Cathead

I was a model railroader long before I discovered wooden ship building, and once I did, railroad modeling went dormant, but it's quietly stirring again like a quiescent volcano muttering its way back to life.

Sorry for lack of progress, haven't touched the model since my last update. But I did have a pretty cool model-viewing experience recently, getting to see a fantastic scratchbuilt Missouri River rail ferry from ~1870 at a model railroad convention. I wrote a full post about it in the Steamboats and Other Rivercraft General Discussion thread so as not to clog up this one, but here's a teaser image to encourage you to go over there and check the whole thing out. This is at the same scale as my Peerless (1:87).
 

 
Hoping to get back to Peerless soon, but other commitments have had to take priority lately. Thanks for your patience!

I was a model railroader long before I discovered wooden ship building, and once I did, railroad modeling went dormant, but it's quietly stirring again like a quiescent volcano muttering its way back to life.

I was a model railroader long before I discovered wooden ship building, and once I did, railroad modeling went dormant, but it's quietly stirring again like a quiescent volcano muttering its way back to life.

Time for a big dump of progress photos!
 
I completely failed to take photos of building the roof for the pilot house and cabin, but it wasn't complicated. I just cut a thin sheet of wood to the shape I wanted, spread glue on the "rafters", and secured everything with rubber bands.
 
The photo story picks up again as I applied the simulated canvas. I used the same method as I did on Arabia: strips of masking tape held down with a thin layer of wood glue. When that's dried overnight, I trim the edges and paint it. It's held up perfectly on that last model, I really like the texture, and it's more forgiving to work with than tissue paper or silkspan or other options. Plus it's dirt cheap. Here's a sequence showing the progression of slightly overlapping layers on the gently arching cabin roof:



And the same for the pilot house:
 


I'll use some pastels to weather this a little, dull it down, and give it some subtle variation in tone.
 
In the meantime I worked on laying out the support posts for the hog chains, which needed to be carefully situated to run just along the outside edge of the cabin roof. So I marked the final location of the cabin and carefully laid out where I wanted the posts to go through the boiler deck. Then I drilled a series of small holes and used a sharp knife tip and then small files to make the final shape:
 

I then made a simple jig for the angle I wanted the posts to sit at, and used this to set them up. Here they've already been cut and painted. The black tips are meant to represent the iron caps that actually held the hog chains onto the wooden posts.

And here are a few shots of the fore and aft hog chain posts resting in place (not yet glued); you'll notice I temporarily removed the chimneys to avoid any possible damage as I worked on all this:
 



I also built the assembly that goes over the stern, which I'd left off until now since it rises above the boiler deck and I didn't want to bump or snap it while doing earlier work on the deck.
 


Finally it was time to start attaching things for good. Here I've glued down the cabin and pilot house (big step!):
 

And while that was drying I got started laying down the "canvas" on the boiler deck, working up to the aft part of the cabin. I'll let this all dry completely before proceeding up either side of the cabin.
 

A close look will also show that I built and attached the little L-shaped guard wall around the staircase up to the boiler deck.
 
Once all the boiler deck canvas is laid, I'll (re)cut the hog chain post holes, paint it carefully (trying to avoid the cabin walls), then attach the stern piece. At that point the model will really be coming together though a lot of detail work remains to be done (not to mention the paddle wheel, which I'm dreading).
 
Thanks for reading (or at least skimming) through that big dump of updates!

Well, I said I'd work on either the hog chains or the main cabin, and for once I stuck to the plan.
 
Building the rest of the cabin was mercifully straightforward, to the point that I didn't take many in-progress shots. I used some sheets of board-and-batten wood left over from past model railroad projects to lay out the walls, and scavenged close-enough windows from my scrap box. Here are the walls well underway, showing the bracing in the back and the carefully cut-and-fit holes for inserting the windows:

I painted everything white, then glassed in the windows the same way as the pilot house (CA plus scrap clear packaging), then added shades using some old sailcloth material from a past ship kit. When that was done, I assembled the structure using my magnetic squaring jig:
 

And here's the result:
 

Here's the cabin test-fit on the rest of the model, with relevant photos in the background:
 


It's been stressful around here lately and I needed a simple project that didn't require too much thought. This fit the bill perfectly. Doing the roof should be easy, too. Then I'll mark its location carefully and start laying out the hog chain braces.
 
