I measured the gap required to be ~0.75mm wide. Using a file to accomplish that width. Cutting complete. No turning back now. I put the Fo’c’sle deck in place to ensure no fit issues down the road. The new Hawse Port CA glued in place. I used a straight edge to ensure proper alignment with the stem. The next step was puttying. I first taped the exterior of the gaps, to act as a backstop, because….. …. I applied putty from the interior first. I let this set for 24 hours. I used Milliput Superfine. As expected, some putty was pushed through to the exterior. Port side as well. Milliput Superfine putty applied to the Port side. Let to cure 24 hours. The red arrow indicates a piece of styrene strip I taped in place. I neglected to take a picture of this prior to puttying. Purpose of this was to let the putty create the forward edge of the recessed strake here, as opposed to me trying to sculpt it later. Post sanding, Port side. Starboard side. Blue arrow in this image better explains the intent of the styrene strip. Red arrow indicates the Mainmast Forestay fitting. Note that it is intact. I flipped the hull upside down to work on the Starboard side. I’m right-handed and wanted to sand from aft to forward, for the most part. My main concern with this was that I hoped the different perspective wouldn’t cause a different result. Starboard side putty in place. Let to cure 24 hours. Starboard side sanding complete (for the most part). Note the red arrow indicating the now missing Forestay fitting. While the hull was still upside down in the cradle, I decided to do some clean up and clipped it with the hand vac. Downside to many resin parts. Very brittle. Spent about 20 minutes looking for it. Next task was to fill these gaps (within the red circles). And filled. For the top ridge I used 0.75mm x 1.0mm styrene strip, sanded down to ~ 0.55mm² prior to gluing in place. For the bottom gap I used 0.25mm x 0.5mm strip. The ridge gaps on the Starboard side were not as bad and did not require styrene. The camera shows me they still need attention, however, so I’ll take another look at those. New forestay fitting manufactured from 0.75mm x 1.5mm styrene strip. The hole is 0.7mm. Larger than the original hole, but it’s the smallest drill bit I have. Probably should have left this well enough alone until much later. No doubt it will get broken off again. Note to self: Be careful. Some final shots. The last was one shows the cover in place. It’s not perfect, but disaster averted. This could have gone so wrong. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Thanks for looking. Suggestions are welcome. Cheers, Mark

Me too! Aiming for late Spring, early Summer. It has to be painted outside. In the garage at the very least, but it’s not heated and not the best lighting. Cheers, Mark

