[Lex]

Where was I? Yes, sanding. I tried to fix the hull and bit the bullet.

I pulled out the propeller assemblies, and added plenty of filler to that area. One layer of primer later... The seams and bamboo were made so much more visible. Alright, time for some fillers I thought. But it was not so simple, despite the internal supports, the paper was still deforming as I sanded it, and I could never remove the bambooing to get a satisfactory result.

In trying to salvage the build, I decided to put paper strips on the hull to simulate the layering of the plates. It is something that is visible on most photos, so I have material to reference against, and the effect will make the bamboo much less visible. I had to wait till access to laser cutter so I don't need to cut the strips by hand. So, up and down, 8 months until I finished dealing with this entire ordeal. The result looks okay, the original seams now appear as seams in the plating as well, which was a bonus. The propellers needs redoing (and repositioning, that will be fixed at the same time), but that is minor compared to the improvement in the result. The portholes will be replaced by 1:350 PE set, which, with some foresight, I have stocked up plenty of before the lockdown.

There is still the little fin on the bow, as well as the bilge keels. Things are looking more promising now.