robert e lee

"Nice to know you are watching steve , but I have to say , I am getting some excellent help from tanker"

Yes you are, Steve. There are some awesome people on this forum and it is so cool to see how we all work together to help each other. Keep up the good work, Steve.

Gene... yes, please do.

cheer's steve , I agree with everything you said , & will do

had a go at making some real wood log's for the boiler , still got to touch up the styrene at the bottom , think I might paint the walkway's a light brown , for contrast . what do you think T.B. , gene ." />

Steve5;

    Hello, Young Man ! You are getting the idea now .Point .The upper walkway around the boilers .Why don't you take some .020 sheet plastic or heavy card to make those walkways .That way they'll look more in scale .

    See , As a modeler you need to look at the parts with a critical eye and especially the boxtops .Those pictures will aid you a lot . Not the sides , but the picture on the front . That walkway should not be that thick in scale .

    You'll have some trouble with the front stairs and the corner rails too , but we will get to that soon enough .The wood in the stack looks great . Now you are catching on . The texturing , weathering and woodgraining are par-excellance !

     This is an excercise in co-operation , teaching and building .You will look and say  "But , wait , I'm doing what T.B. said , not what I wanted to do ". If you do that it's your choice . I firmly think you have an exacting nature and you want this to be a fine model .That's what I am here for . Enjoy and , believe me , You will learn a lot to put with the skills you are already showing . Good on you Mate !   T.B.      P.S. I am enjoying the daylights in being able to help you !

Steve, Your wood pile looks great & it will help the looks. I looked at my wood R E Lee & my walkway at the boiler is in wood like the deck. Mine is different on my boat as the walk goes across the front of the boiler.  I will try to get a picture of it. I don't want to clutter your thread up, & I can send you a bunch of train pictures to, along with others, to you posted email. let me know.

   I just read your personal details & saw you were from Austraila. Do you still live there or here ? I have built every kind of model & can help you with what kits are good & send pictures of any that I have. I'll let Tanker give you the working details as he does know them.

tanker

don't worry mate , as I've said before I am really enjoying your help ,I love learning , weather or not I have the ability to carry out the help might be a worry lol .

gene

my e-mail is stevetuck56@hotmail.com any picture's of your paddle steamer will be much appreciated . yes I still live in queesland australia , in a small country town ,

steve5

is this better T.B. , don't take any notice of the last brown strut , didn't see it myself until i saw the photo ,

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Hi !

 I wouldn't worry about that . When you put the next deck on it won't be noticeable . So it's a little knickered , Oh Well .Don't the walkways look better thinner though ? I would say you are doing fine . P.S. Has the steamboat bug bitten you yet LOL.LOL.  T.B.  P.P.S. Steve, I tried your E-Mail and couldn't through , so here's mine .gjgeracci846@gmail.com

Steve, My figures in the pilot house are Weston RR figures in 1/87 HO scale. A Model RR supply sales is called Walther, just like the gun. Look it up as they have everything & ship everywhere I believe.  Walther Model Railroad Supply. They have a lot of N scale figures.  N scale is about 174th. 

  I would do like TB says & paint the hull white about 2' scale above the bottom of the paddlewheel. I always left mine all white.

  We just had our kids (55 years old & I have one 63) for a week. They left this morning. We only see them every 2 years. They work for the DOD in Germany. We used to go over but I hate airports anymore. Flying is fine, but expensive.

   I started the Prince today & primed the hull & made the wood isert for mounting. I did the brass lacquer on the rear panels & tried my black panels & clear blue Tamiya acrylic for the windows. Looks like it will work great.

   Steve, like TB said you look like a great model builder, & I know because I started one of the very best in the world. He is that good & has won best of show & first place in big shows in Tokyo & the US  & more. I will try to post some of his models some time. Gene

Gene1;

   Hi . Being a model railroader too . I do have to correct you . With a friendly nudge ." N " scale is formally recognised as 1/160 and yes , Walthers is the go to place . Just recently I found out about a Ferry and a Cargo craft that are excellent conversion bases , to side or stern wheelers .  T.B.

Hi TB, I thought I was wrong, thanks. The old brain does forget lots. Where is the Edgewater Lounge ? Is it the old hotel On the river in Marietta O. ? I ssold my beautiful HO layout several years ago, but I built a little quickie 30"x 60" layout for my cute little HOn2 1/2 scale engines. That is n scale trck with HO engines. 

   I'll give Steve some engines to put on his Lee. 

gene

if that is your little effort , I would have loved to have seen the main event . it's beautiful . are you doing a build forum on your prince , would love to see it .

steve5

  Hi Steve, I will try to take some pictures. I did want to show my wood for the screws in the hull. & the way I glue the hull together. I have done the rear of the boat with all the figures. It's not done, but I will show it when it is. I was having fun looking at your boat pictures again. You really did some nice work & a lot of it.

  Our sink drains stopped up yesterday & we spent a half day unclogging them. That is hard on an old man. I told my wife, I don't know anything about this stuff with old houses, all I did was buil new ones & they didn't have trouble. I built this 25 years ago when I retired.

  I have been wanting to look and see if I have any N scale figures. Measure one of the doors on the Lee to see how big the people should be.

gene

I know what you mean about old house's , I live in a cottage , I would say it's over 100 year's old , but we love it !.

