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Cathead

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Everything posted by Cathead

  1. Cathead
    Brian, you may be able to hire a mill instead. We do all the timber work ourselves but hire out the milling because we only mill 1-3 times a year and don't feel like storing and maintaining a 30' trailer the rest of the time. Our folks just drive down in here with their portable mill, blast through a pile of logs in a day or less, and leave me with a big stack of lumber for projects (or sale in some productive years). Check various online listings or forums, I bet there's someone with a portable mill in your region. As for weather, sometimes it's the other way around. I'm a northerner who doesn't care for hot, humid summers but will spend far more time outdoors in the fall and winter, especially doing timber work. But the days are short enough that long evenings happen anyway, so there's that.
  2. Cathead
    Mark, I'm sorry to hear this. I do want to thank you for sharing all that you've done thus far, so many of us have learned so much from you. Whatever choice you make down the road, you've helped so many people by sharing this that the project is already a wonderful achievement.
  3. Cathead
    So if you're wondering why it's been three weeks since an update, it's partly because I've been working on another wood project: a cedar chest to wool sweaters and other moth-prone treasures. This is made from Eastern Red Cedar cut & milled on our property; if you look closely you'll see some chatter marks from the bandsaw mill that I couldn't get fully sanded out (I don't have a planer). Mrs. Cathead actually likes it that way, as a reminder that it's from our place and not just random wood. It's been sucking up a lot of my project time but is finally done. But with that done, it's back to the Arabia. I finished all the walls for the main cabin, including "glassing" them with clear plastic and attaching pieces of scrap red felt from Mrs. Cathead's sewing supplies for curtains (i.e., viewblocks to the unfinished interior). I added handles to the doors in the same way as on the main deck (by drilling in small pieces of black wire) and drew on hints of hinges with a fine-tipped market. So here's what she looks like with the outer main cabin walls permanently installed: I have to say, I think she looks pretty cool. Next up is starting to install the more delicate supports for the center clerestory windows and the various roof beams; this will tie into building the upper paddleboxes. In other news, there's a new steamboat build log to check out if you want: Tom in NC is giving a new twist to the classic Chaperon kit by re-imagining it as a prohibition-era den of vice. Also, while researching a question in Brian's Chaperon build, I discovered that newspapers.com is a great resource for finding contemporary news clippings about steamboats. For example, here are two notices about the Arabia's sinking that appeared in the Louisville (KY) Daily Courier and the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Note the time delay for news in those days; she sank on September 5, 1856, but the Louisville notice appeared September 10 (with a September 9 byline from St. Louis) and the New Orleans notice appeared on September 17. We'll see if progress is more steady for a while with that cedar chest out of the way. As always, thanks for reading.
  4. Cathead
    Great work! Love the added bumpers, they're definitely a realistic touch. Regarding Cairo, have you looked at BlueJacket's kit? It's mostly wood (you can view a kit-contents video at that link). I'm strongly considering that as my next project. Also, there's a fantastic large-scale build of the USS St. Louis (a sister ship to Cairo) being build by the Gateway Model Shipcrafters club in St. Louis. As far as I know they're relying heavily on Cairo plans, so you could contact them for advice and resources. I suggets reading their log as a reference; I've seen the in-progress model in person and it's amazing (and huge). They've been maintaining the log intermittently lately but I can put you in direct email contact if you want. Regarding a sidewheeler prototype, there are certainly lots to choose from. I love that UW site as a resource; it's where I found the Mary McDonald photo collection I've been using as a reference for Arabia. I also have a copy of Way's Packet Directory, a nearly comprehensive listing of all known interior riverboats with varying levels of information on each one (history, dimensions, tonnage, masters, features, sale history, etc.), so I'd be happy look up any given craft for you. For example, there are three entries for sidewheelers named Selma. The first was built in 1845, served out of Mobile, AL, and was lost in a collision in 1850 (here's an 1846 newspaper clipping about her). The second was built in 1853 under a different name but was renamed in 1856, primarily serving out of New Orleans until being dismantled in 1860. The third was built in 1867 and also operated out of New Orleans (here's an 1868 sales notice from the New Orleans Times-Picayune). The latter two were roughly the size of Arabia while the first one was a little squirt about 1/3 the tonnage. I'd guess yours is the third one but hard to say without more info.
