WonderWoman

I thought I would add link to General Lou's video of him making the complete Arado seaplane from stage 3:

Stage 18 - testing the wiring, For the testing, General Lou videoed my build in action so you can see what you should be looking for. This first video shows what happens during the initialization phase The second video we see all functions of the turret being tested: And the final video of the three tests the two anchor winches .- they will turn clockwise and anticlockwise periodically moving the chains in either direction for a short period. Note the do not move the chains the full distance at this stage.

Stage 17 - wiring up the forward turret and anchors. First I attached the circuit board box to the underside of the hull. One bit of advice, one of the connectors on the end of one of a wires had a cap on it which needed to be removed before it would plug in. Then it is a case of working through and attaching the various wires according to the instructions. After all wires are plugged in and tidied up its stage complete.

Stage 16 - supporting the gearbox and the first half of the breakwater hinges. The second of the forward turret's motors is the elevation motor which will allow the guns to go up and down. This one I attached to the side of the gearbox:

Stage 14 - A bit more of the hull and the remaining breakwater hinges. Nice and easy this first bit, simply screw the tow pieces of hull together: And now I get to the second half of the breakwater pins; so a little more fiddly! One word of caution, I found that my turret was locked into place (following the motor attachment in the previous stage 14), and the guns were over the area that I wanted to work on, so you may find it easier to detach the motor, put the pins in place and then reattach the motor. As with the earlier port-side hinges and pins, I preferred to snip them all of and prepare them in one go. And that is stage 15 completed I'm loving the deck detail!

Stage 14 - Forward gun turret motor. This is the motor which will rotate the turret. I found it quite simple to align and screw in. It will be tested when we get to the end of Pack 2 along with a few other components. Stage complete!

Stage 13 - supporting the gearbox and the first half of the breakwater hinges. The gearbox that I attached in the last stage now needs securing. This is done by attaching bracket to each side. Pay attention to the 'L' and 'R' so that, unlike me, you attach them in the correct way around first time!! The easiest way I found for the hinges is to snip them all of in once go, put them all together by pushing the metal pins onto the plastic hinges. Once they are all done you can them move onto adding t the deck all in one go I used tweezers to position the pins in place and the end of a screw dive to push them down into the holes that they sit in. A word of caution - make sure that the base of the plastic hing has had all of the plastic excess removed so that they are completely flat otherwise they will sit too high in the hole. These pins make really great detail, and the other ten pins for the starboard side of the deck will be in stage 15. Stage complete!

Stage 12 - Gearbox for the forward gun Putting the gear cog in and attaching the forward gun is pretty straightforward, just line-up the triangle on the cog then screw through to hold the base of the gun turret in position: I found it was easier to use tweezers when adding the smaller gear cogs into the gearbox housing. Once the base of the housing is screwed on, I then attached it to through the bottom of the turret and connected it to the gun mechanism. This motor gear box will move the guns up and down once the motor is fitted in stage 14. Stage complete!

I love your pictures - amazing!

We have been made aware of a problem with the courier company for Cobra Pack 4. We have reshipped to everybody and sent new tracking numbers. If you have not received a tracking number, or a pack 4, please let us know and we'll fix this immediately. WW

Hi, I have been assured that your missing stage has been dealt with by Sophie. Let me know if if it doesn't arrive on the date you've been given and I'll keep chasing it up.

Hi, can you give me an update and I'll investigate. Sophie is usually super-quick so I'll look into it if you're having ongoing delays. WW

Thanks for the tip. I will add that to the diary and share in a post. Top tips always welcome!

Stage 11: the port hull and support stand The hull section from this stage was fitted to the hull section from stage 4, before being test fitted to rest of the assembly we have already built. You have to keep readjusting the parts until there are no gaps and everything sits flush before fixing them with screws. Having a stand makes it much easier to manage the hull, and you can start to enjoy the shape of this beautiful ship. The stand fits together easily, I just kept an eye on which parts face the front. Stage 11 complete.

Stage 10: The second section of the upper deck The four tabs on the barbette slot into place on the upper deck. You can see them here from the underside. It's then a good idea to test fit the front breakwater before gluing it as the tabs on the breakwater fit the four small slots, but also need to fit the longer recesses on either side. Then all the deck details were added. The lines on the five skylights lie in the same direction as the lines on the deck. Stage 10 complete In this image, the anchor chains have come off the capstans, but can easily be corrected at the next stage!

