leclaire

Hello again everyone,
 
I am back with a brief update. The past few weeks have been spent building and then rebuilding due to finding out more details on the high-res picture that I discovered.
 
Starting off, I built up the forward skylight. I constructed the basic frames from 1/16" basswood strips.

 

 
Then I installed some mesh underneath, which I assumed would provide some protection from drunk crew members falling through when the hatch windows were open. Actually was thinking that it was to somewhat protect the crew on the Gun Deck from flying shrapnel during battles.

 
Once I had the basic frames built up, I painted it up and made the window hatches. These were made from .040 square styrene strips backed by clear plastic. This was definitely a tedious process, cutting all the tiny pieces and sanding them to fit just perfectly.

 
Once they were completed, they were then temp installed in place.

 
Once the forward skylight was done, I moved on to the center skylight. Again with the tedium, I measured out and started building the 16 windows that make up the central skylight, This area was used a ventilation for the boiler area below. The funnels on the Hurricane deck could be directed into the wind to force cooler air down below and these skylight hatches could be opened to allow the hot air from the boiler to vent out. 19th century air conditioning. 

 

 
 

 
One down 15 more to go. 

 
Needless to say, building up all these windows got old really fast. So, I put my little pea brain to work trying to come up with a better, more efficient way to do this. While I pondered a solution, I happened by the Admirals craft room where she was hard at work making stencils for T-shirt on her Cricut. Then it hit me! I wonder...
 
So I inquired with the Admiral as to what types of material could that Cricut cut? Here response was, "pretty much anything you need". Well that really got the wheels to turning, and it just so happened that I had some white 0.020 styrene sheets laying around that I thought would work perfectly for the window frames. So I got a crash course in the Cricut canvass, which is a simplified CAD program and went to work. I measured out the the widow widths and entered everything into the program and away she went. 

 
The end result was perfect window frames. All built in the program and cut in less time that it took for me to put together one the other way.

 

 
So I took the frames and sandwiched a piece of clear styrene between two of them and started making up the windows.

 
It was at about this time that another idea hit me. I was going to have to paint the tops of these windows black to match the rest of the deck and not stand out like a sore thumb. So I commenced to painting the first one and found out real quick that this was going to take way too much work and not come out like I wanted them to. So it was on to Amazon for some black .020 styrene and back to the Cricut.

 
This made thing so much easier.

 

 
Putting in the hinges.

 
In place on the deck.

 
Before getting them fully installed I propped some of them open with prop-rods. Since I was not able to dig up any information on this area of the boat, I followed the HSR plans for this part as I did for the forward skylight.

 
These windows worked out so well, I continued on with the hatches over the paddlewheel cranks. Same methods as before, I sandwiched a clear piece of styrene between a black and white frame and mounted them in place.

 
First one tested for fit. Since I assumed that these would have been opened manually, none of the pictures show any rigging going to them otherwise, I installed a handle on each one to help open it for ventilation. 

 
Port side all installed, hinges added and a little weathering to see how it looks.

 
It was at this point when I found the high-res picture of the Cairo and things slowed to a crawl. The Admiral and I were watching a Civil War documentary on the History Channel and they just so happened to have a segment on Iron Clad Gunboats. Well they also had the photograph of the Cairo on there and as they were showing it, I noticed a few details that I had not seen before. I hit the pause button, slow rewind and forward staring at the picture. There were details that I had not seen in the many version of this picture that I had downloaded from the internet. So I figured that there had to be a better version than the ones I had out there, so to the Web I went. Now I know that I said that I found the picture, but I really have to give the credit to the Admiral, she is actually the one that found the high-res version that I have been using lately. So when I mean things slowed to a crawl, the literally did. I spent endless hours staring at the new photo pouring over details I was not able to see before. One of those details was the forward skylight, I had totally gotten it wrong, and so did the HSR.
 
From the below screen shot you can see the skylight is made up of only two panels on each side and not three. The port forward hatch looks to be fully open while the starboard and both aft hatches are only partially open.  You can just make out the frame lines on the port aft hatch that show that they had long narrow panes in them and not a divided lite style like the HSR plans. So I decided to go about rebuilding my first version.

 
I started with a frame much like version 1. Borrowed the Admirals Cricut once more to make the window frames.

 
And constructed version 2. I have to say that a lot of work went into version 1, but I like version 2 much better.

