Dave, Great presentation, lots of work to document the steps. A couple of ideas for you. You could use a paint brush to get the plaster into the nooks and crannies. If you vibrate the mix before pouring, the bubbles will rise to the surface of the mix. If you could place the molds on a vibrator, like a sander, the plaster would flow when you touch the mold to the sander. Also, if you could put a vacuum over your mixing bowl to reduce the bubbles too.
Amazing models you have!! Awesome! I want to build a couple of tugs myself, preferably in HO scale... but unfortunately I have no blueprints. Waterline models to fit in a diorama project I am planning.
Is it someones idea of sculpture or has a load of old iron fallen off a truck, maybe someone has established a new rubbish dump. Funny the flag being there!