Thanks as always for following along and giving feedback, whether through likes or comments. You all keep me going!

So here's what the new stacks look like. Still not attached permanently so don't worry about their exact orientation.
 

I still have to figure out how to make the little rain shields (I assume that's what they are) that sit between the chimneys and the broader heat shields; you can see them clearly in this image:

I've tried a few things and none have looked good.
 
On to the pilot house. Here's a bit more progress, showing the ubiquitous wood stove in the corner, and the back wall added.
 


This had an unusual window pattern that you can see here:

 
And some rafters added:
 

Better late than never, I added some hardware to the bottom of the hull so the model could be bolted down to a base if desired. I should have done this much sooner, and now was the last chance while I could reasonably work on it upside down (before more delicate structures were added).

That's all for now, but it's progress. Thanks so much for sticking with me!

All right, you lot got your way! I went to the hardware store and got some brass tubing to play with. Here's the resulting second draft of the chimneys. I scored them using a razor saw to simulate the joints. I shaved/sanded a wooden plug to fit tightly in the bottom of each so they'd sit and attach properly. Don't judge their exact angle, they're just sitting there as a test-fit.
 



I also moved forward on the pilot house; here's its current status. I used some clear plastic and CA formulated not to craze plastic. Not entirely happy with the outcome but it's too late now. Guess it looks like old glass. It'll certainly blend into the background of the finished model.
 



Sharp eyes will notice that I simulated the gap into which the lower half of the wheel vanishes by just putting down a thin dark piece of wood. It'll be barely visible in the finished pilot house and I didn't think building in the full gap and wheel was worth it. I still need to weather the steps to match the pilot house floor.
 
Next up I need to decide whether to try blackening the brass, or painting it with primer and then black paint. Also whether to try roughing it up with fine sandpaper or leaving it smooth. Will do some test pieces since there's tubing left over.
 
Thanks for pushing me to improve my work!

I’ve always loved model railroading, I just never had the time or funds to really enjoy its offerings early on. Now I have way too many other hobbies to get into and still not enough time, so I live vicariously through those that do. Thanks for posting your article Eric, those are some beautiful models. 

My great-grandfather worked for Missouri Pacific way back when. He was In charge of loading and unloading the rail cars from the ferry that went between Baton Rouge and Port Allen, La. before the Huey P. Long/O.K. Allen bridge was built in 1937.
 
This is a picture that I have hanging in my house of his train and ferry. I wish I could find more information on it and other pictures, it would truly make an interesting build one day. 

 
-Brian

I was a model railroader long before I discovered wooden ship building, and once I did, railroad modeling went dormant, but it's quietly stirring again like a quiescent volcano muttering its way back to life.

I was a model railroader long before I discovered wooden ship building, and once I did, railroad modeling went dormant, but it's quietly stirring again like a quiescent volcano muttering its way back to life.

Sorry for lack of progress, haven't touched the model since my last update. But I did have a pretty cool model-viewing experience recently, getting to see a fantastic scratchbuilt Missouri River rail ferry from ~1870 at a model railroad convention. I wrote a full post about it in the Steamboats and Other Rivercraft General Discussion thread so as not to clog up this one, but here's a teaser image to encourage you to go over there and check the whole thing out. This is at the same scale as my Peerless (1:87).
 

 
Hoping to get back to Peerless soon, but other commitments have had to take priority lately. Thanks for your patience!

I thought/hoped you'd enjoy that little snippet of our history. It's neat the Tennessee got to be a part of it no matter she was in essence a troop transport ship. 

A bit of USS Tennessee and Marine Corp history. The Tennessee transported a battalion of US Marines to Aspinwall, Panama landing on 12 April, 1885.
 
 This is the only time the USS Tennessee saw action (to my knowledge) in her career. The Aspinwall Marine deployment was the first time in history that a brigade of US Marines was organized. 
 
 The Tennessee would be sold for scrap little over a year later on 15 September, 1886. 
 
https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/US Marines in Battle Guantanamo Bay.pdf
 
The insert below taken from the above link starting page 2.
 
