SkerryAmp

hello everyone........life got in the way again.   a different scenario though....I took on a part time job.   it's been a bit hectic,  but I'm beginning to get use to it.   I tried to do a little here and there......some was alright......other time it might have been better to leave it alone.   turn the way-back machine to Sept 2nd.........I misjudged the guy lines for the #2 funnel,  coming up too short.  I added in the missing guy lines.......but one side did not cement.......or the cement did not take to the thread.
    when I went to cut the excess......one came undone.
 

 
I removed the offending vent and shaved down the platform it was on.   I attempted to scribe in some plank lines,  in a effort to hide the flat spot,  and the vent was moved in enough to run the new lines
 

 
so.......it came down to cementing in another length of thread and redo it.   this time I used CA and it worked.   this was done on the 12th.
 

 
I did some touch ups here and there.........but that was about it until yesterday and today.   I did some paint work to the funnel tops.   the outside is done in flat black.......the throat of the tops is done with the black I made for the hull.  there are grates that will fit over the opening.......but I wanted to make sure which end was the front.
 

 

 
the first two tops have been cemented in place.
 

 
I've also begun on the railings for the third funnel.   when this one is rigged,  the entire assembly will be cemented into the hull.   I have had this part of the ship on my desk for the past few weeks now........figured I'd work on it whenever I got the chance.  all that I've been able to do to it,  is hit it....like I did the other evening.  I knocked of the two aft cranes...broke the tube on the #4 funnel,  as well as the ladder on the #3 funnel.  so while I do what damage control that needs to be done,  I will continue with 'er til she is complete.  .........that's what I'm hoping for 
 

 
 

the forward section was done.......so I rigged the funnel.
 

 
the way that the first funnel is rigged,  is interesting.   there is one cable that comes from the roof of the structures.  earlier we had talked about there being a lower set of cables,  that attach half way up the funnels.  if I knew of this...or even thought of doing them,  I could have drilled the other holes needed {enough for four cables would have been good}....taken this one and changed it.....and ran another upper cable to replace it.   all speculation now.........but this one does give me the thought that it should have originated from the deck........the thought about the second set of cables was in the designer's mind when they did this.   this kit is large enough for the added detail 
 

 
all to the other funnels are done differently,  but identical to one another.  the third funnel has some piping to be added,  along with assembling the roof for the small structure in between the third and fourth funnel.  I still have to finish painting the window area,  and add the rest of the parts.
 

 
a couple more railing pieces were added ......as well as more touch ups
 

 
the second funnel was rigged.
 

 
I see some interference here......I will make adjustment
 

 

 
the fourth funnel was rigged again........this time permanently.
 

 
still some more railings to go,  along with the piping......and then the third funnel can be rigged.   at that point,  I may even be able to cement the assembly on the model 
 
 
 
 

let the tedium begin!   painting the railings that are cemented in place....is not fun.   I've had to touch up a few places that I had nicked with the brush.......still more refinement to do.  what makes this worse, is that it's white over brown........I'm having to deal with a lot of ghosting and secondary touch ups.
 

 

 

 

 
waiting for these railings to dry,  I singled out the next group to go on......and painted the railing.  this made it a lot easier,  but still tough on the eyes.......my auto focus isn't what it used to be    the square sections you see are made from two parts,  assembled and allowed to dry.   the small section you see by the end of the clothes pin was my first real M.I.A.   it flew from between the tweezers...to I don't know where...............I combed the entire room looking for it.   I had to take Gibbs out,  so I got the duplicate from the other sprue and used it instead.  when I got back in from our walk,  I took another look around.   I found it lying right beside my garbage basket.......I swore that I had looked there!..
 

 
I moved everything over to my computer desk......I needed to sit.   when those parts had dried,  they were cemented in place.
 

 

 

 
minor touch ups followed......

ok..........my flip has flopped........there will be lighting.   now that the bow and stern is on the hull for good,   the wiring was run into the hull.   I'm going with four bulbs instead of the two I tried my first test with.
 

