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John Ruy

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  1. John Ruy
    Yes… Thanks guys, I emailed them this morning. Seems Capt Bates left his books to the museum and they are making copies in spiral bindings for sale. The book $25.00 Tax (Indiana 7%) $ 1.75 Shipping (USPS) $ 8.55 Total due HSM $35.30 I am calling this afternoon to order it. Thanks for your help…
  2. John Ruy
    That one is currently unavailable. I did find a copy of The Steamboat Cyclopedium on eBay for 20.00. I had just missed the Engine Room Cyclopedium from that same seller. Any other source of detail on 1870s Steamboat Engine Rooms would be helpful.
  3. John Ruy
    Hello All, I am trying to find a copy of “the western rivers engine room cyclopedium by alan l. bates”. If you have a copy of this book and are willing to part with it, I would like to purchase it. Please let me know via PM. Thanks John Ruy
  4. John Ruy
    Thanks Cathead, I do prefer accuracy over Aesthetics. Thanks for pointing out my misinterpretation of the drawings and giving me the correct info. I can some times head down the wrong path. Your comments help me interpret this drawing a bit differently. 🧐 I now see heavy timbers stacked under the wheel shaft. Thanks again, I don’t mind the rework. Can’t wait for the Cyclopedium. In the mean time keep a close eye on me. John Coming up… Paddle wheels. 😆
  5. John Ruy
    @Cathead Here is the link to a scratch build I am referencing. https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/threads/paddle-steamer-robert-e-lee-scale-1-96-scratch-build-by-the-alan-l-bates-drawings-completed-build.5362/ In this log they reference the Alan Bates drawings. I am hoping there is more to reference the interior of the engine room, since I intend to make it viewable. 😎
  6. John Ruy
    Thanks… Below are the drawings I am working with. I am going to frame out the main engine room so I can leave one side open to view the engine room and paddle wheel. I have a copy of The Western River Steamboat Cyclopedium by Alan Bates coming and hope I can detail the engine room layout from that as a reference. I couldn’t find a copy of the Engine Room Cyclopedium, still searching for that one. I thought the open trestle style would be 1870 period.
  7. John Ruy
    MainDeck furnishings, paddle wheels, engines, etc… Finished up the hull trim, before proceeding with everything on deck. Scratch building the infrastructure for the transmission of steam power to the massive paddle wheels. couple of cutouts to give some perspective of just how massive this steamboat really is. 😆 started working on the framing around the paddle wheel housing. Steam engine parts. These pieces of wood will become the steam cylinders driving the paddle wheels. Two steam cylinders ready for installation. Steam engine transmission structure completed. A little micro Carpentry. 😆 Progress on the engine room, lots of details coming. 😎 Inspiration photo only, massive paddle wheels coming up … later… 🍻
  8. John Ruy
    Main Deck planking continues… 1/32” x 1/8” basswood strips, cut into 4” pieces and staggered 1”… 🤪 Finally, completed deck planking. 😎 Stained with a light cherry to keep the natural wood look. I will coat this with satin Poly to seal it. Now! I can move on to the details of the Main Deck furnishings. Boiler Deck supports, engine room walls, paddle wheels and engines. More detail coming with the boilers and steam pipes as well. Cheers 🍻
  9. John Ruy
    Looks good Ron. 👍 Good detail with the hinges and rope.
  10. John Ruy
    Boilers… The Robert E Lee had twin high-pressure steam engines; cylinder bores 40 inches (101.6 cm); stroke 120 inches (304.8 cm); eight iron boilers each 46 feet (14.02 m) long and 27 inches (68.6 cm) diameter, working steam pressure 120 lbs. Here is a drawing of the boilers I grabbed from the internet. These boilers were quite massive, to say the least. Scratch building the boilers… Wood blocks and dowels… shaping the metal casting… Boilers and fire box all set… Adding the breaching duct to smoke stacks… Steam Drum and safety valves added. Two steam pipes are headed to the engine room for the massive steam engines. More deck planking to do and the work on the paddle wheels and engines will begin. Cheers 🍻
  11. John Ruy
    Here is a line drawing that might help.