 
Next up was a newly discovered feature that I have been discussing at length with Johnhoward over on the St. Louis build. I mentioned this feature in an earlier post (#462) of what looks to be a deck access hatch from the Hurricane Deck to the Gun Deck below. Well I decided to go ahead and build these up, since it would make sense that there would be some sort of access the lower deck to aid in resupply, as well as add a easier way for the crew to scramble below deck during battles. I am still in the research phase of this part, but I wanted to see how they looked and if it made sense to have these.
 
The side walls have been cut out.

 
Structure complete, minus the hatch window.

 
Hatches in their proposed location.

 
Hatch window constructed the same as the others on the skylights.

 
I am going to hold off on painting these until I can uncover more info on their actual existence. Seems like they would be, according to the picture, but we'll see.
 
Last up was the construction of the davits and anchors.
The anchors were pretty much straight forward. I purchased a couple of 38mm Corel anchors from Model Expo a while back and figured they would work perfectly for the scale of this build. They were standard, wooden stock anchors that I converted to iron stock ones, more like what was aboard these Iron Clads.
 
Some of the mold seams have been filed away and the iron stock was made from brass wire and beads.

 
The shackles I made out of brass wire as well, just hammered flat on the ends and bent to shape.

 
The finished anchors, minus paint.

 
Finally the davits were constructed. These were made from 1/8" aluminum rod. I started by drilling a pilot hole in one end of the rod to receive the eyebolt to form the ring for the blocks.

 
I then tapered the end to almost a point by chucking the rod in my drill and using a fine file to the desired taper.

 
Then I made up a jig to get all eight davits a consistent radius on their bend.

 

 

 
Next up was the support brackets. I started off making these out of 1/16" aluminum tube for the supports and 1/8" ID tubing for the collars. I made up another jig to keep the angles consistent and then after several failed attempts to solder the support rods to the collars, I finally gave up.

 
Version 2 of these, I decided to go with styrene rod and tubing. This method worked so much better and with a dab of CA I was well on my way with a solid joint between the collars and supports.

 
All eight completed davits, ready for paint.

 
Now it is on to getting the anchors and davits painted up. I still have more research to do on the access hatches and I will start working on the hammock nets. Hopefully I will have those completed by next update.
 
As always, thank you all for stopping by and liking my work as well as all the kind comments and input.
 
-Brian
 

There are indeed some extremely talented lady ship modelers here. (Look up Toni and Doris!) Although we cannot possibly replace your father, we can provide hints and help when requested. You'll find this a very supportive community, Welcome aboard!

Bdgiantman2, I appreciate your input on this. The technique you described I am not very familiar with, but it does sound interesting. It would make great use of old sails, and who knows, some old sails could have been used as the covers for the hammocks.
 
 
 
I think that I have finally figured out how I am going to go about building my hammock nets. I believe that I will be following the model outlined in Chappelle’s book The American Sailing Navy. On page 476, Chappelle shows three versions from 1800 to 1865. The latest one, 1828-1865 will be what I am going to model mine after. This version has stanchions covered with wooden panels on the inside and wooden staves on the outsides along with a wooden top rail.
 
I will have two stanchions placed between the stationaries, and the hammock net will run from the forwardmost stationary to the second to last one (9th Stationary) on both sides. I will not place a hammock net between the 9th and 10th stationary as a way to give the crew access to the ship’s boats. It's unclear if the Cairo was built this way since the ships boats are covering this area, but the pictures of the other City-Class Ironclads have different variations of access to them, so I used my builders liberties to go with the one I thought fit best. The stanchions will be elevated about 6” (1/8” scaled at 1:48) to allow for rain water run off and stowage of spare lumber and other items. (Thank you Roger P. for the info on that little detail). I will also add wooden runners down the middle of the stanchions with gaps between them to support the hammocks and provide air flow  to help keep the hammocks dry. Once these are built out, I am going to simulate some of them being filled with a canvas cover, a couple I will leave uncovered to show the stowed hammocks and a couple more I will leave empty, to show the construction details. This is the plan anyway. I may dive off into and find that I have bitten off more than I can chew and have to reconsider my ideas. We’ll see how it goes. Stay tuned.
 
The below drawing is my interpretation of how I will construct the nets.
 

 
-Brian

Thought I would pass this very interesting document which I came across while visiting the Varnum Memorial Armory in East Greenwich RI recently.
It is a letter requesting safe passage from the Barbary States for the brig Lucy Ann of East Greenwich dated February 13, 1804 and signed by President Thomas Jefferson and co-signed by Secretary of State James Madison.  It was explained to me that the cut curved top of this document was used to proved the authenticity of the document.  Not sure exactly how this worked.  I guess the inspecting party had the missing top half.
 
