Issue 13:

Hinged Supports for the Breakwater.
Pack contents: Third keel section, 10x Supports, left gearbox mounting bracket, Right gearbox mounting bracket, 10x Hinge joints, Screws.

Carefully turning the deck upside down again, fit the right and left gearbox mounting brackets onto the locating pegs and screw in place.

Cut the hinge joints from the sprue and tidy up any unevenness from the base. Push the supports into the hinge joints so that they lock in place, but are still able to move. Apply glue to the base of each hinge joint and fix in place, starting at the outermost breakwater recess. I found it easier to apply a drop of glue into the breakwater recesses, then fit the hinged part.

Store any unused parts in a stage labelled bag. This completes Stage 13.

You are certainly cracking on with this Gray. Looking very good.

Mark

More steady progress Gray, looks excellent so far....

Regards

Alan

Issue 15:

Hull Assembly and supports for the Fore Breakwater.
Pack contents: Port lower hull section, 10x hinge joints, 10x Supports, Screws.

Firstly, we screw the third keel section from Issue 13 to lower hull section using the screws provided.

Next i used the tip put forward by Mogwai and others on Youtube Taking a piece of masking tape, put a strip over the sprue with the ten hinge joints, covering them just enough to stop them 'pinging off' and getting lost in the 'carpet monster', but still allowing the supports to be fitted. Lucky me, i was even given an extra support. maybe they'd heard about me

If you angle the gun it makes it easier to fit the hinged supports.
I still found the easiest way to glue in position is to drip a small amount superglue from the end of a cocktail stick into the recesses on the deck. Once all ten are fitted, this end the stage.


Store any unused parts in a stage labelled bag. This completes Stage 15.

Issue 17:

Wiring for the Forward Turret.
Pack contents: Circuit board box, Cable tie, Screws.

In this issue, we continue with the wiring of the forward turret. The circuit board box sits in position on the gearbox housing, aligning the three screw holes. Once in place, screw down with the screws provided.

Take the anchor motor cable and thread through the eyelet on the circuit board box. Plug the cable into port 2 on the starboard side, with the notches on the cable facing downwards.

The next step is to fit the cable from the switch. This cable is plugged into port 3, next to the last cable installed.Again, the notches should face downwards, with the yellow wire on the right.

Turning the deck around to see ports 5,6 & 7, thread the motor cable through the large eyelet on the underside of the deck. Plug the cable into port 6, which is second from the left, with the plugs facing downwards and the black cable to the right.

Taking the cable from the elevation motor, bring it around the gearbox and through the eyelet. plug this cable into port 8 (farthest right) with the notches facing down and the black wire to the right.

Thread the cable from the gun turret motor through the large eyelet and plug into port 7. Again, the notches on the plug face down, and the blue wire is on the right.

Finally, for this stage, take the cable tie and wrap it around the two wires from the turret., cutting off the excess length.


Store any unused parts in a stage labelled bag. This completes Stage 17.

By the way, i must say i much prefer the newer packaging for the issues, much easier to get into with the sticky strip folded over instead of heat sealed Maybe this explains the delivery delays

Issue 18:

Testing the Wiring for the Forward Turret.
Pack contents: Tester box, Tester cable, Circuit board cable.

Take the circuit board cable (the one with 4 wires), and store safely as it is not needed yet. Plug in the tester cable into the right port on the tester box. Retrieve the battery box and if you have still got the plug on the cable from the last test, remove it as not needed this time. Plug the connector from the battery box cable into the left port, with the two notches facing upwards and the black wire on the right.

The motor will go through an 'initialization' faze when connected and switched on, so to begin with ensure the power switch on the battery box is set to 'off'.Plug the tester cable into port 5 of the board, with the notches facing upwards and the orange wire to the right.

Turning the battery box to 'on', the initialization faze will now begin. During this sequence, the gun turret rotates to starboard before returning to the original position.

When this sequence is complete, pressing the 's1' button will start the full turret test, where all three turret functions will be carried out simultaniously: rotation, elevation and firing. Pressing 's1' will end the test. Pressing button 's2' will move the anchors up and down.

So the burning question is: did my model perform all tests perfectly?
DID IT HECK . As with many a builder before me, the elevation snagged, so worked once then froze. It was a simple matter of unscrewing the elevation motor, stripping it down, and re-assembling making sure that the gear lever mechanism sat at it's lowest point. I re-assembled and tested it with a screwdriver before screwing everything in place (thanks for that tip Mick )

Works perfectly now, and i'm one happy bunny. Just need to patiently wait for my next delivery now .

Store any unused parts in a stage labelled bag. This completes Stage 18.

Moving gun turrets.that is really neat.You should do a video an put it on youtube

Carl

We live in hope Mark, we live in hope

Great stuff and keep sharing those tips.

Regards
delboy271155
(Derek)

Thanks for looking in guys
Packs 19 to 22 have arrived this morning