Osmosis

Count me in. I'm sure you know this already but Model Expo will replace those parts at no charge.

I picked this up sometime before last Christmas and having just finished my Midwest Canoe I feel like this will be a nice change of pace. I got this at the introductory price when it first became available which turned out to be a pretty good deal. The packaging is nice as are all Model Expo kits. There are lots of instruction sheets and parts lists and other documentation. This is one area in my opinion they could do a little better. I found the same thing with the Naval Smooth Bore kit the instructions were more generalized guideline than specific instructions and can be confusing in some spots. The parts are all individually packaged and labeled The laser cut parts are all nicely cut and sorted. One thing that stands out in this Model Expo kit is the limited use of white metal parts. I don't mean to say that there are not many, because there are quite a few. The difference is that there is no imitation wood parts cast from metal with wood grain cast on them. On most of their kits even the wheels and carriage parts are cast metal. In this kit however all the parts that were wood on the real thing are wood and all the metal parts are metal. Speaking of wood all of the sheets are solid wood free from any defects I can see. The only plywood in the kit seems to be the building jig for the wheels. There is also a very nicely turned brass cannon barrel. I will start working on this one in earnest tomorrow night. For now my first question is how to blacken the machined aluminum wheel hubs. Will gun bluing work on aluminum? Best Regards and stay safe.

I am having trouble creating an album. When I select "gallery/completed kits/add images/create new album". It asks me to enter the URL for my pictures? My pictures are from my hard drive and my build log. Not sure what to do from here. Thanks in advance

This build was so enjoyable I have actually given thought to scaling up the plans and building a 1/6 scale version. In the mean time I have a Model Expo cannon and limber combo I picked up when they first became available or I might start my AL King of the Mississippi. Or I might try to track down another Midwest Kit.

Well done and by golly done. I tried to take some shots with the only neutral background I had. I thought I might post them in the gallery. But as you can plainly see I am no better at photography than I am at playing concert violin. Here is the base with 3 coats of wipe on poly. And a couple of parting shots. Since I took them I might just as well post them. Thanks again to all. On to the next thing. Regards and stay safe.

Thanks, Like my Nana Smith used to say, "It is easier to ask for permission than to beg for forgiveness."

Hello Chuck, I am just finishing up on the Midwest Petersboro Canoe kit. I was thinking of scaling up the plans to make a larger version. Any thoughts on the legality of this considering the status of Midwest Products at this point? If I were to post a log of this build would it be a violation of the piracy policy? Thanks

Thanks Bob, I agree the base is just a "supporting" character in the overall story. Some stories however require more "support" than others and in some cases the base while still short of being a complete diorama can still steal a scene now and then. Wow, I think I was channeling Siskel and Ebert there for a moment.

Bob, Just a wild guess but is that a piano key board lid your canoe is sitting on? I will have to come up with a decent back drop and get some quality pics of this once it is complete. Well after staring at this thing for half the morning and then a lot of snipping and cutting and sanding it went from this. To this. Since it was submerged for so long I am going to let it dry for a good long time as I am afraid some of the darker spots are mold or mildew. I might even bake it in the oven for a while. Here it is with the canoe on it. I tried to leave the front "leg" so that it kind of looks like it is still partially submerged in the lake. Once I am sure it is good and dried out I will wipe on a couple coats of poly. That's it for now. Best Regards

Thanks for all the kind words and likes. Chris, I agree it is a real shame. Sadly I discovered the hobby too late and now they cost an arm and a leg when they come up on e-bay. Also it would seem that Dave (Duanelaker) was well ahead of everyone else and started hoarding them instead of TP. Lol! I was out walking the dogs this morning and decided to go around the lake across the street and found that the level has dropped quite a bit in the last couple of days. Not unusual around here to see level fluctuations of a couple of feet in just a week or so. The drop had exposed a few weathered tree limbs that were now just sitting there. I grabbed this one thinking that with a few well placed cuts there may be a base for my canoe in there somewhere. I am shamelessly stealing this idea from Bob G. who posted a pic of his Indian Girl Canoe displayed on a piece of tree limb in duanelakers build thread. Thanks Bob! Of course the admiral was very pleased (NOT) to see me returning from our walk dragging an old tree limb up the driveway. I am going to leave it out in the sun to make sure it is completely dry before I start cutting. Regards

Wonderful job. These MW kits make great little boats. I am going to try to build as many as I can lay my hands on,

Until you throw us a wide perspective shot like this one would think this model was 3 feet long. With all the detail you put into these things how do you manage to keep it all in scale so well? The result is very believable and very pleasing to the eye. Well done sir.

Well it has been a while but finally some progress to report. I have not been Idle since my last update but since I could only manage one coat of poly a day and waiting for paint to dry is boring enough I did not think it was worth an update. I decided I needed some shiny bits and pieces. The kit did not provide any so I had to make them. I stared with come strip brass I had laying around. And cut off a couple of small pieces about an 1/8" or so. Then a little rough shaping with file and sand paper. Then I clamped them both in my handy all purpose jig one on top of the other. and drilled some holes. Then I rubbed them around in some jewelers rouge. And this is what I was left with. Add a little bent wire and rings and ..... I added some rope and whipped some loops onto the rings. I glued the plates in place with a tiny drop of medium CA applied with a sewing needle. Then very carefully drilled through the holes. Once that was done it was simply a matter of pressing the hasps and loops in place. And I think that with the exception of a display base which I have yet to make up my mind on that we can call this one finished. At least 3 coats of poly on everything with a light sanding with 800 grit between coats. All in all this has been a fun and challenging little project. I think the few mods I added give this one a little character and uniqueness that made them worth doing. I will update again when I figure out the base. Until then thanks to everyone that followed, liked and commented on this build. I hope you had as much fun as I did with it. Best regards and stay safe.

Great job so far. Keep the updates coming.

A gorgeous result to what looked like a fun project. Bravo Zulu