Thanks for the encouragement guys
The hardest part of this so far is getting the sheer correct - especially as this is being built 'out' of the hull. When the 'proper' build commences, the decks will take a natural sheer from bow to stern - so long as the supporting timber bearers have been fitted correctly to the hull sides.
One tip that will be in the instructions will be to drop the 2mm thick deck components - and the curved superstructure walls - into almost boiling water to soften them slightly and give them a 'pre-bend' before fitting them. 2mm styrene is quite reluctant to bend easily!!!
Additionally, each deck will need to be detailed, painted and finished before the next deck is applied. This is especially so in the case of D deck (the open car deck) as it is very noticable on the finished model, and would be almost impossible to do after C deck has been fitted.
We were discussing the options of a bow thruster today, and have decided to fit one of these:
A tad expensive at £80, but looks far more realistic with the props in the tube than the impeller type.
Additionally, we are going to fit an Action unit that will give us proportional control over the outer propshafts relative to the rudder position in a turn, with the central shaft running at a constant speed. This, with the bow thrust, should give quite good maneuoverability (sp?) when docking....
Carl