The Varnum Armory is a very interesting place.  The museum is small but is very compact with great relics from the Revolution and Civil War (Gettysburg) in particular.  The museum is free and the guides were very friendly and knowledgeable.  A great way to spend an afternoon!

Thanks, John, for your continued support.
 
Mark, Thanks for your comments. I have period specific "colourized" steamboat photos with a red orange that I will try when I get to paint the fire pumps and possibly the pipes. Otherwise, I really have no idea what colour they were.  
 
I have preliminarily completed the sternwheel.  I need to adjust the shaft length and do paint and other touch-up before it is complete.  For the time being, I just laid it on the pillow blocks. The square on the shaft is an eccentric.  Bates and others had two different type eccentrics. I went with the type that had an offset circle and a strap. I will attach the rods to them later.

 
A top-down view of the same.  

 
After this is finished, I will probably start on the stationaries and the hog braces. 

I would like to give a progress report on the sternwheel.  Alan Bates Cyclopedium is an exceptional source that I used in this process.
 
I drafted a copy of the sternwheel for my template.  The arms and wood circle are 1/16 basswood, the flange 1/32 basswood and the "iron" circles are Evergreen plastic.  I put the template in a clear plastic sleeve and then glued the parts together.  It looked like this during the process.  
 

 
One of the three finished wheels ...

 
I may still add in bolts, need to account for the shaft and clean it up.
 
I am getting started on the 16 buckets (planks).  I have yet to start the shaft although I had already completed the pillow blocks.  I expect to paint it the same oxide red as the main deck. 
 
As an aside, I have been researching historic 1890s house paint colours for later use.  The original paint chips are the only true period colours that I can find. [ The original grey in the Winneconne Steamboat House is the exception] Ironically, the shipbuilders - Ryan Bros., started their careers in Oshkosh as house builders.  So logically, they were exposed to these colours as they built their "ships". I am wondering if I should use a Red Vermillion on the manual hand fire pump and pipes.  Comments?
 
 
 

Decided to redo some of the rigging..  Just too many thick lines.  I removed some of the thicker lines to where now only the Lower Shrouds, lower forestay, and lower backstays are rigged with the thicker line.   All other higher rigging was replaced with the thin rigging line.    Both halyards remained the thicker line as I figured the thicker line would be easier on sailors hands raising/lowering the sails.
 

 
 
Starting working on the oar rack and oars.   Pretty straight forward,,, that is if you follow the directions... Directions call for the first 1/2 of the oar to be square and then rounded off going into the blade.   Foolish me, I just assumed I knew what an oar looked like - that being round all the way from the handle.   Did not notice the first part was supposed to be square until I had finished them...  But,, to me an oar should be round...  You decide how you like your oars.
 

 

 
And how they will eventually look on the boat
 

 
Started working on the storage rack...  Not much to it.   Model does not include anything to put into the storage rack.   Rather then just leave it empty hanging from the awning structure, I figured maybe put some simple poles...  Just to have something.   A more experienced modeler would probably build some kind of weapon to tool to go into the storage rack,,,  but our crew just put poles in the rack.
 

 
and how it will eventually look hanging from the awning structure.
 

 

 
Next was the awning beams and stanchions.   Instructions call to cut a notch in each beam and stanchion to better interlock them together.  On the actual boat that was done to insure a strong joint, but in my model world that just was not going to look right.   I practiced on some spare wood cutting notches and joining two perpendicular pieces of wood.   I just could not make it look good.   Main issue is trying to get the two notches to match up completely.   If it is not exact, it just did not look right.   Thus I took the easy way out and just glued the awning beams directly on top of each stanchion.   I suppose not realistic, but a whole lot easier and looks much better that if I had attempted to notch each  beam and stanchion.   The additional 1/8 inch height on the awning did not really matter anyway.
 

 

 
 
On to the battens...  Instruction say the battens are installed last as it would be very difficult to do the rigging with the battens in place.   That may be, but with the rigging in place, the battens are no easy task either.   Especially the two enter battens down the middle of the boat.   Since the oar rack (1/2" wide) is mounted on these two center battens, you have to get these battens exactly 1/2" apart.   The also have to run very straight from fore to aft or they will really look off when sighting down the boat.    This is not easy task with the rigging in place positioning them one at a time and gluing in place.
 
