Well I decided to bite the bullet and add a 37' Oakley to the stable along with the Rother and having found an f/g hull and canopy on Scale Hobbies website (
http://scalehobbies0.tripod.com/index.html) went ahead and ordered one (I thought about scratch building but don't really have the time - and the shed is freeeeezing this time of year ::)).
It turned up today, so this could be the start of yet another long build (the Rother took 3 years on and off - and that was a kit!).
Out of the wrapping, I must admit I was slightly disappointed - there has been a lot of detail moulded onto the hull itself - most of which will have to come off. Then it was out with the plans to see how the mouldings match. Well, the length is spot on, however the beam is an inch less than it ought to be - I think as the f/g cured it has curled slightly, giving a tumblehome to the hull which it shouldn't have, however, if I put in some bulkheads amidships, they should open the beam out to the correct dimensions.
The canopy/engine cover has also suffered from slight shrinkage, the flat sides have a pinched look - again some framing should sort this out.
Various moulded details - most of which will have to come off...
Showing the underside. Unfortunately the sacrificial planking has been moulded on, which is slightly annoying as different boats had different patterns to the planking, and some didn't have it at all - so this means that a) I try and sand/file/grind this off (that thought doesn't fill me with much joy...), b) I modify it to resemble the planking of the particular boat I model, or c) I try and find out which boats had this pattern of planking - I think this knotty little problem will be a big decider in which boat I pick...
And finally the canopy/enging cover.
Ah well - ought to keep me busy at nights
Cheers
Lance
(p.s. I can't see how you get the pop-up pictures - these are hosted on flickr)