  12. John Ruy
    Ron, Here is a photo of my MS Whaleboat build. They would remove the tiller and pull the rudder up out of it’s hing with the rope across the stern. Swing the rudder around with a second rope attached lower on the rudder. Here is how I did the smaller scale CWM Whaleboats. Your boats are a bit larger scale you may want more detail. I worked the rigging around the Davits, however I did have to repair some. 😆 I would definitely wait and mount the Davits and boats as a lay step. Hope this helps. John
  13. John Ruy
    Forward Cabin continued… Forward cabin completed with Catwalk post and beam structure holding it up off the Main Deck. Fire Wood and Coal for the boilers were stored under this cabin. The remainder of the Forward Deck was used to transport cargo to multiple ports up and down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. On to planking the forward deck, then I will progress toward the stern with the boiler, engine room, Paddle Wheels, etc… Talk about micro Carpentry! WOW 😯 I’ll be back… 😎
  14. John Ruy
    Forward Cabin on the Catwalk… Fortunately, the previous owner of this kit research and collected N scale windows and doors. This is a great enhancement over the paper templates provided. 😎 Cutting out 1/32 material for installation of doors and windows in the Cabin on the Catwalk. I am going to have to paint that door 🚪 wood color to help it stand out. 🧐 Moving on… 🍻
  15. John Ruy
    Looks like all I have to do is give the engine room a bit of a steampunk feel. 😆 A cat walk and guard rails here some pipes there. The trick will be to not overdo it. 😂 Onwards…
  16. John Ruy
    Main Deck continues How to set a post plumb on an un-level surface. Inlayed the posts in the planking This is going to take a while. Later 😎
  17. John Ruy
    Thanks for sharing your research. Now that I have decided to open up some walls to view the Engine Room, I going to need to get a sense of what that room looked like in the 1870s. All I have so far is in the following photos. These rooms are probably to modern. I am imagining pipes valve and pressure gages, etc… If you have any reference to the engine room it’s self I would appreciate it. I just don’t want to view two steam engines sitting in an empty room. Your thoughts… Thanks
  18. John Ruy
    Hull painting… Final color coat airbrushed… Original water slide decals from the kit still in good shape, after all these years in storage. 👍 Main Deck… Started planking the Main Deck. @md1400cs provided a link to a scratch build of the Robert E Lee on another forum. https://www.modelbouwforum.nl/threads/mississippi-paddlesteamer-robert-e-lee-1-96-scratch-build.271285/ The images from that build will be very helpful, although it does raise the bar. 🧐 found this drawing of the Steam Engines. The challenge now is to detail out the engine room and leave enough walls open to view the engine room. I am also going to need to add lighting. Things just got interesting 🤔 Here is the engine room layout. Modified the port engine drawing to scale, also scanned and flipped the drawing to give me a starboard engine as well. Now all I have to do is build a couple of paddle wheels with engines. We will see how it goes… 😆 Cheers 🍻
  19. John Ruy
    @mtaylor This build log of The Robert E. Lee Steamboat is in the 1801 to 1850 category, it was built in New Albany, Indiana in 1866. I am building it as she appeared in 1870 for the “Great Race” against the Natchez. Can this build log be moved to 1851 to 1900? Thanks John
  20. John Ruy
    Main Deck underside framing… Laminating the underside of the guard rail. Soaking the bow and stern tail pieces. Lots of clamping required to make the curves. Framing complete… Adding the Rudder… Molding added to the rail. Ready for the some fine sanding and paint. Can’t wait 😝 to turn this puppy over and start working on this floating grand hotel. Later… 🍻
  21. John Ruy
    The Main Deck… Gluing and Nailing the Deck to the Hull. Marked the sub deck for furniture placement. I will be laying planking on this deck. Installing the guard on the deck edge. Soaked the timbers in ammonia/water to get them to follow the curve. Top side completed… Next up framing on the under side of the deck. Later… 😎
  22. John Ruy
    Ron, I mounted the boats on the davits ready to be launched. The rudder is pulled up on the side. This is how they would have been on the whaling grounds. Sorry about the rework, but I understand details are important. 👍
  23. John Ruy
    @Cathead I am thinking about building the steam engines, as long as they can be seen through the windows. Maybe add lighting in the engine room. 🤔 From your riverboat research do you think the engines in the Robert E Lee would have been similar to your Arabia? Thanks
  24. John Ruy
    Yep… That’s it… probably why these kits keep circulating and pop up on eBay. I know my first purchase of a vintage bluejacket kit of the Constitution scared the heck out of me. It went rIght back up for sale on eBay. But I sank my teeth into Marine Model Company’s Charles W Morgan and developed a taste for scratch building a “kit”. I am not sure when this kit first sold but it was a Boucher Ship Model sold as Bluejacket Ship Crafters. The drawings are Copyrighted 1934 and the parts list is dated 1969. Maybe @MrBlueJacket knows how old this kit is. 🤔 The parts list does tell you what the parts are to be used for and it did come with some “Fine Brittanian Model Fittings. And of course a box full of wood 🪵 Paid 123.50 + shipping for this kit on auction. I do love these kits, as they can stretch my modeling skills. With some help from my friends. 😆 And that’s the pure definition of a “Fine Vintage” Kit. Onwards with the passion… 👍
  25. John Ruy
    Thanks… I was hoping you would be tagging along on this build. I’m using your build of the Arabia to give me direction and some building ideas. These vintage kits leave a lot to desire for instruction. 😆 Almost a scratch build or kit bash, I’m not sure. 🤔 I’m looking forward to your input as I progress. I am making it up as I go, sounds like a plan. 😎 As they say, “Some Assembly Required”, but with a lot of creativity. LOL 😂 Here are the instructions included. Some help required. Thanks in advance. 👍

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