Cathead

Mark, I meant the scale of the craft overall. I can know that I need a boat that's X long in inches, but depending on how the parts are scaled it may or may not look right. For example, a boat with parts scaled for 1:48 just won't look right in 1:64 even if it's the right "length". And I can't find any info on scaling from MS; need to check out MK. The scanner idea is interesting but then I have a boat kit I don't otherwise need. For the moment I'm going to keep stubbornly experimenting for myself but I'll keep your idea as a backup.

Those kits look really handy, but I'm afraid they'd be out of scale at my 1:64 if they were right for your 1:48; MS doesn't give a scale. I've started dabbling with this but have yet to figure out an approach that works for me. It's harder than I thought to lay out and build a very small boat at this scale.

I managed two more steps this week. First was gluing in the chimneys, which was scary as now there's a much larger delicate feature to bump or snag. No photos of this because it doesn't look any different from past test-fittings. Second, I worked on the main deck stern railings. This was difficult because I needed the railings to hold the full curve around the stern without any other support as the boiler deck doesn't extend out over this. Here's an example of what I'm basing this on. So what I did was build a basic jig that would hold the railings in the right curve while I (a) soaked and bent them and (b) painted them, as I've learned the hard way that painting makes thin strips like this lose a lot of their pre-bent curve. This worked really well. After the initial soaking and drying, I painted them in place. When that was dry, I took them off and painted the small bits covered by the clamps and jig; this wasn't enough to lose the curve. Then I mounted three thick posts on the main deck using small pins, one at each end of the railing and one at the very stern. When these were solid, I mounted the railings, then went back in and added smaller spacing posts. Here's the results: I think it came out nicely. Now I'm terrified of bumping the stern. Oh well. I've also started thinking about the two yawls I'll need. These were a pretty distinct design used on the Western Rivers; there was some good discussion of these over in Brian's Chaperon build, such as here and here. Basically I need to build two 16-18' boats with a flat stern and a hard chine (no rounding between the bottom and the sides). In addition to the photos shared in the second link above, I found two relevant drawings of what these craft might have looked like, but these differ in one important respect and I'd like an opinion from the resident experts (look, I'm asking ahead of time for once!). First, drawings of an Ohio River yawl from Howard Chappelle (sourced from Google Books). This has a fully flat bottom from side to side. Second, a sketch of a riverboat yawl from Alan Bates (photo from a book in my possession). This has an angled bottom from side to side: I'm not sure about posting these images as it technically may violate copyright, but I'm also not sure how else to explain what I'm trying to work out about these two designs. Happy to take them down in a moderator thinks it's a problem. Meanwhile, I'd like to better understand the difference between the two and which version might be better for me (and/or easier to build). Any advice/input?

That's an interesting thought. I'm feeling that a bit in my current 2.5 year project and could see the value in doing somethinge else, but I also so want to be done! Regardless, well done. Master Korabel seems to do really nice work.

Chuck has been affected by the virus-related business closures; you can keep up with his status here; it's a long thread but reading the last couple pages will give you a sense of his current situation. As you don't need the blocks for a while, just keep the idea in mind. I don't remember their cost offhand.

Good start, happy to follow along. Depending on your budget, you might consider replacing all the blocks with those made by Syren as they're of really high quality and a joy to work with. Not that you need to order them now, but as a thought instead of ordering replacements from M-E.

Lovely. I especially like the bull rail detail.

I'd like to say that I really enjoyed the article on the Coast Guard river cutters, especially given the Yacona's early adoption of desegregated crews. I knew nothing about this bit of history and was glad to learn it.

Spent the last two weeks working on various details. The railings on the boiler deck have been giving me nightmares, but I finally figured out a "good-enough" way that works at the level of the rest of the model (representative if not precisely accurate, don't look too close). These were really difficult to bend and shape, especially where they didn't extend between two decks for extra support. I left a gap on either side, forward of the wheels, to allow access to where the boats will be stored. Figured a chain was enough to keep passengers out; this was leftover scrap from a past model: These stern railings were especially tricky: Ladders up to the pilot house and various Texas cabins: A couple broader views: And here's one posed with the painting this model is loosely based on: It's getting ever scarier to handle this model as the fragile details go in. I'm so paranoid about bumping these railings, they were such a pain to do in the first place. And it's just going to get worse...

