Cathead

One aspect I haven't seen discussed (or possibly I missed) is mental. Now that I'm nearly done with my Bertrand scratchbuild, definitely the most complex model project I've ever tackled, I'm quite looking forward to building something with instructions. The biggest different between scratch and kit building is in your head; in the former you have to think everything through ahead of time, have a complete plan for order of operations, ordering parts, making sure items are ready when you need them, doing steps in the best order, etc. Even a kit with poor instructions gives you some sense of where to proceed next, and the comfort that someone has thought through how that project works (even if they thought about it in another language).
 
I'm taking on Chuck's longboat next, and can't wait for him to tell me what do to for a little while; it's going to be very relaxing after nine months of constantly thinking about the next ten steps in my build. I can easily imagine how many people would enjoy gussying up a kit while still wanting that basic framework of instructions and such. The mental leap to personally "designing a kit" is pretty large, in my opinion.
 
Added thought: I don't at all buy the argument that ship modelling is too expensive. It's only true if you have no sense of personal economics or self-control. If you buy a soda or a candy bar every day without even thinking, you've just spent the price of a good model kit annually. My Bertrand has cost less than $300 in materials and was built with basic hand tools. I'm self-employed and live on a very tight and careful budget, and I can afford to build models because I budget for them, and make choices based on what I can afford and justify, not what I want or dream about.

One aspect I haven't seen discussed (or possibly I missed) is mental. Now that I'm nearly done with my Bertrand scratchbuild, definitely the most complex model project I've ever tackled, I'm quite looking forward to building something with instructions. The biggest different between scratch and kit building is in your head; in the former you have to think everything through ahead of time, have a complete plan for order of operations, ordering parts, making sure items are ready when you need them, doing steps in the best order, etc. Even a kit with poor instructions gives you some sense of where to proceed next, and the comfort that someone has thought through how that project works (even if they thought about it in another language).
 
I'm taking on Chuck's longboat next, and can't wait for him to tell me what do to for a little while; it's going to be very relaxing after nine months of constantly thinking about the next ten steps in my build. I can easily imagine how many people would enjoy gussying up a kit while still wanting that basic framework of instructions and such. The mental leap to personally "designing a kit" is pretty large, in my opinion.
 
Added thought: I don't at all buy the argument that ship modelling is too expensive. It's only true if you have no sense of personal economics or self-control. If you buy a soda or a candy bar every day without even thinking, you've just spent the price of a good model kit annually. My Bertrand has cost less than $300 in materials and was built with basic hand tools. I'm self-employed and live on a very tight and careful budget, and I can afford to build models because I budget for them, and make choices based on what I can afford and justify, not what I want or dream about.

One aspect I haven't seen discussed (or possibly I missed) is mental. Now that I'm nearly done with my Bertrand scratchbuild, definitely the most complex model project I've ever tackled, I'm quite looking forward to building something with instructions. The biggest different between scratch and kit building is in your head; in the former you have to think everything through ahead of time, have a complete plan for order of operations, ordering parts, making sure items are ready when you need them, doing steps in the best order, etc. Even a kit with poor instructions gives you some sense of where to proceed next, and the comfort that someone has thought through how that project works (even if they thought about it in another language).
 
I'm taking on Chuck's longboat next, and can't wait for him to tell me what do to for a little while; it's going to be very relaxing after nine months of constantly thinking about the next ten steps in my build. I can easily imagine how many people would enjoy gussying up a kit while still wanting that basic framework of instructions and such. The mental leap to personally "designing a kit" is pretty large, in my opinion.
 
Added thought: I don't at all buy the argument that ship modelling is too expensive. It's only true if you have no sense of personal economics or self-control. If you buy a soda or a candy bar every day without even thinking, you've just spent the price of a good model kit annually. My Bertrand has cost less than $300 in materials and was built with basic hand tools. I'm self-employed and live on a very tight and careful budget, and I can afford to build models because I budget for them, and make choices based on what I can afford and justify, not what I want or dream about.

One aspect I haven't seen discussed (or possibly I missed) is mental. Now that I'm nearly done with my Bertrand scratchbuild, definitely the most complex model project I've ever tackled, I'm quite looking forward to building something with instructions. The biggest different between scratch and kit building is in your head; in the former you have to think everything through ahead of time, have a complete plan for order of operations, ordering parts, making sure items are ready when you need them, doing steps in the best order, etc. Even a kit with poor instructions gives you some sense of where to proceed next, and the comfort that someone has thought through how that project works (even if they thought about it in another language).
 