I found the easiest way to insure a perfect fit is to assemble the two battens along with the oar rack off the boat.   This will insure the oar rack will fit exactly between the two battens.  The oar rack will hold the two battens together.    That way, when the glue dries, just pick up the structure and glue it on the awning.   Below shows the process.    There are two temporary spacer pieces of wood at each end to insure the correct spacing
 

 
 
Remaining shots show close up of some of the rigging....  Not that I am any kind of an expert on rigging...  I HATE RIGGING.....just do not have the skill or patience for it.. and it shows in my build  🙂
 

 

 

 

 
 
 

I have completed the boiler and auxiliary feed pumps.  These are also an amalgam of several different sources rather than a reproduction of a single source.  I did not do duplex pumps like the Marine Iron Works photos but stayed with the simplex layout on several other photos. I have no idea which type Thistle had as both appear to have been common at that time.  

 
I also completed a General Electric Curtis Turbine Generating Set dynamo circa 1908.  Thistle had electric added during 1901 maintenance.  The other common alternative would have been a piston driven dynamo not unlike the one on the S. S. Moyie. Again, no idea which was actually used. I will add the wiring and conduit pipe later.

 
There are several other hand pumps, levers &c. that need to yet be built.  I will hold on these as I want to complete the sternwheel first. Crawford/Thistle had several sternwheels over its life.  I will use the 1910 Paul L. photos as a guide as this is closer to the date of the model than say the J. H. Crawford photo from 1894 - 1898. Several other local steamboats referred to "heavy weather" sternwheels.  It is possible that Thistle used one of these, as Thistle was known to run backwards, using the sternwheel to break up ice. 

Hello again everyone,
 
I just realized that I have not posted any updates on my build this month. Time just got away from me and I have been concentrating more on building than the build log.
 
So here is what has happened since last time.
 
I have finally started work on the Hurricane Deck features, mainly the wheel house and its additional attachments, such as the store rooms, showers and latrines.
 
First in, was mounting the main wheel house structure that I had previously built in the last update. All of the remaining aft  structures are built around this one.
 
Next up were the side skylights over the paddlewheel cranks. I think these served a dual purpose. One was for lighting and the other to help cool the officers quarters, given their locations.
 
I started off with a simple framework.

 
Added the dividers.

 
Installed some screen mesh and painted them up. Then the port side was temp installed.

 
Overhead view showing the cranks below.

 
I then completed the starboard side and both were then mounted in place. After they were installed, I marked off the area where the showers and other buildings were going to be located.

 
Next up was the aft building. There is no real documentation on what these structures were used for, with the exception of some references that say there were showers located on the Hurricane Deck and that water from the paddle wheel was somehow collected and plumbed to be heated for crew showers as well as "flush" the latrines. I'm an not sure how all of this was done and I was not able to find any information on how this was plumbed up to work, so no details were put into the internal parts of these building.
 
Another part of this build I struggled with was the curvature of the roof on the two main buildings on the fore and aft of the wheel house. The HSR plans for Cairo show the roof to be flat. I am not sure if these were drawn this way due to lack of information or what. From the only existing picture of the Cairo it is really hard to tell since it gets extremely grainy when you zoom in a good bit. It would stand to make sense that the roof would have a bow to it to shed rainwater. Also, in the pictures of this structure on the Mound City, Baron DeKalb (St. Louis), Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Carondelet, they all have bowed roofs on them. Majority rules, so this is the style that I went with.
 
The main forms for the walls of the aft building.

 
Temp installed in their location to get the curvature of the wheel house right.

 
Framing of the doors.

 
Rough forms for the doors and widow dividers.

 
Side window dividers going in.

 
Building up the doors.

 
Completed doors and windows.

 
Some of the outside planking going on, to give it a nice finish.

 

 
Slather a coat of paint on the sides and a bit of weathering.

 
Structure set in place.

 
and a little more weathering. At this point I am just paying around with the weathering to see what technique I like. Once everything is completed, I'll go back and put more effort into it. I just like practicing up as I go along.

 
The fore building was built in the same manner as the aft one, with the exception that there are side buildings that extend from the port and starboard side of this one.

 
Construction of the starboard side building.

 

 
The port side was built exactly like the starboard side. They were both painted up and glued in place.

 
Next was the installation of the ladders to access the top of the wheel house.

 
Starboard ladder complete.

 
More important features on the starboard side, the latrine.

 

 

 

 
I wanted to show a little detail on this part, since this area was described in documentation as being the latrines. My story goes that there was a sailor that ate something that didn't agree with him so he left the door open afterwards as a courtesy to the next occupant.

