On the skids

Having felt like I've done lots of work but with no progress to show, the last week has seen the stern/transom come on leaps and bounds.  Well at least I think so.

The prop shafts, rudder posts and bilge keels are now all on the hull together with the bilge keel extensions and supports.  I'm really pleased with the results;

The transon supports are 3.2mm styrene tube with a 1.6mm brss rod inside for which a locating hole was drilled into the keel extentions.  The top of the supports are also pinned into the transom with 1mm brass rod.  The bolts support mounting plates also act as pins into the transom.  It's probably overkill but it makes me feel better!

I've also modified the keel extention by adding a rounded profile to the end of the keel (not the 'hockey stick').  It's not quite the right profile but I ok with it and it's better than just the square end.

I also got around to fixing the motor mounts.  Due to the angle of the prop shafts, there's not much room to fit a mounting so I had to cut down the fixing bolts.  Being lazy instead of using a saw, I used a cutting disc (or rather several!).  The metal motor mounts themselves are bolted to pieces of thin plywood epoxyed into place with balsa wedges underneath to give the correct motor angle.

The figures are now painted in their main colours - yellow for the drysuits and white for the helmets.  Detailed painting to do next...