Encore/Revell USS Olympia

the Revell kit is white plastic and the Encore Models kit from the same molds is dark....photoetch is from the Encore kit and the wood deck is Scaledecks...we will see how it all goes together... 

....about 140 portholes to drill out...the instructions say these are black...so a Sharpie type pen was used....later, seeing actual photos of the actual restored Olympia showed no black ring at all....these "portholes" are way out of scale, BTW... 

....the two kits, photoetch and wood deck will take over a small work area...more photos to follow...no excuses now...time to build a cool ship.... 

the original kit instructions were completely trashed at some point....almost worthless....but this website:

modelwarships.com/re..-enc/enc-review.html .....by golly, had downloadable copies of the whole instruction book...the internet is a miracle.... 

.....here is a nice PE upgrade.....the life preserver mounts.....the gray kit is the second kit hull with the original molded in mounts.... 

..this is a PE challenge....the open air awning and structure...little and fiddly.....the kit piece has a decent portrayal, complete with rolled up canvas.... 

....excellent fit for this PE...it went together well....the rolled up tissue paper is a first rough draft of the "canvas"...that is the next hurdle... 

 

...the decking has its own sequence for assembly and the helpful instructions need to be studied some first...the hull is painted and it turned out ok...call the flaws weathering....all this temp mounted on the kit stand to reduce handling the white model...  

....the fore and aft deck pieces are glued in and will set the position for the Scaledecks planking....the edges are painted brown to hide any flaws....got a bit ahead of the game with the center piece before realizing it needed some "Buff" color painting...it will be done by hand...meanwhile, the planking is half installed on the top...the blue tape is to hide the opening for the rear open area with an awning....the PE pieces might show through to the hull interior so a dark background was needed...simple tape job... 

....BUFF paint is here and the Olympia can get going again... 

 

...total reboot on the hull...one too many times looking at those incorrect black portholes...and i need, for sure, some more experience with weathering washes....so, stripped, reprimed and repainted....this was a moment for the pistol grip Grex to step up...when it's needed, it's needed... 

...these prominent rope/chain connections on the sides, circled on the second kit here...are nowhere to be seen on the actual Olympia....that was noticed while checking to see what color they should be painted...and, they quietly disappear from the Encore instructions at step 8 without a word ....