 

 
the connections were soldered and taped up.  I hope you can see these next photos........they are dark.
 

 
even through the deck,  there is some light filtration.   it does look kinda cool though......some illumination for the well decks
 

 

 
it's too late to take any measures to keep it from happening.   but.....awwww,  what the heck.   at first,  the admiral wasn't too keen on the idea.   now that she's seen it,  she likes it     I will be adding a couple more lights to the bridge deck and the A deck.   it's the best I can do......any inaccessible areas will be void.    from the looks of it though,  I think there will be enough light emitted to make up for it. 

Denis,
 
a nice Progress to be seen, and looking better every time I visit your log...
 
Nils

....but wait........there's more!   out came the hull......
 

 
my son supplied with a whole pack of small shrink tube..
 

 
I was going to add a couple more lights to the mix,  but the heck with it,  I'll do with what I have.  so,  I stripped the wires...it was very easy........did it between my finger nails 
 

 
the lights were soldered in place and shrink tubed....
 
 
 

 
now.......if I don't have any more interruptions.......perhaps I can put all this together 
 
 

got back home around 1:30 PM..........the plummer left about  1/2 hour ago.   spent a bit of time setting the kitchen back up and washing the floor.  what a mess!
 
anyway.........back to the Titanic......    I used CA on the rigging of the funnel.......trimmed off nicely   
 

 

 
....found that I had a couple more pictures of the guy lines.  I guess the next thing to do,  would be to get the top on the funnel.
 

 

 
I'm not sure if the grate is painted in these pictures.......they are in these pictures though.
 

 

 
 

it's time to work on getting all the structures on the deck now.   parts that have already been assembled...time to get 'em off the table and where they're supposed to be.   I had placed one pair of cranes already........I placed a couple more pairs on the stern section.  the last pair will go on the A deck,  once that railing is finished.
 

 
the first raised deck is still being held down with clamps.   the structure that sandwiches it in was cemented in place at this time.
 

 
the second raised deck and the structure behind it are somewhat joined together.   these two areas were done together and fitted with the railings,  vents,  and the piping that connects them.  the funnel was cemented in place soon afterwards.
 

 

 

 
all four funnels are in place........the dilemma is over       there is only one structure left to populate,  and that one is connected to the third funnel,  so they will need to be done together....
 

 

 
the first raised deck was next  to get fitted with it's railing.  any parts associated with it was also cemented in place.
 

 

 
the railings for the aft end of A deck was cemented in place.   these railings are assembled from small segments.....a bit too small to simply assemble and create the complete railing.   I'll cement them on,  one piece at a time.
 

 
there!  a lot got done today........hopefully ,  more tomorrow 

I had a  'first'  today........I've never seen this happen before.   this update is a bit fractured,  because some of the pictures didn't come out.   I'll tell ya all about it as I go along........
 
I am going to repair the short comings in the raised decks.........in looking at the aft deck,  the gaps are very hard to see,  so I just glued it down.    the aft section roofs have been cable rigged......I dry fitted them to show you.   first was to paint the fore and aft walls flat white
 

 

 
here are a couple pictures to show how much of a gap there is.......of course,  the first two are a poor example,  since the deck is not seated all the way.   one of the walls is somewhat pulled away from the boat deck...I will need to spread it out so it touches the deck and glue it.
 

 

 

 
here's what happened......I decided to use clear cello to shim the fore and aft walls out.   anyone who has worked with plastic cement,  knows what it does to clear parts.......it can turn it white and marr the surface.  I had pictures of this,  but those were the ones that were blurry.   after the glue had dried,  I began to trim the newly grafted parts,  so these walls would fit in the cavity.   all of a sudden......one of them popped off!  when I examined the part I had made  {after finding it},  I found that the cement did not turn it white.  nor did it adhere to the part,  either!    thinking that it was the type of plastic it's made of....the lack of cement-ability,  I quickly though of another type of thin plastic to use instead.   I still had some of the plastic {vacuum form parts} from the Guillow's Spitfire build,  so I cut some thin strips and used it.
 

 
while I was waiting for this to dry,  I began with the railings for the second raised deck.
 

 
when dry,  the repairs were trimmed and painted flat white
 

 

 
then the raised deck was cemented in place...it needed to be clamped down
 

 

 
I had cemented the structure furthest aft,  in place at this time...........more of the railing was also added.
 