I'm taking on Chuck's longboat next, and can't wait for him to tell me what do to for a little while; it's going to be very relaxing after nine months of constantly thinking about the next ten steps in my build. I can easily imagine how many people would enjoy gussying up a kit while still wanting that basic framework of instructions and such. The mental leap to personally "designing a kit" is pretty large, in my opinion.
 
Added thought: I don't at all buy the argument that ship modelling is too expensive. It's only true if you have no sense of personal economics or self-control. If you buy a soda or a candy bar every day without even thinking, you've just spent the price of a good model kit annually. My Bertrand has cost less than $300 in materials and was built with basic hand tools. I'm self-employed and live on a very tight and careful budget, and I can afford to build models because I budget for them, and make choices based on what I can afford and justify, not what I want or dream about.

Its not about offending anyone...its just that a beginner needs time to develop the expertise to recognize what is better or what is sub par.  This only happens with the passing of time and learning.  The other ingredient is passion.  The willingness to want to "upgrade" has to do with how passionate one is about the hobby as they progress...as well as budget.   You would not believe how many times I am asked by a beginner why my blocks have two holes and not just one.  Most dont yet realize or ahve not learned yet that its because the two holes simulate a sheave. It more accurately reflects the true shape and function of a block.  Once they learn that they can make a better choice as to whether it is worth the money for increasing accuracy and the overall look and feel.
 
It takes time and kit companies know this.   So with the overwhelming majority of builders being new or intermediate they cant possibly get folks to try and take the initial plunge if all the kits were filled with exceptional parts.   For those who do have the expertise and grow to be passionate enough about the hobby....there are places to go...like the Lumberyard and Syren.   Its a much smaller group of customers.  Both have their place...its no different than any other hobby.  The typical larger kit company will never produce a kit with parts like I make....it cant be done.  They wouldnt be a large company with so many customers if they did.  Thats why I am a small company with many less customers.  
 
You can sell 500 kits of the Sultana per year or 35 Cheerful packages......different audiences at different levels of the hobby .  Its the same for all hobbies.  I could have made one phone call to Model Expo and sold my Cheerful Kit design in a heartbeat.  But my guess is they want to sell more than 35 per year and what you would end up getting would be much different than what I currently offer....for the same reasons.  Its nothing to be shocked about.  Its just the way it is and always will be. 

Model Railroading as well.  You can spend $700 on one engine and even more on other stuff.  So its not as unusual as some say.  Spending $750 on a good quality ship model kit is not outrageous at all in comparison.  Its just a smaller group of people and its tough to make a profit regardless.   The overall question is that most beginners and intermediate builders feel better when they know they have received everything in one box.  But for those who have done it for a while are more comfortable with buying a timbering set or just portions of a project.  
 
I know nothing about golf....which clubs....which balls....what gloves....if I were to spend a ton of money as a beginner I would just buy a complete package or set that was not at all top of the line quality.  If I really got into it,  then maybe I would buy more expensive single clubs and accessories.  Same is true for model railroading...I can buy a small in expensive set in one box where you get a tiny circle of track and then after a short time maybe start buying more stuff thats better......its all relative.
 
Some will never do it or see the need to, and they are quite happy with a straight out of the box kit project.  Others want to do better and dont mind paying for the extras later as they develop an eye for what is better....and they dont mind throwing away the crap that usually comes in a kit....the last stage is to just build it all yourself...and anyone can do that if they are so into the hobby that they have now spent money on the tools etc.....just like the other hobbies.  Its no different.
 
Every hobby has its share of crappy products directed at the begginer which are cheaper...its just the same old typical beginner introduction to any hobby and it progresses from there.

Ever tried to take up a hobby like golf.  It is just as expensive.   If not more.  Its all relative.  Folks always start with kits and then some move on to scratch.  Its the way its been for 75 years.   It just depends on how much you like it.  If I spent 600 bucks on golf equipment and didnt want to spend more on the better stuff.......its very common.   Those that really get into it spend 1000's of dollars each year.  Some never get to that level of play however.  Same is true for for our hobby.
 