 
On 2 April 1885, the eighth Commandant of the Marine Corps, Colonel Charles Grymes McCawley, received orders to organize a battalion of Marines and to embark them for Aspinwall, Panama. A battalion of 234 Marines was quickly organized under the command of then-major Charles Heywood by drawing available personnel from the Marine Barracks at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as well as Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Washington,
 
4 At the time, the commandancy was filled by a colonel; the rank was raised to brigadier general in 1899 and to major general in 1902. Col Heywood served as Commandant from 1891 to 1903.
 
DC. The battalion also included company commander Captain Robert W. Huntington and First Lieutenant George F. Elliott (fu- ture 10th Commandant), who both would play critical roles in the Guantánamo Bay landings 13 years later. Navy Command- er Bowman H. McCalla (also a future key player at Guantána- mo Bay) was selected to be the naval force commander for the Panama expedition under the overall command of Rear Admiral James E. Jouett.
On 3 April 1885, the Navy Department telegraphed the commander of the North Atlantic Squadron, Rear Admiral Jouett, assigning him overall command of the mission. Admiral Jouett’s instructions were very straightforward. He was authorized to use a naval expeditionary force for the sole purpose of protecting American lives and property and to ensure free and uninterrupted transit across the isthmus. He was cautioned to use great discretion in his actions and in no way to interfere with the sovereign acts of the government of Colombia or to take part in any of the political or social events.
The expeditionary force, with Heywood’s battalion as the main landing force, sailed from New York on 3 April 1885, landing Heywood’s Marines in Aspinwall, on 12 April. Ultimately, three Marine battalions would be formed and deployed to Panama. They would be nominally consolidated into a brigade under the command of Major Heywood and operate ashore for the better part of a month, restoring and maintaining order until sufficient Colombian troops arrived between 30 April and 5 May to take control. This was the first time a United States Marine brigade had ever been organized.5 Commander McCalla would arrive on 15 April and make the decision to come ashore to take personal control of the operation, which would ultimately lead to conflict between the Navy and the Marine Corps in the post- operation environment.
The formation of this provisional Marine brigade caused the Corps to reduce its Atlantic coast shore installations by more than half. To make matters worse, at this time there was no Marine battalion or regimental organizational structure. The efforts to form larger tactical organizations such as this where none currently existed were naturally very ad hoc evolutions, leading to an environment characterized by improvisation and discovery learning. One of the more interesting outcomes of this successful employment of naval forces in response to a crisis was not so much its impacts on world events as was its impact internally on Service and individual professional opinions and theories being discussed in the naval Service. A hot topic at the time was the
 
5 Robert Debs Heinl, Soldiers of the Sea: The United States Marine Corps, 1775–1962 (Baltimore, MD: Nautical and Aviation Publishing Co. of America, 1991), 93.
 2 RAdm Jouett’s flagship, the USS Tennessee (1865). Originally USS Madawaska, the ship’s name was changed to Tennessee on 15 May 1869.
Naval History and Heritage Command, NH46920
RAdm James E. Jouett, commander of the North Atlantic Squadron. Selected as the overall commander for the Panama intervention, Jouett assigned oversight of operations ashore to Cdr B. H. McCalla.
Naval History and Heritage Command
 
role of the Marine Corps and its future utility as a naval landing force in expeditionary operations versus the use of Marines in ships detachments.
Commander McCalla issued a detailed after action report on the isthmus operations to the secretary of the Navy. In this report McCalla praised the Marines for their efficiency and dis- cipline but was very critical of their tactics and proficiency with artillery and machine guns. He even went so far as to critique the current rifle manual and manual of arms and to make recom- mended changes to the existing manuals.6 Needless to say, detailed criticisms of Marine ground operations by a naval officer did not sit well with Marine Corps leadership.
Most significantly, McCalla took direct aim at the primary Marine mission of guarding naval installations when he concluded that too much time on barracks duty came at the expense of professional education of Marine officers and meaningful training of Marine units to prepare them for expeditionary operations. Commander McCalla recommended annual summer maneuvers with Marines in conjunction with the fleet and U.S. Army to develop the tactics and techniques and organizational structure needed for major landing operations. He also advocated the Navy purchase transports specifically designed to carry Marine brigades.7 Although McCalla’s report actually advocated the development of the Marine Corps as a true expeditionary arm of the fleet, that salient point was lost in what was viewed by Marine leadership as a direct refutation on the currently accepted core missions of the Marine Corps.
 