 
I'll try and get some more done this evening........stay tuned 
 

I've managed to put something together......wonders never cease!    I actually had the day for myself today......the only thing I needed to do,  was repair a Christmas ornament that had broken over the holidays....and of course,  I offered to fix it  {I found it stuffed in a drawer......I had no more room under the carpet  }
 
there were a couple of pictures from a week ago.......like this one,  where I had glued on the two little wall pieces and the forward roof......after adding the back stay for the fore mast.
 

 
during another opportunity to play at the table,  I painted one of the funnels.  this is the British Gulf LT Stone......I think it was more the color of the parts than anything else......the paint didn't cover very well.
 

 
I also managed to paint the railing sprues,  and the vent parts with flat white.  there are a lot of parts here.
 

 

 
still a bit befuddled concerning the funnel order,  I set'em up again.........now the one I thought was first,  is last
 

 
I had painted that one,  because the ladder was cemented in place.  there are other parts that need to go onto them,  but there are no locator tabs,  and a couple of the parts are associated with other parts,  that are cemented to the structures.
    three words best describe this hobby......goesinta,   goesonta,  and goesova..........just thought I'd share that with you,  just in case I ever use these words.  don't wantcha ta think I went hip-hop or something 
 
today.......I got to think'in........those funnels are such a small job.  it t'would be a chore to crank the Craftsman compressor up.........what can I do..Hmmmmmmmm.   I remembered that I had the Spray craft outfit......this is comprised of the airbrush,  which is a gravity feed,  a holder,  hose,  and a three speed compressor.   I didn't want to change over the Testors airbrush I had set up for the Craftsman,  so I got the old one that I had set aside a while ago.
 

 
to hook up the hose,  I cut a small piece of the hose from the gravity feed,  and used it as a connector,  seeing that the Testors hose is smaller in size.
 

 
after checking the airbrush out,  I found that it wasn't the airbrush itself that was bad.....it was the cap.  the cap and siphon tube screws onto the testors 1/4 oz bottles.......naturally,  these caps are prone to wearing out.   I used another cap.....and it worked just fine.   I sent testors an e-mail today,  asking where I can get new caps and siphon tubes.  I hope to get an answer soon........I have two caps left.   so far I've bought two of these kits   TES4030 & TES4034....here are the numbers in case you want to do a search on the testors website.
 
Testors » Airbrushes » Airbrushes
 
I have been spraying out on the porch.........here is my spray booth
 

 
here are the funnels with a coat of paint on them
 

 

 
some ghosting did occur,  but I think it has a little to do with the color of the plastic........orange is such a transparent color to work with....it's as bad as white.   I gave the first pair the second coat.......they look much better
 

 
I also have an Aztek A320 spray outfit too........that is a siphon feed.   I have never used it.......these testors airbrushes have worked so well,  I haven't had to resort to it
 
 

I finally got the other pictures out of the camera.   when the camera was ready to go,  the clamps had been removed from the two decks.  I was doing some dry fitting,  as well as painting some of the part with flat white.
 

 
I had looked through Doris's complete build log......for those who haven't seen it,  it is a work of art.  she reveals another botch in the kit's design...........I may follow suit with her solution.
 

 
these countersunk structures look good from the sides.......but what of the ends?   to be honest,  I saw a glimpse of this earlier,  but didn't think much of it until I read her log.   both raised decks are like this.
 

 
I had mentioned that I botched up the forward skylight......tried to mask the windows,  since it was made from clear plastic.   it didn't go as planned.
 

 
the only solution was to clean off the paint and try redoing it.........I was going paint the windows with the window maker, to see if that would fix the scratches I had put into them.   but my luck went downhill fast........the part simply crumbled and broke in my hands!
 

 
if you recall what I had mentioned earlier,  clear plastic is pure styrene..........harder,  unforgiving,  and apparently a bit more brittle,  that plastics that have had color additives added to them.   the only recourse here,  is to make another one. 
   I was talking to the admiral about getting some thinner plastic sheet to make it from.........and then I realized that I had those decks from the United states kit.........I could use that      so I've trimmed all the raised stuff off of one of the pieces,  and I now have plenty of sheet plastic ti make it......as well as fix the problems with the raised decks.   we'll see where I go from here 

I just looked in my pictures folder,  and I found these two that I had imported before recharging my camera.   rigging the decks needed to be done at this stage.    the stern section was rigged with back stays.......then the funnel lines were added to the boat deck.
 

 
then the A deck and the boat deck was cemented together
 

 
I have other pictures,   but they are still in the camera   I'll post them later 

yea.......sorry Sam........I really don't want it to glow like a ghost ship......    but that would really send out an eerie message now,  wouldn't it 
 
the fascia problem is solved.......I just hope those parts I used were truly extra pieces.   I finally cemented the first pair of cranes in place.......glued in the fascia in place as well.
 