Chuck

I am going to finish planking the hull, then try to mock up the decks to see what the kit hieghts are. Then I may have to scratch build or modify portions to get it reasonable. I am certainly going to reduce the wheel to around 18ft. 

Thanks for the names. I asked so I could look them up in my copy of Way's Packet Directory, which lists most known riverboats from 1848-1994, and see if I could identify a boat the kit might be based on. Unfortunately, there are no listed boats with names anything like Matthew Spress or Bourbon (anything), so that was a dead end. 
 
Regardless, I'm very interested in how you approach this kit. Thanks for the profile photo, there's definitely still some sheer there!

Thanks for the names. I asked so I could look them up in my copy of Way's Packet Directory, which lists most known riverboats from 1848-1994, and see if I could identify a boat the kit might be based on. Unfortunately, there are no listed boats with names anything like Matthew Spress or Bourbon (anything), so that was a dead end. 
 
Regardless, I'm very interested in how you approach this kit. Thanks for the profile photo, there's definitely still some sheer there!

I'm excited to follow this build, as I don't know much about these kits and want to learn more about their content and quality. I agree, every steamboat kit I've seen looks foreshortened to me, like someone squeezed the plans in their drafting program. Do the included materials say anything about what they based the design on?
 
I can't tell from the photos, but does the main deck have any sheer to it? My understanding is that decks gradually flattened over time, as builders realized they didn't need to copy ocean-going vessels in that regard. It would certainly make various aspects of the kit easier!

Cap'n, thanks, I remember that now from your build and will go re-investigate. I'm reluctant to try the chisel approach on a nearly-completed model, especially on a surface which has overhangs on two sides. Perhaps I should have done it very early on.
 
Ken, my original plan was to order turnbuckles from Grandt Line along with all the windows & doors for this build. When I decided to scratchbuild all the latter, it threw that order out the window and now I'm reluctant to pay shipping for just one tiny item. I think, at this scale, I'm best off as you say just using a really thin piece of material to simulate the effect. I think they'd be rectangular rather than tubular, though.
 
Chborgm, Bertrand's wheel was estimated at 18' diameter and 28' across. I honestly don't know how much variation there was in wheel size among boats of different eras, builders, and intended regions of use. I will say, for whatever it's worth, that every steamboat kit I've seen "looks" generally out of proportion to me in the photos, and was one factor driving me to try scratchbuilding. 

Well I got the kit last night. UPS came at 8:00PM. I had ordered it from Model Ship Building College in Australia. (it was little lower cost) According to the internet tracking it made 27 transfer on it's way here. the shipment came through Europe,London, New York, Miami, to Palm Beach Gardens
 

 
 

 

 
I am not going to unpack it any further than that. I'll do it as I need the parts
 
I do not intend to finish it like the pictures in the box. I am going to paint the hull flat white, and tone down the finish everywhere. 
 
Also I intend to put lights in it like the model of the "Portland" that I just finished. 
 
A quick review of the drawings and part show that Mantua took some liberty  in making this kit a true "Scale Model".
 
The paddle wheel scales out to be 28 ft in Dia where it should be in the 16 - 18 range. The aspect ratio of the model makes it appear short and tall. 

Well here is the first step.
 

 
The kit is roughly 9" wide and 40" long. A quick look at the parts trouble me a little in that some of the parts look out of scale. For example the paddle wheel is 7" in dia. That scales to 28 feet. I would think it should be around 16 to 18 feet. The cabin height also looks a little tall. I am not sure what realistically they should be. I'll take any input.
After I get the hull planked I'll mock it up and see how it works out. 
 
I am certainly goig to cut down the wheel and try to get everything in the right proportions. I have Built the Chaparon (MSW), and it appears very true to historic drawing and pictures so I will use the as a guide.
 
Another note on the kit. The supplied plywood is very soft and porous. Using  thin quick set CA the glue gets absorbed by wood, and a second coat has to be used. I switched to the thicked CA and it works ok.
 
 
 

Lots of progress lately. By the end of this post, Bertrand will be ready for the final bits of rigging and details. The end is in sight! Here we go:
 
Pilot house
 

 
Here I'm laying out pieces for the pilot house. Like the cabins, this uses pre-scribed wood, though I'm cutting & staining the window & door frames individually. I didn't have anything that small on hand, so split each piece manually from wider strips, using a hobby knife.
 

