[Gil]

Shrike,

Glad I'm not the only one who clandestinely shops at Sally's. I've lost count on the number of the washable-reusable nail boards in my collection. The dishwasher really does a great job getting them clean but sometimes they need a good brush scrub in the deep sink.

Jay,

Can't believe how you're marching on with the build. I like the recovery catches. They're near and dear to my heart too for some odd reason.

Hull plates are fairly difficult to get right. Applying strip paper "T"s to the former is part of the solution. The former is the base of all that goes on top, if it's not right everything else will be wrong too. Take time to Zen-out and meditate on visualizing the next step in the process. I learned from some of the master European paper modelers that careful sanding of the formers is key to perfecting the plate fit. The idea is to form a "radius curve" on the former so that when the strip paper "T" is applied it will also curve gently along with the incoming and outgoing plates. This is accomplished by slightly burnishing the strips with a convex tool so the curve is accomplished before the strip is applied to the former. Some seal the strip with nitrocellulose dope (sanding sealer also works) once all the "T" strips are in place. A final light sanding "smooths" the surface for the application of the hull plates.

One important item when it comes to hull plates is "Cut Large, Trim Smaller to Fit". This may be time consuming but a well trimmed and fitted hull plate is one of those "in process" triumphs that's hard to describe. Always begin plating at the middle and alternately work toward the stem and stern one plate pair at a time otherwise the keel will "banana" on you...,

Best regards,
+Gil