 

 
then all of the life boat cradles were painted white,  on the boat deck.   later I'll go back and touch them up.
 

 
the stern section got the mizzen mast rigging glued in ahead of time
 

 
I started to work on the boat deck structures at this point.  still need to cement in the rigging for the funnels,  and then the A deck and boat deck can be cemented together.  duct work was painted flat white..........the grating grids were then dry brushed with the paint I mixed for the hull........just to soot things up a bit.
 

 
these four ducts are located at the first and second funnel
 

 
finally I got back to the bow section,  and cemented in the fore castle railing
 

 

 
so now it's the boat deck....there's a lot to do here 
 
 

the bridge structure fascia.......what a starting point      this actually turned out to be easier than I thought.   the first thing I did.......I did this right after posting the last update.......was to add to the ends of the part.
 

 
I will need three sets of stairs for this area.......the hand rails was done to look like wood.
 

 
the part then got about 1/8 cut off of the top.......I dunno....some weird number      the slot was trimmed out for the stairs.
 

 

 
...and then the stairs were cemented in place.
 

 

 
the long section of railing was easy......I didn't need to trim much.  but,  for the small section for the port side.  I had to add a piece to it.
 

 
  in place......not to bad    I think
 

 

 
now I need to do the same to the fore castle deck.    it requires two sets of stairs.....all that needs to be added now is the railings
 

 
I added some of the rigging to stern area.......I can't be as cleaver as I was with the bow.  I'll figure something out though.

I also want to express my thanks and sympathies to all you folks who have furry friends that react to noise.   Gibbs doesn't have a problem with thunder...I'm surprised....I've felt the noise percussion from some of the louder ones.   let one firecracker go off though,  and he's diving for the nearest hiding place.  we hate it....there's nothing we can do.  tried to play the TV a bit louder that usual,  but someone just up the street,  decided to touch off one of those mortar displays....and off he went.........under our bed.   man.........was it loud too!    I took a nap today......Gibbs got me up at 3AM to go out.......he won't go out after dusk.   once the noise starts,  all bets are off that he will go out.   there was a little earlier this evening,  but it's been quiet since......he is still unsure.  it will get better when things quiet down 
 
Anyway........there were two other lines to add on {port and starboard},  and one to add to the lower fore stay {very slight tension on it}.   these were tied on,  weighted and cemented.
 

 

 
hee.......hee.........thought I'd put that one in there       there's nothing wrong with your computers.......do not adjust the horizontal...........do not adjust the vertical........I am in complete control of your screens.......I will do it.
 

 
that's better. 
 

 
there is one more back stay that originates from the foremost boat deck roof,  that will terminate at the upper mast.  the decks sit pretty good.........but there is a problem.   I had this all set up,  but with the may-lay in gluing the mid section together,  it fell short a tiny bit..you might see it here.   there is a better view here.
 

 
the locator pins do not sit in their holes correctly......too late to try and fix it now.  I will have to deal with it.....but I'm seeing some form of a silver lining here.   it lies in that part I showed earlier.......don't know what the thinking was with it.  as for the alignment problem here......my first thought was to cut off the locator pins.......not a good idea.   if there is a warpage issue, as with the aft section of the hull,  this would make it worse.  the correct thing here is to drill the holes a bit larger,  which I did.
 

 
this area of the bow section would be considered a well deck....this part would be the fascia for the bridge deck.  here it is in place.........you can see how 'out of sorts' it looks.
 

 
an over view shows how much aft,  the bridge deck is.
 

 
along the bulwarks there are gaps..........perhaps I can add a little material to fill them in.
 

