Hi Richie,

Nice kit, look forward to seeing your build progress.

Congrats on your "Blue" medal for starting a diary of your build.

Regards
delboy271155
(Derek)

Hi Richie.
Good luck with your build. look forward to seeing your progress.
Ian

Looks like an interesting kit, should be a fun build.
Graeme

Ok, so I started the construction last night. I'm going slow, so bear with me.
All of the written instructions are about 3 paragraphs on the front of that big sheet. The first thing it says (which I reproduced in the first picture) is to wet the keel and put heavy stuff on it for 12 hours to make it flat as can be. So I ran some cold water over it at the kitchen sink, dried it with a towel, and put it on the table with a stack of books on top. (Before I did this, I put it on the table, and when I pressed on one side, the other lifted about a millimeter. I'm not sure that's enough to make a difference, but I figured I might as well follow the instruction.)
The bulkheads weren't labeled on the parts themselves, and many of them looked almost exactly the same shape, so I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to distinguish them. But, leafing through the papers in the box, I found a sheet of paper with full size drawings of each part, so, with some measuring, I labeled in pencil each of the bulkheads.
Tonight, if all goes well, I plan to glue the first of the bulkheads onto the keel.

First of all, many thanks to delboy, martyn, ian,arpurchase, pemberg, gandale, and birdaj2 for looking in. I'm hoping you guys can help me out if and when I get hopelessly stuck.
So, the written instructions would have me glue the bulkheads onto the keel as my first step. But, as I look at the pictures on the instructions sheet, there's a picture of the deck with notches cut out. And I'm thinking, "if I cut these notches out exactly as on the plan, I should be fine." But I decided to cut out the deck notches before gluing on the bulkheads, and it turns out that the notches on the plan are way too small to accept the bulkheads. So I decided to dry fit the bulkheads first, and cut out the deck notches to make sure everything fits before I glue it. (additionally, it turns out it's much easier to fit the deck to the bulkheads if they're not attached to the keel.)
So the first picture if of the 'deck jig' as on the plan sheet, and the second shows how the notches I ended making weren't all that close to the drawing. But that's what it took to make them accept the bulkheads. I have pictures of the first two bulkheads individually, with views from above and below the deck, and then a picture of the two bulkheads and deck dry-fitted onto the keel.
You can see that the deck slopes down pretty severely from the bow to the first bulkhead. I'm not sure this is ok, but I'll add some more bulkheads and see how it looks.

The bulkheads are the same as the Vasa I am building that they don't go to the bottom of the keel so as long as the slots meet at the keel and the bulkheads it should be fine If you have a one to one plan check with that. Hope this helps rgd Martyn

thanks Martyn, yes it does help just to get some feedback. I did look at the pictures, and they show the bulkheads sticking up above the keel too, so I think I'm on the right track. The deck certainly isn't going to be flat; there's a nice downward slope from the bow. I think I'll have to really clamp it tight when I glue it in to keep it in contact with all of the bulkheads (but I'll worry about that when I finish cutting out all of those slots...)

Hi Richie,

What a trip down memory lane.
My parents gave me this exact kit for Christmas in the late 1980s.

I'm really enjoying your build. You are doing a great job.

kind regards,
Garth

Hi Richie, good start so far. Should turn out to be fine model.

thanks to all who've given encouragement! It is appreciated.
Garth, funny how you had this same model. Did you end up finishing it?

Just an update (no pictures yet, but I'll post some when I finish getting the decks and bulkheads all dry-fitted.)
I was just going down the line, dry-fitting bulkheads in sequence, and cutting notches into the deck. (My technique is to mark where I think the slot should be with pencil, cut the edges about 5 mm deep with a small saw, break off the waste piece with tweezers, and then file the hell out of it until it's wide enough and deep enough to comfortably fit the bulkhead. It's slow work, but strangely satisfying.)
Each subsequent bulkhead sits lower on the keel, until the fifth one sits completely flush. Then between 6 and 9, there's a small 1-2 mm elevation. And number 10 is at the point where that deck ends and a smaller higher aft-deck begins. The deck piece is thin enough and flexible enough to make the curve (it's actually a double curve; there's a 'smile' curve from front to back, and a slight 'frown' from port to starboard. But, I think it'll look good if I can get the deck to hug those curves nice and tight.)
I'll try to finish it up this weekend and put up some pictures on Monday.
Again, thanks for everyone's help. I'm glad I stumbled upon this forum, because I'd probably have gotten discouraged without the support you guys have provided.