Looking for advice... port side of LHD hull, I opened the "embarkation port" - the one used for the brow, etc. along with the corresponding hatch on the upper vehicle deck. After doing a check fit I discovered that the opening in the hull is high relative to the one on the vehicle deck by about 0.16" (almost five scale feet).
As I see it, I have four alternatives:
1. leave it the way it is,
2. incorporate some sort of ramp system to make it look like it's supposed to be that way,
3. lower the opening in the hull, or
4. raise the vehicle deck.
From my perspective, option 1 isn't really on the table. Option 2 would be easy but would be one of those things that would always nag me. Option 3 is my favorite but I would lose the very fine hatch coaming detail molded onto the hull. Option 4 would take a lot of work, and might not even be possible once I really take a look at it.
The photos below show a "big picture" view of the area in question, and a detail shot taken perpendicular to the opening in the hull. Note there is also a slight x-axis translation to deal with as well, which could be accomodated with Option 3.
A little more info. While typing this post I got the bright idea to do some relative measurements between prototype photos and the model (see third photo). If you like arithmetic, bear with me for a moment.
From the model, I get:
width of port: 0.40" or ~ 12 scale feet (I'm being loose with data here)
distance from bottom of port to top of flight deck: 1.54" or ~ 45 scale feet
from the photo I get:
width of port: 0.52"
distance from bottom of port to top of flight deck: 2.19"
If I scale the 0.52" to 12' and use that factor on the distance from the port to flight deck, I get 50'... or exactly the number I want to justify alternative #3 (that is, that the opening on the model is five scale feet too high on the hull). Of course, I'm not quite so arrogant as to think my measurements are that precise, but it sure looks like I could make a case for lowering the opening without causing the rivet counters to blow an aneurysm.
Thoughts/suggestions?
Thanks,
Randy