Stage 29 - Contains the stern hangar deck and a decal sheet.

Start by levelling the tops of the stern hull planking from frame 25 to 26 so that it is level with the frame tops.

Temporarily fit the stern hanger deck in place, carefully adjust any frame projections as needed.

Temporarily fit the smaller deck between the central and stern decks -Note its correct orientation by the pair of slots on the part, the smaller gap should face towards the bow, and the wider gap towards the stern.

The decal sheet contains enough decals for three of the Aichi D3A dive bomber aircraft, I plan to add the decals once all aircraft are to hand and have been painted.

That's it for this week.

Future stages:

Stage 30 - Contains the display base.

Stage 31 - Contains dowel, propellers, prop shaft castings, brass wire, aluminium strip, long & short bilge keel strips and a card template.

Stage 32 - Contains dowel, propellers, prop shaft castings, brass wire, aluminium strip, long & short bilge keel strips and a card template.

Update - Awaiting prop shaft templates from parts sets 31/32.

Looking forward, my build sequence for parts sets 31-34 will deviate from the step sequence, where 31-34 will be added after stage 43 once the deck sections have been secured and full hull profiling can take place.

Be careful not to go overboard with hull profiling, taking particular notice of step 5 on page 122 and step 1 of page 125 regarding the shape at the points shown.

The first two stages of despatch 9 (parts sets 33/34 - pages 129 to 136) shows the adding of ply ammo belts (noted as protective plates). The ammo belts are best fitted before the hull is primed, though step 6 of page 122 says to prime the hull and sand back before the ammo belts are fitted, which may lead to adherence problems.

My build for parts sets 31 to 34 (pages 121 to 136) will complete the hull profiling & filling, add the props & rudders, then final sanding, filling and priming at page 136, and will be after stage 43.

In the meantime other aspects of the build will be progressed.

Stage 36 - Contains elevator & bow hangar parts and an 11m boat kit.

Start by marking the 80x10mm strip as shown to make the internal partitions of the bow hangar base, then glue the sections into position at the marked points upon the hangar base, making sure they are all set at 90 degrees upright.
Glue the hangar top in place and when the glue has dried, sand the end of the partitions flush with the hangar top/bottom.
Now add the thin ply to its front, gently curving it to follow the profile shape. When the glue has dried cut the excess ply so that it aligns with the ends, then sand the edges flush with the hangar top/bottom.

Place the elevator floor with the slot facing away from you, then glue the front and rear section in place, and then both sides.

Cut the 3mm and 4mm strip into 60mm long lengths, glue 4mm strip to the outer marked strips, followed by the 3mm trip inwards, repeat on the opposite elevator side. Then sand the ends of the strips flush with the top.

Remove the forward deck from the hull, then take the two hull supports and glue them into place in front of frame 13. The tops of the supports need to be flush with the central part of the frame.

The steps say to now prime the assembly from this stage, however it is better to first test-fit the elevator into position within the bow deck to check its fit, then move onto the priming of the elevator, hangar section and plate afterwards.

Finally construct and finish the 11m boat kit as before.

That's it for this week

(Completion of Stages 31 - 34 to follow)

Future stages:

Stage 37 - Contains a platform & rangefinder castings and hangar parts.

Stage 38 - Contains ply hangar plates x7, metal hanger plates x2, 4x 25mm gun base and gun barrels.

Stage 39 - Contains hangar plates x10, hangar bars x5, wood strips, hangar floor, platform & rangefinder castings.