I have been building the model for the last 8 weeks. First time model builder.. I am well into the model now. I have just finished cutting all the parts off the ABS sheets. I have gone much farther than these photos indicate and will be posting more as I go along. I am now sanding and cleaning up all the rough edges and have to cut the excess material of the hull. I have attached some photos of my progress. The website has been quite helpful if I have any questions as I go along.

The model may look a bit rough but final sanding and shaping still has to be done. All the windows have been masked off for painting in the future. I am waiting for all the motor parts and and servos so I can get all that working and tested before I secure the main deck. What is clear as I go along plans are only a guide and sometimes you have to do what makes more sense. The CA cement was perfect for securing the wood frame to the plastic and set up quickly. A little goes a long way.

Being my first model things have gone pretty well, I think. Instructions are only a guide. After 8 weeks I am starting to make some headway. Just finished the salon deck and door. All the photos show ruff edges and masking tape but they will all be gone when I complete sanding and filling which I am doing at this time as well.

Rudder Post:

The rudder post I must admit I got some good advice on and without it the model could have had some big issues. Happy to report the 3 hr job came out perfectly. The key is keeping everything in line while the rudder shaft is drying. Look at picture 8 for details. The 15 minute epoxy gave me time to make the final adjustments before setting occurred. I would recommend this for the beginner.

Motor and Prop Shaft Alignment

This has now been finally been put into work. I had been avoiding this for the past 8 weeks. There is still final adjusting of the motor and prop shaft but I am waiting for the aligning coupler tool from Mobile Marine in the UK. Being an ex coast guardsmen I never dealt with so many issues below the waterline. If the prop shaft and motor are not aligned perfectly as I am sure all of you are well aware the model will be doing a rumba when its maiden voyage finally arrives.

Best
MIR

As I mentioned I am a first time model builder and for those who are just starting out the shaft alignment is one of the most important areas in putting your model together and yes I had some very good help thanks to this website. Don't be afraid to ask. If this section is done wrong your boat will be doing the rumba on it's maiden voyage.. If it sounds like a food blender you have some work to do and this issue does not get fixed by putting grease in it.

For the experienced builder the prop alignment is not a big deal at al. I had ordered a alignment tool from the UK and unfortunately the kit did not have my shaft size so I had drill what I received but I did not have a lathe so things got just a bit out of alignment. The easiest way to do this is to make your own alignment tool out of wood and match the motor shaft and the prop shaft diameters.

I must have looked at this angle 30 times and to the eye it was perfect but it was off just a bit.The good news is I was able to correct the shaft and it is now running very well.

You can see by the attached picture I was able to avoid drilling lots of holes for the control units. I used double face tape to secure them. All the control wires came through the strut area.
Once the rudder is done I will now be able to secure the deck and start building the upper deck area. Took 12 weeks to get to this point but most of the upper deck has been in work.

Actually I am quite happy with the way things are coming out.

Best

MIR

Let me start off by saying I had hit the wall last week on a few issues. After spending 5 hours on trying to get everything to fit properly I thought it maybe time to put the model in dry dock for a while. I have decided to name the boat The Miracle. What I have found out after 14 weeks 21 minutes and 14 seconds but whose counting is that many parts that you need are not included in the model. Luckily Amazon has had most of them.

For those who are experienced model builders my issues are not even issues. You will notice by the attached photos a few things which may help the new model builders. If you look at the main deck that has now been put into position the instructions called to put the main deck in at the very beginning which would have made it very hard to do what you see now. I have learned they are a just a guide. What has been helpful is the instructions are one to one so I can answer most of the issues as I go along.

You want to have all the electronics done and servos working properly before you start on anything else. Luckily I had some very good advice on this and everything now works perfectly.

The next problem was when I got the remote control it was not properly linked up to the receiver, this was 4 hrs of frustration. There is a very small hole in the receiver unit which has to be pressed to link it up. This was not explained properly. It is now working.

The servo which you will see has a very important part which again did not come with the model and they are called clevis adjustable linkage stoppers. This gives you the ability to adjust the push rod very easily to line up your rudder. If you don't have these buy them. Trust me on this.

I have put a switch in the system to shut everything on and off and will be adding another one so I don't have to take out the batteries for
charging.

You will see in the pictures I am in the process of filling and sanding. You can see if you mask properly you can save hrs on your clean up. You put it right up to your joint on either side and just when it is setting up you take it off. What you see was before and after in 20 minutes.

The clips are just to hold the cap rails in position to the hull while I am still shapeing and will start glueing them this week. I also have to drill the cap rails to receive the stanchions. This is not as easy as it looks since it has to be a vertical drill position which also takes into account the side wall angle here the use of the calipers is very important.

The good news is the model has come out of dry dock.

Best

MIR

Well 16 weeks later I am getting ready to start putting the THE MIRACLE together. The name comes from a few special people who jumped in before the boat went into permanent dry dock. Actually it is coming together pretty well. All the electronics are in and the rudder and servos are all working perfectly.

I am switching out the wood mast that came with the kit with a 10mm piece brass tube of the same size which will be painted and I will then run wires down the tube so I can have an active mast light. I am also going to make active the side navigation lights and an active radar which I have put together.

The stanchions were a challenge in getting the correct angle and drilling them through he cap rails without damaging the sidewalls. This was a 4 day process to get them all in place.

What you see attached is the side rails getting ready for primer and then painting. I am into many days of masking and re masking due to the different colors that have to be applied.

Once I spray the side walls that will be taped and then the deck paint will be applied. The cap rails will be mahogany in color.

I have found even when I use the 2500 grit sand paper if you apply the primer mist correctly and do the same process on your color there is no reason to sand in between coats. I am using Testors 3 oz enamel spray cans. I bought all the cans from the same batch at the same time. This is very important.

I have just started putting the swim step together.

Best
MIR

For those who have followed the build I have been off the grid for a while trying to make some head way. The deck had to be redone and the stanchions had to be re aligned. The cap rails had to be put on the hull. I then drilled the holes for the stanchions. Ran into some problems in the drilling process but caught the mistake before I started drilling.

Being a new builder I have made some errors which I have been able to correct before I made them secure. I was not taking off enough of the material from the ABS molds this was out of caution. When they say remove the excess that's what it means.

I now have the rudder and the shaft in place and all the electronics. I have bench tested the transmitter and receiver all is working.

For those who have not put in a shaft the key for me was getting the coupler that fits both the shaft of the motor and the shaft of the boat. The experienced builder can do it with ease.

The hull and the salon deck are now painted and I am continuing to mount the deck pieces and continue to paint the parts as I go. Right now I would give myself a C but I am enjoying the build.

MIR