Lake Freighter Minis Regina

Nice work and a very attractive model! Excellent effort for a first-time foray into the wonderful world of paper/card modeling.

Also...always great to see a Lakes freighter, no matter what the medium. Card models offer tons of stuff the plastic manufacturers won't bother with.

Cheers

You Said It!

      I just recently got the Motor Vessel " Mellum" Now here's the ridiculous thing. It's a German Paper Kit! I had to get out of China! That's a long way from there to here, and a lot of postage for one paper kit! Wilhelmshaven Scale Models has a massive inventory of ships and other interesting vessels, Not to mention All their Military vessels, and Civilian freighters and Passenger ships.

       They and Schreiber have some large ones as well ( 1/200 etc) and they also have full hull models in Sail and Power. I have built two of the full hull vessels, a sail schooner and a tugboat. Loved the fact that you could separate top from bottom and display either way! They separated at the Waterline! 

 The great part for shipmodelers who don't like to paint, then the final spray of Craft Clear Semi-Gloss is all you need to do. Oh , Plus if you are patient, the detail is awesome. In most you can even get the P.E. rails and stairs, from other modeling venues to work!

Tanker-Builder

I just recently got the Motor Vessel " Mellum"...

I've got the very nice HMV 1/250 USS Maine (remember?), complete with accompanying etch, that I've had for a while. In the current 'hunker down' situation, this might be the ideal time to give 'er a go.

Looks great!  I have started one of those paper kits, quite awhile ago- not finished yet!

I love those boats- grew up in Detroit.  Started building lakers scratch, first in about 1965 or so.  Have built five scratchbuilt lakers, so in 1:16/in, some in 1:8/in.  Even in the 1:16 they are getting huge, so I am drawing up plans for a thousand footer in 1:700 scale.

I know I can definitely improve my cutting techniques, and doing a better job folding and scoring consistently so I get uniform, square results. And coloring the edges/backs, etc. It was a good starting point, though. 

I can plug the Lake Freighter Minis kits again. While comparing their kits to others, like JSC from Poland, they are more representations than exact replicas. The JSC Edmund Fitzgerald is a much better model than the Lake Freighters Fitz, but it is not as good of a kit, if you know the difference. And for a beginner, the Lake Freighter directions are way better than you'll get in most other paper kits, making it easier to get going. 

Why the Regina to start? I am a scuba diver, and I hope to dive this wreck, and the Charles S. Price someday, both vessels lost in the the 1913 storm with all hands. And, the Regina had only four cargo hatches to construct; many of the other lake freighters you have to make 16+ hatch covers. So, another reason the Regina is a good starting point. The Lake Freighter Minis kits are being distributed by Atlantis Models right now; the same guys that bought up a lot of stuff from the collapse of Revell-Monogram, and have been reissuing the old kits recently. I just got my B-36 and AH-56 Cheyenne. 

Well;

    If you dive those wrecks send some pics. Please?? Oh, and Be careful Please? I dove the Doria, Thirty Five years ago. with a group. Man, it was exhilerating, awesome and Dangerous as heck. She is on the verge of collapse now. Best to stay away. No knowledge in Technical Diving is going to keep one safe if that happens while diving her.

     What is nice about the Lakes Diving is the apparent great visibility allowed. I dove some in Puget Sound back in the sixties. Water as clear as crystal for at least two hundred feet in any direction. Eddie Fitz, Just one correct one would be nice.

Tanker-Builder

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     What is nice about the Lakes Diving is the apparent great visibility allowed. I dove some in Puget Sound back in the sixties. Water as clear as crystal for at least two hundred feet in any direction. Eddie Fitz, Just one correct one would be nice.

 

Several years ago a friend gave me a resin Fitz, in 1:700.  He felt it was a bit too much work so gave it to me.  It built up into a really nice build- accurate and detailed with PE.  Don't remember the brand, but I can probably find out.

Tanker-Builder

What is nice about the Lakes Diving is the apparent great visibility allowed.

That depends very much on where you are (and what the bottom looks like). My experiences in Lake Michigan and Lake Erie were pretty murky.

We'll see on the diving. Not looking too good anytime soon, thanks to the world and personal situation. And, without special training and gear, it is still too cold right now. The northeast diving season is short unless you are drysuit trained and equipped.

That said, these particular wrecks are not that deep. The main enemies there are current and dark. The St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes had a major zebra mussel infestation starting in the early 2000s. While bad for many reasons, they were good for divers as long as you didn't cut your hand on one - they love dirty water and squirt out much clearer water when they're done.

It improved underwater visibility greatly in the region. However, the last time I dove the Islander wreck on the St. Lawrence at Alexandria Bay, NY, I noted far fewer mussels, and the visibility was declining again, at least at this site.

Not the best video I've ever seen, but if you search YouTube for videos of these and other wrecks, you will find them. Here's a look at the Regina -  https://youtu.be/hgyz-RQ00Oc