Ship is now wearing primer. Time to clean up the sub-deck with the holes and correct the lines so that they flow well compared to the outside hull lines. This is going to be a lot of sanding, attention is in the details on this one.
Holes are plugged with JB weld, this will make for a strong joint. First round of sanding is complete, now for the next coat...
Corner transitions are looking great, not much if any of a line between the fiberglass board and the built up 45 degree area. Once the JB weld (white stuff) fully cures, I will need to sand that smooth.
Colors have been chosen for the inside of the boat, primary color on the left, accent color on the right. These colors will be further enhanced with fiery red powder coat on the guns and solenoids. This will be my first go with powder coating, will document the process as well. Why powder coat? A durable finish that will hold up well to our harsh environment (paint will/does chip), plus the inside of the boat is going to look great.
I was thinking it was more like tempting fate, kind of like if I painted my valves 'Clark's guns don't do SH** grey' or something
Base epoxy paint coat is laid down, holes in the sub-deck have been filled and sanded. Now to install the brackets to hold the solenoids and mount the guns to the turrets Then comes the placement of internal components, this is tricky as I want the batteries to go in the front of the ship and the bottle to be near the stern guns.To get to this balancing position, my next step is to build the masters for the superstructure. Each major piece will be removable, only held onto the deck by magnets.
Started on silk spanning the insides of the balsa sheets, we are getting close to looking like a complete hull again.
LIghter grey primer makes it easier to see the imperfections. On to yet more sanding. But at least you can see the nice transition from water channeling to the 45 degree hull turn and how the ribs tie it together.
That is a clean looking build, Lou. Inspirational even. I started work on my Barham this past weekend.
Thanks Mike, time to change your sig line to include your new ship (and I thought I had a building problem) My goal is a clean looking ship inside as well as outside, we will see if I can accomplish that.