 
Here you see the pilot house partially assembled. You'll notice that I made the windows with two layers of wood, technically not accurate since a real window would have the panes and frames all in one plane. I decided that I didn't have the skill to make perfect square small-paned windows like these in 1:87, so went with the two-layer approach as a reasonable approximation. One reason I stained the windows dark, is to help hide their 2-D nature. The resulting shadow keeps the eye from seeing that, compared to if they were all white. And I think it looks nice. When you step back more than 6", it's hard to see the difference.
 

 
Here's the pilot house installed, with a beginning to the clerestory roof. I carved a series of roof braces with a gentle curve to support this area, instead of bothering with full rafters, as this can't be seen from any angle. Much easier. Then I just planked in both roof areas as I'd done the hurricane deck, using the same pre-coloring technique with pastels. If you look real close, you can see the wheel, which I made by cutting a hoop from the styrene tube soon to be used for the chimneys, and gluing thin styrene rods radially. I thought I took pictures of this process, but can't find them now. Oops.
 
Chimneys
 

 
Though the model railroader in me wants to call these smokestacks, apparently the steamboat world generally called them chimneys. In any case, these were built from two diameters of styrene tubing, one of which slides neatly into the other. I cut a series of hoops from the thicker diameter, and drilled holes in styrene sheet to create a kind of cover plate for where the chimneys cross the hurricane deck.
 
Middle photo shows the assembled chimneys. The thicker, lower section simulates the heat shields such chimneys used to protect passengers on the boiler deck from the hot chimney pipes. The various hoops simulate thicker iron bands on the chimneys, placed approximately where various plans and period illustrations suggest they should be. As styrene is too smooth and shiny to really simulate rough iron to my eye, I used a past trick of mine and wrapped the chimneys in layers of strong masking tape, making each seem a quarter turn from the layer below. These seams simulate the chimneys' construction from tubes of iron, and produce a nice rough texture. 
 
On the right, you see the painted and installed chimneys, weathered with rust-colored pastels. I think they look convincingly like frontier iron work.
 
Stairs
 

 
Three sets of stairs are needed to reach the pilot house from the boiler deck; one from boiler deck to hurricane deck (right), one from hurricane deck to clerestory roof (not shown), and one from clerestory to pilot house (left). I built these in the same manner as the main staircase from main deck to boiler deck, described before in this build. In the background, you see some hog chains, which I'll discuss soon.
 
Boiler deck railing
 

 
Probably the most fiddly part of this build. I'm not entirely happy with how these came out, but they look fine from more than a foot away. I started by building the internal railing that keep passengers from falling down the main stairwell (left). Then I glued a long, painted strip wrapped around all the stanchions on the boiler deck, as the upper rail (center). Then I hand-cut a whole whoppin'  mess of little railing posts to line the railing with, and carefully levered each one into place with tweezers and a dab of glue. Once again, step back a foot and it looks great. Up close, it looks like the work of someone still developing his fine-woodworking skills.
 
(Almost) completed steamboat
 


 
And here she is, very close to done. This is the best view of the hog chain system, the longitudinal iron trusses that keep the bow and stern from sagging in a ong, thin boat with no keel and lots of stern-weight. These I simulated with fine rigging thread painted black, run through holes drilled in the decks and stretched tight. They should have turnbuckles on them for tensioning, which I haven't decided how to simulate yet.
 
All that remains is the "rigging", which in this case means a few support cables for the chimneys, and the various cables and tackles for the grasshopper spars, which I'll discuss when they're done. There are a few other details, such as hoists and tackles for two launches, and splitting some 1:87 firewood for the main deck. But she's close.
 
One question for you all: how would you go about lettering the name, which should go in large black letters on the engine-room wall just forward of the wheel? I've never done lettering before.
 
Hopefully within two weeks I'll post the absolutely completed Bertrand. In the meantime, just two days late, here's Dave Hum playing the Eighth of January, an old tune named for the British defeat at New Orleans that closed the War of 1812, just over 201 years ago:
 

I love the crisp, professional style of both wood and metal work in this build. 
 
Question: How were the hull and deck planks attached, and do you plan to simulate that in any way?
 
As for the uneven planking widths, you see the same thing in drawings of Bertrand. Builders pretty clearly just used whatever they could find and afford.
 
