Let’s move on to attaching the final—and rather tricky—component to the hull.
As always, let’s start with the key players for the upcoming assembly steps.
After cleaning the very delicate components, I decided to solder the railing to the upper handrail. To do this, I secured the upper section to a block of wood using a little Micro Liquitape and carefully soldered the railing into the groove, piece by piece.
The second groove was then attached to the gratings, and the two round mounts were also secured with solder.
Assembled, and then everything was given a coat of primer.
Afterwards, I used my finest sandpaper to sand the paint off the nameplate down to the brass and attached the plaque to the railing. I double-checked the original photos of the Mikasa to make sure I was mounting it the right way up—that could have been quite embarrassing otherwise.
Then everything weathered again.
Tacked the gallery to the hull with Blu-Tack to align it properly.
After that, I secured everything properly with acrylic adhesive and attached the struts and the stern anchor. The rudder has also been fitted into its mounts. However, I’ll leave the propulsion system for later.
And with that, the gallery is hanging in its place.
I am very glad that everything worked out well, given that I had made quite a few changes to the hull—such as all the profiles—so I was really worried that something might not fit. But as you can see, it is hanging straight and at the intended height on the stern, exactly where it belongs.
I initially considered replicating the small release mechanism on the stern anchors as well, but ultimately decided against it. I’d like to get this model finished soon, and I’ve already scratch-built plenty of details. That should suffice; otherwise, I’ll start losing interest.
So, I can report that the final components on the outer hull can be considered complete.
Moving on to the masts.
Let’s move on to attaching the final—and rather tricky—component to the hull.
As always, let’s start with the key players for the upcoming assembly steps.
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNCc3pdlS39uNKlE4oM3yhBgEVVTtAu8ZFrifCBdyAx0HCbm6kbael5AZDJLaQMnzOUEUIW-SORUE2oHqtwPF7XlbqO1_dsMpYvZH82S0iMJfPRUory=w2400[/img]
After cleaning the very delicate components, I decided to solder the railing to the upper handrail. To do this, I secured the upper section to a block of wood using a little Micro Liquitape and carefully soldered the railing into the groove, piece by piece.
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMLPKOWNkd9q7GjdYJClsYbqtO57amBLlnsLSQuxsJ7TkCDfMSvMH3KbTqFYj5ubhQKXWRTwNOnc_K2U3mWjT0hICo3yyx1Uc4oVH3dlh_9bFI-8J51=w2400[/img]
The second groove was then attached to the gratings, and the two round mounts were also secured with solder.
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczM4R_PnQi35lArHLLRLTYtTOAEGkBkdooJfHHHzP3IUEj1t3NuFngGHjvlSjsz6YmRnZm4YXEb_pjNKAuNh-JvEskV99Tk8fOURAzsUTd0dLXXuRVSu=w2400[/img]
Assembled, and then everything was given a coat of primer.
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczOV5FXGERMsT67bVAuR0CGSiPNE4Dm-3zsR1fYD-HQ1rmnjWoX5-4OqHYpG1wX5t1Mk9NTJ2dPIuhszRBF5IwUWuT-zJlLIl2B_rBoJLVStPQ55Y3kD=w2400[/img]
Afterwards, I used my finest sandpaper to sand the paint off the nameplate down to the brass and attached the plaque to the railing. I double-checked the original photos of the Mikasa to make sure I was mounting it the right way up—that could have been quite embarrassing otherwise.
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMcOOgo56gjG4WuRwLTTpufpKjeMGtIuy7EAOVFv6TgW-Bi6vACOgbJzYSNMp3KXNnm48ZY1QJRlD68Be6FwOhI4f4z_G4JWzGy__eBPDUC1xXf_mPd=w2400[/img]
Then everything weathered again.
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczOc4BPKmkeSae0YG-4o9uHXntbGRhOxVGl59Ykz1-3fO--43GCul1U6HZBpfxMmvL1SmdMVU2dOI1kFkpwYJ1-305QrsOss_ABM3m9x-2AZW_Tp1Ah2=w2400[/img]
Tacked the gallery to the hull with Blu-Tack to align it properly.
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMJLIrHNrsXCQQ-bNMiDYQF8H3AppHnWCyzi-HvRvSUa2wiBrQTuR1AusiDSa0Hq9quDDIAPJQDslmjQ1K9cxuBEB525ewQrMEUcUCcVYKYbWSnDRuP=w2400[/img]
After that, I secured everything properly with acrylic adhesive and attached the struts and the stern anchor. The rudder has also been fitted into its mounts. However, I’ll leave the propulsion system for later.
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPkskd2d7dQebC5WOg0NJagceklWjnBIdxsGj_ZCRn0AxJPQ1YIBePvczlXnSZ2Vva06kfru1TIhuw4xeXz9qhEA5lzvB3k5TktCw0ZsiVkjz3ijZzf=w2400[/img]
And with that, the gallery is hanging in its place.
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNVkk9n9QHvJoCt5-YzCU2LqfTIig_IeIqm5rR0z4TOR3rWgWdcY5XuHXNMPcsJiGJpAlq6GxkXsBczUvSeP9HdgRjd4VUIQ57H1qnBV-rCMytt65_l=w2400[/img]
I am very glad that everything worked out well, given that I had made quite a few changes to the hull—such as all the profiles—so I was really worried that something might not fit. But as you can see, it is hanging straight and at the intended height on the stern, exactly where it belongs.
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNb-QQ9kwg0hJ5AmWXOALEjbe-kVvEUBDaullUlbPPuDjpGVFFCLSA3pkk1rx-oEDLF2ELoeq_A4Ncgu2DeO-rV0_yylwvQuNOjmMG5XUno8PiJbnPP=w2400[/img]
I initially considered replicating the small release mechanism on the stern anchors as well, but ultimately decided against it. I’d like to get this model finished soon, and I’ve already scratch-built plenty of details. That should suffice; otherwise, I’ll start losing interest.
So, I can report that the final components on the outer hull can be considered complete.
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMsO_boNbbLEQh5w6Q8M9s6Kp7na-CVIRmtJr4dphSAMZlhIhafJlwMy8ElJNqVqb0LALkK2qMU8GiEGqNP10JK--FXIDLBuk6yy80sWNUkntVi04cW=w2400[/img]
Moving on to the masts.