I do have some n scale figure's , it's just you can't find river boat men , they are about 11mm high , or 1/2" in your language lol , I'll have ago at some milliput and paint and see what happen's .

looking forward to seeing some picture's of your build ,

steve5

Hi Gene1:

   Sorry pal .The Edgewater Lounge ( if it still exists ) is or was in the Little Rock Convention Center . It was there when the place opened .I do not know if it's still there now .They had removed the boat into storage and asked me if I wanted her back .They put her in a case with about a thousand bucks worth of woodwork !

   I told them I had no space for it BUT they could donate it or at least see if the Steamboat Museum I believe in Ohio wanted her . Haven't heard a word since ! It may have wound up in a landfill for all I know .  T.B.

TB, The best riverboat museum is just over the border from Louisville in Jeffersonville, Ind. That is where they built a lot of famous riverboats. It is in the builders old mansion & has a lot of boat models, & a lot of other things too. It is where I got Bill Reids book of riverboat prints. 

    We also went on the riverboat in Louisville when it was docked & one of the mates took us all over it.

   Steve, that super modeler friend of mine built a big plastic Victory, & used the figures from the 1/96 Constituion to rework a ton of figures for the Victory. They were in 1/8" tho.

of to get some supply's today , I think it is starting to come together .

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 I forgot what a nice kit that is & I built 3 of them. You are doing a nice job & it is fun. Sometimes it does drive you crazy, like this Prince. The deck fit is horrible, but I finally got it fixed & glued together. I don't remember the Lee being bad to fit, but a lot of fun to build. It was the # 1 kit in the world to me when I built it.

yeah I'm starting to get a few fit issue's myself gene. the wall's were so warped I had to glue them in first , then I had to cut the shaft to put the wheel's in , sorry T.B. , I will bog up the wall join's later .

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Steve, your staining looks great. It will be a pretty one. Keep the pictures comming.

TB, I have some good pictures of the J M White. She was built in 1878 & was 321' long & 48' wide. She was a monster riverboat.

  I also listed some of my built 1/32 fighter planes on ebay the other day, I have too many that don't have a home, glass case, & now I am swamping with ship models. I have a good plastic case man I have to call for some more, but that does cost more money  Oh well...

Steve, I just found these pictures of a riverboat that I had this far along & didn't finish. I don't know why, & I sold it on ebay. It does have a wood pile,all of mine do, & it also has the black hull bottom. I make all my own paddle wheels.

 It didn't show the boiler area well, it was a wood boat. I wish some one would come out with a plastic stern wheeler like my Betsy Ann. Then it would come with all the smoke stack & railing details. I have been waiting over 50 years for that, so I guess I will miss it this time around.  Maybe if I come back as a monkey that can build models, I could do it then. People would say, look at that monkey, all he does is build models.

   Maybe I've been at the Prince too long.

Gene1;

    Can you imagine what it was like when all the bigger boats were on the wharves at one time ? The Whites would've even made the Lee look like a small boat !  T.B.

Aw , Gene 1;

  You do nice work . There are some stairs and ladders missing , But the flavor is pure riverboat ! On the stern Wheelers I make my own wheels and journals and drive rods .The wheels are patterned after a 1979 Arkansas fishing calender . Yup , just perfect for eighteen blades .

 The Journals , drive rods and associated gear is all highly polished brass . Something in the stern area to draw the eye .      T.B.

Tank, Thank you. On the Betsy, I built the hull up from the plans plank on frame, as they had a full hull plan for that.  I guess that is why I might have done something right. You are the riverboat man, I just like pretty. I can also follow plans as I have drawn over a thousand of them. 

I wish I could put his riverboat plans on this forum. I told you his grandfather owned the Betsy in 1925 & captained her. I can't remember names any more & will have to look he & the riverboat architect up again. 

    Have you seen the Snyder in Marrietta, she is a restored work boat. I will have to find my pictures of her. I just got the Prince hull & part of the gold painted & mounted on a temporary base. I am hell on wheels getting hulls done. I don't know how many hulls in wood I got done & never rigged until a good friend pushed me to do the rigging. He restored fine ship models & was super good.

 Steve, I am sorry we are hogging your site, but it is mostly riverboats.

Hello , Is anyone home ?

    Steve . I wonder . We haven't heard from you. Are you okay mate . I am missing seeing the progress you are making on the Lee . Please let us know how you are doing .In general and on the Lee , Please ?  T.B.

Steve & TB, Ditto on wanting to see Steve here with more pictures. I wish I had him to rig my models. Together we could build like a flash. I do the hulls & he does the rigging. Gene

hi guy's , I haven't gone anywhere , just had some issue's at home , will get onto the build over the weekend and post some pic's .

steve5

got the name painted on , might have a wine to celebrate the christening lol

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Absolutely beautiful Steve. I didn't remember having to paint that on. I wish I had your steady hand. The wheels look great too. Your staining is great. What di youuse on the wheels?

thank's gene  , I used davidk's oil wash method , MM acrylic tan , a gloss clear coat , then an oil wash of burn't umber ,from what I've seen of your painting , your hand is pretty steady lol .

steve