Nice work so far, especially in working around the inevitable mistakes or accidents. The general consensus is that wood glue is far preferable for binding wood than CA is, though the latter has a role in certain applications. Just keep it away from water! I think you said you were bending your planks dry, which might have contributed to one snapping. Soaking them really helps loosen up the fibers so the wood takes the bend easier. Your model is looking very nice, and this is a great way to practice these skills before diving into something bigger. Keep it up!

I thoroughly approve of your helpers, as evidenced by my username and photo. You made an earlier comment about certain things looking better from a distance, that's true for most models. Only the true geniuses among us can make things that look great in close-up photos!

Yeah, that was probably a little harsh. Feeling kinda edgy. Not a criticism of anyone building the kit, just a frustration that such a wildly unrealistic kit is the only "entry level" option available. As for Model Expo, I hope they have the resources to wait this out and come back online whenever that becomes possible.

If only we could replace all the awful King of the Mississippi kits with this one...

That's fantastic! Love the googly eyes, you could've donated the model to a Disney movie.

Beautiful cannons!

I'm working on doing a better job of checking out the logs of everyone who pays attention to mine. This is an amazing build that I'm sad to have missed so far.

Cool protoype, I've read nothing but good things about Master Korabel. I was a Russian major once upon a time and would love to be of help, though at this point I suspect Google is just as effective in most settings. Let me know if otherwise!

¡Bienvenida a nuestra comunidad, Sergio! Please start a separate build log where you can share your pictures, and tell us here when you've done so. I hope you continue to enjoy this really fun hobby.

Looks like a fun project, keep us updated.

Your progress looks great so far. I love the look of these vessels. Hope you'll keep posting on your progress.

Chances are you'll be happier in the long run if you start with something simpler. Even a basic open boat will teach you a lot about the skills needed to do a more complicated model and won't take you long enough to meaningfully delay your dream project. Way too many people dive in over their heads and get disillusioned. Wooden ship building is not like assembling a plastic kit by just gluing the pieces together in order; there are a lot of new skills you will have to learn, and doing that the hard way on your expensive dream kit is asking for trouble.

I was talking about this with Mrs. Cathead over dinner and she reminded me of something relevant. The last time we visited the Bertrand Museum, which has a huge and beautiful model of that vessel, I found a number of inconsistencies (at least, as far as I could tell) between the model and the plans/descriptions published in the book written by the archeologists who excavated and documented it. None of these detracted from the overall impact of the model on viewers wanting to understand what these complex vessels looked like overall, though it would be really interesting to talk to the original builder about various design choices given the information available.

