Was sat at home last evening going through the WEM & Airfix instruction sheets for the 1/350th Illustrious and cross referencing them, and it struck me, I could not recall an aftermarket etched set I had used where the instructions with it followed the sequencing of the kit instructions, a logical build sequence, or even the order the parts are laid out on the fret.

This is idle curiosity, but is there a reason for this?

Please no offence is meant to any etch guys cos I am a great fan, but I am curious.

Many thanks

Si

Simon, one of the biggest PITAs I have is trying to cross reference the PE instructions to the kit instructions, trying to make sure that I don't overlook anything in what kit parts need to be replaced. It seems to me that it wouldn't be that much more work for the PE manufacturers to do a bit better job correlating their instructions to the kit instructions, particularly with larger builds like carriers and battleships. Its not that big a problem with DDs and other smaller kits, but with large projects it can be very frustrating.

Bob

Not having looked at the Illustrious instructions, I'd ask first if they make good sense? Most model instructions are not set up for the benefit of the builder; i.e. they are tailored to minimizing the amount of paper needed and not a good build order that decreases the chances of damage. In that case I'd much rather a parts placement guide more than an ordered instructions sheet that's going to have me try and put the railings on before the hull is sanded!

I, too, am building the Airfix HMS Illustrious with the White Ensign photoetch set. What also needs attention is that WE has supplied the necessary PE to make the Lusty's sister ships HMS Ark Royal and HMS Invincible. I've just started on adding the PE detail parts to the superstructure, in fact there are about 24 PE windshield wipers for the bridge windows. I can place 12 of these tiny pieces on my thumbnail so I've found that magnifiers are a must. It is indeed a PITA bopping back and forth between the kit instructions and the WE ones....I've discovered that using a highlighting pen and cross-reference marking between the instruction sheets has kept me on track so far.

Sorry about this, but I didn't complete my thought on my previous post.....White Ensign provides enough PE detail parts to supply all three ships of this class (Illustrious, Invincible and Ark Royal) so you will not be using all of the PE on one ship. You MUST pay close attention to WE's instructions to ensure you are using the correct parts for the ship you are building. I've found that I have to read and re-read the instructions, sometimes several times to get a clear understanding of what needs to be done. I'm not approaching this as a PITA, in fact, I'm having a blast building it despite a lot of roadblocks with the kit.

John Z
Buffalo, NY USA

Hi Tracy,

In simple terms the order does not make sense, The opening sections of the WEM Illustrious instructions deal with the Masthead fittings and the 1022 radar scanner. In my case they will be amongst the last parts built and fitted.

I do understand the need to keep the instructions to a minimum number of sheets of paper, but it does strike me as a bit odd that a well drawn and inforamtive set of instructions is so random in the order it is laid out, and I am not having a pop at WEM, because I love their stuff, and the same can be said about almost every etched sets I have used.

As I said at the begining, this is Idle curiosity more than anything.

Si