Progress update: Not much. I decided to scribe the panel lines after all, for the remaining Double Strakes that were missing, but already flush. So, now there is at least representation of them. Turns out that will be moot anyway. To be explained later. Continuing with the Coaling Doors, I have those all applied now. Prep for adding the indentation for one of the two doors missing the indentation. And removal of the molded door itself in advance of attaching the PE replacement. Starboard side Coaling Doors complete. Proceeding onward, I was puzzled over where the Cleats, on the same PE sheet as the Coaling Doors, go. I had no clue. So, upon researching this it finally became apparent that the instructions for the MiniBrass Coaling Doors and Cleats PE sheet is buried in the MiniBrass Stern Plating Instructions pdf document. Sheesh! Not only that, but the instructions for the MiniBrass 1:200 Titanic Hull Details PE sheet are buried in the same document. Sheesh x2! Absolutely no mention of this in the title of the document. Just “Stern Plating Instructions”. Ridiculous. Rant over. So, it turns out the Cleats are actually associated with the Coaling Doors. A pair of them are to be attached above each door. I’ll be leaving that for another day. I was also curious why the MiniBrass Hull Details sheet has only five so called “Gangway Doors”, when there are 16 total molded doors on the hull (8 each side). This research led to discombobulated thoughts on what the heck is accurate and what isn’t, strategy, and a potential change of plans on which direction to go with some aspects of the hull build. I learned that the five doors provided are optional doors for E deck, and are to be used to compliment the MiniBrass 200 HULL PLATING PE sheets. I also learned that the KA Detail Kit has PE hull doors for the model. I missed that the first time I looked through the kit. So, at this point, I decided to go with the KA doors. I began with Port Forward. The KA instructions indicate a door goes here (red circle). It is also “implied” (my term) from the Starboard profile hull plating diagram in a particular reference book, that there should be a door here (again, red circle) so I attached a KA door here. As well, it appeared to me that some other modifications were required. The raised feature within the blue circle is not in said diagram and needed removal. Further, the lower portion of the raised feature within the black circle needed to be trimmed. Here’s an image of the work done. But wait! The KA instructions are wrong, and the hull plating profile perused is that of the Starboard side, not the Port side! I forget the sequences of events moving forward from here, but upon researching the doors more I discovered the following: - There are instructions for MiniBrass’ Hull Plating PE sheets (who knew?). I was previously aware that MiniBrass has these sheets available, however I had assumed that using them requires major plastic cutting surgery. After reading through the instructions (that I just discovered), it looks to me that the application of these is not as hard as I originally thought. - Also discovered in said instructions, apparently, there is no such door on the Port side, such as what I just applied. - Unfortunately, there is no Port profile hull plating diagram in the (to remain nameless) reference book to point this out. - However, perusing a photograph in another reference book confirms this. No door here (red circle). Looks like I got the other modifications wrong as well (blue and black circles). Also, while working on this door application I couldn’t help but notice (for the umpteenth time) the rivet damage I’ve incurred to the hull prior to having the cradle I have it in now. Prior to the cradle, I just had the hull on two boards with hand towels as protection. It didn’t always work out. Not to mention some of the rivets were inadvertently chiseled away by carelessness while chiseling something adjacent. Sometime a go, I purchased an HO scale 3D rivet decals sheet to help rectify this, but they just aren’t the same. Taking into consideration…. - the rivet damage…. - that the Trumpeter hull rivet detail is actually quite lacking overall and that the MiniBrass PE kit captures the actual rivet detail…. - that the MiniBrass kit looks to be not that difficult to apply….. - and the MiniBrass kit should take out further guesswork of what goes where…. I’ve decided to order the MiniBrass 200 Hull Plating Kit. Oh, and the scribed panel lines to indicate the missing Double Strakes…. those will be replaced correctly by this PE. In the meantime, I’ve applied the Trumpeter provided PE parts 48, 49, 50, and 51. Condenser Intake screens. Next work will be on the Prow Hawser Port. This piece was purchased from Shapeways. This will require some plastic surgery and putty/sculpting application. Intending major patience on this. Even if the first cut takes me an hour, it takes me an hour. Hoping it goes well. Hopefully what I’ve described makes sense. Believe me, to achieve an accurate representation of the Titanic with this kit is a major challenge and I’m often lost myself. I can only image the experience of what others just reading about it is. Thanks for looking. Suggestions are welcome. Cheers, Mark

Looks great, Evan. Will probably follow your lead on the keels. I have a set purchased from Shapeways, but they are very brittle and no doubt will break at some point. Leaning toward scratch building them also. Cheers, Mark

@Jim Lad Yes, thanks. I was thinking silver or aluminum, but perhaps there’s a color available that’s closer to zinc. If you know of a brand and color code off hand, please share. @king derelict Thanks for the ideas. I happen to have beeswax. Will give it a try. Cheers, Mark

