Nirvana

They look great, Jon!  I guess I will complete my Model Monkey order for the remainder I need... for whenever I get to this point years from now.  Thanks for the encouragement! 

As it turned out, the 3-D misprinted/broken recoil rope eye bolts for are a moot point as I had to remove all of them anyways. They were very fragile, delicate, and broke when I tried to attach the required ring to them. The plastic is very stiff, inflexible, and will snap if any stress is applied to them.
 
Each of the 20 carronades required seven 1/32” eyebolts, one each for the two tackles per side, one for the recoil rope per side, and one on the rear of the gun slide. The recoil eyebolts have a ring passing through their eye through which the recoil ropes are threaded. These were replaced with trimmed eyebolts bent 90° with the attached ring.
 
All 20 carronades were dry positioned on the spar deck ready to be rigged. First, I need to fabricate the two long guns to complete the spar deck’s armament.

Double checking through the instructions and I had omitted one small detail. There are various ladders going down from the deck which I had fitted. For some reason I forgot to add the hand rails and have now added them. Luckily I managed to add them in the cramped space on the deck and only knocked one very small part off. I have also added the lumber to the funnel bases as suggested on the HMS Hood web site. Also have been adding various hand rails around the hull. All the guns and rocket launchers are in place. I am adding various details to the deck before starting on the ships boats then the bridge and masts. 
I will also have to make a decision on the ladders going down the hull. They where dismantled and stored when at sea. And I have to admit I don't like them as they take away the sleek lines of the hull when the model is displayed. I may add them on the side that will not be seen once displayed and decide if I like them or not. 

Phil that pilot house looks amazing! Very nice detailing.

Tom,
 
I would like to take credit for remembering all of that - especially the equipment model numbers - but I am working from blueprints with complete lists of everything from type and numbers of screws to the make and model of the radar. To be honest, I don't remember much of it.
 
You made me curious, so I looked at my DD214 and all it says was "discharged," "honorable," and "strength adjustment." The war was winding down and the Navy had too many junior officers. Basically it said "Thanks for your service, good bye, and don't let the doorknob hit you in the rear."

Phil, Your memory of who did what with what, plus where various equipment was attached and their model numbers is quite remarkable. You must have been an excellent junior officer. I imagine that your DD214 is festooned with compliments.
Tom

Well, it was better than swimming out with a hammer and beating on them!

Very traditional tactics, Phil - trying to sink mines with rifle fire! 🙂
 
John

Thanks to everyone for your comments and likes.
 
Here is a bit more progress:
 

 
I have started assembling the O1 level superstructure.
 
The sides of the pilot house are attached to the after pilot house bulkhead and the after bulkhead on the deck house.
 
Here are a few views of the pilot house details before the forward bulkhead is attached.
 
The deck was covered with brown linoleum tiles. I won't try to replicate the tile lines or the random pattern - they are too small to see at this scale.
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
Here are a couple of photos of the deck house on the hull.
 

 
 

 
 
The front and top of the O1 level are not attached yet, and are just sitting there. The O1 house is not attached to the main deck level house. Likewise, the main deck level deckhouse is not glued to the hull. There are still a lot of details to add to the superstructure and it will be easier to work on the parts off the hull.
 
The next step will be the bulwark around the open bridge. For that I will remove the O1 level house so it isn't in the way.
 
 
 
 
You can see one of the characteristics of minesweepers - a high pilot house up forward. This helps to see mines in the water ahead. Lookouts were posted on the O2 level above the pilot house to watch for mines. They carried M1 Garand rifles, and I was stationed there with a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). We were to shoot at any mines we saw, primarily to mark the location for the 50 caliber machine gun crew at the bow, and so the helmsman could try to avoid the mine. If we got lucky we might even detonate the mine, or sink it. We never fired at a real mine while I was aboard.

Middle of phase 3 planking and I am sure glad I have these handy clamps. It’s going slow as I’ve been way distracted with baseball this week so with the mariners having a week off before post season I hope to get this thing planked this week with any luck. It’s starting to look more and more like a tugboat hull to me

Great little boat - your result is really impressive! 🙂 Now I know that planking her hull is quite a challenge (at least for me)!

I’ve been shaping the yards and boom. Also making the sails. This teabag paper is working good for me. It doesn’t require a new skill:-) First I trace the sails on the paper
 

 
then paint one side to give it a little stiffness.
 

 
After a few days of drying, so it’s not tacky. I cut them out.
 

 
next I cut strips for the seams, hems and corner supports.
 

 
After all that’s done I paint over both sides. Then glue a rope around the sides.
 

 
I still have four more sails to glue this rope on. 
 

Cool urban camo on that toad (frog?) if that helps any?

Todays shop critters…its hard getting used to being out of metropolis.  Too many critters out here.   Dinosaurs!!!
 

Thanks, I have a lot of machining experience, basically the only difference is the scale.  Drilling holes is the challenging part as the push drills are so slow, but anything is the garage is too much.  What I need is a pin vise to mount in my tiny rotary tool.

It's always slower going than I would wish.
Being retired, one would think I'd have nothing else to do. But life constantly gets in the way.
In any case, I'll keep at it. Always trying to be methodical and not rushing anything. Correcting mistakes takes up time as well, and I'm dealing with some of that now.

Still working on deadeyes and straps.  Made a little more progress.  The starboard side is complete.   Now to complete the other side.
 

 

Finally started placing the bulkheads on the build board. After placing a few at the aft end I decided to place the most forward bulkhead to make sure the keel is straight.
The keel (s) as seen in these photos is not glued in place yet, its dry fit to assure proper bulkhead enlightenment and its straightness.  The keel is split in order to accommodate the prop shaft.
 

@Nirvana I am not Andrew. That is another build log. Thanks anyways though!
 
 

Some of my models lined up!

Well, here is the finished model. I may add more pictures when I build a new stand for it.  It's kinda weird being finished. I keep thinking of what I have to do next. I hope you all like it.
 
 

Hi Chris. Very nice. Will they be available as separate Figures as well? I play the Cello myself and would love to have them both sitting in my 1:32 scale  captains cabin.
Matthias 

Is it too late to mention that Aubrey's bow grip is incorrect? 😬 I didn't notice until just now.
 
https://www.sagemusic.co/blog/how-to-hold-a-violin-bow/

And here is the full scene, Aubrey, Maturin, table with candles and music note stand - standard in all Surprise kits.

Steve,
 
Thanks!
 
I am printing the "faces" of the instruments on my laser (actually LED) printer, on ordinary printer paper. Then I cut them out and glue them to the instrument body. This works OK for the wooden parts. But the dial face on the EOT came out a bit the worse for wear.
 
I soldered all the parts together, including a pin for the EOT handle to attach to. Then the paper "dial" face was glued on. So far, so good. But when I soldered the handle onto the pin (briefly) the dial face became heated and distorted. It looks like some of the ink flaked off, so you can't read the lettering any more. It was probably the solder flux that distorted the printing.
 
But it will be inside the pilot house and almost invisible, so it will work OK.