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In this issue, we attach the decking to the Aft Boat Deck and add some reflectors to the inner walls of the superstructure.

Contents

Parts

Materials: The Connectors are metal, the Decking is wood veneer, the Reflectors are foam, and the Boat Deck and Strips are plastic.

Magazine

• Edwardian Era – Joseph Conrad: Reflections on the Sinking of Titanic
• Life on Board – The Decorative Style of Titanic (1)
• Step-by-Step Instructions

Build

Aft Section of the Boat Deck

To continue with my light-blocking process on the decks, I again masked off the interior spaces on both sides of the Boat Deck (Aft) and then airbrushed them with a base coat of Vallejo Model Air 71.057 Black and a top coat of Vallejo Model Air 71.064 Chrome Metallic acrylic paints:

Also as before, I masked off and painted the staircases of this Boat Deck (Aft) with Vallejo Model Air 71.032 Golden Brown acrylic paint:

Step 1

Test fit both the Port Decking and Starboard Decking to the top surface of the Boat Deck (Aft), as shown.

Be very gentle with this Decking as it is fragile and can easily snap apart. For some reason, on my model, these pieces of Decking were heavily warped and required an extra level of care to prevent damage:

When happy with the fitment, carefully remove the backing paper from the Decking pieces and slowly apply them to the Boat Deck (Aft), minding the staircases and aligning all the holes, as shown.

As with all of my Decking, these pieces were sprayed (on the exposed sticky side) with my 3M 45 General Purpose Spray Adhesive:

Pay special attention to the point where these two Decking pieces meet at the center. Check for bubbles and that they are laying flat:

Step 2

Retrieve your Boat Deck assembly from the previous issue and carefully turn it upside down on your work surface, taking care not to damage any of the topside details. Align the Boat Deck (Aft) to the rear of the main Boat Deck assembly, aligning these two mounting points.

As before, I used the small boxes the parts came as stands here:

Carefully turn both sections upside down. Secure these Boat Deck sections together with two (2) AP screws:

Like with the previous Boat Deck joint, super glue the two Connectors over these matching recessed/pinned locations to further strengthen this joint.

NOTE: I took this picture during the next issue. The LED Strip seen here is not yet installed:

As before, I masked off the Decking gap between these sections and filled them in with the same Vallejo Golden Brown paint I used earlier:

Step 3

Retrieve your forward Superstructure from the previous issue. Peel the backing paper from the two Self-Adhesive Strips and stick them into place over the LED Strips inside the Superstructure, as shown.

NOTE: These two Self-Adhesive Strips are going to be replaced by shorter ones in Issue 64 so you may not want to install them at all:

Step 4

Peel the Self-Adhesive Strip (N) from the backing paper and apply it to the inside of this port wall of the Superstructure, as shown.

The Self-Adhesive Strips are identified by their shapes. I have noted them here:

I have heard from other builders that the installation of these Strips can be troublesome, so take your time with them. They have a mirrored surface but are made of very thin material. Since I used paint layers to act as my reflector/light-blocker (and added my Frosted Windows), I will not be using these Strips on my model. However, I will show where they should be installed if you used them on your Titanic:

Step 5

In the same way, peel and apply the Self-Adhesive Strips (G, F, and L) to the inside of these port walls of the Superstructure, aligning the Strips to the windows as shown:

Step 6

On the starboard side, peel and apply the Self-Adhesive Strips (O and M) to the inside of these walls of the Superstructure, aligning the Strips to the windows as shown:

Continuing along the starboard side, peel and apply the Self-Adhesive Strips (I and H) to the inside of these walls of the Superstructure:

Step 7

At the forward end of the Superstructure, peel and apply the Self-Adhesive Strips (K and J) to the inside of these walls, as shown:

While this issue is now complete, I decided to add some accurate flooring detail around my Grand Staircase. We will be able to look down through the Domes into this area, so why not spice it up a bit. Thanks to Steven Woo! who created these 1:200 floor textures and shared them in a printable PDF for free non-commercial use. Click this image to download the PDF!

I went to a local copy shop and had Page 2 (Grand Staircase/Reception Tiling) printed onto some Glossy White Sticker Paper and cut out a section to fit around the staircase opening. I did temporarily remove my Grand Staircase to accomplish this:

Then, using my hobby knife, I carefully cut out the opening for the staircase:

After reinstalling the Grand Staircase, the flooring around it now looks like this. I am not sure we will be able to see it, but I feel it is a nice touch!

Thoughts

I am loving this Grand Staircase – even though it could be better detailed, it looks pretty decent for a stock part. Interestingly, I feel that the Reflectors and Strips were not originally part of the model and were added on as the issues were produced. I could be wrong of course, but it feels like an afterthought to better control the light inside the ship. I am adding my own Custom Lighting to my Titanic, so I am not sure what effect these updates will have on the stock lighting. Keep the remaining unused AP screws for use in a later issue.

Next Up

Issue 50 – LED Strip/Cable, Benches, Rear Dome, Davit Arm/Base, Lifeboats/Blocks/Support, Cutter, Tarpaulins