Progress has slowed somewhat. Wife had hip surgery three days ago and most of my time has been devoted to that lately. Continuing with the Mini Brass Hull Details PE sheet.... I applied the zinc anodes and reinforcement plates in the vicinity of the stern frame. Zinc anodes are the smaller squares, the reinforcement plates are the larger. Not too happy with how the zinc anodes turned out. I did the Port side first..... I have a $15 CDN manufactured pick up tool, but it proved to be useless, so I crafted a homemade pick up tool made from a round toothpick and blue tack (as seen in the next image). I suppose the ball of blue tack is too large for these applications as, upon placing the zinc anode, I could not actually see the photo etch piece. I figured I'd just get it on there (CA glue already applied) and then shift it into position accordingly. However, the CA glue set up immediately and it is what it is. The zinc anode should be butted right up to the plating below it. The Starboard side..... The placement of the pieces here are what I intended to achieve, however, the zinc anode and the adjacent plating below clearly do not align exactly, indicating that I did not quite get the angle of the upper end on that stern frame plating correct. Bottom line is, the placement of the zinc anodes, one side to the other, don't match and the Port side zinc anode placement is inaccurate (too high; should be right up against the plating). I considered trimming the styrene on the Starboard side, to match the Port side, but that plating matches now as it is, so that would just change one problem into another. I also considered trying to pop off the Port zinc and reposition it, but I had visions of the piece flying off into the carpet monster's gaping mouth if I tried that. In the end, it is what it is. This model will not be displayed in the middle of a room with both sides in view. One side will be up against a wall. Not sure which side that will be yet. Depends on which side has more mistakes. Chalking this up as a learning experience. One of my next tasks will be to make another pick up tool with a much smaller ball of blue tack. Further, technically the reinforcement plates should be flush with the plating around it. Having said that, I'm okay with how I placed those. I proceeded to then move on to the so called "Safety Bars". Some of the Sidelights (aka Portholes) on the Titanic had bars over them to protect them from the Anchor Cables. Nine on the Starboard side, (five double and four single), and ten on the Port side (five each). I got as far as cutting them from the fret. Here's a picture with a dime for scale reference to indicate just how tiny this PE is. Four single bars are in the left container, five double bars in the right. As I cut these from the fret, they bent from the knife pressure. That's how delicate they are. Another hurdle I have with these, besides just trying to get them glued on, is that most, if not all, still have an attachment nub remaining on them from the fret. I'm interested in advice on how I can file and/or sand these nubs off, seeing as they are so tiny. I'm thinking glue them in place first and then try dealing with the nubs once they are secured in place. Any suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated. In the meantime, I've decided to move on from these, for now. Instead, moving on to the second MiniBrass PE sheet I purchased, Coaling Doors and Cleats. Beginning this sheet with the Coaling Doors. The only reason I purchased this sheet is because there are two molded Coaling Doors missing from the Trumpeter hull. But seeing as I now have the sheet, I figure I might as well do all 44. There are 22 Coaling Doors on each side. I'm not even sure where the Cleats go. Haven't researched that yet. (Instructions are lacking). The black circle represents a Coaling Door as molded by Trumpeter. The red circle represents a molded door already chiseled off by me. Happy to see the indentation remains. Will aid in positioning. The blue circle represents one of the two missing coaling doors. A porthole was here in its place, which I had previously drilled out. Hence, the putty fill. Thanks for looking. Suggestions are welcome. Cheers, Mark

@yvesvidal I’m very much looking forward to seeing how it will all look painted up. Thanks for the like. @Force9 Thanks. I may still at least scribe panel lines for the one double strake I passed on. Haven’t decided yet but leaning that way. Thanks for the like. Cheers, Mark

Looking good, Evan. Excellent sleuthing on the gangway doors. Excited to see what you come up with for bilge keels. Cheers, Mark

First ever experience with PE went well. Very pleased with the results. Started with the Condenser Discharge Ports. I did the Starboard side first.... And the Port side. For this side I decided to give the provided template a try. I think it helped a bit, but not essential. Looking forward to working with the rest of the PE and getting on the hull. Thanks for looking. Suggestions are welcome. Cheers, Mark

Continuing onward. Mini Brass Hull Details PE aftermarket kit. This is my first experience with photo etch. Looking forward to it. I think I'll do the Condenser Discharge Ports first. Cheers, Mark

