Roger Pellett

Bob, No sarcasm intended. If I were to build another wooden model, I would repeat the acrylic paint experiment again. It worked well and seems to be holding up fine in the model’s glass cased environment. My present project will have virtually no exposed wooden surfaces. The hull shell plating is shellacked paper and the rest of the model brass. It is also small scale, 1:96 as opposed to 1:32 for my last project, and paint film thickness matters.. I like Floquil paint. It lays down a nice thin film. I have some unopened bottles bought years ago and have found the rest on EBay. Roger

I did recently complete a paint job for a model using homebrew acrylic paints. I started with a small selection of quality acrylic artist paints. These come in tubes. Quality is important as you need finely ground pigments. I mixed my own 18th Century colors; a dull red and Drab. I mixed the resulting color with some acrylic Matt Medium, and thinned the mixture to airbrush consistency. It worked well. Would I do it again? At the moment I’m supplementing my stash of Floquil Paints for use on my current project! Roger

Jacques, Great Post! You underestimate the significance of what you are doing. With few exceptions, producing historic models requires research, weighing sometimes conflicting evidence, and ultimately making decisions. When you buy a kit, or plans marketed to modelmakers, someone has made these decisions for you and you don’t have the benefit of evaluating their evidence. Novices interested in scratch building models of simple craft should arm themselves with a copy of Howard Chapelle’s History of American Small Sailing Craft. Plans from this book are available from the Smithsonian. Roger

Coke made from coal is one of the three essential ingredients in smelting iron ore into iron which is then further processed into steel. Close proximity to deposits of coal and cheap waterbourne transportation of iron ore (Minnesota) and limestone (Michigan) over the Great Lakes caused the American steel industry to locate in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio. Steel was not commonly available in bulk quantity prior to the invention of the Bessemer Converter in the 1850’s. Before that iron ore was smelted into high carbon cast iron and wrought iron, a mixture of low carbon iron and slag. I believe that this was usually done using charcoal as fuel/ reducing agent. Coal was also reduced to provide gas for lighting. Many cities had their “City Gas” plants; one being located in Washington DC’s Foggy Bottom of Watergate fame. Presumably coal tar would have been a byproduct of this had anyone bothered to collect It. I, therefore, wonder if Coal tar was available in the US prior to the development of the industrial steel making process and widespread gas lighting in the later years of the Nineteenth Century. Roger

There have been literally millions of ships and boats since the cave man first floated across the river on his log. This means that there is a wide variety of subjects to model. While I agree that the three subject Model Shipways series of kits will result in attractive models, I cannot help but think that by focusing on POB kits most model builders are unnecessarily limiting their horizons. There is no reason why an intelligent but inexperienced person cannot scratch build a unique model. I suggest that novices concerned about “taking the plunge” check out JacquesCousteau’s models of indigenous Mexican Craft. ( Scratch Built Models 1900 -Present). These models are being built by a novice using limited tools and materials on hand. Before the Mary Rose was salvaged and studied a noted British model maker made a model of her- Two mastheads with circular tops sticking out of the water. Roger

Bob, the tapes that we used were retractable tape measures. Alvin still sells one but only in 1/8 in and 1/4 in scale. Another possibility would be one of the Plastic scales that were used in Drafting Machines prior to CAD. These came in 12 in and 18in lengths; each scribed in two related scales, eg. 3/8 and 3/4 in. They had aluminum attachments but these can be easily removed and the holes used for fastening to the workbench. Google- Drafting Machine Scales and you will find them. Roger

Thanks! I was thinking of using it for the wooden hatch covers for my Benjamin Noble Lake Freighter Model. The builders drawings specify 2in x 6in white pine planking for each hatch cover and there were 12 hatch covers per hatch. At 1:96 scale each plank would scale 1/16in wide by about .025 in thick. I could probably sneak by at 1/32in. I have since decided on another approach. Roger

