Again, I took .030 thou. plastic card stock from Evergreen (I got the large bulk packs of 24" long stock) and I took each deck plan and glued it to a section of stock and I cut out the deckhouse structure, leaving he open areas of the deck in place. I used perfectly cut, square pieces of Brass square and rectangular stock as truing guides:
And I began the buildup making sure all corners are square and true:
After I completed the entire deckhouse, I made a guide at the proper height of the portholes and I scribed a line laterally down the outside of the bulkhead. This was to ensure an level alignment of the portholes. The bulkheads were made from 1/2" high by .10 thick styrene stock again from Evergreen and again in 24" long lengths. This ensured that each bulkhead was perfectly flat and square on the deck, and provided a strong base for the next deck up. I glued some center sections to support the deck above evenly:
Next deck up (03 Level):
The top 04 level:
Here is the cargo deck (01 Level) of the ship and the deckhouse buildup:
Rough stack:
Gun Mount houses and Plats:
One of the neat things I like about this ship is the plethora of deck goodies to model. There are no less than 6 boats on the cargo deck and 4 26' lifeboats on the 02 level boat deck. There are also numerous winches and vents to model as well as the three cargo booms. It's the closest to modelling a modern day rigged ship:
I got brass and white metal fittings from Bluejacket Shipcrafters and from Tom's Modelworks:
(A little paper residue. It cleans up easily.)
Starting to add in some details. The decks are in no way glued together yet.
Here is the brass sheet from Bluejacket:
A very fine set!
And from Toms:
So I was trying to figure the best way to form the front face of the main superstructure, and I decided to put in supports and then use a thin sheet of plastic and form it that way. So far has worked ok and looks good. We'll see when it's finished:
The next step I was dreading. Installation of the down spouts from the scuppers:
I used references from the cargo/boat deck to guesstimate the placement of them.
I glued down another deck plan into the main deck for absolute alignment:
Now I'm starting the main deck deckhouses:
The aft deckhouse:
Transmitter shack:
This is kind of a weird area. The 5" 50 cal's up on the 01 level are heavy and pack a punch, so the decks had to be level of course and thick and supported well. So that is why this section is like that. There are large support beams that will need to be made to appear to hold it up from the edges of the deck:
The after 01 level deckhouse:
And this is more or less how she looks today. All of the decks and deckhouses are done. I have applied all of the hatches to the bulkheads and am in the process of cleaning up the decks getting them ready for primer and paint. I intend to paint the deck US Navy Deck Grey and then mask them and paint the bulkheads. I am also in the process of making around 500 acetylene and o2 and assorted tanks that adorn the sides of the bulkheads. There are literally hundreds of them and I bought several packages of 1/16" x .014 Aluminum tubing and some .014 rod to fit and I cut them into scale 5' lengths and then cut the rod and inserted a length into the tube and a dab of CA glue makes it look like a Oxygen cylinder. Now I just have to repeat it 500 times. I also got from Bluejacket fire hoses and reels and mics deck bits and bollards that will need to be applied. Once the deck is painted, I will mask it and paint the bulkheads (with the 01 level finally glued in place). Then I will detail the decks, then cut the hundred or so deck support stanchions, then the railings over that, then the life rafts after that.
Once that is all done, then I will attach and build up the rest of the decks in the same fashion.
That's the general plan...
I am watching with great interest . 