Thanks for the update, I've been looking forward to your return. Happy New Year!

Cap'n, thanks, I remember that now from your build and will go re-investigate. I'm reluctant to try the chisel approach on a nearly-completed model, especially on a surface which has overhangs on two sides. Perhaps I should have done it very early on.
 
Ken, my original plan was to order turnbuckles from Grandt Line along with all the windows & doors for this build. When I decided to scratchbuild all the latter, it threw that order out the window and now I'm reluctant to pay shipping for just one tiny item. I think, at this scale, I'm best off as you say just using a really thin piece of material to simulate the effect. I think they'd be rectangular rather than tubular, though.
 
Chborgm, Bertrand's wheel was estimated at 18' diameter and 28' across. I honestly don't know how much variation there was in wheel size among boats of different eras, builders, and intended regions of use. I will say, for whatever it's worth, that every steamboat kit I've seen "looks" generally out of proportion to me in the photos, and was one factor driving me to try scratchbuilding. 

Lots of progress lately. By the end of this post, Bertrand will be ready for the final bits of rigging and details. The end is in sight! Here we go:
 
Pilot house
 

 
Here I'm laying out pieces for the pilot house. Like the cabins, this uses pre-scribed wood, though I'm cutting & staining the window & door frames individually. I didn't have anything that small on hand, so split each piece manually from wider strips, using a hobby knife.
 

 
Here you see the pilot house partially assembled. You'll notice that I made the windows with two layers of wood, technically not accurate since a real window would have the panes and frames all in one plane. I decided that I didn't have the skill to make perfect square small-paned windows like these in 1:87, so went with the two-layer approach as a reasonable approximation. One reason I stained the windows dark, is to help hide their 2-D nature. The resulting shadow keeps the eye from seeing that, compared to if they were all white. And I think it looks nice. When you step back more than 6", it's hard to see the difference.
 

 
Here's the pilot house installed, with a beginning to the clerestory roof. I carved a series of roof braces with a gentle curve to support this area, instead of bothering with full rafters, as this can't be seen from any angle. Much easier. Then I just planked in both roof areas as I'd done the hurricane deck, using the same pre-coloring technique with pastels. If you look real close, you can see the wheel, which I made by cutting a hoop from the styrene tube soon to be used for the chimneys, and gluing thin styrene rods radially. I thought I took pictures of this process, but can't find them now. Oops.
 
Chimneys
 

 
Though the model railroader in me wants to call these smokestacks, apparently the steamboat world generally called them chimneys. In any case, these were built from two diameters of styrene tubing, one of which slides neatly into the other. I cut a series of hoops from the thicker diameter, and drilled holes in styrene sheet to create a kind of cover plate for where the chimneys cross the hurricane deck.
 
Middle photo shows the assembled chimneys. The thicker, lower section simulates the heat shields such chimneys used to protect passengers on the boiler deck from the hot chimney pipes. The various hoops simulate thicker iron bands on the chimneys, placed approximately where various plans and period illustrations suggest they should be. As styrene is too smooth and shiny to really simulate rough iron to my eye, I used a past trick of mine and wrapped the chimneys in layers of strong masking tape, making each seem a quarter turn from the layer below. These seams simulate the chimneys' construction from tubes of iron, and produce a nice rough texture. 
 
On the right, you see the painted and installed chimneys, weathered with rust-colored pastels. I think they look convincingly like frontier iron work.
 
Stairs
 

 
Three sets of stairs are needed to reach the pilot house from the boiler deck; one from boiler deck to hurricane deck (right), one from hurricane deck to clerestory roof (not shown), and one from clerestory to pilot house (left). I built these in the same manner as the main staircase from main deck to boiler deck, described before in this build. In the background, you see some hog chains, which I'll discuss soon.
 
Boiler deck railing
 

 
Probably the most fiddly part of this build. I'm not entirely happy with how these came out, but they look fine from more than a foot away. I started by building the internal railing that keep passengers from falling down the main stairwell (left). Then I glued a long, painted strip wrapped around all the stanchions on the boiler deck, as the upper rail (center). Then I hand-cut a whole whoppin'  mess of little railing posts to line the railing with, and carefully levered each one into place with tweezers and a dab of glue. Once again, step back a foot and it looks great. Up close, it looks like the work of someone still developing his fine-woodworking skills.
 
