robert e lee

Hi Mate ;

 There is a plastic stern wheeler , but not what you want .  T.B.

bakster

thank's mate , good to see your still sitting in

T.B.

didn't know you use to work a loom , wild bit of gear , and thankyou , I intend smearing the thread with a bit of CA to try and straighten the threads out .

gene

or should I say no knot ? , thank's for the pic's , wish they'd bring out a plastic rear wheeler , that look's cool .

steve5

Hope this helps, I know I look at every picture I can get when I am building anything. They really help. This is my wood Lee. If I had a rowboqt I would come & get you to rig the rat lines on my Prince. Even when I was young & doing close work, I always sewed my ratlines. They don't call me no knot for nothing.

 Forgot about this one.

Okay mate !

   Let's get this straight . I am advising you . You are the builder . Get the drift . She's your boat ! Nice stack braces . My first set looked like off center loom shuttles .

      No , really Steve . I just want you to know there's more inside you wanting to come out . Guess what ? you have already proved that to me . Good on You , Mate .

 D'ya know what a loom shuttle is ? If not  "Google " Looms, and you'll find them .   T.B.

 Besides , ya put Blokes and Birds on her . ! 

Hey Steve, it looks beautiful. Nice work!

finally got the stays between the stack's done , tried it with wire , just wouldn't stick , ended up using thread ,

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big jake

that last photo you gave me , is it real ???

" />gene

I rigged them myself mate , have you tried using a simple overhand knot instead of the clove hitch for the ratline's , at that scale no-one would notice . I would love any photo's of your lee , I need all the help I can get , your right about jake's build it's beautiful , bit above my pay grade lol , here's a couple attempt's at the lift's , with round and sqare spreader bar's , think I will go with the round it sit's better .

They are just a brace for the smoke stacks & the threads (cables) add stregth to the whole thing. Unless TB says something different. Do you have any plan or drawing on rigging the gangplanks ? I could send you a picture of my Lee, or use jakes picture. He really did a nice job. What was that last picture he sent, it looked real. 

   I ened up hand rigging my Prince because I couldn't make any glue work. That means no ratlines. How did you do the shrouds on your ships ? Were they the premade thread shrouds or did you rig them ?

don't know what you call these thing's , but they are the hardest piece's i have ever tried to make , they need to be painted , and i still have 2 to make 3 hour's worth" />

enjoying the build because of you T.B. I'm doing thing's I didn't realise I could do . it's not going to be as good as you would like , but I've learn't a lot , lol .

steve

Now Steve ;

 Was that a nice thing to say ? I just thought you wanted to put 275% into the build . I will be happy to see you do 100% though LOL.LOL. Besides - Don't you want someone to blame when it doesn't come out right ? LOL.LOL  T.B.

thank's for all the nice comment's guy's , really appreciated .

bigjake

those pictures are really appriciated , love that last one , I might even dirty this one up just a little bit

T.B.

I'm starting to think you have a sadistic streak in you somewhere , lol ,

Hey Steve. Your build is looking awesome! Nice work, Steve.

Steve, with all the ship rigging you've done the riverboat will be a breeze. I like the windows open like you did. When I scratch build, I try to do it in HO scale,1/87, so I can use all my HO details & I have or had a ton of them. On my Betsy Ann I even used Evergreen siding & posts & everything. I have done things in wood but the plastic sidings & everything are so much cleaner & easier.

  You are doing a really nice job on the Lee, but everyone thinks so too.

She's coming along nicely. DO you know what you need to do on the rigging for the gangplanks?  The ship had block and tackle falls as well as stantions and rope railings. See some links below.

http://www.modelships.de/Robert-E.-Lee/dIMG_8809.jpg

http://www.modelships.de/Robert-E.-Lee/dIMG_8808.jpg

http://www.steamboats.org/forum/steamboats-history/1327-any-steamboat-models-kits-2.html

http://www.modelships.de/Robert-E.-Lee/dIMG_8810.jpg

Note the deck is quite busy with things they need to move.

http://nebula.wsimg.com/b1dcec599d56bd3a9d8114f2ce38d89a?AccessKeyId=056ECB687C9C9A7D3093&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

The stack caps were brass or gold painted as well.

Well , By Crikey !

      That's coming along nicely . Are you sure you are ready for what's next ? LOL.LOL.LOL .The boat is looking good . Now how are your nerves ?   T.B. 

long view

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probably not what you guy's had in mind , but I cut the centre's out of the front and back and added perspex to the 4 side's , you can see inside alright now

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had a go with the dremel and some dowel capnmac . about as good as I could do , but I'm happy with it .

