Progress report: May 9, 2008
Continuing to cut and grind. All of the kit's molded-in limber holes and freefloods are now open. I've also moved the anchor well forward 1/8-inch. The kit's torpedo doors are too long, so I've scribed a new after edge. A little putty and everything will look a-ok!
Here's what it looks like from the other side. The lower free floods were opened by careful (read tedious) sanding.
Here's my attempt to open up the free floods at the stern. Things are tough when working in this scale and not having advantage of aftermarket photoetch!
Here you can see that I'm going to have some repair work before I'm done. My fumble-fingers have cut away a bit too much, especially on the port side free floods.
Having opened the 'slot' above the saddle tanks, it's necessary to extend the curve of the tank inward. I've also temporarily removed part of the fairwater for access.
A closer view. I decided to use the kit's two 'bulkhead' pieces to ensure I keep the correct shape of the hull. I've had to do some cutting of these pieces, though, to minimize chance they can be seen through the now-open limber holes.
A "Bird's-eye" view of the starboard saddle tank:
To be continued...