6 “Report of Commander McCalla upon the Naval Expedition to the Isthmus of Panama, April 1885,” Annual Report of the Navy Department, Bureau of Navi- gation, 1885, Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division, Quantico, VA, 61. 7 “Report of Commander McCalla upon the Naval Expedition to the Isthmus of Panama, April 1885,” 67.
Lead elements of the Marine battalion landing at Aspinwall, Panama, 1885. Naval History and Heritage Command
  An armed railroad car used by Marines to provide security for rail traffic across the Isthmus of Panama in 1885.
Naval History and Heritage Command
3
 
McCalla’s recommendations struck directly at the dilemma the Marine Corps faced throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century. The Marine Corps was a force with very limited resources that allowed them to perform their current mission, but with little hope of adding new structure and resources to take on new missions. Colonel Commandant McCawley strongly rebutted Commander McCalla’s conclusions and recommendations and defended the status quo, describing the missions of the Marine Corps in the traditional terms of ships detachments and guard duty at the Navy yards. He made no reference to the possibility of future expeditionary roles for the Corps.8
In retrospect, the 1885 Panama operation provided a telling preview of the employment of Marines at Guantánamo Bay in the Spanish-American War 13 years later, with McCalla as the na- val force commander, Heywood as Commandant of the Marine Corps, Huntington as commander of the Marine landing force, and Elliott as a company commander in the operation’s decisive engagement.
The issues raised in Commander McCalla’s report were illustrative of the professional and institutional split between the leadership of the Marine Corps and an influential Navy reform element led by Captain Alfred Mahan and Lieutenant William F. Fullam. The transformation of the Navy from a predominantly coastal defense force to an instrument of power projection and sea control in the 1880s and 1890s brought forth significant implications for the current and potential future missions of the Corps. This period was characterized by intense professional debate on the future structure and missions of both elements of the naval Service. The Navy reformers had become a dominant driving force in determining the future of the Navy and the Corps.
 
 
 The below two photos show the Marine landing parties going ashore in ship's boats from the Tennessee. Of note in both photos is a steam launch towing two ship's boats. These are the only images of this steam launch recorded. In none of the other photos of the Tennessee is this steam launch shown hanging in the port side davits. You can see that the launch was meant to hang on the port side because of the access cutout in the launches tarp cover.
 
 Was this historic mission the first time a steam launch was made available to the USS Tennessee?
 
 Is it safe to assume that the Tennessee's two gatling guns were made available to the deployed Marines?  
 

 

 
 

Ah.. "Adapt, Improvise, Overcome" possibly goes back to that, Keith.  Thanks for posting that obscure bit of Marine history.
 
As for the Gatling Guns being made available, good question since were so many inter-rivalry politics were apparent.   I'm thinking it was very possible at that point in time due to local decision making and not something from DC Headquarters.

Thank you, Mark
 
 
 Thank you, Phil
 
 I spent a large part of yesterday at the worktable. I spent way too much time for what I got accomplished due to having to reteach myself all the 1:120 tricks necessary to get the shrouds done. At the end of the day I had a whopping two shrouds in place and started on the third. Be it ever so small, it is progress.  

I was a model railroader long before I discovered wooden ship building, and once I did, railroad modeling went dormant, but it's quietly stirring again like a quiescent volcano muttering its way back to life.

Hmmm! That's the sort of thing I attend Eric - but am never brave enough to publicise.

