mbp521

I seem to recall having a difficult time with everything lining up in this area as well. Not sure if the holes in the deck were off or piece 37B was not cut properly. Either way you seem to have overcome that obstacle very nicely. As for your cleats, I’m not a big fan of any of the Brittania fittings that MS puts in their kits. If one takes the time to clean them up they can somewhat make them look presentable (which I did in this case), but normally I just chuck them and go with upgraded brass or wood fittings. If you are looking for suggestions or opinions for yours, I would go ahead and paint them either black or white as they would have been on the actual boat. Speaking of tricky alignment, the boiler covers and boiler deck were another one of those. While lining them up with the forward staircase, you also have to watch the back side where it lines up with the aft walls of the engine room. Beautiful work so far. Looking forward to more updates. -Brian

I sit here in awe and think, how can this build get any better. Some how you keep showing me. Simply beautiful Keith! - Brian

Awesome work John! -Brian

I guess I’m not one either. 😁 I just glued mine in place and they held just fine, as long as you don’t put too much strain on the rigging line. Very nice work on the stairs. I also like the added walls for the front of the machine room, they should cover the opening fairly well. You do have to be looking for it once the boiler deck, boiler and other features are added, but the opening can be seen. -Brian

This jolly boat just keeps getting better and better. It almost would warrant a build log for itself. Beautiful detail Eberhard. -Brian

I am at a loss for words. For only having a few sheets on this boat there is an insane amount of rigging. Beautifully done. -Brian

Just amazing work. I still have a hard time believing that you are using paper for this. -Brian

Beautiful work John. Looks like it won’t be too long before you can call this on done. -Brian

It’s all about getting it done. It’s not really fudging if the look is the same. That’s actually the way that I did it after a couple of attempts to bend the thicker material. -Brian

Looking good John! I do agree that those stairs are a bit tricky, no matter how easy they may look. But as you said, they are still nothing compared to the round ones on the King of the Mississippi. Unless you just pour the paint on, you’ll be surprised as to how much of the individual planks show through adding that touch of realism. If I may throw a suggestion out there, if you don’t plan on permanently mounting the hull to the base until you are finished with the model, I’d leave the rudders off until the very end. They tend to snag on everything when moving it around. It will also help to get them aligned when you install the paddlewheel and get the clearance right. -Brian

I’ll echo Mark’s comments. Life always takes priority. I’m in the same boat (pun intended), lots of work around the property that needs to be done with the cooler weather, so shipbuilding takes a back seat. Whenever you get back to the bench, we’ll be here to cheer you on. -Brian

Just catching up on your build. You are moving right along with this. I am a little curious though, do the kit instructions call for the third cannon on the aft casement? Contemporary photos and the recovered wreck have only two cannons mounted on the aft of the boat on the port and starboard sides (a 30# Parrot and 32# smooth bore respectively). In the center aft over the water way was the captains cabin. It looks as thought the kit came equipped with 14 cannons, which would be correct if it is to have the 12lb howitzer on the Hurricane deck. You nailed it. There are numerous photos of the Cairo's sister ships out there, many of them show the wheel house structure with the doors and windows in different areas, of course this could be due to modifications or repairs over time. However, according to the only photograph of the Cairo, this was where the doors and windows were located. -Brian

Eberhard, I have to go along with the previous comments from Keith, Druxey and Thomas. At that small of scale, unless you are using a magnifying glass and closely inspecting the hulls, its not noticeable at all. You have all my respect. With my big hands there is no way that I could even come close to the quality of workmanship you produce on such tiny boats. I would have just drawn the individual planks on and called it good. 😁 -Brian

Thank you Keith. In pouring over all of the contemporary photos of these boats, I found that the outside decks were really quite busy, with plenty of tripping hazards. Especially the fore deck and fantail. I would venture to say that more than one sailor ended up in the water due to not paying attention to all of the ropes laying about. I've been on many museum ships and noticed that things were always stored away and tidy. Not having served in the Navy, I'm not sure if this is the way things were all the time on active ships, especially during wartime. Given the nature of the military, I would assume so. But, due to the limited number of photographs of the City Class Ironclads, they all seem to have a certain bit of clutter on the exposed decks so it's hard to tell if they kept the same standards at the time. I appreciate the kind words. I was hoping to make the build log as interesting as possible. The American Civil War is a dark time in American history, four years of brother against brother fighting. Growing up in south Louisiana (Baton Rouge) I was surrounded by plenty of reminders of this dark time. As a kid I was somewhat jaded to the fact that the South should have won and was resentful of the North for having done so. However, as I got older (and grew a brain) and studied more on the history of what transpired during that time, I realized that the Union was fighting to keep this country together. History has shown over time that countries that fight for separation from themselves, doesn't always work out like planned. Thankfully the US was able to stay together. No telling what things could have been like if the end result was different. Thank you so much Johann. I still have a bit to go. I spent a few hours the other day creating a punch list of things that need to be finished. As it stands right now I have at least a couple of months worth of work to do. Lots of small details and touchup work. Also, with the weather finally starting to cool off here, more outside projects are taking priority which takes away from the build time. I am trying my hardest to get it done by December, but I'm not going to rush it. Either way, I will have small celebration on December 12 to commemorate the anniversary. -Brian

Beautiful work as always Johann! Glad to see you’ll be getting to spend more time at the bench. That means more eye candy for us. -Brian

That is a huge difference in the shape of the parts. I can now see why you were having trouble sorting out the lines. Glad to see that Blue Jacket was “Johnny on the Spot” with getting the error corrected. Nic and his crew are always a pleasure to deal with. -Brian

Nice progress so far. I’m glad to see more Cairo builds starting up here on MSW. While Cairo’s career wasn’t all that memorable, her history is truly fascinating. I’ll be following along on your build with great interest. -Brian

What a beast! I knew this was a big build, but seeing it sitting on the Workmate just gives a better scale to it. Totally impressive! -Brian

Beautiful job on the rigging Tom. These cross sections are much easier to rig up than the full ship. Not near as many snag points. -Brian

So much detail in such a tiny space. I do love the technique for getting the form of the boats. I will definitely have to give that method a try in the future. -Brian

Thanks for posting these Tim. Looking forward to seeing more. -Brian

The stained deck looks great! The Puritan Pine stain brought out the color variances of the wood quite nicely. -Brian

I meant digitally. I sent them in a PM to you, let me know if you are able to open the file. I also have printed plans that I am pretty much done with if you would like them. They are a little marked up, but you are more than welcome to them if you want them. -Brian

Eric, quite the conundrum. The top of the hull should align with the deck with no overlap or underlap. Where the casements meet with the hull on the sides at the knuckle should be a fine point where the armor plating goes and then a rub rail extends along the hull forward and aft of the casements. Just a thought, but it might not hurt to use the Cairo HSR drawings as a reference to get the shape correct. For the most part they are accurate and would definitely help in your build. If you like I can send you a copy of the drawings that I used. Also, if you happen across the Bob Hill plans, take caution. His representation of the hull at the stern chine is not correct. I found this out the hard way. -Brian

What an impressive build Keith! I sit here in amazement, gawking at the details on your boat, and as to how closely you have replicated each one of them to the real thing. -Brian