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tanker builder

thank's mate , unfortunately I don't have a thinner wheel , still looking though

gene

that sound's like a plan , I'll have a go at that tonight

capnmac82

thank's for the advice , I sometime's sit in wonder at the imagination of some of you guy's , I'm basically an OOB guy , but I'm trying .

steve5

how to make arrow head caps for the stove pipe

Well, a body could take a wooden dowel the same diameter as the conical cap.  Then, whittle the end off to make a cone of just the end.

Next, get some 3mm ply cut a ccouple of 4x6cm rectangles out.  Cut 3x5cm "windows in each of those.

Pinch a bit of 0.020 styrene (err, 0.5mm) sheet between the ply frames.  Clamp that together with some bulldog paper clips (the big black spring style ones).

Stick the pointed dowel pointing up in a vise or some similar way.

Now, warm the styene sheet in the frames over a heat source, a candle or alcohol burner will suffice.  The plastic will go dull just before it tries to sag in the frame. 

Poke the softened plastic over the pointed dowel (gently) and draw it down to form the cone.  Do a couple, you might as well.  After it cools, trim out the cones, find the best one, and trim it to size.  Holding it round end down of fine sand or ganet paper refine the bottom edge.  Then, install on the stack.

If you really want to test your frustration level, take some stretched sprue or teeny wire and make the stand-offs for the chimney cone.  Otherwise, just glue the cone over the end of the stack.

 Steve, If you are going to thin the windows like TB said, it would be easier & better to cut the divided lites out & redo them with some thin evergreen strip or whatever you have. You could even use some clear plastic fit to the opening & put white tape or plastic strip on it for the dividers. I believe the front was left open with a small awning over it.

Mr. Steve;

 That wheelhouse is going to be great . Take the Wheel from a larger sail ship if you can . That kit one is a little thick . Don't forget to paint the deck a very dark green .

   All in all looking good , mate ! If I were you I'd try to thin the window openings a little bit .That way you can see your work better.  T.B.

Coming along great Steve.  Just off the top of my head, you could cut a circle of plastic or paper & make a cut from the center out & fold it over on itself & glue it to get the pointed cap. You might have to make several to get the right size.

  I have been busy with doctors this week, just upkeep on old bones. An orthopedic for shots for the trigger fingers & eye check up. My bone doctor is a neat guy, career airborne doctor/ surgeon & he made all the jumps with the troops. He liked it & still looks like a kid. My VA doctor was the same thing . He wasn't as thrilled with the landing. he said it was like jumping off a 12' wall.

   Keep going because it is a beauty. If you want a little duller finish you can spray a 1/2 & 1/2 mix of glooscote & dullcote & then coat the windows with Future floor wax. It is great on giving a glass gloss. Make sure to try the spray on something that doesn't show, if you do it. I spray gloss & dull cote on everything from Tempera , enamel, acrylic to lacquer.

can anyone help me on how to make arrow head caps for the stove pipe please , I want to add a few more , not sure on how to go about it .thank's in advance

steve

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" />starting to get some people on board

It's Mee!

 I forgot to tell you something . Would you like to have two of them ? The one you're doing and another totally different looking boat ?

  I tried this with a client's model . She wanted a boat , but not the Lee . So , I got a Lee and removed the name letters first .Then ALL rails were replaced with KIBRI  H.O. Railroad wrought iron railing with a cap rail of Evergreen strip in a scale 2x6 . Then I redid the lettering with plastic , Small sign lettering .

   This lettering is three dimensional and fits those signs made of black felt with grooves where the "legs " on the letters fit . I just cut the " Legs " off and glued them in place for the new name .

     She was a "MA.S.H - T.V. show fan, so the name she chose was , You guessed it " Charles Emerson Winchester ". I painted the rails in medium blue with white caprails and the overhead " gingerbread " was dark blue with Gold highlights .

   I used the exact same boat and made those changes and you would've sworn it was a different kit ! Kibri makes all styles of wrought iron fence so there's no problem with that .    T.B.

Hi Steve!

   If anything it looks a wee bit sparse . Because that area is where passengers don't go , you can stack it higher and closer together . Cargo would be stacked up to the second deck and all the way forward , stopping at the upper deck supports there .

      A good stopping point is the last brown upright forward ., Now , With all you've done the Advice about stacking it higher does Not apply ! She could be halfway upriver and dropped some supplies at the wharves along the way !

  Great work so far . By the way ,Did you paint the stair rails or just leave them white plastic ? The reason I ask is this . If you didn't paint the railings they will yellow off color after a while . And they will be impossible to paint then .  T.B.

does this cargo look too big to scale T.B. , gene ,

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