Stage 8: Another hull section plus deck details I started by test fitting the two hull sections together before fixing them. Then again, I test fitted the newly assembled sections to the hull assembly from stage 5. To ensure a good fit, I had to check that both the inside and outside of the hull were completely flush before securing them with screws. This involved a bit of readjusting before I was happy with the fit. Then I continued to add the deck details. As before, I prefer to position them first so I know where they're going to go before giving each a tiny drop of glue. Stage 8 complete!

Stage 7: Building the bow anchor gearbox I started by fitting the anchor chains at the ends of the cross shaft. By pulling the chain upwards I found it was easier to ensure that the chain fed out though the little notch in the reel. Next, I dropped the anchor chains through the large holes in the gearbox housing by holding the housing off the work surface slightly and allowing them to fall through. The cross shaft was then rested in position in the recesses. The anchors were then assembled by pushing the shaft into the arm. This is quite a loose fit. Then the rings were fitted by gently prising them apart with a blade and sliding them onto the eye of the shaft. Update: I have been advised from a forum friend who is at a later stage of this build that new anchor rings will be supplied in stage 44. They are oval in shape and apparently look more realistic. You can either wait for Pack 5 before adding or just replace them. Thanks Franval! WW Stage 07 complete Here's another tip... I've just finished building stages 9 –11 of Pack 2 as I write the end of this pack 01 diary. You will need some of the screws from Pack 01, so keep everything (all the bits and left over screws) you have left over in a safe place!

Stage 6: Adding the second keel section I've found that when fitting the hull sections together, you get the best fit if you test-fit everything properly before fixing with screws. This was a pretty straightforward fit. I just positioned the bow section from stage 3 together with the new section from this stage and fixed them with the connector. I like to hold everything steady with a blob of blu tack! Stage complete.

I have a new set of tools! No more flying tiny parts! General Lou has given me some good advice and I no longer cut sprues with a knife. I have a lovely pair of clippers, a couple of new magnetic screwdrivers, and a posh set of tweezers. Just looking forward to receiving my new magnifying glasses, but I'm not going to wait. So, here we go... Stage 09 parts ready... The first steps in this stage took quite a while as I worked out how tightly the parts were meant to fit together. The first shaft sits loosely in the gearbox housing, but is secured when the cog is added. Fixing cogs 9-05 and 9-02 was straightforward, but I had to really push hard to get the shafts to push through the gearbox housing for cogs 9-01. Then things started to get quite fiddly. It helps if you have your screws ready at this point. The motor/shaft assembly (7-05/9-06) balances in position, as does the switch, while you fit the lower part of the gearbox housing on top. I had to balance everything in the correct place by resting the housing on two pairs of tweezers to keep it flat, checking the sprockets on the cogs engage and that the pin on the switch is to the left of the peg on the cog. The housing could then be carefully lowered into place without disturbing everything. As I lowered the anchor chains through the upper deck they seemed to get caught, but if you tilt the deck slightly, they easily fall through. The gearbox housing fitted snugly on the underside of the deck. Just a note of caution: When repeatedly turning the deck over, it's very easy to break the deck details. Keep an eye on them and just turn the deck onto its side, and have glue ready for repairs! I fitted the two capstans with a firm 'push & twist' , and wrapped the anchor chains around them. Initially, I had the chains going in opposite directions around the capstans, so note that they should both wrap around in the same direction as shown here. The chains then easily threaded through the anchor brackets on either side. It's easy if you tilt the deck at 45º and drop them through. I finally fitted the anchors to the anchor chains. My top tip here is to prise apart the ring on the anchor, then dangle the chain over a modeling tool (such as a craft knife) which allows you to catch the last link in the chain with the open end of the anchor ring. Then when you've caught it, squeeze the ring closed again with tweezers or pliers. Stage 09 complete

Great! Welcome back! Sophie will contact you to arrange dates for your future packs. Get your superglue ready...!

ps – do you have any tips for staining the decks?

Wow! Amazing images. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to get closer to the stage you're at! WW

Great idea! I shall investigate this for you! WW

Hi! We're currently working on acrylic display cases for Bismarck. As soon as we have something ready to order, we'll let you know. However, we will very soon have acrylic display cases for the car models (Super Snake, Cobra and Jaguar). Samples have been approved so they should be ready to order in a few weeks. There is always the luxury option of a bespoke wooden case if you fancy one of these. They are made to order, but you can do that on our website now! WW

Hey Blobthebuilder – Don't give up! Stick with me! I've just checked with customer services and they said they've replied. Let me know if you have any problems and I'll investigate further. WW