Keith, Very timely. A good friend of ours just called upset that her 6 year old granddaughter has announced that the wants to be a boy. Her mother, our friend’s daughter, is apparently encouraging her. What a mess! Roger

Bob, I don’t know what your special requirement is that cannot be met by a triangular architect’s scale like Bob Cleek describes above, but here is another possibility. BC (Before CAD) or more precisely before 3-D digital modeling, Engineers used to build models of industrial projects. These were plastic scale models with structural steel, equipment, and piping. The models were made from the project’s drawings and were used among other things to check for interferences. I once had to make a “takeoff” of the piping for a coal gasification plant from one of these models so that we could order materials prior to issuance of the final drawings. The model was located at the Engineer’s office. The Engineer had several Steel Scale Tape Measures. Unlike the architect’s scale, there was a separate tape measure for each scale. These tapes made quick work of an otherwise tedious job. If you can find one of these to the correct scale it would be ideal for ship modeling. Roger

Keith, Welcome back! As they say, age is just a number, but as the numbers creep up visits to the Doctor become more numerous and allow us to keep modeling. Congratulations on your new grandson. Here in the US, “gender reveal” parties are in vogue; some quite elaborate. Fortunately, my wife and I have avoided having to attend one of these. Roger

Not a kit builder, but why buy a POB kit and go through the effort to plank the hull if the end result is a steel hulled ship? If you want to replicate one of the classic “Steamship company” models of long ago with smooth hulls than effort and some sort of goop will required to hide the planking. On the other hand if you want to make the effort, the planked wooden substrate would allow plating, I like shellac impregnated paper, for a realistic appearance. A plating expansion drawing is available on Titanic websites. But! The moulded side shell plating seen on the plastic model kits offered is way over scale; more like armor plate. If Titanic had been plated with plating that thick she would not have sunk. Roger

OR- Display the model with the sails furled!🤣🤣

I am thinking of using scored deck planking for wooden hatch covers on my present project. Planks would be 6in wide or 1/16in at scale. I have found some Model Shipways scored basswood with 3/32in planks that might work. My question: how thick is this decking? Roger

Here is a scheme that I used to make flags printed in rice paper. It might work for you. You will need: An airbrush A Shop vacuum or similar vacuum with hose A piece of frosted Mylar drafting film A homemade vacuum box and frame (photos below). Paint- the color of your sail Silkspan Draw the patterns on the Mylar and cut out the designs. Tape the silkspan to the frame, mist with water and let dry over night. Silkspan should be drum tight. Place the frame with silkspan on top of the vacuum box, and turn on the vacuum. The vacuum should suck the patterns tight against the silkspan. Spray with paint the color of your sail with the vacuum running. If done properly the lines between the symbols and the sail will be crisp but as Allan says the paint will bleed through the silkspan. You can overcome this by painting two mainsail images and laminating the result. Roger

You Richard Bong, a WW II Ace who flew a P-38 was from Poplar, Wisconsin, a tiny town about 25 miles from Duluth. I believe that the art on the box depicts his plane. For many years, a P-38 sat in the Poplar city park. Several years ago, the plane was removed, and taken to the Duluth Airport where is was restored by members of the Minnesota Air Guard. Bong’s widow, Marge was instrumental in establishing a Veterans Heritage Museum in Superior, Wisconsin, across the Harbor from Duluth. The plane is the centerpiece of their collection. Roger

Bob, Re: your post #7 above. Well said! I don’t remember, where I read it but a master model has written about the need to “think in scale.” This can be helped if you are building to a common scale and are using an architect’s scale to measure things. I also find it useful to quickly relate scale sizes in my head. For example, my current project is 1/8”=1ft or 1:96. That’s close to 1:100. If I am selecting a piece of wire to make an eye bolt and grab a piece of 1/32in dis wire; in my head- 1/32=.032. Move the decimal point to the right 2 places: 1:1 scale is 3.2” dia; way over scale! Reasonable diameter of wire to scale is .0032in. Roger

Benjamin Noble’s wooden hatch covers were typical of those used on cargo vessels of the day. Each hatch was covered with about 12 separate covers, each cover made up from wooden planks. I’m not trying to make these look abused or beat up. I am looking at a paint scheme to differentiate the different planks within each cover- your “paint only approach.” This will challenge my limited artistic skills! Roger

Where is Egdi?