  5. Cathead
    In fairness, the kit doesn't provide any engines because they're hidden within a closed superstructure (which Tom has opened up), so Tom would have to scratchbuild them, which he may or may not want to do (they're pretty complicated even in simplified form). They would take up enough room that you couldn't easily fit any other gambling space in that area and it's certain that no one seeking any pleasure would want to be anywhere near them while in operation. Even quiet, they'd be greasy and dirty enough that fancy gamblers probably wouldn't appreciate the chance to rub up against them. The boat as a whole has more than enough space for all intended purposes, especially up on the boiler deck, so in theory Tom could move a lot of that up there, but that's not the route he's taken so far. Seems to me the most practical propulsion solution in this case would be to install diesel engines and props, leaving the paddlewheel as a dummy. These could all be fit below decks, leaving them out of sight (except the props, which aren't hard to add). Or maybe Tom's fella got his hands on a towboat that he uses to move his pleasure barge around when he needs to. Tom, you've obviously piqued some interest with this yarn of yours, good for you. It's your model, so whatever you decide works best for you and makes you happy is ultimately the right choice.
  6. Cathead
    I think your fella converts the boiler, not just into storage, but into a giant liquor tank. Different spirit for each boiler tube and taps running to the bar, maybe converting the steam lines for this purpose.
  7. Cathead
    Tom, You're pretty deep in already, but Kurt Van Dahm sells an excellent extended tutorial on building this kit that I highly recommend. It would have answered some of the questions you've already passed by and will almost certainly answer more down the road. Is part of your narrative is that the boat is moored somewhere for good, as the gambling tables have taken over the engine room?
  8. Cathead
    Scale matters to anyone who cares about how much room the finished model takes up in their home or the cost of the resulting case.
  9. Cathead
    I'd love to see a longitudinal section that shows all the decks, cabins, holds, etc. of a vessel. Much of the joy of modelling, for me, is learning how things work (or worked) and closed models leave out so much of the good stuff. And it'd be very different from all the standard cross-sections. Lots more visual interest for viewers, too.
  10. Cathead
    I actually haven't built Chaperon yet, but it's on my someday list.
  11. Cathead
    I'm always up for another proper steamboat build. Glad to have you on board and looking forward to seeing what direction you take this in.
  12. Cathead
    Just found this and it's pretty cool. Nice job on a creative approach to a different kind of ship modelling. Can't wait to see where you go from here.
  13. Cathead
    It'll make you want to build models in 1:87, that's for sure. That and the widespread availability of window/door castings, figures, and other such things were a major factor in deciding to build the Bertrand in that unusual (for ship models) scale. Well, that and I wanted to display it on my model railroad depicting a late 1850s Missouri River town.
  14. Cathead
    Brian, It's purchased from Northeastern Scale Lumber, which primarily supplies model railroaders. All my stock is leftover from when that was my primary hobby focus, I built a lot of my own buildings. They have a wide array of different siding styles (boards, clapboard, board and batten, etc.) in different widths. Well worth checking out.
  15. Cathead
    Nice! Great to see you back at work. Is your new home still in "far north Texas"? I worked in the Panhandle for a summer after college, at Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument and Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, doing geological surveys for both parks as well as public interpretive work.