 
what I plan to do here,  is trim down the part,  even with the deck line.   as I had mentioned,  there are the two 'D' sprues, meaning that I will have quite a few extra railing parts.  I will eliminate the over bite and replace it with railing.  there is a stairway that is to go here as well......it should mate quite well.  the instruction diagram shows the stairway cemented in a cut out in this fascia part........non existent on the part I see here.   you can see it......it looks like a sort of grating in the wall.  this needs to be cut out.......but since I'm trimming it,  I 'll do it a bit differently.   I still needed to cement the boat deck fascia to the upper deck sides {bulwarks}.  I did it at this time.
 

 
as mentioned,  I may not be so lucky with the stern section.......I may have to cement these two sections together.  I will have to see 
 
 
 

the place is hopping here........although I'm not spending it where I would like to.   compound that with a dog that is deathly afraid of loud booms,  and you get a very short attention span.   I've kept him close these last couple of days.....last night I was up well after 2 AM.   anyway.......to recap what I've been up to 
 
I put a few lights in the hull to see how it would look.   too bad it was daytime......it might have looked better.
 

 
I only have two lights in the hull..........as many as five may be needed.  touch ups were done to the mid ship section.
 

 
the fore stays and the three main back stays will be the larger size thread.   I opted to use the kit supplied ratlines.  they cleaned up well and I refined the contours,  getting rid of any mold marks that might be on them.
 

 
this part is the front fascia for the bridge deck.......it is sooooooo incorrect.   the slant of the outer edges are wrong,  it appears to be too tall,  and there is no slot cut out for the stairs.   I may have to cement the bow section to the mid section,  in order to straighten it out.
 

 
more stays were added to the bow section......all the lower ones will be the smaller thread.   there are quite a few of these lines,  but it will need them all for support,  when the communication lines are installed.  they will span from the fore mast,  all the way back to the mizzen mast.
 

 
using clothes pins for weights,  they will be hung off the sides and cemented on the underside of the deck.
 

 
almost all of the lines are done on the bow section..........one more pair and the back stay terminating on the boat deck, from the forward structure roof,  are all that's left to do.   there are still a few more parts that need to be added to the bow section.   more to come.......
 
 

it's been a week or so since my last update.   along with the chores I've had to do around the house,  the admiral and I have been battling this nasty summer cold.   'ole Suzanna was right!  we've been miserable!  it's now settled in my chest,  to make life even more so.  but I have been too lax with the Titanic....as well as skeptical with the instructions.   I decided to go my own way.......if the need arises to modify......so be it    I'm still in a quandary over the ratlines........using the preformed ones instead of the plastic ones.   while I was in my thoughtful spot,  I looked at the photo of the Mini Craft proto type model....and it made me stare........
 

 
not too keen on having this on my build........note the rigging as well.   this is where I tend to think that there should be different size rigging thread.   it would be hard to come up with blocks for the rigging diagrams I have though......too bad this isn't at 1:96 scale........I do have some from the C.S.S. Alabama,  the Cutty Sark,  and the first U.S.S. United States build.
     I've always loved this Revell series........in spite of the conjectures ans conceptions that surround them.   anyway.....I still need to check this out.  last week or so,  I showed where I was,  with the boat deck.......the aft structures need to be painted, the life boat cradles need to be done.......various touch ups....
 

 
 
the fascia wall that houses the fronts of all three decks,  need to be widened at the base of the wall.   one of the name flags was cut out of the parts sprue and slivered into tiny slices,  which were cemented on both sides of the bridge deck portion of the wall front.
 

 
when dry,  it was trimmed and fitted to mate the adjoining wall structures better.
 

 
here,  the slot impression in the deck,  shows where it is to be located.   once fitted,  it stands in place much better.
 

 
now comes the part I've been dreading.........cementing all this together.   the deck itself is so long and flimsy,  it was really a feat to get everything lined up.  imagine trying to do this with three decks cemented together.   I even snapped at the admiral.......she saw my frustration and offered to help.  I apologized profusely after the ordeal......it's never been my way to get that agitated.  I was very glad to hear she didn't take it to heart.   during the procedure,  one of the  walls came off.
 

 
before the fascia was cemented in place,  the wall was reinstalled.  I made those simple clamps to keep the walls perpendicular while the assembly was drying.   I did the same for the aft section,  cementing on the top areas of the mating at the aft........it won't be so flimsy,  when I do the underside {where I wanted the glue marks to be in the first place}.   I have some damage control to do later.
 