Andy, Thanks for the tip. No I have not. The wooden hatch covers will be an interesting new project for me. I have absolutely no experience weathering. Roger

Thank you Wefalck. I am working on hatches and need to go back and review your deck painting scheme. I need to figure out how to simulate weathered planking for the boards making up the hatch covers. Roger

Not exactly an answer to the question but some might find this useful: Here is a system that I used to simulate the WHITE seam compound used in the deck seams of a US Navy WW II era motor whaleboat. 1. Using my Byrnes saw, cut grooves spaced to planking width in a piece of craft plywood. 2. Spray piece with white paint, and lightly sand using a sanding block. 3. Insert a piece of thread, color unimportant, into each groove. 4. Spray piece with Navy deck blue. 5. Remove thread, cut piece to shape and attach to model. Results:

Great photos, thanks for posting.

The Main Deck: Lake freighters with their long narrow hulls are dominated by their long parallel mid bodies; a long box that carries the cargo. This was capped by the main or spar deck. Technical papers of the time criticized the design of these vessels for their lack of internal watertight subdivision. Specifications for steel merchant ships usually specified the number of compartments that could be flooded without sinking the vessel. (Titanic’s owners required her to be a “two compartment” ship.) The Naval Architect’s job was and still is to space watertight bulkheads accordingly. Great Lakes vessel were not subdivided. There was a watertight collision bulkhead beneath the forecastle and another immediately forward of the boilers. The rest of the hull was one long cargo space. While this allowed vessels to be quickly loaded and unloaded quickly, flooding of the cargo space sank the ship. On the lakes’ restricted and often foggy waters collisions and sinking were common. Benjamin Noble’s main deck was pierced for six hatches. I will discuss the hatches in a later post. An unusual, by 1914, design feature were four foot high bulwarks enclosing the main deck. Vessels designed for bulk cargo trades; ore, coal, and stone, had open pipe railings instead of bulwarks. Benjamin Noble’s bulwark turned the main deck into an opened topped box to protect a deckload of pulp wood logs. The photos below show the main deck and bulwarks for the model. Built several years ago, one photo shows the deck dry fitted into the hull. The hatch coamings are just set atop the deck in their approximate locations. The assembly began with a wooden framework with deck frames cut to the correct camber. A deck of thin craft plywood was then added. The brass deck plating was attached using pressure sensitive 3M transfer tape. Unlike the hull plating which uses the “in and out” system the deck is clinker plated. I normally don’t like PSA tape but is has now held up for several years and edges are anchored by the bulwarks and will be further anchored by the hatch coamings. The bulwarks were fabricated from .010in brass sheet, cut to shape. The sheer angle was cut from square brass tubing, ripped on the Byrnes saw. The cap rail is 1/16in round brass tubing slotted on the Byrnes saw. The triangular supports began as .010in brass sheet cut into squares. They were folded over an aluminum pattern before being trimmed to their final shape in the mill. I used an old fine tipped Bernz O Magic torch perfect for our needs to solder everything together. I tried to buy a replacement- no longer made. The bulwarks are pierced with a number of openings that need to be fitted with closures, reinforcements, etc. and the hatches need to be detailed. This work will complete the main deck. Roger

Ian, Welcome to MSW. Roger

I would suggest that you continue your sand, fill, paint routine and see what happens. Sand using a backup block behind your sandpaper. You can make special sanding blocks for concave surfaces from dowels, etc. Use an open coat coarse paper and change it as soon as it clogs up or stops cutting. If you sand away most of your paint and filler that’s ok. Once you have sanded, fill again, sand and paint. You May have to repeat this process more than just a few times but the hull should begin to assume a shape with “fair” curves. Roger