  16. Cathead
    I worked on the main cabin walls this week. Here's a small bit I made to test out my intended method: It's pretty straightforward, just panels of scribed wood spaced below the upper window assembly, which keeps the whole thing straight. I made the doors the same way as before, by drilling holes and then finishing with knife and file. I have to make lots of these and they're pretty fiddly, but I listen to an audiobook and it goes pretty smoothly. Close-up, you can see some rough edges that I've been having a hard time fully smoothing down, but they seem to blend into the background when viewed beyond a camera lens. Here's the rest of the starboard outer wall: All the doors are made and painted but I haven't installed them yet. The backing strips holding this together and straight are scrap from past wooden kits (the stuff around laser-cut parts); I have a whole box of this stuff because I hate throwing things away, and it comes in really handy here as it's straight and strong but doesn't cost me anything. Here's the wall loosely placed on the model for visual inspection: Certainly gives the right idea. I think this came out well and the next one will go faster now that I have the method down. Thanks for reading.
  17. Cathead
    Chuck already has a dedicated thread in this same section, where people praise and otherwise interact with him and where he routinely answers questions and provides updates. It's very active and I'd suggest that there's no reason to duplicate it here. https://modelshipworld.com/topic/12476-syren-ship-model-company-news-and-forthcoming-new-projects-products/
  18. Cathead
    I took a break from planking to work on the boiler deck structures (i.e, the main cabin). This is complicated as it contains multiple curved deck levels above and a raised central skylight running along most of its length. I started by drawing out the shapes of the fore- and aft-most walls, since they define the curve of the hurricane deck (the third one up, after main and boiler). I decided to use pre-scribed wood for the cabin walls at this level for three reasons. First, they need to be especially structurally solid given their complexity and I can get their shapes more similar using solid pieces. Second, they won't be as visible as the main superstructure walls because they'll be more hidden under overhanging decks. Third, I've been underestimating my strip wood use and this gets expensive to keep reordering, whereas I have plenty of scribed stock sitting around. So that's how it is. Fore (left) and aft (right) main cabin walls with handmade doors. The ribs along the top provide extra support for the next deck up. I put the worse of the two doors on the fore cabin wall as this will be especially well-hidden under a deep and long overhang, where as the aft one will be a lot more visible. I made the doors by tracing the oval windows (using a dowel for the curve), drilling out their outlines, then cutting and sanding the hole. I then attached thin strips of wood to make the framing, as seen in the first photo. Here they are painted and installed in the walls. The third piece (upper right) sits a bit forward of the aft wall because the skylight doesn't run all the way back. This will be clearer when I get further along in the build. Next step on these is glassing the windows and adding some curtains to block the view, as I don't want to show any interior. These are the doors that access the main dining/social cabin that runs the length of this structure; the lower portions to either side house the individual cabins, kitchen, and other areas that are accessed from doors on the outer and inner walls. Here's a cross-section of a typical sidewheeler from Wikimedia Commons in case it helps clarify what I'm working on here (the area above the boilers): As a preview, here's the aft-most wall propped up in its intended location. I like how these came out; they were a good test for the even more complicated task of building the long side walls full of cabin doors and other details, which is next. Thanks for reading!
  19. Cathead
    Does anyone have a sense of how accurate the kit is? I've read that some other kits are just modified version of other ships rather than actually designed to be the Beagle.
  20. Cathead
    Good point on not waiting too long, wefalck, especially with soft basswood. I'll try that.
  21. Cathead
    Brian, I'm using wood glue because (a) I've heard mixed reviews about the longevity of CA and (b) it's more benign to be around, which is important to me. CA gives me a headache pretty quickly, while I can use wood glue all night long. Unlike Chaperon, I'm not gluing planks to a smooth surface but just to the very thin cross beams above the main deck, so spreading glue along the bottom of the plank would (a) waste a lot of glue and (b) create a really ugly under-surface as the boiler deck can be seen from below. So what I'm doing is placing small dots of glue on each beam and then settling the plank over it. What's happening isn't seepage directly up through the plank, it's bits of glue squeezing upward in the seams between planks, then soaking in from the side or top. It creates the little darker patches you can see if you look closely at the planking photos. The best approach is just to be really careful in how much glue is used, but sometimes I get it wrong or it gets up there anyway. Also, early on I made the mistake of trying to wipe it up right away, which just spread wet glue further over the absorbent surface and made the spot bigger. I think it's better to let any beads dry and then scrape/sand them away. The core problem is that the planks aren't sealed in any way, and soft basswood is really absorbent. But that's the price of doing the individual planking the way I like it done in this case (i.e., without paint). Given that most of this will be under another anyway and only seen in partial shadow from the side, I don't think most people will notice. It would cost me points in any model competition for sure, but as that's not my goal it's ok. Thanks for the feedback, it's nice to have other steamboat modellers on board. My brain is already working ahead to thinking about trying Chaperon and customizing it various ways to backdate it to a mid-century Missouri River sternwheeler, and the more build logs there are the more I learn about the kit.
