So I spent time reading through the Model Shipwright’s build suggested above. At first I was excited, but as the build got more and more detailed I found myself discouraged. “I’m never going to build anything close to this,” was my thinking, followed by “I’m not sure I even want to build anything that detailed”.
Beautiful work, though. And – to my thinking, anyway – perhaps the definitive online build of the Olympia. It got me to wondering why I am bothering to post – I’m not going to build a diorama, I’m likely to take shortcuts, I’m probably not going to do anything that hasn’t been done already, and I’m certainly not going to approach the level of detail in the MS post. I don’t have an answer, except that I like the idea of sharing my work. So…
I’ve been fiddling with the hull, adding a forward torpedo tube cover, filling, sanding, priming and painting. Still have the props, name plate and shield to add, remaining paint work includes the black line at the top of the hull, the gun barrels, and some touch-up along the waterline.
The anti-fouling paint is a Rustoleum spray that is ‘scale effect correct’ for the Titanic (of which I’ve built 1 and have another 2 in process). I used it here as I had no red on hand - and despite the fact that I am unlikely to correct the remaining colors for scale. See what I mean? Shortcuts already.
Assembly, prepping and priming of the superstructure has been the other effort the last few evenings, along with test-fitting decks and miscellaneous fitting.
One of those fittings is the bridge, for which a PE replacement was provided. Looking at the two of them, I can’t honestly say I prefer the PE. The kit part feels like it has more texture to it – the PE part looks too flat. Haven’t decided yet, but I may use the remaining PE bridge parts on the plastic version…