 
Then it was time to tarpaper the roof of the structures. I did this in the same method as would have been done on most steamboats of the time. Silk span was cut to a scale 4' wide (scaled down to 1" in 1:48) and secured in place with watered down ModPodge. The overlapping tar seams were simulated as well.

 
All trimmed up and ready for paint.

 
And all painted.

 
Port ladder going in.

 
Building of the port side latrine. Since I detailed the starboard side, I left this one simplified with the door closed.

 
All structures painted up and a bit of weathering.

 
Here is another area that is hard to find info on. Research has turned up zero information detailing these hatch covers over the aft skylights. The HSR as well as the Bob Hill plans show this area as open which would leave everything below exposed to the elements. I have studied some of the pictures that show this area somewhat, but again zooming in makes things very grainy, so it is hard to tell if these covers are one long cover or several hatches. For the time being, I am going to go with separate hatch covers until I can uncover something that proves me wrong.
 

 
Hatch covers completed and the base trim installed.

 
Painting the trim.

 
Then it was on to one of the more tedious jobs, marking the deck nails. When you look at the actual Cairo in Vicksburg, many of the deck nails are still embedded in the beams of the bow. From what it looks like, the deck boards were nailed to every beam, but at 1:48 scale I thought that this would look a tad bit cluttered and messy, so with my build I went with every-other beam.  

 

 
Simulated nails on the wheel house structure.

 
Lastly, it was on to the funnels. These provided a way to direct fresh air to the gun deck below, to help clear out gun smoke, cooling during the summer months. They also helped remove some of the heat created from the boilers, cook stove as well as removing odors from the occasional smelly sailor.
I made these from 12mm clear acrylic tubing. I had originally wanted to heat the tubing to form the bend, but after several failed attempts I decided on my second method. On my first attempts, when I would heat the tubing, I wasn't able to keep the plastic from bunching up on the inside of the turn. This seemed to be a little too tight of a turn so I decided to cut the tubing at a 45 degree angle, fill the bend with Milliput and sand the outer bend to for the curve. Once it was sanded down, I drilled out the center of the Milliput to where only a thin layer was left on the inside, enough to maintain the structure of the funnel, but not enough to block the opening.  

 

 
I used the last bit of copper sheets on the chimneys, so instead of using that material for the funnel flares, I used some heavy card stock. 

 
More simulated rivets with aluminum tape.

 
Completed funnels.

 
 
That is it for this update. I am currently working on the forward and center skylights, but I haven't downloaded those pictures as of yet, so they will be on my next update. Hopefully it won't be as long of a wait. I am still researching these a bit due to the fact that I am having trouble finding out how they were built.
 
Until next time, thank you all for visiting, the likes and the kind words. Be safe and stay well.
 
-Brian
 
 

I have finally completed the two poppit engines.  They are about an inch long each.
 

 
The left engine is fully open so the arm on the sternwheel will be at 3 or 9 o'clock.  The right engine is fully closed so it will be at 6 or 12 o'clock. 
 
I used photos from steamboats.com, The Machinery of Western River Steamboats by Colliery Engineer Company (circa 1900), a photo of a Mason engine and Marine Iron Works of Chicago as a guide. The result is an amalgam engine rather than a duplication of any.  As Bates noted, the study of engines is a study onto itself.
 
I used Evergreen styrene, Plastruct ABS and some small wire in the construction.  Herein lies a tale of why it took so long.  Part of the time was simply making something that looked correct in scale and detail. The bigger part was finally finding a glue or solvent to use.  The final solvent is Pastruct Plastic Weld which seems to be methyl-ethyl-ketone (MEK). That MEK quickly melts the plastic to create the bond. A little goes a long way and is not forgiving in either time or placement. Before that, I made several models that literally would fall apart.  I now have a debris filed littered with those unsuccessful attempts.   
 
I am now moving on to the boiler and auxiliary feed pumps.  I trust that will not take as long as the engines did.

Brian, a good start. If your craftsmanship on this project is anyway near as good as your Chaperon, it will turn out great.
 
Bob

In the beginning I swore that I would never start a new project until the current one was finished. I was able to complete my first build (Occre Albatros) alright but then things went off the rails in a hurry. Now in progress are Niagara (MSW), Chaperon (MSW) and the gunboat Philadelphia (also from MSW). I can't even begin to look at the various model manufacturers websites out there in fear that another "just have to have" will appear.
 
