Hi Howard.
Sorry for the delay with an answer to your questions.
I used pin heads as dummy bolts where 14 or16ba would look too big and out of scale.
Fixing the kick boards was achived with a thick super glue (mitre fix) it allows time for adjustment and will gap fill to a small degree.
I painted most of my Tamar with Halfords aerosol paints. All brass work was primed with an acid etch primer. Then 2 colour coats to finish.
Small stainless parts were fixed with the same glue applied with a cocktail stick.
The mast on my Tamar is fixed so I can not advise on that point.
I hope this is of some help to you Howard.
Alan