AFM first steps...

It's been a week since I sourced my materials and began my Africa Mercy model. My parents have a cycling friend who works at a local packaging company, Merry Pak, and he had lots of spare cardboard and cardstock which he donated to my project. I was very thankful for the supplies. My room is now a temporary mess while I'm working!

My first step was to trace both port and starboard sections of the AFM's hull onto the white cardboard. I then cut them out and drew windows and other details onto the sides of the hull. I then was faced with the time-consuming challenge of cutting out over 500 windows/portholes for the ship's hull and superstructure! This was done over last weekend and they were all glued in place earlier this week. This picture may not look like much, but it's the starboard section of the hull where the gangway would enter the AFM.

I have done much more work since Monday, but will do a separate blog post tomorrow. :-) Enjoy these photos as my Africa Mercy begins to take shape.

A close-up of the above image.

A rough calculation showing how many windows are needed! The windows are tiny - 15mm by 6mm, and 10mm by 6mm!

Windows appearing all over the sides of my model.

Forward section of the superstructure with windows. Decks 5 and 6.

Aft superstructure - decks 6 and 7 - consisting of family cabin windows.

The stern section begins to take shape!