The hull of this model has reached the stage where a coat of primer/filler paint is required to show up any imperfections in the smooth lines.  Before any paint is applied I sanded the hull with fine grit sand paper until what I thought was a smooth finish was obtain on the hull.  The best paint to use at this point is ordinary car aerosol spray filler paint. This paint is slightly thicker than normal and does fill any small scratches produced during the sanding procedure. Following the manufactures instructions, I applied the paint in thin layers, slowly building up the thickness of the paint.

The first coat of filler spray applied. 

Rear view showing how the paint is slowly built up on the stern roller.

The paint was allowed to dry between coat, followed by a light sanding to remove any blemishes that may of shown up.  I was glad I decided to give the hull an initial coat of paint, because it helped to show up where I needed to continue with more preparation to remove the bumps and hallows that where still in the hull.

I decided to construct the bulwarks next using 2mm thick lime sheet. They are 15mm high from deck level and have wash port openings at various intervals along their length.  First I made a jig from a section of 50mm x 50mm timber, with two lengths of 10mm x 2mm thick lime nailed 20mm apart.  The bulwarks where cut into 20mm deep lengths so they would easily side along the jig.  The jig was the clamped onto my drill press and using a 3mm diameter drill bit I drilled holes repeatedly along the length of the bulwark. Using a shape blade the holes where cut into the elongated wash ports.

Jig used to drill out wash ports.

 A stern Bulwark clamped into place.

The finished bulwarks with their wash ports where cut to a depth of 15mm and glued in place along the edged of the deck.  I used a square and two spring clamps to align and hold them in place while the glued dried.  Once set the edge was filler with car body filler and then sanded to give a seamless finish to the bulwarks and hull. Also car body filler was used to blend the bulwark into the stern roller section of the hull.