Bob, I'm grateful for your feedback. I hope I'll always be open to constructive criticism and the opportunity to learn more. Regarding the masking tape, I'm hoping that the combination of wood glue below and paint above will seal it in pretty well. When building models, I get a lot of satisfaction from making do with what I have on hand; I don't like keeping or purchasing a large stock of specialty items. It's a personality trait that one could argue holds me back from making higher-quality models, but it improves my enjoyment of the work. I can see how it might be frustrating or worrying to wonder whether that degrades the longevity or value of a model like this. I'll certainly keep your concern in mind for future reference, but it's far too late now for this model! I used masking tape without glue on my Bertrand; that model is now four years old, displayed under fairly variable temperature conditions, and showing no signs of concern (I realize the hopeful life of a good model is much longer than that). So crossed fingers, I guess. Regarding the "tarpaper", thanks for the interesting history. I was apparently remiss in thinking that it was ok to follow the Chaperon's style for this vessel. My other references (like Hunter, Kane, and Bates) don't provide clear details on roof/deck coverings, especially for early boats like this. I suppose it would have been better to ask early and wait for advice, but I was excited to keep going and it never occurred to me to investigate further. That being said, I think one can squint and decide that the current look could also simulate canvas? My strips are narrower, closer to 2.5' than 4', and they show up more than your suggestion for canvas's appearance, but it at least conveys the idea that these upper surfaces were treated differently than the lower decks by covering with some form of water-resistant roll. Regarding the color, I can try a new coat of lighter pastel to shift the tone a bit more toward true grey. Especially with western riverboats, there's always the escape valve that there were few standards and lots of eccentric innovation, so maybe Arabia's owners got their hands on some unusually narrow canvas for a bargain price and skimped on the white paint in the color mix as well. After all, we have no idea what it actually looked like above the main deck, so there's a ton of conjecture in this model already. Overall, trying to keep up with the details necessary to make a truly accurate period model gets overwhelming. It can even be off-putting. I can point to a variety of other things on this model that I know are less than ideal, and that an expert would almost certainly notice (in terms of both accuracy and modelling quality). This model will win no awards at any model show based on the judging criteria as I understand them. These came either from my own mistakes, a lack of sufficient knowledge, or from compromises to keeping the building process fun and not exhausting (sometimes all!). I will have to chalk the roof covering up to that as well. The good news, for me as for most of us, is that the vast majority of viewers will never know the difference. I hate to put it that way because accuracy is reasonably important to me, but it's also a coping mechanism to stay sane. I just don't have the time or resources to become a true expert, not at age 40 and with many other interests. Even were this to be displayed in a museum somewhere someday, it's close enough to inspire most viewers to a reasonably accurate understanding of the vessel. However, every model I built teaches me more and lets me build a better one next time, particularly with the advice and feedback from folks like yourself. Thank you.

That's a fantastic idea! I've been playing around with the idea of various smaller Missouri River steamers for a future build. One of my motivations for doing the Arabia was just as you say, surprise that such an otherwise excellent museum had no way to visualize the craft in three dimensions other than a painting. I, too, am a lifelong history buff and think there's a major niche for using models to educate people about inland watercraft (not just sexy sailing ships).

I decided I needed to start fillling in details before the final railing and other things get installed. Also, this felt like a really nice shift from the endless superstructure work. First up, firewood piles. Nothing innovative here. I laid strips of double-sided tape, cut & split lots of branches collected from the outdoors, and stacked them with liberal applications of glue. Final product will be shown soon. Next, I made stacks of lumber by milling scrap wood on my Byrnes table saw. I stacked these and glued them together with spacers, then wrapped thread to simulate tie-downs. I also made some crates from scrap wood. Here's a view of the cargo along the port side: I left one stack of wood unsplit to simulate recently cut wood. Next, I dealt with the large stack of barrels I ordered from Model Expo. These are turned from wood, and I used a black marker to carefully darken their hoops. I set these up in two ways for visual interest, both of which I've seen used in contemporary photos (either horizontal or vertical): They don't show up well, but I made tie-downs for the horizontal barrel stacks. I should have for the vertical stacks but didn't think of it until they were already installed. Didn't take photos of the process, but I think these are pretty self-evident. Also note that you can see the final wood strips covering the edges of the boiler and hurricane decks, as well as the staircases up to the hurricane deck that are now installed (I think I described making these in an earlier installation before setting them aside). So here are some overall views of the model as it now stands. The chimneys are painted and I think look really nice. The darker black contrasts will with the softer decks and helps make them look more metal. They're not permanently installed and won't be for a while yet. Note that I put almost no cargo on the starboard side; that's because I want the interior view to be fully open. I made a small firewood pile near the bow, parallel with that on the port side, so it looks more symmetrical when viewed from the front. Adding the cargo really changed my sense of this project. It suddenly feels near completion, though that's an illusion given how much there is left to do. But it really looks like a steamboat now. Just going to add that I'm thinking about all my fellow modellers out there in the world under the current pandemic situation. Our hobby trends toward the higher-risk population and I hope we can suppress and manage this thing to the best of our abilities. I'm very fortunate to have a life/work situation that keeps me pretty isolated and independent, but have aging parents and parents-in-law that are at higher risk but I can do little to help. Thanks for reading, hope this log adds a smile to your day.