Returning to the project after a somewhat lengthy and unexpected hiatus. So, last May, Mr. Boyd amended his Hull Corrections document to include some double strakes that are missing on the kit hull. Honestly, my first reaction to this was "Ugh. More corrections. I'm NOT doing them.". But alas, it's winter and I've done them. (Well...not ALL of them. To be explained later). I purchased some 0.25mm x 4.0mm styrene strip for this task. The thickness is very close to bang on (perhaps a wee bit thick), but the width is not. I used a set of calipers to scribe two strips to 3.75mm wide and then trimmed them with a #18 blade. Having said that, I found I still had to trim the width of each strake a tad more just prior to cementing in place. With using strips, I was guaranteed to have one edge perfectly straight. Port Fwd.... I struggled with the Port Fwd section somewhat and had to fill quite a few gaps. I used Milliput Superfine epoxy putty. Port Aft..... Port Aft went quite a bit better.... Starboard Forward.... Starboard side went very well. Just one small gap to fill in the forward section..... Starboard Aft.... More on the yellow and blue circled sections in a bit. Starboard Aft went well also.... Regarding the strake circled in yellow, (both sides, Port and Starboard), two images above.....this is already flush (on the kit mold) and adding a strake here would just create another inaccuracy, in that it would then NOT be flush as reference photographs indicate there are strakes above and below this strake. To make this "flush" would require adding strakes above and below it as well. Therefore, I did not add a strake here. What is missing, however, is a lower panel line here, as indicated.... Panel line added, Port Aft..... Starboard side aft. I used the edge of an erasing shield as a guide for the scriber, (both Port and Starboard)..... And the result.... And finally, regarding the strake circled in blue..... Again....this part of the kit mold is already flush. To add a strake here introduces yet another inaccuracy. For the same reason. Referencing historical photographs shows that there were strakes above and below this strake. To make it accurate would require strakes above and below to be added as well. But that begs the question, where does it end? I have come to the conclusion that the kit hull has LOTS of inaccuracies. How much? 20%? 30%? I have no idea and I'm not about to try and find out. My model is not going to be a museum piece. Myself and my wife are essentially going to be the only ones who see the completed project. And anyone else who does see it will not know in the slightest. Having said that, I still have lots to do to the hull to correct other inaccuracies. I have already committed in my own mind to do so. But chasing the inaccuracies of the double strakes ends here, for me. Thanks for looking. Suggestions are welcome. Cheers, Mark

My initial intent with work around the Stern Frame was addressing the kit's lack of the curved lines the plating has in this area, as indicated in this photograph (image obtained from the Library of Congress). But upon beginning this and looking into this further, a few other things came up. First of was the zinc anode sheathing on the Rudder Post. I figured dealing with this was within my skill level. I simply used masking tape and pencil shading to get a measure of the distance around , and also measured the height required (26mm) before removing the tape. And then transferred that to .005” styrene sheeting. Part of the process of cementing this “zinc” anode in place. It took a few clamping/cementing sessions. Then on to my original intent…. First off, I scanned a certain diagram (of the Stern Frame) from a certain publication and then printed it more than once, reducing it each time and matching it to the kit until I got what I thought was the right scale. The original scan reduced to 65% seemed right to me. With some more pencil shading, I got this…. I’m not showing the printed side so as to avoid any copyright infringement. Transferred to .005” styrene sheeting. I applied these pieces primarily with E6000+ glue. After 24 hours I used a rubber band to pull in the edges that didn’t lay flat and finished the job with CA glue. Port Side: Starboard side: 1). “Zinc” anode strip also added here, as per research. 2). Note modifications to Plate #1 of the aftermarket under hull plating kit. Trimmed longitudinally to bring it in line with the kits plate line immediately above, and curvature added as per research. 3). The stern tube for the center prop is just wrong. Still mulling over what to do with this, if anything. Might just leave it as is. It appears to me, upon comparing the mold to historical photographs, that it’s not just the lack of the tapered sheath plating here that is an issue, but I think the diameter of the stern tube itself is too narrow. Next step with this will be deciding which propellor I want to go with and see if the propellor boss diameter matches the stern tube. If the boss is by chance larger, then I’ll look at ways to build up the diameter of the stern tube and continue the modification forward, for the raised plating. Not holding my breath on this one. 4). I have an aftermarket kit that has PE for these locations. And back to the under hull plating one more time…..I came across a build log in a different Forum that made mention of Plates 200 and 202, of the same aftermarket kit that I used, with regard to how these plates just abruptly end and look unfinished. I agree. Therefore, I added .010” x .020” styrene strips to the forward edge of these plates. Port: Starboard: Thanks for looking. Suggestions are welcome. Cheers, Mark

