Holding the superstructure down

When I plonked the Pilot Boat superstructure down on its deck, all wasn't well. The join between the two was poor to the point of being unacceptable.

For testing, I had simply taped the top down. This isn't an option for a completed model. Even if the tape doesn't peel the paintwork away, it's going to look unsightly. I want this to be a good-looking boat so another solution had to be found.

Plan A involved magnets. Glue a couple to the inside of the superstructure and another to the deck lip and they should happily hold each other together. Ideally I'd have used really strong rare earth magnets. I'd bought a few with just this sort of job in mind months ago but could I find them ? Of course not.

Trying conventional alternatives recovered from fridge magnets was hopeless. They simply weren't strong enough. Even the ones from magnet door catches weren't any better.

Plan B - clip the two halves together. Sticking some plastic to the outside top lip on the deck and right at the bottom inside the cabin. Sounds easy but there was quite a lot of pondering before I reached this point. An added benefit of this method is it stops the wheelhouse sliding from side to side - it's not a great fit and needs around 5mm taking out of the slop.

Back on the water, the top is secure even in tight turns. So secure in fact that I can lift the model by the superstructure to carry it around. Not something I want to do a lot, but very handy for launching the model and recovering it, especially if the water level in the lake falls again and requires a good reach from the landing stage.