Bob

In the beginning I swore that I would never start a new project until the current one was finished. I was able to complete my first build (Occre Albatros) alright but then things went off the rails in a hurry. Now in progress are Niagara (MSW), Chaperon (MSW) and the gunboat Philadelphia (also from MSW). I can't even begin to look at the various model manufacturers websites out there in fear that another "just have to have" will appear.
 
Bob

In the beginning I swore that I would never start a new project until the current one was finished. I was able to complete my first build (Occre Albatros) alright but then things went off the rails in a hurry. Now in progress are Niagara (MSW), Chaperon (MSW) and the gunboat Philadelphia (also from MSW). I can't even begin to look at the various model manufacturers websites out there in fear that another "just have to have" will appear.
 
Bob

In the beginning I swore that I would never start a new project until the current one was finished. I was able to complete my first build (Occre Albatros) alright but then things went off the rails in a hurry. Now in progress are Niagara (MSW), Chaperon (MSW) and the gunboat Philadelphia (also from MSW). I can't even begin to look at the various model manufacturers websites out there in fear that another "just have to have" will appear.
 
Bob

In the beginning I swore that I would never start a new project until the current one was finished. I was able to complete my first build (Occre Albatros) alright but then things went off the rails in a hurry. Now in progress are Niagara (MSW), Chaperon (MSW) and the gunboat Philadelphia (also from MSW). I can't even begin to look at the various model manufacturers websites out there in fear that another "just have to have" will appear.
 
Bob

In the beginning I swore that I would never start a new project until the current one was finished. I was able to complete my first build (Occre Albatros) alright but then things went off the rails in a hurry. Now in progress are Niagara (MSW), Chaperon (MSW) and the gunboat Philadelphia (also from MSW). I can't even begin to look at the various model manufacturers websites out there in fear that another "just have to have" will appear.
 
Bob

In the beginning I swore that I would never start a new project until the current one was finished. I was able to complete my first build (Occre Albatros) alright but then things went off the rails in a hurry. Now in progress are Niagara (MSW), Chaperon (MSW) and the gunboat Philadelphia (also from MSW). I can't even begin to look at the various model manufacturers websites out there in fear that another "just have to have" will appear.
 
Bob

In the beginning I swore that I would never start a new project until the current one was finished. I was able to complete my first build (Occre Albatros) alright but then things went off the rails in a hurry. Now in progress are Niagara (MSW), Chaperon (MSW) and the gunboat Philadelphia (also from MSW). I can't even begin to look at the various model manufacturers websites out there in fear that another "just have to have" will appear.
 
Bob

Thank you Keith, I am finding that this is the case with my bench as well. I am going to have to work on a little self discipline and put my tools back after I am done with them.
 
I mainly wanted them for the parts storage which has more than made them worth the while. It’s nice to have the pieces within arms reach instead of having to hunt for them in boxes on the floor or the shelf. 
 
-Brian

Happy Holidays everyone,
 
I wanted to get one more update in before the new year, so here goes.
 
Picking up where I left off on the last post. I finished up on the roof beams.

 

 
 
From there I built up the forward skylight.

 
Here is the basic frame.

 
With the remainder of the frames and the mesh installed.

 
Temp installed on the Hurricane Deck.

 
And finally all painted and temp installed.

 
Once the skylight was completed I started finishing up the rudders. The will not be mounted until I am almost done with the build. Knowing my luck I'll knock them off while moving this beast around and spend a couple of days sulking about it.
 
I started by making the tillers from strips of aluminum, the same material that I made the paddle wheel from, and brass rods.

 
Then I shaped the pintles and soldered the pins in place.

 
Next I installed the tiller on the starboard rudder to get the correct tiller arc. The arc was then drawn on the deck for the metal pieces that define the arc. Forgive my lack of knowledge of these parts, I did a little research on them, but couldn't seem to come up with a name for them.

 
Both tillers constructed and in place.

 
I then set the pintles aside for painting since they will not be needed until I place the rudders and then installed the metal tiller arc guides.

 
And the rudders are all done. They will now be put aside with the pintles for installation later.

 
Next up was construction of the paddle wheel house. I kept this build as simple as possible since the insides would not be seen at all. Just a basic piece of 1/4" poplar cut to follow the paddle wheel arc, a few scrap pieces to hold the width of the wheel house (the will be removed once the top pieces have been added) and then decking planks.

 

 
I added some thin basswood veneer strips to the sides to simulate the shiplap boards that were used for the walls.

 
Here it is temp installed in place to see how it looks and to make sure that I got my measurements right where everything lines up.

 
I think it will work.

 
 
Then it was time to move on to closing this thing up by adding the deck planks on the Hurricane Deck.

