I kinda of know how you felt when you opened the box, I have the Mount Washington and when I opened the box all of the cabin walls and the paddle box sides were vacuformed plastic with very poor detail.
I mulled over what my options were, take it back to the shop (not doable it was a special order for me), try and sell it (really didn't want to do that I really liked the boat) and finally put it on the shelf until the urge to build it right came over me and that is where I am at now.
Making the bollards out of wood is one way of making them so anybody can build it and if they are long enough they can go through the deck and be secured to the frame for some real strength. If the don't, look at adding frame work so they can be secured to something more than the deck. Think about it, this may have been a blessing in disguise.
Rereading the directions, reading builder logs on the web to see what others had to say about this kit. Now I am at the stage of planning my attack on the kit, what I can use out of the kit, what I am going to change, what I am going to toss in the trash can. This is when the term "Modeler" begins to mean something, this is also where a great sense of accomplishment comes in, "I took this piece of @%$**! kit and turned it in some thing beautiful. Go for it and don't look back. And enjoy the build.
Andre :)
over here in Portland Oregon
PS I always go into a kit figuring that I am going to toss some of it in the trash because it just does not meet with my expectations.