Change of mind. Decided to do the few other things first and the Keel Bar last. So, during the dry fits it appeared to me that the “steel” casting leading up from the Keel to the Stem was in the way of Sheet 5. So, I knee jerk reacted and chiseled a portion of it off. This was weeks ago. Since doing that, I was concerned that perhaps I was wrong and shouldn’t have. However, upon applying Sheet 5 it was confirmed that it was in fact in the way. In hindsight, if I did make a mistake with this, it would be that I chiseled off too much. OR,….perhaps I should have left well enough alone and modified the plates of Sheet 5 instead. Regardless, it is what it is and it needed fixing. I used .75mm x 1.0mm (.030” x .040”) styrene rod to replace what I removed. .75mm is the transverse measurement, 1.0mm is the vertical. There were some gaps between the plates and this new casting that needed filling. I used Vallejo Plastic Putty 70.401 for that. I also used Vallejo Plastic Putty 70.401 to clean up the mess where the two #1 plates meet at the Stern. The Keel Bar in place. As mentioned earlier, I used 0.38mm x 2.5mm (.015” x .100”) styrene strips for that. And finally, will the hull still fit in the kit provided stand with this aftermarket kit applied? Yes. It will. And that’s that. As long as it took, I’m really happy with how this aftermarket kit turned out and I’m really looking forward to seeing what it will look like with paint on it. (Much better, I expect.) Having said that, I can’t give it 5 stars out of 5. I think the instructions could have been a little more comprehensive. - In particular, regarding EXACTLY where should the #1 plates on Sheet 1 start on the longitudinal axis, when applying those sheets to the hull. Kind of important. Thankfully, I made it work with three dry fits. - A bit of a heads up on what to expect with the application of Sheet 5 would have gone a long way too. - And finally, both #202 plates were clearly not cut wide enough. Up next, I’m going to look at doing some scratch plating above the Stern Frame. Thanks for looking. Suggestions are welcome. Cheers, Mark

Thanks, Alan. It has taken me quite a bit longer than I originally envisioned. Looking forward to completing this aspect of the build and moving on to the next. Oh, and Santa usually comes through with a bottle or two. I have no concerns with that. Cheers, Mark

Evan, Yes, very difficult to get it bang on. Cheers, Mark

Foremost plates of Sheet 5, both sides, redone. Port side. Starboard side. More misalignments….. Plate #1, Starboard….. ….and redone. I must say the following two “misalignments” (for lack of a better word in this case), in the vicinity of Frame 90F, are not the modeler, but rather, the aftermarket kit. The pictures clearly show Plate #202, on each side, are not wide enough. They come pre-cut. They should be wide enough. Port Side. Starboard side. Next up, I’ll be installing the Keel Bar. I will not be using the supplied aftermarket keel strips for two reasons. 1. Four of the seven strips provided are distorted. 2. They are not to scale. (Perhaps a moot point, but given reason #1, might as well model the Keel Bar to scale). Titanic had a Keel Bar (flat bar strip for protecting the keel) that measured 19½” wide x 3” thick. At 1/200 scale this is 2.48mm wide x 0.38mm thick. The kit provided strips are 2.0mm wide (1.5mm at some points due to the distortion) x 0.20mm thick. I’ll be using 2.5mm x 0.38mm styrene strips for the Keel Bar. Just a few things left to do after that. Thanks for looking. Suggestions are welcome. Cheers, Mark

Getting back at it after basically one week away from the model bench due to a lot going on. All sheets are now affixed to the hull. Began prepping for laying the Keel Bar by giving the Keel Line a sanding. Before continuing with the Keel Bar itself, I decided to clean up the entire job. The texture of the E6000+ glue is similar to silicone, when dried. I found an eraser stick very useful for cleaning up excess E6000+. For excess CA glue, I used a 17a chisel blade, very delicately. After completing the clean up, I decided I was not happy with some plate misalignments along the Keel Line. Therefore, I used masking tape to provide a straight edge, and chiseled them clean. In the meantime, I was pondering how to deal with some misalignments of both sides of Sheet 5 at the bow. Port side. Starboard side. Option 1: Leave it as is. Option 2: Sand down the kit lines. (This just seems wrong.) Option 3: Remove and replace. I’ve chosen option 3. I’ll be removing the existing plates, as numbered in the pictures, and using new plates cut from the leftover scrap styrene sheets. Footnote: I can’t explain all these misalignments. I thought I was quite precise with building the plate sheets on the templates. Can’t figure if it’s me, or the manufactured product? Or perhaps a combination of a bit of both? Anyhoo…. Thanks for looking. Suggestions are welcome. Cheers, Mark

Thank you. I am only one year in as a scale modeler, so to receive such a compliment means a lot. Cheers, Mark