 
I wanted to make sure that the LED's that I had installed didn't bleed through the deck planks. This is the reason for the lights being on. For those areas that did tend to show through the boards, I took small pieces of aluminum tape and stuck them across the beams over each light to block it out. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of these.

 

 
All decking in place.

 
 
After the decking was installed I started work on the hammock racks. I needed to make sure that I got these properly scaled so I scaled me down a sailor from the original picture of the Cairo. I estimated him to be about 5' 10" (according my readings the average height of sailors in the 19th century) which placed him at about 3.7cm in 1:48 scale. This gave me a decent guide to go off of to get the height of the hammock rack walls. 

 
As I started building these, I kept going back to the old pictures of the City Class boats for reference. From the numerous pictures that are out there it is hard to tell which would be correct since over their short lifespan there were so many modifications done to them. Some pictures of the different boats show the hammock rack walls at different heights, some show them completely removed and others match the same makeup of Cairo. The one thing that I could not make out is what their construction was on Cairo itself. From what I can determine is that the outboard walls were made from planks with a top rail, but it is hard to tell how the insides were built. The other thing that I was having trouble determining was the presence of an opening between the ships boats to allow access to them. Since this part was going to require a little more research, I decided t place the hammock racks on hold for a while.
 
While I pondered my hammock rack quandary, I decided to move on to the pilot house interior features. 
 
The ships wheel was another item that was either lost during the salvage, or had rotted away over time, so what it looked like will be really hard to tell. I just used my builders liberties to make up my own version.
 
I started out by cutting two basswood rings and a small spool for the hub.

 
I cut slots in the rings for the spokes to go through and then glued the two pieces together.

 
Next I added the spokes. These were just made from brass wire I had leftover from the hog chains.

 
Then I used some more of my decorative toothpicks to make the handles.

 
The wheel was then glued to the hubs.

 
I also made up a simple speaking tube from brass wire and a small piece of copper sheet.

 
Then finished up the ships wheel with the bell stand and temp installed on the deck. I'll get these painted up and installed once I have the rest of the deck furniture in place. They'll go in, along with the tiller rope, just before I mount the pilot house. I am trying to decide what other details I want to add to this area. Since there are no details of the pilot houses, I'm not real sure of what to add. I had though about just using a standard steamboat setup with a bridle, foot controls and other features, but I am still not sure how far to take the details. I still have time to think on it though.

 
 
Next it was on to the chimneys. These I made from 3/4" rigid copper pipe and aluminum tape to simulate the rivets.
 
The pipe was cut to just under 7" to allow for the proper height above deck and the remainder to sit on top of the flume just below the Hurricane Deck surface.

 
I then added the horizontal rivets to simulate the individual joints. I estimated these to be about 4.5' for each section to give the chimney height of 27.5'. Per the picture of the Cairo, there looks to be a ring at the top of the stack that would most likely add some rigidity to the end. I simulated this with a thin piece of heat shrink tubing.

 
The lower heat shields were made from some thin walled 3/4" pvc pipe and then added at the bottom of the stacks.

 
The vertical rivets were added.

 
The rain cap I made from copper sheets. I first made the templates from cardstock, then glued these to the copper sheet and cut them out.

 
Then they were shaped around the stacks and then glued into place.

 
Finally everything painted up and temp installed. I will eventually paint these up with my gray paint, I just wanted to get a good basecoat with an enamel paint to adhere to the copper a little better.

 
Finally, while I played around some more with the weathering, I decided to install one of the upper gun port doors. I am not quite ready to install all of these, I just got impatient and wanted to see how they were going to look.

 
And some additional weathering pictures.

 

 

 

 
Before I go, I wanted to share one of my Christmas presents from the Admiral. I'm guessing that she felt sorry for me since I have not been able to get my shipyard built out in the barn for the past two years. I have been tying up one of the spare bedrooms (which also doubles as my work from home office thanks to COVID) and have never really gotten things organized the way that I would like to. I found these little gems on one of the Facebook groups that I am a member of, so the Admiral said to go ahead and get what I needed to help organize my workbench a little.
 
These desktop organizers from HobbyZone USA (they also have a dealer in Poland for our European builders) were a great addition to help organize my parts and tools. The polish website actually has a designer site where you can place the modules into whatever configuration you want and gives you a parts list. If you are in the US, you can then take that parts list over to the USA site and add the pieces to your cart from there. They can get a bit pricey (especially the shipping), depending on the modules you get, but imho they are money well spent. The only downside to them (if you want to call it that) is that you have to assemble them, but It's like building a side project.
 
