ok, progress report -- build has been slow going...5 minutes here, 20 minutes there...i imagine many of you can relate to that.
pics below show where i'm at -- i decided NOT to have cannon hatches open, all will be closed, saving me the additional time of having to build all those freakin' teensy tiny cannons!!
seriously, as much as i like the action scenes in the pirates movie, when asked what the Pearl really meant to Jack, his answer was "freedom." i thought that was a very poetic response...espeically for ol' jack, but it is, in part, why i decided to leave hatches down and depict the Pearl as she would look roaming the high seas for adventure, and not looking for a battle.
that said, i envy any of you who decide to build yours full out with all those cannons ready for action.
one thing you have to watch for is when it comes time to join the sides of the ship to the model -- mine did not line up perfectly...look at the picture with red circle and you can see the arrows pointing at the gap. this can easily be filled with putty...i will likely fill mine with black milliput and touch up with paint...but be sure to test fit ahead of time and be ready to hold the pieces in place while they adhere/set. i used combination of regular of testors model glue -- the kind in orange tube -- and a bit of super glue gel here and there. i have the plastruct liquid cement that you brush on, but i do not find it all that effective, especially when applying to larger areas -- it seems to dry out or evaporate before i get the entire piece coated with glue.
i also have pics of the 1:72 pirate figures...the cannon that comes with them has a base that is identical in size to the cannon bases that come with the kit, but the figures still seem a tad large to me...not much, and i plan to use them anyways, but i will of course cut the bases off and glue the bottoms of their boots directly to the deck.
that's all for now...i have a day off from work tomorrow so i may try to get other side on the ship and maybe get to the mast poles...we'll see. just when i think i am ready for the next step, i read instructions and see i forgot 27 other little pieces that need to go on before i do the next big thing.
if any of you are building this, love to see your builds.