Progress Report. Sheet 5, Port side. I found it necessary to robustly tape this sheet down. No shifting occurred. There was significant overlap here, of the aftermarket kit overlapping the kit’s plate line. I sanded down the overlap and this is the result. Hard to tell in this picture but it is much better. Again, hard to tell in the picture, but there is unexplained misalignment here. I’ve marked with a pencil what needs to be trimmed. And this is the result. I know, hard to see in the pic and it is not "historically accurate", but it is definitely cleaner and better. Some further trimming was required here, so I used masking tape for a straight edge. Trimmed using a 17a chisel. And on to the final sheet. #5 Starboard side. I must say that Sheet 5 on the Port side has been the most difficult and time consuming, so far. I'm expecting the same with the Starboard side, as there looks to be some unexplained misalignments with this sheet as well. Thanks for looking. Suggestions are welcome. Cheers, Mark

Progress report. Trial and error learning curve while continuing the under hull plating application. I was finding applying CA glue to the edge gaps tedious and time consuming. So, in order to assist the E6000+ glue with doing its job, in particular....the outer edges along the Turn of the Bilge, I changed my taping strategy. However, I found taping the outer edge of Port Sheet 2, as shown, didn’t work so well. It was not enough tape, and lifted. CA glue was still required. So, for Starboard Sheet 2, I beefed up the taping on the outer edge, transversely. However, the edge here lifted somewhat as well. Not only that, but applying the transverse tape strips actually pulled the whole sheet outward and away from the keel. Unfortunately, I thought it was fine and walked away from it. The inboard edge, here, should be up to that pencil line. Misalignment shown here as well. For Port Sheet 3, I was still optimistic that I could tape the outer edge down, and save a lot of CA gluing time. So, I beefed up the transverse taping on this sheet even more (no pic). However, doing that pulled this sheet outward by a lot. Fortunately, I noticed it this time (hard not to) and the curing time of the E6000+ allowed me to remove all the tape, and lift and reposition the sheet. I re-taped the sheet without taping down the outer edge. Just left it as is, as shown, and then just walked away, letting the E600+ glue do its thing. Starboard Sheet 3 taped as shown. Outer edge left unsecured. Letting the E6000+ cure. Next day (allowing at least 12 hours to cure)….taping the outer edge in preparation for CA gluing. CA gluing is inevitable. In my experience, there are no shortcuts with this. It is what it is. Applying CA glue, pushing the plate down to the hull and allowing capillary action to do its thing. Next step, remove the transverse tape strips and CA glue there, where the plate overlaps are. In my experience, there are more edge gaps than just the outer edges that require CA glue. For these six larger sheets, it’s taking me about 3 hours each sheet to apply CA glue and get the edges and gaps secured. Thanks for looking. Suggestions are welcome. Cheers, Mark

Thanks King D. Cheers.

Did a complete dry fit of the Starboard side and pencil marked the hull for fit, accordingly. Sheet 1 for the Starboard side applied last night. Ended up with a slight misalignment with Plate #1 (indicated within the red circle). Not sure why that is as the rest of the sheet is aligned properly. I haven't completely researched the Stern Frame plating yet, but I'm hoping I'll be able to "fix" this when I get to that. The blue circle indicates plate edges protruding below the keel that I intend to sand down. I found this sheet a bit more of a challenge than the first Port sheet, in regard to getting the fit right as well as applying CA glue to the large gaps. Seems odd as I had 2 -4 glasses of wine in me for the first sheet. Perhaps different ergonomics that come with working on the opposite side is the explanation. But I digress. Thanks for looking. Suggestions are welcome. Cheers, Mark

Yves and Evan, I still consider myself a rookie model builder, so thank you for the words of encouragement. It's means a lot. Yves, Interesting suggestion re: aluminum tape. It would be more malleable. Evan, When I did a Google search to find an answer to my above question(s) this very build log came up as one of the search results. Needless to say, I was quite pleased with that. So, yes....absolutely I hope that my documentation here will be of benefit to others who choose this aftermarket kit. Regarding sanding of the prominent plate overlaps, thank you for that suggestion. I will consider it, however, I'm not sure my skill level won't botch it. Some sanding I am very much considering is the plate edges in the after part of Sheets 1 (both sides) as there are quite obvious protrusions below the keel. Cheers, Mark