So the for the past few days I have been converting this:

 
into this:

 
I am not done with these yet, there are still several modules that I want to get, but it's a good start, It also gave me a good excuse to clean up my workbench.
 
Well that is all I have for now. Thank you all for stopping by, the likes and the kind comments. Everyone have a safe and Happy New Year and we'll see you next time.
 
-Brian

Keep in mind we did moderate that that topic.   And what you cant see,   is that we did speak to those who treated the OP badly.  There is and will be no tolerance for belittling other members.   We have hundreds of members who may not be experts or they may even be beginners.   To call what they have posted as a tip or suggestion "trash"   is not something we want to condone at MSW.  We have many new builders who are proud of what they have done.  They want to share their methods and work.  It may not be perfect or masterful.  But they dont deserve to be treated badly.  And you wonder why new folks dont stick around.   Its because of people like those members who bashed the guy.  I counted six.  And I must say if those six experts suddenly vanished from the site...it would be less impactful then the scores of new builders alienated and poorly treated by them. 
 
These so called experts who love to pontificate (you know who they are)  will not be allowed to treat other members like dirt.   They have been formally warned.   If they continue...they will be banned.  The OP of that topic was NOT banned.   Nor was the topic removed.  It was being cleaned up and pruned of the nasty remarks other members were making.    Such as the one below.  Who would actually have the balls to to post THIS!!!   ...on another persons topic no less.   They should be ashamed of themselves.  As if they are so perfect.   
 
Pompous posters who love to pontificate on their wealth of knowledge be warned....do not treat folks this way.  There is a way to teach and educate without being a bully.  You guys are certainly NOT mentor material.  You get three strikes.....if the behavior continues...you are out.  The bully below says the member wasted his time.   You know what wasted my time...cleaning up the hate you decided to post all over someone elses topic.   That was a waste of my time.   Sending you a private message and issuing warnings to the folks who think they are "genius" masters who everyone should kiss up to....that was a waste of my time.
 
found the video a total waste of time. So what's to respect in the effort to make it and why do you care whether the poster "is getting pleasure in his task?" I know I may be criticized for being "insensitive," but I don't respect the efforts people put into posting useless, let alone erroneous, "how-to-do-it" videos on the internet and I could care less whether the people who post such drivel are getting pleasure from it. They waste everybody else's time. Who has the bandwidth to waste on junk content?
 
And here is the kicker.....non of the so -called MASTER builders in their INFINITE WISDOM of all things...posted a better method...or the correct historical reference.  They made ZERO attempt to politely state that there may be a better way or a more historically accurate way.   No attempt to teach or mentor.  They just bashed the guy and went on long Rants...like this one I am now forced to write about how so many people dont know as much as they do and yet post on You tube and the internet all this bad wrong information.....making society more stupid.
 
18 posts by expert bullies were pruned from that topic leaving just two replies.   All 18 had no value other than to belittle.   Shameful.   Talk about a waste of time reading those.   The replies of the bullies had no value what so ever.  Except of course maybe to allow the bullies to hear themselves claim omnipotent dominance of all things in the Universe. 

Hi Jim, Cathead & RevCol!
 
Thanks for your comments.  RevCol, there are not enough original paddle wheelers - I hope to see yours soon.  I agree paddle wheelers are so neat!
 
I built the boilers by using an appropriate diameter wooden dowel cut to length.  Same for the steam dome and the firebox. Wood filler smoothed the connections of the steam domes and fireboxes to the boilers. 
 
 I am not historically accurate as I did not cover the boilers in asbestos.  Both Moyie and photos of local (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) Shattuck Park shipyards showed Scotch boilers covered in asbestos. 
 
The breeching is balsa.  I made plans first, glued them onto the balsa and cut the breeching out.
 
Ah, the rivets.  I tried a few other methods, as built-up glue, and different sizes of pins and nails until I found one close to scale.  Ultimately, I used 4 mm copper nails for the rivets.  The nails were in a possible box (every possible thing known to mankind) and I have no idea where I acquired them from or when.  I used a ponce wheel for the consistent spacing. I drilled holes for every last rivet on the boilers.  These were the elements:

 
Not a quick process, but I liked the results.  What I have noticed is my modeling abilities are not what they once were but it is what it is. 
 
Back to the engines!
 
 

It would be great if there was just one universal measurement say millimetres I would be behind this every inch of the way

Great progress but most of all thank you for your comprehensive commentary as it brings the whole build to life.