 
there was a slight adjustment of the clamp,  but the front fascia was cemented in place at this time.   I will also finish this up,  when the glue has had time to set.    yea..........like all night!!!     this morning.......I took a look,  but haven't touched it yet.  when I do,  it will be to pull it back off and cement the underside.  the fore and aft sections of this part of the assembly,  will need to be masted and rigged,  before all three sections can be cemented permanently in place.
 

holy cow!!!   thank you all for the good wishes........really don't know what to say!   the admiral and I are very close...we do for each other all year 'round,  so when a day like this come up,  we never know what to get for one another.   we did spend the day together........later in the day,  we went for ice cream  {of all things}.    she wanted a hot fudge sundae.   I'm not a big ice cream fan.......I like it,  but it's no match for buffalo wings and beer     we got to the place...she wants to take it home......I say.....fine      she puts in her order,  I order a banana split......freak out the admiral    {predictable huh.....I'll show you!}.   I'm asked if I want the regular banana split.........not knowing that there was a sub-recipe for one,  I say ....yes!   the girl hauls out this 12 inch plastic boat,  splits a banana in half lengthwise,  and put it in the boat.   then,  three huge scoops of ice cream........vanilla,  chocolate and strawberry.  then the pineapple and strawberry garnish,  topped with whipped cream,  nuts and cherries.   she put the lid on it and locked it down.   we no sooner get out of the place,  when this thing starts to leak.......the mad rush to get home begins!  I get her in the car with them,  and we start the drive home........while this is going on,  the thing is leaking on and down her legs,  and onto the floor mat  {glory be the floor mat!}   we get home.......Get her and the 'thing'  out of the car......I grab the floor mat and hang it off the porch railing and park the car.  I come in to find her standing in the shower,  washing off her legs.   I told her to leave me a spot.....I won't go into detail as to what her reply was      she told me it was on a paper plate in the freezer....the mess was contained!
     we ate them a short time later...........it was all I could do to eat 3/4 of the darn thing!  but,  it was very good !      our life together so far has been a fun one.......I do my best to keep it interesting .   I calls her Olive in me popeye voice.........and to this day,  she'll still tell me that she ain't Olive!   she also likes to let me know what's going on  {this just today}........"they're putting up a new telephone pole up the street."   I answer:  "oh,  really.............why?"   she gets all flustered and says......shudup!     now.........I did mention putting up a shelf in the living room.  like I said,  it's nothing fancy......the admiral didn't want a book case style unit.   I was tired of having the other boats in the hallway closet.........the Nordkap has been in a box,  ever since I built it.......the Mary Ann and the Gundalow  followed suit....they were in boxes as well.   time for all these boats to come out,  I think.........so this is what I put up.
 

 
just the metal frame....the shelves I had painted while I was reorganizing the living room.   the admiral was watching keenly as this was going on........she keeps telling me that it was crazy to have the boats in boxes........but my reasons were purely duly aimed at dust collection.   I never thought I'd see it.....but when I took the Nordkap out of the box,  there were cobwebs in the rigging!   amazing!!!   it been in that box since late 2010....I believe {might even be 2011},  only taken out for short periods of time.   when all the boats were on the shelf........I had a hearty laugh for myself.   you know,  you build 'em,  not really thinking about the size of these models,  until you have them in a group.  the admiral is happy......her two favorites are up on the wall........I was surprised to hear that one of them was the Nordkap......the first vessel I ever built.
 

 
sadly,  the America and the Gundalow will have to reside in the black book case.
 

 
this is all the hobby oriented stuff I've done this week.......get through this next work week........and I'll be on vacation again......I'll try and make up for lost time     for the Titanic,  I did dry fit the rest of the boat deck.   now to figure how the two decks will work together,  paint and set up the funnel rigging.   well,  the admiral wants to go for an errand.......I'm to come along  {maybe I'll suggest ice cream again}.........this time we'll be across town.....    
 

 
thanks again for the good wishes..I told the admiral.........she says thanks as well! 
 
 

well.......got snagged away again today.........more window blinds and made some repairs to the family car.   I did manage to do a little bit though.....got started on the mock up.   the first structure has already been cemented in place...I put the roof on.  
 