Sheet 5 done. Time to begin attaching the sheets to the hull. Instructions for doing so.... The instructions are quite clear and specific regarding the fit of the sheets transversely. However, they are not clear and specific regarding where to start with Sheet 1 longitudinally. “Plate 1 must line up with the kit plates at the rear.” It is unclear what, exactly, that means. Dry Fit #1 This is where I started with Sheet 1, Port Side, taking into account the vertical width of Plate #1. This positioning ended up being wrong. Marking for the 1mm overlap for Sheet 2. Port Sheet 1 dry fit, showing transverse alignment. Port Sheet 2 dry fit, showing transverse alignment. Port Sheet 3 dry fit, showing transverse alignment. Port Sheets 2 and 3 dry fit, showing transverse misalignment inboard. Something isn’t right. I continued the first dry fit with Sheets 4 and 5, but neglected to take pictures of this. The overlap of Sheet 5 onto Sheet 4 was way too much. From memory it appeared to me to be ~10+mm overlap, rather than 1mm. Something was clearly not right. It was quite obvious that everything needed to be shifted aft. But how far aft? Where is Sheet 1 supposed to start? Off to YouTube to research an answer. Dry Fit #2 – I found little information on YouTube regarding this aftermarket kit, and nothing that specifically addressed my question. However, in one video there where a few seconds that appeared to show the aft edge of Plate #1 of Sheet #1 as far aft as the stern frame. This was my starting point for the second dry fit. Unfortunately, I neglected to take a picture of this as well. However, this starting point is indicated in an upcoming third dry fit photo. The following two pictures show longitudinal misalignment still present. Everything now needs to be shifted forward. The middle of Sheet 4. The step from Plate 170 to Plate 178 is supposed to align with the kit plates. This isn’t mentioned in the instructions, but it’s obvious. Longitudinal misalignment of Sheet 5 indicated here. Again, proper longitudinal alignment isn’t mentioned in the instructions regarding this sheet either, but it’s obvious. By measurement, everything needs to be shifted 2.5mm forward. Dry Fit #3 Sheet 1 moved 2.5mm forward. Red arrow indicates the pencil mark showing the starting point of the second dry fitting. Sheet 4 aligned longitudinally. Sheet 5 aligned longitudinally. As well, the inboard misalignment mentioned earlier, of Sheet 2 with Sheet 3, is no longer there. Okay. Appears I got it. Time to glue. I chose to go with the E6000+ option. In another YouTube video, the modeler used a Q-Tip to spread the glue on the underside of the sheets. I did the same, but I would not recommend that method as the cotton spreads out from the tip and, at one point, a chunk of cotton came off. For the subsequent sheets, I plan on using a cheap bristle brush. I managed to spread the glue thin enough to avoid the potential issue of glue coming up through gaps at the plate seams. Dealing with large gaps along the Turn of the Bilge…… At first I attempted using Tamiya Extra Thin Cement to deal with the large gaps, as per instructions, however, as one has to hold pressure on the styrene during the curing, it became quickly apparent that doing all gaps by this method was going to take way too long as the curing time is relatively slow. Therefore, I switched to CA glue and applied it with a Glue Looper. Another aspect I learned from one of the YouTube videos is that the protrusion of Plate #1 is actually to be folded over and glued down to the keel. This is not indicated in the instructions. I'm still undecided on the position of the aft edge of Plate #1. I may choose to trim that when I tackle the plating work around the Stern Frame. Port Sheet 1 completed. I figure it would be best to do Starboard side Sheet 1 next, as opposed to the rest of the Port side. In my mind that approach would ensure uniform alignment of both sides on the longitudinal axis. Thanks for looking. Suggestions are welcome. Cheers, Mark

Another labelling mistake from the manufacturer. Plates 203 and 204 of Sheet 5 are mislabeled on the styrene sheet. The template sheet is correct. Seems with each aftermarket kit I've bought and either looked at or begun working with, so far there is at least one issue. Again, not a big deal here, but for a detailed person who expects better, it's a tad annoying. Further, as per instructions, the plates are to be laid in the numbered order. Took a minute or two to figure this anomaly out. Buyer beware when it comes to aftermarket kits, in my opinion. I might just send a short email to the supplier of this kit to give them a heads up on this. Thanks for looking. Cheers, Mark