robert e lee

Hi Steve . Question Mate ;

    When she's done are you thinking you might do another later ? Maybe the Natchez ?

 Point of history #1 . In the Famous Race there are many facts that show the Lee cheated . Fact . In the famous painting of both coming around a curve - Wrong ! The Natchez never got that close .

Point of History #2 the Natchez carried passengers and cargo . The Lee only carried the staff from their main office and faux cargo .

 Point of History #3 . The Lee burned on board furniture  , not stopping at two re-fuel docks for wood .The Natchez made every stop required .

    Point of History # 4 . This proves that even then , money bought power and position ! And yes , corruption too !       T.B.

no problem at all to me T.B. , I'm loving the history of it all

jake hope you win boat , would love to see what you could do with it .

Jake ;

  There is a museum in Ohio that has much info you could probably use . Many boats were colored depending on how tight the owners were .( Actually that is True ) The more well known boats such as the Lees ( there was more than one ) and the J.M.Whites ( eight that I know of .)

   The Princesses and Queens were detail painted to catch the eye .  They were almost always white overall with different low key detail colors .Many were quite ornate with fancy-work in Gold , Red , Blue and Green as well as a combo of Yellow and Green on the details .

 There were two that I ran across in my research ( Sternwheels ) that had ALL the engine parts visible such as the Arms , knuckles etc. , in iron or steel that was Brass plated for that WOW factor. They even on some went so far as to have polished mahogany cap rails on the stairs and passenger area railings .      T.B.     

Sorry Steve ;

 Didn't mean to keep hi-jacking this fine boat build thread . T.B.

This thread has renewed my interest in the model, so i bid for one. I've done some quick searching on the 'net and am still looking for any record they may have for the color schemes.

The cabin tops have been green/gray or any combination of both on many models. The upper deck exterior walls were both white and natural wood from some of the paintings I've seen, but you can never tell what liberties artist take (modelers too).

Anybody have any sources?

Hi Guy !

   My late wife passed some time back and that's why the many moves . As to the " Boats " . That is what they were called , or " Steamers " Now the little guys were " Boats or Wherries " , or "Punts ". 

    Bye the way both wives figured out , if I had a modeling space I would be happy .That's why we had what was referred to as " Toy Haulers " . That way we had space for a wash machine, a dryer , inside by the door, a sewing machine space and table on one side and on the other side , My model building area . So I didn't miss much .

 Plus , many clients got their models delivered " Hot off the Bench ." Worked grand .Got to spend much quality time traveling with the Wives and deliver models personally !    T.B.     P.S. Boat's looking good , Mate . And yes , although they were my wives , they came into my life five years apart ! I still miss them though !    I apologise , another P.S. You should block off the rudder area topside .The ruddel was moved by chains and ropes which were not visible outside the boat . 

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the rigging for the rear boat , [question for T.B. , are the paddle steamers called boats or ship's , if boat's what do you call the life boat's ?? ] .

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T.B.

thank's for the nice word's and I would also like to offer my condolances on your loss .

to both you and gene , thank's for all the advice I have learnt heap's from both of you

steve5

 Tanker, I am so sorry to hear that you  lost your wife.  I have had my wife for 50 years & I don't know what I would do without her.  I do love to travel with a fifth wheel trailer, but I don't think I would live in one. It would be hard to build models in one. I bet that breaks you heart. 

     After our first couple campers we tried a lot of different trailers & settled on a little fifth wheel trailer. I had forgotton Alan Bates name, but we did go to see him in his Louisville home & he did have a neat layout with riverboats on it. I had called him when I was looking for plans for the Betsy Ann & he told me where to find them. 

   I did take a bunch of pictures today of the plans from a magazine on the Western River riverboat. I had gotten it a long ways away for my layout & quit for some reason.

Hi

 Yes , I am aware of Mr. Bates . I probably have any books he may have written or photos of his models .After moving more that fifteen times in six years I have no idea where they are .

   All I know is they are in one of two storage lockers .Remember , there's no place for a research library in an R.V.

   Since settling down after my second wifes passing the drawings I am working from are new . T.B.

The railings look great. How did you fasten the short posts to the deck? That is where I use my wire.I drill a wire sized hole in the post & deck & use that  to hold them.

  I found a lot of riverboat stuff last night. I found the plans for the Western River. I also found my friend Alan bates plans, a bunch, of riverboats. It has been over 30 years since I saw him & I forgot his name, like I do everyone. You might like this as it is a smaller sternwheeler. 

  I even blew it up to HO scale & got a good start on one I was building for my train layout. I found all the nearly 40 year old parts & I will photograph them & the plans and some neat boat books if you want. I had built it as waterline for the layout, but I had also done a full hul bottom.

   You can see how I built it with Bristol board & wood siding & HO window & doors. I even cut the bottom off the paddlewheel for water level. Let me know if you want the pictures.

   I also finished the Prince, with the flags & all the rigging on it that I a going to do, before I go crazy. I have to take my Oak out to my son & get my bases made.

   TB, maybe you know Alan Bates. He was a real riverboat architect & did a lot of the present Passenger boats on the Mississippi. He was also a great modeler. He did a big one for a museum up in Iowa wher they raised an 1865 boat the was mostly intact. It had been in the mud like the Wasa. He said the shirts were like new & even the lamb was intact until the air hit it. It was a trade boat. I will try to remember the name.

Okay Mate !

