Tim
Looks good

Treehugger
I am happy with the result so far, basically having worked on just the main hull part. I did so much tedious sanding that I lost interest, but looking at this now, I am very happy I spent the extra time on making the hull look smooth.

It is tempting to just airbrush on some primer, but I really have to investigate the photo etch instructions, and prepare to make it all fit, otherwise I risk ending up making mistakes by leaving plastic in place where original kit plastic should have been removed, or, failing to add required photo etch before adding the primer paint. Luckily there aren't that many things that has to be fixed before moving on. I will want to check the height of the hull sides above deck, as it looks like the photo etch railings a somewhat lower, that seems like the plastic is perhaps too tall all over the sides of the ship, have to look at photos for that and evaluate if I do something about that or just leave it as is.

I like using the 3mm Trumpeter chisel tool for cutting off plastic, especially on flat areas, as I can cut it off from the top, and not from the side like when using a sharp blade.