I spent most of today doing other things, working on my real boat, putting a tailgate ladder on my pickup truck, and some yard work. But I did get a gloss coat on the ship which I like doing because it tends to unify the colors. I also improved and painted the propellers and then installed them. They needed the blades thinned down to look more realistic so that was a bit tedious to do, but ultimately came out okay.

The propellers were painted with Tamiya Dark copper mixed with a small amount of Tamiya Bronze.

This looks wonderful, my friend @clipper!

Thanks John (@johnb), Spiros(@fiveten), and George (@gblair).

The hurricane missed us here in the Austin area, so thankfully no flooding or wind damage.Other parts of Texas, not so well off. Hopefully not too serious but I don't know yet.

As for modeling, I still manage to find time to work on them, even on days when I am busy. My modeling sessions typically last about 30 to 45 minutes at a sitting (or actually standing) so they are usually easy enough to fit in.

Today was futzing around with adding PE details. Like most builders, my biggest challenge with these is being able to hold onto them especially when applying CA glue or sticking them on the model. It is pretty cool being able to fold some of these and getting a three dimensional object out of a two dimensional etching.

Before doing any of this, I reattached the model to the temporary base, so any handling of the model uses the wood base rather than the model itself. This can present some difficulties at times, trying to prop the model in such a way that I can position PE, but so far, I have not lost any PE and it all seems to be in the correct location and in the correct orientation.

The Flyhawk instructions for this detail set are really bad. There are many PE parts that are not shown in either photos or in the instructions. I think they expect the modeler to know what these things are. What I am doing is marking off items in the instructions and photos that I have installed so that I can better see what remains. I am also going to look at all 9 sheets of PE and try to identify each piece as to what it is and where it goes. There are at least a few optional parts which I am crossing out with a marker when I decide which ones to use and which ones not to use. But I think this is going to be difficult trying to figure out where each piece goes.

The trick to PE is not trying to do too much in any given session. I tend to put things down when I feel the anger starting to increase! 🙂

Nice progress, Carl @clipper
Always a challenge to keep the stress level low when dealing with PE. Especially with so much parts like you are dealing with currently.

Looks like massive 3D puzzle to figure out where all these PE parts need to go.
I do not think I would have the patience to complete such a task, so I really envy your perseverance, Carl.
Great work so far!

Hi Carl (@clipper): I think we have indeed jumped down the rabbit hole on these builds. Still fun, when taken in small bites. When I look at your gun shields, I am glad my APD has many fewer shields than yours. Looks great, despite the tedious effort.