 
 
now the A deck and the boat deck are like a Siamese twin...two sections of decking rise up and are part of the A deck structures......these two decks need to be assembled together.  but it's hard due to the funnel rigging.
 

 
so,  this changes the plans a little.   I really don't like putting all this tiny stuff on the decks before assembling the whole she-bang........something is liable to get knocked off..........a couple already did.   so,  the mock up for the bridge,  bow  and stern decks,  may look like this.   I just have to figure hoe to keep the bulwark walls upright.
 

 

 

 
I changed that pesky light bulb with one of those halogen bulbs...........big difference!  here are the parts that still need to go on the funnels.   there is one ladder not shown.........it's being repaired at the moment......broke while I was trimming it.
 

 
the railings are all in small parts and pieces.......they all need to be assembled.   as for the two pieces for the bow and stern,  I have two of each........in fact,  I have quite a few duplicates.   the kit comes with two sprues that are the same.
 

 

 
it's almost as bad as photo etch.........except,  I've never done P.E. before       I did a bit more on the mock up,  assembling the last two structures.   that other piece of deck fits over the square opening.
 

 

 
the thing about these two sections of decking  {roofs}........if I cement the rest of the structures to the boat deck,  it will be very hard to get them into position......it's really tight.  this thing is a real jig saw puzzle 

I have a Kodak easy share......just a simple camera.   it does have auto focus,  so I have to wait the min or so, for it to focus in.   it will even adjust lighting to a certain degree.   I had one of those energy saving bulbs in the crane light,  but I didn't like how it made the pictures come out.  I have since switched it over to a regular bulb,  but I'm going to look at the main table light to see what I'm running in that one.   it seems to make a difference if it's a cool white,  or a frosted bulb.   as far as background goes.......yea,  it's kinda busy...........on my table with wood grain paneling.   I will find a solution........but first,  I moved the hull over to the main table.   I think you'll see a difference.
 

 

 

 

 
the first one came out a little blurry.......I didn't add that one 

I think that may be the reason why they are slanted to the degree they are,  is to give the smoke direction,  and decrease fall out onto the aft decks.  I will be concentrating on getting a mock up of the boat deck together.  here is a good diagram as to how they look
 

 
I did manage to clean up the stripe yesterday.........but sadly that's about all I could do.   ended up mowing the lawns,  trimming the back yard trees,  running errands,  and putting up window blinds.   then my pesky neighbor.....{I still believe he was watching for when I got home},  stopped the admiral and asked if I'd come out to diagnose a lawn mower problem for him.    you know the drill.........by the time I was done explaining it to him,  the mower was in my garage,  to wait till I had some spare time to look into it further.   sounds like simple tweaking,  but it needs a primer button....I can get it for him and put it in.
 
I do have these as well to show you......just contrasting pictures of the stripe to deck {bulwark} mating.   it also uncovered another minor problem that I'm weighing out.  here is a shot of the bow section.
 

 
I'm using the small table crane light {remind me to shoot that bulb}....lighting is terrible!  you might be able to see the tip of the railing,  that is missing.   same for the stern section.
 

 
the stripe may look a little thick.......but looking at the hull in it's entirety,  it looks better.
 

 
here is a better picture.......not sure if it would be worth trying to retro...it's a very small part.
 

 
when the bow and stern sections are in place,  a small section of the inner hull can be seen.  these I painted white.  you will notice that on the starboard side of the aft section,  there is a touch of black.   this is the aft section of the hull being slightly warped.   I'm wondering if cementing these sections to the bridge deck,  would straighten all this out,  since there are tabs that the sections slide onto.
 

 

 
well gotta take the dog out............perhaps I'll snap a couple better picts for you.
 
 

you think I was finished with those railings?????   ohhhhhhh noooooo,  this kit isn't through running me through the ringer yet     I found out that there are two other parts that go along with the bow and stern railings.   the railings were cemented on the bow section.......minus the tip of the railing.
 

 
on with the stripe.........the hull was masked and redied for paint.
 

 

 
man.....I pressed the living crap out of the tape.....to insure that the plastic's detail was sealed away,  to give me a good line.
 

 
and then my heart stopped!   since it was such a small area to paint......I figured that I didn't need to mask up the entire hull.
     I think this should be a warning to those who are just starting out with their airbrushes.......never misjudge over spray!
 

