Well, thank you @T.Albers for telling the story - I thought that there was more to it than the partial photo of the model but the full saga is really compelling!
I don't think it would be off thread if you could be persuaded to post a complete picture of the boat as you have it displayed. 8 feet is pretty ginormous but in the past there have been photos on the Forum of people's semi-scale ore boats that were no less than 14 feet long! Or in one case I think that a guy was only able to model the bow of the ship to fit it in his O scale DM&IR ore depot. Anyway it's your thread.
Incidentally, while Hobby Lite filler might have ceased production there is a similar product called "Model Lite" that is also made for lightweight filling applications and comes in both natural wood and plain white colors. RC shops like Tower Hobbies (who I have dealt with before) appear to stock it.
Thanks again.
