Completed the main structure and made a few detail bits, the cabin is made from a double skin of 40 thou plasticard with a spacer to allow the clear acetate to slot in after painting. Got to the stage of scraping the last bit of filler from the tube and delving deep into the scrap box for plasticard after this thankfully my local model shop does click and collect and after ordering at 11 am collected at 1 .30 great service and everything is on the website to order.
Going to be making a few more fittings next life rafts hatches etc.

After completion of the hull and fitting the running gear I painted the underside so that the model could have the running gear fitted, the upper part was given a grey primer coating to be able to fix any imperfections. Now its the big one final colour white being the main one so on top of the grey primer I undercoated with a rattlecan white car primer and then airbrushed Tamiya matt white followed by a coat of Humbrol satin cote. I was left with an ocean of white so to tone it down I added a black boot topping which also gives an impression on stretching the boat. The lower half then being sprayed with Humbrol matt cote and transfers made from waterslide paper added, all together on one day due to minor problems with masking tape it took from 9 am to 9 pm for paint transfers and varnish.

Been making a few bits to add after painting, vents funnel and the rear doors, sent off for some waterslide transfer paper and downloaded the logo from the net. After printing the logo the paper is varnished and then after application is varnished with the airbrush again. Next update might include the boat with some paint on always find I paint with clenched teeth as well as other parts! like the results but hate the process.

No longer bits, but the sum of the parts now all the major pieces either restored or built, the main cabin and funnel from plasticard and the hull with its ply inserts for the cabin windows and the wavy rubbing strips straightened out.
Getting the hull etc to this state seems to have cost as much as a small boat kit plasticard glue, sanding sealer, white glue, fibreglass resin, primer paint and wet and dry paper don't get me wrong its been a pleasure so far but oh for the unwary beginner who needs a trolley for all the bits after he buys the boat. Many of the stuff has been ordered online so the couriers also have their cut.
Ordered now is white paint and some waterslide decal paper for the funnel emblem and the name boards and then onto all the fittings which as the plans are a little blurred will be made with a little bit of licence.

Well I have to be honest and say that I built a cabin from 3 mm ply right up to priming it for paint, and after long and anguished thought I put it to one side and started to use some 40 thou plasticard I had just received from an internet site. 3 Sheets with outlines drawn on and then the windows were cut out 12 X 2 layers 24 windows seeing them in dreams next.
Thought no grain to fill no sanding no priming no contest, the photos show my attempt at woodwork the problem being getting the windows true and having to really fit any glazing into the openings not looking forward to that bit. as sticking them on the inside didnt seem right Other shots show the new version which is 40 thou plasticard doubled to create a gap to slot in 10 thou clear card after painting and then fit a roof which is to be constructed. The moral being dont be afraid to show a failure and its not just what you build its what you discard

Lots more jobs completed but nothing much to photograph fitted a handrail around the bridge deck front and sanded filled and did it again, made some paper templates for the cabin layout just waiting for a delivery of 3 mm lite ply from SLEC for the bridge cabin and engine casing. After priming there were faults found such as rubbing strakes that were damaged or had the profile of a wave, that were corrected by refitting but using mahogany strip for strength. Thinking now about speed controls the motors draw about 7 amps off load don't know if to use two 15 amp or one larger amp controller. I already have a 15amp as with the props I already had a 35mm so bought a second hope this isn't the downfall of the project.

Well decided to keep building in a sensible order so yes I built the funnel for some reason, I just wanted a change and I had the materials, the wood frame was built from the scrap box as long as I got the correct shape looks were not important its skinned in 40 thou plasticard cut from the black card templates which were formed around the wood frame.
The plasticard was pressed around the frame using an old hairdryer to heat it to aid the forming it didnt bend totally but near enough to be secured to the frame with superglue I added the vents from plasticard pieces separated by spacers and sanded to shape. The glue was hung on a card next to the checkout at the supermarket 2 small tubes for a pound it turned out to be really good in fact it stuck like ! ------ Lets see if the next job follows any sort of a pattern.

Just for comparison the photos show how I received the boat with balsa stuck over the windows and portholes put in, I managed to remove this as it was glued with contact glue so I administered a little steam and prised them off but damaged some edges of the window cut outs. Try as I might I could not fix this as the balsa was so soft so I cut pieces of 1.5 mm ply to fit where I cut away large sections of the balsa and cut out the windows prior to fitting.This makes the frames look better as the thickness is more to scale, also I have put in ply on the wings of the small afterdeck as the edges of the balsa was a little battered.

Well Martin and Nerys could not have been more right there is a lot of work and I could not wait to get to primer but oh the faults it showed, still in lock down what else would I do.
So thanks for both the warning and the pleasure I have had from this website happy new year.

The model was designed with an internal sub deck which the original builder split into sections between the frames and I have kept this except for removing it to sink the battery lower and of course the motors had to be lower to keep the shaft angles down a problem I had in earlier updates.
I got some information from a US website called RCgroups.com on which a lot of people cited the instability of the model as did Ianh who knew the full size vessel and commented that it had a tendency to wallow.
The weight needed for such a shallow draught was a bit of a surprise 3 kilos so a large drive battery with ballast forward.
Rudders are now fitted with arms from 5mm collets with brass arms soldered to them. Looking as if this is it now until after the festive bits so until the new year happy everything.🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