(Almost) completed steamboat
 


 
And here she is, very close to done. This is the best view of the hog chain system, the longitudinal iron trusses that keep the bow and stern from sagging in a ong, thin boat with no keel and lots of stern-weight. These I simulated with fine rigging thread painted black, run through holes drilled in the decks and stretched tight. They should have turnbuckles on them for tensioning, which I haven't decided how to simulate yet.
 
All that remains is the "rigging", which in this case means a few support cables for the chimneys, and the various cables and tackles for the grasshopper spars, which I'll discuss when they're done. There are a few other details, such as hoists and tackles for two launches, and splitting some 1:87 firewood for the main deck. But she's close.
 
One question for you all: how would you go about lettering the name, which should go in large black letters on the engine-room wall just forward of the wheel? I've never done lettering before.
 
Hopefully within two weeks I'll post the absolutely completed Bertrand. In the meantime, just two days late, here's Dave Hum playing the Eighth of January, an old tune named for the British defeat at New Orleans that closed the War of 1812, just over 201 years ago:
 

Cap'n, thanks, I remember that now from your build and will go re-investigate. I'm reluctant to try the chisel approach on a nearly-completed model, especially on a surface which has overhangs on two sides. Perhaps I should have done it very early on.
 
Ken, my original plan was to order turnbuckles from Grandt Line along with all the windows & doors for this build. When I decided to scratchbuild all the latter, it threw that order out the window and now I'm reluctant to pay shipping for just one tiny item. I think, at this scale, I'm best off as you say just using a really thin piece of material to simulate the effect. I think they'd be rectangular rather than tubular, though.
 
Chborgm, Bertrand's wheel was estimated at 18' diameter and 28' across. I honestly don't know how much variation there was in wheel size among boats of different eras, builders, and intended regions of use. I will say, for whatever it's worth, that every steamboat kit I've seen "looks" generally out of proportion to me in the photos, and was one factor driving me to try scratchbuilding. 

Lots of progress lately. By the end of this post, Bertrand will be ready for the final bits of rigging and details. The end is in sight! Here we go:
 
Pilot house
 

 
Here I'm laying out pieces for the pilot house. Like the cabins, this uses pre-scribed wood, though I'm cutting & staining the window & door frames individually. I didn't have anything that small on hand, so split each piece manually from wider strips, using a hobby knife.
 

 
Here you see the pilot house partially assembled. You'll notice that I made the windows with two layers of wood, technically not accurate since a real window would have the panes and frames all in one plane. I decided that I didn't have the skill to make perfect square small-paned windows like these in 1:87, so went with the two-layer approach as a reasonable approximation. One reason I stained the windows dark, is to help hide their 2-D nature. The resulting shadow keeps the eye from seeing that, compared to if they were all white. And I think it looks nice. When you step back more than 6", it's hard to see the difference.
 

 
Here's the pilot house installed, with a beginning to the clerestory roof. I carved a series of roof braces with a gentle curve to support this area, instead of bothering with full rafters, as this can't be seen from any angle. Much easier. Then I just planked in both roof areas as I'd done the hurricane deck, using the same pre-coloring technique with pastels. If you look real close, you can see the wheel, which I made by cutting a hoop from the styrene tube soon to be used for the chimneys, and gluing thin styrene rods radially. I thought I took pictures of this process, but can't find them now. Oops.
 
Chimneys
 

 
Though the model railroader in me wants to call these smokestacks, apparently the steamboat world generally called them chimneys. In any case, these were built from two diameters of styrene tubing, one of which slides neatly into the other. I cut a series of hoops from the thicker diameter, and drilled holes in styrene sheet to create a kind of cover plate for where the chimneys cross the hurricane deck.
 
Middle photo shows the assembled chimneys. The thicker, lower section simulates the heat shields such chimneys used to protect passengers on the boiler deck from the hot chimney pipes. The various hoops simulate thicker iron bands on the chimneys, placed approximately where various plans and period illustrations suggest they should be. As styrene is too smooth and shiny to really simulate rough iron to my eye, I used a past trick of mine and wrapped the chimneys in layers of strong masking tape, making each seem a quarter turn from the layer below. These seams simulate the chimneys' construction from tubes of iron, and produce a nice rough texture. 
 
