Return to the BUILD

In this issue, we will install the well deck forward bulkhead, interior lighting, and connect the forecastle and forward well deck assemblies together.

Contents

Parts

Materials: All of the non-electronic parts in this issue are plastic.

Magazine

• Giant of the Sea – The World’s Biggest Ship’s Dining Room
• Step-by-Step Instructions

Build

Attaching the LED Strip

Step 3 – You are not mistaken, I did Step 3 first. This was so I could install the LED Strip before having to connect these delicate larger sections together. It can take some force to get these LED Strips installed, and I did not want to wrangle with the larger assembly.

Fit the LED Strip P under these four tabs on the bottom of the Forward Well Deck assembly.

Note the position of the angled corner on LED Strip P (arrow below) matches the shape of the nearby ridge. Using a flat-head screwdriver may help to move the tabs aside to fit this part.

TIP: I recommend temporarily connecting this LED Strip P to the ‘MOT/LED’ socket of your Smoke Generator Test Unit to make sure these lights work:

Fitting the Well Deck Forward Bulkhead

To recreate the ‘dark mast’ color that was present on the lower half of the well deck walls in the outside passenger areas, I wanted to paint this Well Deck Forward Bulkhead. Therefore, I masked off the top half of the exterior surface with masking tape and airbrushed the lower half with Mission Models Standard Rust MMW-05 acrylic paint:

Once the paint dried, I removed the masking tape. Not bad at all! To add even more color, I used my Black Sharpie to fill in these two portholes:

Step 1

Fit the keyed holes of the two Connectors B (marked ‘B’) to these matching outer posts of the Well Deck Forward Bulkhead.

The Connectors B are the ones with the pins:

Secure these Connectors B into place with two (2) CP screws, one on each side:

In the same way, fit the keyed holes of the two Connectors A (marked ‘A’) to these matching inner posts of the Forward Bulkhead and secure them into place with two (2) more CP screws, one on each side:

Step 2

Retrieve your Forward Well Deck assembly from Issue 13. Fit the four alignment tabs of the Well Deck Forward Bulkhead into these matching slots of the Well Deck, as shown:

TIP: The deck assemblies used in this issue have delicate details. You may want to protect these assemblies by working on a soft, protective surface.

Here, my Well Deck Forward Bulkhead is seated in the correct position:

Secure the Forward Bulkhead to the Well Deck from below with three (3) CP screws:

Connecting the Forecastle

The Deck Ladders supplied in this issue are just plain white plastic. To give them somewhat better color accuracy, I airbrushed the step surfaces with Vallejo Model Air 71.032 Golden Brown acrylic paint. These steps would have had wooden treads on the real Titanic:

Step 4

Retrieve your Forecastle assembly from Issue 8 and turn it over. Press the holes of the two Deck Ladders onto the pins at these locations.

These Deck Ladders should be facing down and away from the deck of the Forecastle, as shown:

Step 5

Align the four Connectors of your Well Deck Forward Bulkhead assembly over these matching posts of the Forecastle.

The two outer Connectors B have pins that simply fit down into the outer posts (arrows below):

Secure the center Connectors A to the Forecastle with two (2) CP screws:

With that step complete, this issue is now finished. However, I did notice there was a slight gap between the top of my Well Deck Forward Bulkhead wall and the underside of Forecastle:

As I was afraid this gap would be unsightly, or worse allow light to leak out, I chose to apply super glue to the inside seam on both sides. I held the seam tightly closed until the glue set:

This easy fix really helped seal up the gap between the two assemblies:

Thoughts

It feels amazing to see the bow of our Titanic coming together. There is still more work to do on these deck assemblies (such as the cargo cranes) so they are not quite finished yet. I am looking forward to working on this section more, but the next fifteen or so issues are all about our Titanic’s elaborate engine room!

Next Up

Issue 26 – Thrust Block, Pipes, Deck for Engine Room