Those parts look excellent, my friend @gblair!

That Flower class corvette model is going to be a real fun project George (@gblair). And I suspect a lot more work than even the APD is. I am going to be getting back to my cruiser build probably today and continue doing the foiling work on the Thunderbolt when I feel like doing something different.

Good you placed the can next to the parts, this clearly shows how big those parts are, impressive, George @gblair

I started the day yesterday thinking I could use the gun tubs in the host DE kit, but I quickly discovered that every gun tub on the APD has a different configuration than those on the DE. My initial plan was to use very thin brass to form the new shields. I have done this before, but they are very fiddly and very fragile. I decided I wanted to take a swing at designing and printing my own shields. I didn't think they would be very difficult to design, but I was worried about the resin printing. I wanted to have shields that were scale (or near scale) thickness on the shields, which means they would be extremely thin. I wasn't sure if I could successfully print them, and I wasn't sure I would be able to remove the supports without damaging the walls of the tub.

I used Tinkercad to design the pieces, which is very simple to use. The printing was successful, and I was able to get the pieces off their supports. Things went so well that I decided to design and print the derrick that is on the rear of the ship. APDs had two different styles of derricks, one was 3-sided affair that looked like lattice. I thought it would be easy, but it turns out there is some geometry in the piece that defied my ability to create something that worked. I decided to design and use the 2nd type of derrick, which basically looks like a tripod. I still want to design and print the small raised platforms for the gun directors, but that will be tomorrow.

In between all this fun, I cemented the plastic which forms the top of the troop compartment. I made sure everything fore and aft fit perfectly because they would be hard to adjust once it was glued down. I left the sides a little wide so I would have a little wiggle room, if needed. Tomorrow I plan to sand down the sides of this new pieces and get it ready for some deck hardware.

Cheers.

5 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Thanks Carl (@clipper): I did a 1/500 ship several years ago that I converted. I used very thin copper for the gun tubs, and they were really fragile. I am slowly gaining confidence in designing simple things for 3D printing. I am basically learning as I go. In my ignorance of naval things, I thought this would be a straightforward conversion, but I am finding that it is a lot more complex than I thought.

I think we are both in the same boat (haha), Carl (@clipper). I have a bunch of photos of these ships, and I can see a lot of detail on the decks, and I just don't know what it is. I figure I will do what I can to plop something on the deck that looks similar without really needing to know what each piece of equipment does.

Thanks, John (@johnb). I am learning as I go.

Thanks, Spiros (@fiveten). Trying to work the different aspects of the conversion have really slowed things down.