  22. Cathead
    Interesting question. I have a very linear mind and tend not to have several things running in parallel. I only work on one model at a time and then only one one step at a time. In theory it would be more efficient to jump around and build other parts ahead of time while working on an earlier step, but my mind just doesn't work like that. I like to think about the context of what I'm doing with each step and I can't do that if I'm way ahead (for example, building some bit of superstructure before the hull is finished). Part of this is that I've learned that I often like to change my plans as I go along, or adapt details to the way a project is going, so if I build ahead, I may end up with something I don't actually like or want when it's time to use that bit. Building every step to fit the model in front of me helps guarantee that I'll get what I want each step of the way. I couldn't handle more than one project at once, though I'm quite susceptible to "dreaming ahead" when I'm not even halfway through a given project. Plus, I like to finish what I start and doing more than one thing at once seems to guarantee endless projects.
  23. Cathead
    Boiler deck planking is mostly done: The blank spot in the center is where the cabins will go, I'm not showing the interior of these so there's no need to plank this carefully. As the underside of the deck is vaguely visible if you look from just the right angle, I used sheets of pre-scribed wood for this to mimic just enough planking in the shadows. For the visible planking, I stained the individual strips using the same vinegar/rust mixture I've used before on this model, then rubbed each plank with subtly different shades of pastels. This produced a nice variation effect and was a lot faster than painting. I'll sand the whole surface down when it's done, blending them together a bit more. If you were wondering why this deck isn't red, too, there are three reasons. First, this is the only other deck that will be visibly planked (everything above this will be covered with tar paper), and I thought it would look interesting in a more raw wood state, a bit of visual variability. Second, as this deck is mostly covered by the decks above and doesn't get as much use as the main deck (for things like cargo handling), I decided it didn't need the extra coat of red paint. Third, I'm out of red paint and don't want to buy another whole bottle when I might not use the rest for a year or more. Here's a closer look at the foremost part of the boiler deck, showing where the chimneys and main stairwell come through. You may notice that the former look a bit off-kilter. That's because they are. I didn't get the boilers lined up perfectly and these were not quite aligned the way I wanted them, so I built up the area around them to make them parallel again. This will be entirely invisible once the chimneys are sitting on top. You can also see some places where glue leaked through the planking. I was trying to be careful, but using unpainted thin wood makes it super-sensitive to glue spills. I don't think it'll be very noticeable once the next deck is covering this and all the railings are one. I was still annoyed by this, though, no matter how hard I tried the occasional bead came seeping up through and trying to wipe it off just made the area bigger. Along with this, I'm starting to lay out the main cabin superstructure. It's quite complicated and will take me a while to get right, along with probably some annoying mistakes and do-overs. I'll try to take more photos; I didn't take many of the planking process because it's so straightforward. Thanks for reading. We're heading for the first real heat wave of summer here, so maybe some extra focus on modelling for a bit.
  24. Cathead
    I like to use a pair of flush cutting nippers for trimming rigging like that. They're not expensive and are widely useful. They let you get really close to the knot without danger of cutting into it. Nice work!
  25. Cathead
    I like to decide early on which side of a model is the "display" side and always work on the other side first to ensure I figure out any bugs before doing the "good" side. Your work certainly looks nice to me.

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