I recently got to work a bit more on
Kathryn: 'plating' the keel and adding the rudder. Is there a card modeling name for applying a 'skin' over a solid core? For example, the keel of this model is layered card, in this case 3mm thick. I didn't want to leave the cut edge visible, so I covered with a 3mm strip of card printed in the correct color. Seems like there should be a name for this.
The photos really highlight the gaps between the hull sides and the keel. Eventually I'll add a little paint to camouflage this but it's not that noticeable in real life. Especially since it's only visible if you're looking at the model upside down.
I next attempted to cut out some of the railing pieces. I'm not happy with these. I'm going to have to try some other railing techniques. I think I'll try glue-stiffened string. I may decide to forgo the railings entirely but I'm not quite there yet. If I go ahead with them, though, I do want to add them to the model before going on to the sails and rigging. Otherwise I imagine the sails will be in the way when installing the railings.
And finally my new favorite tool. While working through a magnifying stand helps me to cut more accurately, I frequently found that the short distance between the magnifier and the table was inconvenient (kept bumping my knife and tweezers on the stand) and it forced me to hunch over the desk. So I decided to try a visor. I'm glad I did. This visor from Carson Optics has four interchangeable lenses which easily flip up out of the way. What really impressed me, though, was the brightness of the LED light. The earlier magnifying stand also had an LED light but it was so weak as to be useless. So I didn't have much hope for the Carson light. Boy, was I wrong! A great investment. I think I paid US $26.
