As previously described, time enough to set the engine cover bolts in place. to reduce the level of unnecesary weight, Ive opted to use plastic rod, to replicate the bolts, rather than using heavier brass bolts. Ok, so not the ultimate in finishes, but this is a fully working model both on and off the water, not an overweight static model spending the majority of its time on a display stand.
Firstly thr plans were checked to get the correct spacing for the bolts and a piece of plastic sheet was cut at the required spacing to help mark out the holes to be drilled.
Once all the holes were drilled. I proceeded to cut some short lengths of plastic rod, to put through the holes. Making sure the holes size was a gentle "push fit" for the rod. Once in place I checked the heights of the bolts with a level edge and bonded in from the underside with stabilit express to ensure a good fix bond. These will be "picked out" with some suitably coloured paitn later, once the main deck paint has been applied.

the Mersey has 2 louvered panels sitting either side of the main cabin. I did purchase a couple of "presumed panels" from a well known resin casting supplier, but after seeing the results, decided to make my own. the ones that arrived in the post were not useable without major mods, as the hinge covers [as fitted] also had louvres in, so what was the point of the covers?
I first made a base outer frame from plastic strip, then cut a series of thinner grille/louvre slats which were mounted vertically in the frame and carefully glued in place with some humbrol poly cement [the stuff in the yellow bottle- with super long fine tip tube]. The glass panel was cut to accept the louvred panel, so the "engine sound" has yet another exit sound source.

I think they were well worth the effort too. Have to admit they took me about 4 hours to make, did loose several louvre slats to the carpet, but the hoover found them next morning! Heard them rattle up the pipe [ha ha].

Firstly, NEVER rely on the manufacturer to supply you with a perfect hull finish. ALWAYS give the hull a light sanding, remove the sanding dust and apply a coat of grey primer. THEN inspect the hull for blemishes. I have found that trying to inspect and refinish a hull "in white" is a difficult task and rarely 100% reliable. Whereas if you paint it a darker colour first, even just a single coat, this will be just enough to highlight and rework areas you need to look at first. its too late once the paint has gone on, so far better to sort all the kinks out now, whilst its only time you are adding and not the extra cost of paint and materials when you spot something later.

before going too far with the outside of the hull, and to stop it flexing too much, its time to add the deck support beam around the outer edge. For this I used some 10mm square ply strip, bought from local diy store. To "ease" it around the curves I 3/4 cut the ply strip in a series of saw cuts to help the wood bend to shape.
This was bonded to the glass hull with stabilit express and as many clamps as you can muster or can find room for.
Once this had dried for 24hrs, I removed the clips/clamps and then mixed up some cascamite and filled in all the saw cuts to fully re strengthen the wooden beam.

Now that the hull primer coat has dried fully and the inner bracing is set in place, I can now add the extra step rails to both sides of the hull, which is not added in the mould from manufacturer, as the mould is for the "early version", so if you are building a later version, like mine being 12-26, these have to be added. The stern transom also needs some extra fittings, namely to the "lip" added to the prop tunnels and the strengthener plates, where the trim tabs are located.
First course of action is to "rough up" the areas, to make a good bond with the material you are going to add. I used plastic again, being light and easy to use. All the items were bonded on again using stabilit express. the side step rails first had a flat plate bonded on to the hull, as per original "full size" version, as its a simple "next step" to simply plasticweld a further rail to the base plate later, plus the fact that plastic won't rot if it gets wet so this method is a "fit and forget" job. No reowrking replacing rotting/soggy wood strips in a few years time here.
The same principal was used for the tunnel "lip", bonding on a flat "base strip" first, then adding the angle strip afterwards. I could of cheated and simply used some "angle strip", but the angle of the edge would of been wrong, as if you look closely, its not set at 90 degrees. Once all these "add ons" were dry, they were smoothed to the existing areas with model filler and left to dry fully before sanding.

Following on from the additional items being fitted and filled to blend in with the main hull, time now to give it a further coat of grey primer. I use grey primer as it shows any blemishes far better than using just white primer, this allows me to do any remedial work very easily and quickly, so once this final job is done, a couple of days drying time and I can apply its final/top coat of white primer before the white top coat/gloss goes on.

Firstly, the rudders supplied were just basic "generic" items, so had to be altered to look more like the patterns fitted to a Mersey class. This involved making some flat base "fins" or plates that had to be soldered to the foot of the rudder blade. Whilst these were cooling and after taking some measurements from the original drawings, they were transferred to the hull and drilled from underneath, making sure to keep the drill vertical in all planes. I next made some wooden blocks to act as rudder post supports, these were glassed in to the hull and allowed to fully harden.
Once the glass was dry around the support blocks, the hull was turned over and the original drill holes put in for the rudder posts, now used as a guide hole to now drill through the support blocks. using this method, you make sure that the support blocks are drilled through at correct angle to ensure the rudders sit vertically once fitted.
The rudder outer tubes were then bonded in to the support blocks using a slow bond epoxy to ensure a strong and watertight bond and left for 24hrs to cure.

One item thats always a bit of a nause to install. So much to line up and not enough fingers to hold everything at once till the glue sets!
With tunnel props, or even props in kort nozzels, I find its much easier to cut a template disc out of cardboard or plastic sheet first, make the diameter of the disc the same daimeter [or width] of the kort or tunnel, so you are guaranteed the prop is going to be dead centre every time, no matter if the prop is slightly smaller, it will still sit exactly in the middle/centre for optimum effect. The centre mark of the compass or compass cutter gives you the centre mark to allow you to drill a hole, just big enough for you to pass the prop inner shaft through and retain it with a securing nut.
Its then a simple task of drilling the hull to accept the propeller shaft passing through to the motors, which using this "disc" helps keep the shaft nice and level and makes marking this drill point easier. it saves having to make such a large oval aperture and lowers the amount of epoxy/filler needed to plug up the hole after too.

First job was to grind a flat spot on the motor ends of the inner shafts, to give better grip on the grub screws and reduce the risk of them spinning under load.
the next job was to make the stern support mounts, they were initially made from some brass strip, soldered to the outer tube. I then used a pellet of epoxy putty to form the support housings. The putty took little time to dry and is easily sanded to correct shape and profile, ready for fitting. The hull was marked where the support legs would touch the inside of the tunnel and some slots were cut and filed to suit, to allow the brass support s to pass through and be "bent over" at correct height. the bonded in place with stabilit express.