Looking at that sketch reminded me of the stern of the steamboat Arabia. This was a Western River sidewheel steamboat built in 1856, a very different context than yours, but the geometry is somewhat similar. The Arabia's stern was recovered and is now on display at a museum in Kansas City, where I took a bunch of photographs of it (both exterior and interior) while planning a scratchbuilt model of her. If you're having trouble conceptualizing the stern of your vessel, perhaps it'd be helpful to look at these photos, since so few real-life examples of these hulls remain? I wrote a whole thread on researching that model, here's the relevant post where I share all the stern photos, and below is one just for an example (I don't want to spam your thread with lots of these):
 

 
 
 
 

Sorry for lack of progress, haven't touched the model since my last update. But I did have a pretty cool model-viewing experience recently, getting to see a fantastic scratchbuilt Missouri River rail ferry from ~1870 at a model railroad convention. I wrote a full post about it in the Steamboats and Other Rivercraft General Discussion thread so as not to clog up this one, but here's a teaser image to encourage you to go over there and check the whole thing out. This is at the same scale as my Peerless (1:87).
 

 
Hoping to get back to Peerless soon, but other commitments have had to take priority lately. Thanks for your patience!

I apply each strip separately. Cut to fit as needed, smear wood glue on the tacky surface, apply, use a strip of wood or my finger to rub smooth and flat (sometimes bubbles get trapped), then move on to the next one.
 
Another benefit to doing it that way is that the tape itself is just tacky enough that sliding it into an exact position is tricky because it catches. A film of wood glue on the bottom means it slides effortlessly and can be adjusted to exactly where you want it, then snugged down with some gentle pressure.

A few shots of carefully working the masking-tape "canvas" around the rest of the boiler deck:


Lots of fiddly cutting and fitting here. But another benefit to masking tape is that it holds its shape stiffly and is easier to shape and fit than something floppier like silkspan or tissue. And it's just sticky enough on its own to stay put when you're trying to draw or cut a careful line, while still being easy to move when you want.
 
I finally reached the point where a bunch of these overlapping mini-projects all came together. So here she is with cabins and pilot house attached, deck fully canvassed and painted, hog chain posts installed, and stern planking applied.


Careful eyes will notice that I haven't yet installed the support posts for the rear cabin roof overhang, but it's plenty stable for now. I'm not worried about the messy appearance of the boiler deck's edge because that will get wrapped in a thin plank veneer.
 
On Sunday, I'll be giving a talk on the evolution of steamboat design along the Missouri River, at a regional cultural center that specializes in supporting educational and artistic programming. I initially developed this talk back in 2021 as an online lecture for a regional non-profit that works along the Missouri River (you can view the talk recording here if interested), but this will be the first time I've given it to an in-person audience. As a bonus, I'll be displaying three of my steamboat models, the first time any of them have been presented to the public. Here they are all lined up and ready to go:
 

In the back is Arabia (1:64), in the middle is Bertrand (1:87), and of course in the foreground is Peerless (1:87). All three operated on the Missouri River, from 1853-1856, 1864-1865, and 1893-1903, respectively.
 
Model size is misleading, as Arabia is at a larger scale though she's actually very close in size to Bertrand. On the other hand, Bertrand and Peerless are the same scale, so you can really see how tiny the latter was in comparison to her ancestors.
 
This talk has been scheduled for a long time, and I'd originally hoped to have Peerless done for this talk, but when it became clear that wouldn't happen, I aimed to at least reach a clearly presentable and semi-complete stage, which I just barely did!
 
Thanks as always for following along, and helping me get to this point.

I'll kick in with my $.02 (US) for what it's worth.   Kits are basically either something someone wants to build for their mantel or maybe some they just like doing.   For other, they are a starting point to rework the kit into something realist to the actual ship.  Nothing with either reason.  As far as kits go... for example, the Vasa... or Victory.  Lots of them around from different manufacturers.   Accuracy.... is kind of "meh" for almost all of them but are a few that are really detailed and accurate.   Two of the kit makers (Syren and Vanguard) pride themselves on accuracy.   The key is that you get what you pay for and accuracy is one of the variables along with materials.

That's essentially what I did with my Dusek Viking longship. Used the model as a base and made lots of changes to improve the accuracy and appearance. The kit still saved me a lot of effort over scratchbuilding but the result was much better than the out-of-the-box version.

These aren't the only ones, I can point to lots of model kits that are laughably, cartoonishly, unrealistic even when it wouldn't be hard to make them at least reasonably accurate. But my guess is that it isn't felt to pay off to put the extra work into making a model good. Same answer for improved materials.