 
I put into action,  a technique I used to do long ago.   got a clean rag and some thinner and gave it a gentle wash over. 
   the bottom paint has been on there about a week now.......plenty of time to cure.   the yellow overs pray is new and hasn't cured yet.....as long as you don't scrub,  it should come off very easy.   gentle strokes in one direction and move very fast.......don't dwell on any part of the hull,  this is what it looks like now.
 

 
the stern railings were cemented in place at this time.   you can see the section that's missing at the very aft
 

 
there is some repair and touch up to be done with the stripe.   I tried so hard to get the tape to stick completely.   I made the stripe a wee bit wider than it probably should,  but I think once it's touched up and the deck / bulwark assemblies are in place,  it should look OK.
 

 

 
I left the name plates at the bow open for the name decals.

with the remainder of last week liquidating into one complete bummer {getting pulled away from the table to do other chores}, I figured I'd try and redeem myself.   Tuesday though,  revealed a few things I wasn't pleased about.   I guess i'll just have to figure it out when I get to them.   looking ahead in the instructions,  I still find the way they want me to do the deck assembly,  a bit weird.......I'm not seeing a good outcome.   so I decided that I would work on getting the decks on the hull,  and do the railings and stuff afterwards.
 
first thing I did was get the stand together.  once the yellow stripe is done,  it can be cemented on the stand.
 

 
the wire additions on the cranes were painted  Steel........a bit more touch ups need to be done yet.
 

 
....and this is where thing started to get muddy.   I assembled the main parts of the funnels.......I didn't add the other parts yet due to paint reasons.   I wish I had.   as we know,  they are numbered 1 through 4.   I took it for granted that there might be embossed part numbers on the insides of the funnels.......there aren't.   they are not all the same either,  so now it's pretty confusing as to what order they are to be at.   I did find one saving grace......I noticed that one of the ladders was a tad shorter than the others.   I'm thinking this is #1.  the others differ in height as well.......a very tiny increment....  .5 to 1 mm.   this changes my plans just a little bit,  since they all need to be rigged before the decks are assembled.
 

 
the other bummer is with the front fascia of the decks.   there are two small sections of wall that the base of the fascia is to be cemented to.   the problem here,  is that the width of the base doesn't match the wall spacing......it falls short about .5 mm
 

 
the bridge deck and A deck can be assembled along with the mid bulwark parts.......I'll have to figure a way to fix the width problem,  before this can be done.
 

 
the railings on these two deck can also be done after they are assembled.
 
 

today......it was the upper hull that got focused on.  I need to mix a special black,  according to the TRMA  site
 

 
I had noticed that there was raised lettering where the name should be.   I trimmed it off and sanded the area
 

 
the final hole was drilled through the pedestals.  they are ready to paint.
 

 
I didn't want to use Testor's gold for them.......it would be too shiny.   I decided on the Billing's gold paint.  after they were dry,  gave them a coat of dull coat.
 

 
the props were painted with it as well.   I'll later give them some green patina....perhaps a touch of flat black.
 

 
now......I wanna warn you...the next two pictures will scare you {they did me}.  I had mixed light gray and a touch of med green to what was left of the flat black I had on the table......until I had what matched the last example on the chart.   I took these with normal light,,,,I think the camera adjusted it as well.
 

 

 
I thought I had painted it with battleship gray.....or something!  it had time to cure when I put on the overhead crane light for these next photos.   I felt better about  it when I saw them 
 

 

 

 
I did a little bit more to the cranes.........work in progress
 
 

Tuesday,  I began work with the bottom paint.   I kept my fingers crossed I was right about the spray primer.
 

 
it wasn't........I did a review of the color chart on the TRMA site.
 

 
it seemed a lot redder and flatter,  than the rustoleum example.   I added some light brown to it,  and fiddled with the paint I had decanted into a 1/4 oz bottle....I knew where I'd be going with this.  especially when I saw how this paint looked,  after I had touched up one of the screw tunnels.
 

 

 
I lost some of the red tint,  but I got closer to the rustoleum......and the Floquil examples.  the only thing to do now,  is touch up the other tunnel,  and paint the entire bottom.