On the right, you see the painted and installed chimneys, weathered with rust-colored pastels. I think they look convincingly like frontier iron work.
 
Stairs
 

 
Three sets of stairs are needed to reach the pilot house from the boiler deck; one from boiler deck to hurricane deck (right), one from hurricane deck to clerestory roof (not shown), and one from clerestory to pilot house (left). I built these in the same manner as the main staircase from main deck to boiler deck, described before in this build. In the background, you see some hog chains, which I'll discuss soon.
 
Boiler deck railing
 

 
Probably the most fiddly part of this build. I'm not entirely happy with how these came out, but they look fine from more than a foot away. I started by building the internal railing that keep passengers from falling down the main stairwell (left). Then I glued a long, painted strip wrapped around all the stanchions on the boiler deck, as the upper rail (center). Then I hand-cut a whole whoppin'  mess of little railing posts to line the railing with, and carefully levered each one into place with tweezers and a dab of glue. Once again, step back a foot and it looks great. Up close, it looks like the work of someone still developing his fine-woodworking skills.
 
(Almost) completed steamboat
 


 
And here she is, very close to done. This is the best view of the hog chain system, the longitudinal iron trusses that keep the bow and stern from sagging in a ong, thin boat with no keel and lots of stern-weight. These I simulated with fine rigging thread painted black, run through holes drilled in the decks and stretched tight. They should have turnbuckles on them for tensioning, which I haven't decided how to simulate yet.
 
All that remains is the "rigging", which in this case means a few support cables for the chimneys, and the various cables and tackles for the grasshopper spars, which I'll discuss when they're done. There are a few other details, such as hoists and tackles for two launches, and splitting some 1:87 firewood for the main deck. But she's close.
 
One question for you all: how would you go about lettering the name, which should go in large black letters on the engine-room wall just forward of the wheel? I've never done lettering before.
 
Hopefully within two weeks I'll post the absolutely completed Bertrand. In the meantime, just two days late, here's Dave Hum playing the Eighth of January, an old tune named for the British defeat at New Orleans that closed the War of 1812, just over 201 years ago:
 

Cap'n, thanks, I remember that now from your build and will go re-investigate. I'm reluctant to try the chisel approach on a nearly-completed model, especially on a surface which has overhangs on two sides. Perhaps I should have done it very early on.
 
Ken, my original plan was to order turnbuckles from Grandt Line along with all the windows & doors for this build. When I decided to scratchbuild all the latter, it threw that order out the window and now I'm reluctant to pay shipping for just one tiny item. I think, at this scale, I'm best off as you say just using a really thin piece of material to simulate the effect. I think they'd be rectangular rather than tubular, though.
 
Chborgm, Bertrand's wheel was estimated at 18' diameter and 28' across. I honestly don't know how much variation there was in wheel size among boats of different eras, builders, and intended regions of use. I will say, for whatever it's worth, that every steamboat kit I've seen "looks" generally out of proportion to me in the photos, and was one factor driving me to try scratchbuilding. 

No, although that could be a nice detail to experiment with. Instead, it means I used a chisel to gently smooth some of the rougher joints. From my log, just above the section you quoted:
 
 In other words, I used a chisel as a plane, to gently plane down any rough spots or plank edges sticking up at a seam, moving the chisel blade parallel to the seams. This could be done with lots of sanding, but the chisel/plane goes much faster and produces a nice smooth surface. You can see a few of these rough spots in the original photo I posted here, especially between the planks below the stealer (toward the top of the boat), where their edges don't quite meet properly and leave a ridge.
 
From this build, I learned that wood filler absolves many sins!

It's not just the title, the log itself needs to be in the proper area (this thread is under news and reviews). You could either start a new thread within Kit Logs, just copying over the content of post #8 to start it out, or a moderator could move the whole thread over and rename it. Just starting a new one would seem easier to me.

When I built this last year, I ended up with a thin gap at the shutter plank. Rather than remake the plank, I just made a thin stealer to fit, as described in this post and shown in this image:
 

Paul, go straight at it with carpentry clamps:
 

 
This issue scared me, too, until various nice folks on my log assured me that it was a common quirk and quite fixable. So I just tackled it head on and hoped for the best. I found that when the thwarts are glued in, they're enough to hold the hull in place without spreading, which made installing the gunwales easy as the hull was now stable and the proper shape.