This is shaping up to be very very interesting George (@gblair). Doing a conversion like this has got to take a lot of back and forth like you are going through. My own experience with aircraft conversions was similar so I know what you are going through. I think the big difference here, or at least it would be for me, is that the knowledge of the subject matter and familiarity with the type of model building may be less, making it harder to know what to do next or even just what to do. So my hat is off to you on this project. Although smaller than my cruiser, it appears to be more complex and it says a lot about your abilities and confidence level to tackle this. As I said, I look forward to seeing more progress on this.

Continued get the scratchbuilt portion ready for the kit parts. I decided to remove all of the cast detail from the kit superstructure, so did some sanding and filling. I think I finally have the deck and troop compartment filled and sanded and ready to move on. I added two more scratchbuilt walls to the forward part of the troop compartment. I hope to finish this area tomorrow and add the top of the troop compartment. Cheers everyone.

5 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Thanks, John (@johnb). A conversion is always extra work, but I hope that it will work out in the end. It's like walking around in the dark without a flashlight.

Very nice progress on the conversion work, George!
Carl and yourself really go that extra mile to make your models truly unique. Top notch.
Very interesting to follow your respective journeys through the dark (without flashlight).
@clipper

I managed to get the forward area of the troop compartment glued together. I still need to fill and sand everything smooth, and then add doors and other detail. I also rough-cut the roof of the troop compartment. I like to leave it a little big, and then sneak up on the correct size. I hopefully will do that tomorrow. Then I can start using some of the kit parts.

3 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Super job so far, my friend @gblair!

Starting to look like a boat George (@gblair). LOL, I used to hear this all the time when I was building my cabin cruiser! 🙂

I didn't have a lot of time today, but I got several areas on the forward bridge structure filled and sanded. There were several locating holes and slots for kit pieces that wouldn't be used. I also went through my box of PE to see what I could use for the conversion. I have been buying 1/350 PE for a long time so that they would be available when I finally started building ship models again. Basically, any time someone had PE on sale that was generic and could be used on any kit, I would buy it. Now it is coming in handy.

2 attached images. Click to enlarge.