Vergil quick come see, there goes the Robert E. Lee

As a matter of fact we had an interesting discussion of this vessel fairly recently here in the forum.  The Lindberg kit wasn't the initial center of our attention, but it did come up in the conversation.  Here's the link:  /forums/t/31111.aspx?PageIndex=1 .

Hi- I do know something of these vessels so I am going to add my 1-/7/8cents.(have to allow for inflation) These kits,Wether from PYRO or LINDBERG aren,t the worst.The hulls are a little shallow for the type. Sidewheeler boats did draw more than their sternwheel brethren. The molds are old ,so trimming should be the first thing you do,Trim as much ON THE SPRUES as you can.When you get to the point of the deck mounting be careful.The decks on my NATCHEZ and ROBT.E.LEE flattened out when I attached them to the hulls.And if you are not very careful the hull,because of it,s shallow depth WILL HOG.when you put the deck on.When you do this step ,this is how I did my latest one.I took and drilled two 1/8" holes and put bolts through the hull and fastened it to a board.The deck can have a hidden hole in it to remove them. Then put on the deck,after putting a brace at the midship point in the hull.Then take the deck and mount it ,but,when you do take tape and are taping the deck down,create a very little camber, let it dry at least two whole days.There,I hope I didn,t spoil your hopes but I needed to let you know.The finished product will be attractive if your careful.Good luck!      tankerbuilder

Paclvs,

I've built that model about 4-5 time for clients,  There are some things you want to watch for:

The railing that makes up both sides of the top deck is a hair too short, you might be able to cheat a touch where the railing bends around the corners (you se in the instr, or you can fill with plastruct or get another kit and steal some extra from it.  The holes in the top deck are kinda big, so after you run your rigging through, use a tiny amount of white glue to close the up and also work the glue up the cable so it looks like it been laid and tarred  Check into the rigging wire gauge, what come with the kit is incorrect. Since the stays are dead straight, consider using wire vs. rigging thread.

The paper flags require careful cutting, the print on them was off centered when I've built mine and the smokes stacks look real good if you work a few cotton balls on some wire and give her a smoking effect,  (hairspray and flat floquil steam power black) . Uuse the same tech. for the steam whistles, only white.

The wood stacks for the boilers, are so-so, you can go to any decent hobby/train store and get some ho scale wood and replace them to look more authentic.    The real vessle would have had some rope and other things on the main deck as it was a cargo carrier as well, cotton bales were plenty.

Hope this helps

Jake

I forgot to add that the rigging inst, for the gangways (boarding/loading) planks are wrong, the lifts used a better pulley system that they explain. 

This in one of the better pictures I found, clear shot of the lifts

http://www.historicships.com/TALLSHIPS/Amati/Robert%20E%20Lee%20AM170001/Robert-E-Lee.jpg

Hello jake.You are right on with the info you put in here. When I did my latest one I replaced ALL my wood stacks with very small pieces from a weeping willow tree! I just let them dry out for about a week and then used my chopper to cut them to the right length.Coat with clear acrylic and VIOLA!! you,ve got great looking wood stacks! If you don,t want to do the "LEE"how about the J.M.WHITE.?? You can gussie up the stacks with the little pieces they use to keep chimneys(GLASS) on those mini kerosene lamps and they are brass plated (look good too!)       tankerbuilder