Basket Case

My soldering skills have been steadily improving so I decided it was time to tackle the fender basket.  I first soldered the sides and base together flat and then bent the completed assembly around a former.  Next I soldered the middle and top parts into which the fenders fit.  A little filing of some excess solder and hey presto!

Next up was the flybridge rail which runs up the starboard side of the step and then to the back of the flybridge.  I used some left over aluminium rod for the stair rail so that it could be drilled to pin the pieces together.  From my reference photos, I also spotted that the rail is a slightly different shape to the kit plan; the two vertical ends and top rail are all one piece.

This meant several attempts were needed to form it into the right shape so several pieces of ali rod ended up in the scrap bin!  Hopefully the photos show how it all went together.   The rail along the back of the flybridge is styrene tube with brass rod inside.

I'm planning to finish off the back of the wheelhouse next.