Hi all
Again your support for this is really appreciated. At the moment the interaction with fellow modellers is more important than ever given that we, in the UK, can't mix with friends and relatives or go out much at all.
I have started planking the outer hull. Now the instructions would have you do a couple of things I didn't feel happy with. They want you to pin the planks to the ribs while the glue dries. I thought this may mark the edges of the planks and also I was afraid the pins would split the plywood ribs. They actually tell you to take care. I decided that using clamps would be safer.
The instructions tell you to cut the planks over size by a couple of mm and sand back to the outer ribs. Sanding back is fraught with problems - it takes ages, it stresses the framework and tends to splinter the wood. I decide to measure each plank and then cut it accurately to start with. I sanded the plank ends before gluing them in place so virtually no extra sanding was needed. It took longer but was safer. I used this cutter to cut the planks. Its not perfect but pretty accurate. (I bought it after seeing Steve J use one on one of his YouTube videos)
I worked evenly up each side from the keel up to the openings for the lower gun ports.
You can see here the planks were cut over size as per instructions. After that they were cut to size.
Not a lot to show but took a fair bit of time.
Thanks again for your posts.
Stay safe.
Jim