 You don't havve to go so far as to worry about me falling overboard ! I don't need no Stinking Rails , OOOPS , Blub ! Blub! Hmm , Guess I was wrong .Thanks mate !

You are doing fine and I appreciate your faith in me . I see my faith in the builder , is not mis-placed either !   T.B.

The Boat ;

    Hmmm. Let me see - - -I believe it was the paper model of the " Columbia Gorge " Don't remember the printer , but it came from some kind of Museum I think . Answer to your inquiry , yes , I have built many , many , Paper models , Mostly ships .

    Waterline  ( as most are ) full hull , as some are and many Full Hull , Full Rigged Frigates and Men of War . I will admit though , Because of the sheer selection , I build mostly civilian ships , cruise and freight .   T. B.

thought I'd have a go at some railng's on the bottom deck

alan it took about 4 hour's , still a fair bit to do

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Impressive work on the rigging. How long did it take you to do that?

TB, what is the name of the one from Oregon ? Have you ever built a paper kit ? I will have to go back to your building post to see what to ask. My short term memory is very short. A B17 Command pilot I knew well, could sing all kinds of WW2 songs, but like he said, he couldn't find his way home at night. He had 30 missions & signed on for more when his brother was killed in another B 17. 

  Tanker, You don't know what old is yet. Although, my mind has settled on somewhere between 12 & 20 for enjoying myself. 

Gene ;

 Either you or Steve can ask away . I will be happy to answer all that I can .If I can't well , I am old too LOL.LOL.  T.B.

Gene;

 There is also a nice one in paper that comes from Oregon .

T.B.

thank's for the history lesson , it's pretty ingenious who ever thought of it ,

gene

 yes tamiya masking tape for the stack's , the white line is styrene , thata's how big the gap was between the two piece's , so I cheated a little bit , I don't think it look's out of place , I wish T.B. had pic's of his build's too ,

steve5

Questions: How did you get those bands on the stacks painted so clean? How did you get the straight line on the green roof, Masking tape ?  How about the nice clean job you did on the windows, steady hand ?

I forgot ,you still have the gangplanks to do.

    TB, I wish you had pictures of your boats. I knew this riverboat architect that was a model rairoader too. He had a real neat layout with riverboats on it. He lived in Louisville & designed a lot of the real big , real riverboats. He wrote a modelers book on making riverboats. I can't find his book now, but I know I have it. When I find it I will put pictures on. I can't even remember his name. I do forget everything, except how to get downstairs to build my models. TB, you might know him.

   He was the one who put me on to the architect in California that drew the Betsy Ann.I have a lot of questions for you on your boats.

Absolutely Superb Steve. You are speed demon with that rigging. How did you get it done so fast? It really looks beautiful in all the pictures. That was worth waiting for.

 You know there is a real cute little stern wheeler paper model on ebay for about $22.It is about 12" long. It comes from China. The Western Rivers. I have never built a paper model. I had plans for that same boat 50 years ago & was going to build it in HO for my train layout. I think I still have the plans & part of it.  I wouldn't mind getting that paper kit & have it blown up to twice the size or to abot 3/4 the size & scratch  build it.

Now Steve !

 Here's a bit of history . Do you have any idea what the lines and poles running the length of the boat are for ? Here's the truth of it . Riverboats were so flexible they could , if not too tight aground on an unsuspected sandbar be brought free.

  How ? Well the crew would tighten these cables ( Ropes ? ) and walk the boat off in a twisting , ambling kind of crawl.  Believe it or not , it worked more often than Not . They would raise one part and lower another in a rippling motion. This caused the ambling walk and off they would go , if they were lucky . T.B. Boat's looking good bye the way .

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got some rigging done" />

I wished you put that on yesterday T.B. lol .

Just a note .

The last Lee I did I used the tan and brown and streaked the pole-masts so they looked like varnished wood .Too much white for me ! .  T.B.

Gene1;

   There is only one I know of in plastic , But she has been around since the fifties . Intended originally to be motorized . It's  a stern-wheel towboat . It was put out by Pyro , Life - Like and then Lindberg.

     All the boats I've built have been Sternwheelers . Many measuring five foot or better .  The thing is they were all for clients and due to circumstances beyond my control , photos no longer exist . I just barely saved photos of my 68 Roadrunner Convertible 

     I create my own plans , fudge a little here and there and just build .Plywood ( model aircraft grade , thin ) ,Is the basis for the decks . All else is plastic , P.V.C. and various bits and pieces of brass and Kibri rails and fancy work .

     The decks are usually planked with skived mahogany and stained oak . Then clearcoated in semi-gloss clear . All else is as I said , the materials above . Now the stack crowns , to add a real fancy touch are the brass baskets from ultra mini hurricane lamps you find at Pier One , Micheals and Hobby - Lobby . Then lots of sheer fun watching them come together .

 I have devised a way to use foil - chrome and translucent blue and apricot orange for the windows .That way,  when you move around the boat they shine or not ,  depending on the viewing angle .I have gotten lots of comments on that feature ! Tanker - Builder

Steve, I have been waiting over 60 years for one to come out & no luck yet. That River Queen is the only good one in wood & it is really nice. I adde a lot of detais to it. Mostly HO . I built that other one & then about 70% along with it I never finished it, but sold it. 

  I nearly bought a River Queen on ebay about a month ago & it was fairly cheap. I believe less than $100. Model Shipways has a beautiful big kit of a small sternwheeler & I have thought of it a lot. They are around$200.

                                          No Knot