Dear CAL,

I made the hull uot of wood, that is the "ribs" from plywood and the hull planking from balsa. The "ribs" come from an enlargmend from the drawings on the last pages in the book from Niestle and Kohl Vom Orginal zum Modell. I glued the outlines of all the "ribs" on plywood and one by one sawed them in the correct shape. When put in the right order and distance on the beam you'll see the hull appear. Than planking with little strips of balsa begins following the outlines of the "ribs" After that was done I sanded till all the cracks and edges were smooth. Than I put on several layers of automotive plaster and sanded that smooth aswell. Then one starts with placing the rivetting and weldlines and other hulldetails. When all of these things are in the correct place the hull is ready for making a polyester mould or you can use the hull as it is for ONE model only. After the mould is ready you can start making the hull halves from wich you construct the final modell and another and another a.s.f.
My hull is now in the stage of placing rivetting and weldlines.
And all of this would not have been neccecary if the ScaleShipyard's delivery of the hull of the type IX I ordered almost 4 years ago was not delayed and delayed and delayed. Patience an trust are great habits in this hobby.
This projekt is coming on very slow. I now found someone who is willing to help me with making the moulds wich is a crusial projekt in itself. After that's done ..... who knows.

Kind regards

Wiljan Bakers