Got the bottom painted, now clear coat: matte, or gloss not sure which way to go yet.
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I’m going to try and drill, and clean out the lens on the three lights. I would like to add LEDs for a little color and sparkle. Wish me luck 
Thanks BB yes I’ve seen those pictures of the reproduction super cool. They used white on top of the roofs instead of Green like the original Pilar. The red I used was a little brighter than the color on the box picture but I thought it would show better when I mount it.
Well I decided to go gloss, instead of old and used… 5 coats of polyurethane lightly sanded after 3 coats. Not sure if I like it yet I’ll let it sit for a while before I make a decision.
That is glossy, Grex! Definitely looks shiny and new!
Started on the cabin, this is a little tricky.
Cabin is looking good, Grex! What makes it tricky? This cabin area was actually one of the pieces that I was contemplating replacing the kit's basswood with either boxwood or pearwood. Thoughts after you've been working on it?
The tricky part (for me) is making sure you have the correct alignment, I squared the long upright post with the bottom edge and then positioned the top roof runner to meet the small windshield angled piece. That seemed to work to get both port and starboard even with each other. As you can see, using masking tape to hold the side flat against the glass and also to hold all 5 pieces while the glue dries.
I used a piece of thread to release the cabin from the tape after the glue dried. Just carefully pulled the thread between the cabin and the tape and it worked perfectly.
Ok I made a mistake 
I misread the instructions . Page 13 i thought was 1&2 on the left and 3&4 on the right. That was correct, however next page 14, it appears to go step 1&2 on top and step 3&4 on bottom. So, I have the roof braces on before the the cabin parts from page 15. I’m just going to have to work around them. In hindsight it’s obvious I should have finished the inside before the roof cross braces. Just a heads up for you all.
I misread the instructions . Page 13 i thought was 1&2 on the left and 3&4 on the right. That was correct, however next page 14, it appears to go step 1&2 on top and step 3&4 on bottom. So, I have the roof braces on before the the cabin parts from page 15. I’m just going to have to work around them. In hindsight it’s obvious I should have finished the inside before the roof cross braces. Just a heads up for you all.
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Moving along, I painted the areas that get green paint and I painted the items that are supposed to be silver/chrome.
I have this ready to install, I gave it and the rest of the boat (all but the hull of course) a coat of clear matte to protect the stained and green painted areas. Tomorrow I’ll try and get helm and cabin door assembly in place.
Continued nice work, Grex.
Thanks Gregg,
by the way what boat are you on in the picture. Looks like my USS Niagara model.
by the way what boat are you on in the picture. Looks like my USS Niagara model.
The USS Constitution, which we visited last September. Since I am building it now, I wanted to get on it to see as many details as I could. Unfortunately, it had rained that morning, so a lot of the top spar deck accoutrements were covered. We were able to also get down to the gun deck, as well, though, so it was still an awesome experience. Would go back to Boston again in a heartbeat. It was a fun trip.