Drilling Portholes:
I had ambitions to add the MiniBrass plating sections for B and C Decks. I purchased it…and then decided that I didn’t want to do major surgery again on the hull for what would be a subtle change. For any project to get done, scope must be managed. Here’s what that kit looked like before I sold it:
I opted instead to purchase the Scale Warship PE porthole inserts and to not worry if some portholes were in the wrong place or non existent on the real ship. Nobody is going to notice.

Here are the Scale Warship porthole frames. The kit comes with replacement gangway doors (you can do open or closed) and it includes porthole glass.
Before you drill your portholes, ask yourself this question: Why?
Seriously. it’s a ton of work. There’s around a thousand portholes on this hull, give or take. It’s going to take you a long time. If you’re planning on lighting the kit then go ahead and drill. If not, may I suggest that you just fill each porthole with either a drop of clear gloss or Kristal Klear after you’re done painting?
Anyway, about drilling portholes…
To drill the portholes, I purchased a number of excellent drill bits from Drillbits Unlimited. (
https://drillbitsunlimited.com). These guys are great! They were prompt with answering questions, quick in shipping and their pricing is reasonable.

Here is the set of drills I purchased for my project. I suggest that you decide how you plan to glaze your portholes BEFORE you purchase your drills. If you’re planning to use fiber optic, as demonstrated by the Midwest Model Shop, make sure you buy drills to accommodate the limited selection of fiber optic diameters. I made the mistake of measuring each molded porthole size with a micrometer and then ordering my drills for each measured size. The result was that the fiber optic sizes used by the Midwest Model Shop would not fit all of the holes I drilled. I ended up going with a mix of fiber optic and Kristal Klear (more on this in a later post). I was not going to re-drill a ton of holes.
To drill the holes, I purchased the Tamaya Drill. This is an actual kit that you have to assemble. It cost about $35, but it does an excellent job drilling portholes. You could also use a pin vice, but I don’t think you could fit drills like the ones I purchased in a pin vise. Also, your hand is going to hurt a lot. Do not attempt to use a Dremel tool for this, unless you like big burn holes in your hull.
Here’s a shot of the hull in mid-hole drill. Note that my aftermarket bilge keels are mounted on the hull. If I’m ever stupid enough to build this kit again, I’ll mount those bilge keels just before I paint the hull. They’re fragile and they break easily. BTW, you can make realistic bilge keels with strips of thin styrene and save yourself a bit of money.
I’ll cover the mounting of the Scale Warship porthole frames in a later post, since they get installed after you paint the hull.