Dorsal Morsel

The kit's dorsal fin is a single cast urethane piece. Very crisp and detailed, it has the forward vertical bar that runs to the end of the wheelhouse breather flap housing. This piece was not on the 11' hero. However, it was on the deck set so I will use it. To me, the deck set has priority since that's where the actors stood onscreen (I defer to the hero on the aft diamond shaped deck grate. The deck set was 4' too short and featured only the forward half of the grate -- go figure).

The kit's instructions describe inserting tubes in the deck to capture brass rods inserted into the bottom of the dorsal fin. Friction would hold it in place. I want more security while underway, but still want to be able to remove the part during transport. So, I drilled two holes in the deck and filed them out slightly. I then drilled two corresponding holes in the bottom of the fin and inserted two lengths of threaded stainless steel. These were made by cutting the heads off two bolts and filing down the cut edges. These were CA'd in place.















The fin is held in place by two nuts on the bolts. The result is a flush and sturdy fit.













The only detail the fin lacks is the latch in the tip that held the hatch in the open position. To be fair, the hero did not have this feature. But the deck set did, and it can occasionally be seen onscreen, so I'm not quite done with it...