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I had put project Cruella on hold, but I had not forgotten it 😏 Today it was time for it to be… let us call it restarted.

From this point onward, unless stated otherwise or obvious from the context, all abbreviations use the Latin alphabet.

I last worked on this model—or any model, for that matter—at the end of October last year. Since then, right up to today, I have been too busy at work, too tired, too lazy… Just too much of everything. Today, though, I decided to get myself together.

I came home from work, rested a little, and put some tagliatelle on to boil around 19:30. Elena came home around 20:00, we had dinner, cleared the table, and Nadya loaded the new dishwasher. Around 20:50 I had a little time to myself—just enough for a little building before bed.

So, I picked up the steps in order from where I had left the model:

The only part left here was W1—a photo-etched “damper” for the troop compartment door. I expected it to be more difficult, but it was surprisingly quick and easy: one fairly simple bend (of course I bent it the wrong way the first time), two drops of superglue and… done!

Step 6—the upper hull. A little cutting and filing away excess plastic, then gluing in the periscopes. It looks difficult at first, but after a little filing on each periscope, they all fit perfectly in their intended positions. Parts C11, D1, and D2 are typical MENG: a little trimming and polishing, and they fit perfectly—nothing complicated. The same goes for the two parts A17—they fit perfectly into their designated “holes.”

So, after about 50 minutes of work, this is where I got to:

The model is only partly assembled—held together with a little tape and the fit of the parts. It will stay that way until I prime and paint it.