the ideas for the helm room started to go through my mind. after the front wall {face} was cemented into place, I found that the dash top had taken a slightly larger shape. I made another one from softer wood, so shaping the convex would be an easier task. most of the photos that I've seen of this ship paints him in three colors.....I look at it as: waterline {bottom}, above the waterline {hull}, and deck....three levels in which to view this ship. I decided to bend the scheme a little, painting the housings the same color as the hull and use the deck{s} as dividers. this would also give height to the housings above deck. the first thing to do was paint, and so....it starts..
I had also primed the bow cap and the wall that wraps around the rear cabin. I plan to do the rear cabin wall in white, the third color that i spoke of. as you can see, it broke......just another minor set-back that I have to overcome.....not too big a deal. the porthole cut outs didn't come out the way I wanted them too. I ended up using putty to shape them and sand them to the correct size. I then painted the portholes and cut out the glass to go in them. as I did this, the doors were cemented in place.
the helm room roof was the next thing to construct, cementing the visor parts in place. the entrance way pads were next, followed by the porthole frames.
it was time to put the helm room together.....I think I have done the prep necessary for it. it looks busy, without it looking too gaudy. the progression continued.....
not pictured here is the addition of the pad that the pilot would stand on and I may install a pedestal for the compass. the time came to install the pictures....ahhhhh, the pictures. it was a toss-up, to be sure, but I settled on these two......a silhouette of Popeye and Olive dancing {I have a desktop wallpaper of this......huh, doesn't everybody!!!!!}, and a picture of Poopdeck pappy, Popeye's father. he came into Popeye's life in a film short back in the late 30's, or 40's......had something to do with "goon island". I had the article with this information, but must have deleted it from my bookmarks....silly me. Wikipedia has a great article of Popeye and his history, a must-read for all die-hard Popeye fans....such as myself.
you will notice a dimple on the front face here.....I went to put the Nordkap plaque on there for these pictures, but it didn't work out like i wanted it too and became damaged. I have to make another one, this time I will try to put a bend in it, so it will fit on there properly. back to the 'ole drawing board!
