THE LIFEBOAT
Next up, the lifeboat.
This is a vacuum-formed piece supplied with the kit. The first job was to carefully cut the basic shape free from the excess plastic using a sharp knife. Take your time here, as the plastic is quite thin and easy to damage.
Step 1 โ Cleaning up the hull
Once removed, I trimmed and cleaned the edges until I had a nice, even outline all around.
Step 2 โ Ridge pole
The ridge pole was made from a scrap strip of 1/16" x 1/4", shaped to match the contour of the lifeboat. This gives the canvas cover a more realistic profile once fitted.
Step 3 โ Canvas cover (masking tape method)
Following the instructions, I used 2" masking tape for the canvas cover โ first time trying this method, and I must say it worked out quite well.
I started by laying down two strips of tape, adhesive side up.
Then I placed the lifeboat upside down onto the glued surface.
The edges were folded over, gently stretching the tape to conform to the shape โ but not too much, as the plastic hull is quite thin.
Step 4 โ Edges and border
I then trimmed the tape along the edges, leaving roughly 1/8" to form a border. This could also be done by adding a separate 1/8" strip, but trimming worked fine in this case.
Step 5 โ Tie-down details
To simulate the canvas tie-downs, I cut small triangular pieces of tape and added them along the sides.
In the early photos youโll see three per side, but I later corrected this to four for a better look.
Step 6 โ Lifeboat supports
The kit-supplied supports didnโt quite look right to me, so I made my own cradle to better fit the hull and sit properly on the deck.
Overall, a simple part, but with a bit of extra work it turns into a nice little feature.
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