3. Deck

The Nautilus Turm II Conversion Set was the main conversion component of the U‑625 project. The wooden deck alone is a work of art (having laser-etched slots and hatch covers), and the resin and PE pieces are well done. Instead of painting the deck, I stained it with MinWax wood stain ( Jacobean #2750) to retain the natural look & texture of the wood. I left the wooden decks to dry for several days, sandwiching them between large, heavy books to keep them flat and resist warpage. After drying, you can weather the decks by light sanding. I glued the deck to the hull using epoxy glue, and shimmed some side gaps (unfortunately there were some, due to the pressure hull pieces spreading the hull slightly) with strips of styrene.

Numerous other details were added to the upper hull and deck, included extended bollards, tread bars, PE-detailed rear cable supports, hatch covers & hinges, grills/vents, to name only a few.