Kusawa2000

1 hour ago, John Ruy said:

As she should…

 

No worries, I think I have the pics I need. Maybe next spring, when it gets up to Zero  😆 BTW… those pictures were great, they got me to this point. Thanks

 

I have been in -40 degree weather on Indian Moutain in Alaska at an Air Force Radar site. What are your windchills?
 

We had signs posted that said exposed flesh would freeze in 5 seconds. No body was making any yellow snow. LOL 😆 

 

Frosted my bronchial tubes snow showing into a radio beacon shack. Fun times, stay warm my friend. 

John: We are sitting at -42c this morning with a wind chill of -52c -Jeep is still running but we arent doing any sun tanning today! Kidding aside, if you do need more pics do let me know as the Klondike is still accessible for pictures. We are getting only 4 hours of daylight but I can get over there around lunch.. but keep the jeep running! 🙂

MIKE

I really like the midship walls are looking... and thanks for not asking for any detail shots.. we are sitting at -38c right now..

MIKE

I'm personally glad to hear you are including a flag package and give some thought to the accuracy of the flags.  I always include a set of flags on all of my models. I find its that added detail that adds a lot to the final look.

I also make sure that if my boat has sails that the flags are flapping in the direction that the sails are set. A personal pet peeve of mine.

Thanks for including flags! I would have had to make a set when I get the chance to build your Vanguard model of the Surprise. 

MIKE

8 hours ago, Chuck said:

Oh thats great.  I havent tried the Minwax version.  Any warm

brown or will do according to your tastes.  You really have to experiment.  

Chuck: I decided to do some more digging for that Old Masters gel stain and apparently Amazon does sell it.. and its on its way from the sunny Canadian South.. problem solved. And thanks for the finishing tip.. Im just getting my hull full planked. Finished my Woody Joe temple model and now getting the planks on the hull full steam. I will be glad to get that chapter done and move onto the stern galleries. 

Mike Draper

4 hours ago, Chuck said:

I forgot to add the photo showing what the unweathered 3D printed wheel that is Boxwood color will look like (on the right).   This is how it will look when you get it and you can see how easy it is to just kick it up a notch.    You guys should give it a try.  Just a wet on wet wash of brown or burnt umber changes the appearance quite a bit.  With my rigging blocks I do this for you in mass  (not with acrylic paint).  But because of the complex shape of a ship's wheel I cant really do that....it would just take too long.   So its up to you.

 

Chuck: I have been checking out paint shops here in the Yukon and we dont seem to have Old Masters in stock. Minwax seems to have gel stain on the shelf up here in abundance. Any recommendations on a match that would be close to your recommended Old Masters Fruitwood gel stain? I do like the look it gives

Mike Draper

15 hours ago, John Ruy said:

Of course the more detail I can get into her the better. Here is what I currently have. Closeups of the rudder systems would be great. 👍 

let me see if I can get any closer... I will let ya know!

MIKE

On 10/20/2025 at 6:27 PM, John Ruy said:

Paddle Wheel continued…

…and then there were 5 of 5. 
 

Cheers 🍻 

 

@MrBlueJacket You are correct Nic, there is satisfaction in building it yourself. 

Do you want any detailed shots of the paddlewheel from the Klondike? I dont know if there are bolts or nail heads or brackets on the wheel that you want to know about. there is also another paddlewheel from another Yukon river boat that is in the front yard of a RV park that I can walk right up to...

8 hours ago, palmerit said:

 

I’m curious what you bought if you’re willing to share. 

These are the kits I have bought and are built and waiting to be built

waiting to be Built....

 https://www.zootoyz.jp/contents/media/temple-horyuji-kondou-t.jpg

has been built

https://www.zootoyz.jp/contents/media/l_pagoda-koufuku-ji_20200314141924.jpg

Has been built

https://www.zootoyz.jp/contents/media/l_pagoda-horyuji_20200314142647.jpg

waiting to be built

https://www.zootoyz.jp/contents/media/l_wj-yamato.jpg

waiting to be built

https://www.zootoyz.jp/contents/media/l_pagoda-yakushiji_20200314142339.jpg

2 hours ago, palmerit said:

Not that I need any more models for my stash, but who sells these? I know Amazon has some - and I would trust buying them from Amazon Japan - but unless I know the reseller on Amazon, I generally avoid, especially for something as expensive as a model kit. Specifically, is there a reseller in the US? The first site that shows up in a google search for me (in Japan) is https://www.zootoyz.jp.

Like Paul I bought my woody joe kits from zootoys.jp with no problems. It usually took 2 weeks to get from Japan to Canada.. and the kits are packed extremely well.. no parts banging around... 

Kerry: I had the opportunity to meet Mr Tsuneki back in 2011 when I was in Japan and have since bought quite a few of the Woody Joe kits. While I have the Yamato  battleship and Horyu-Ji Kondo kits waiting to be built I have completed two of their Pagoda kits -the Horyu-ji pagoda and  Kofukuji Pagoda and love them. The wood is a joy to work with and while the instructions are in Japanese, the way the parts are numbered and the instructions laid out you can figure out the assembly. And I have often said to people about these kits.... if the model parts don't fit, its because you made a mistake. A total joy to complete and definitely worth the money.

Thanks for passing along your article!

10 hours ago, Diver said:

Thats great news.  It is so easy for a country to lose its history due to lack of funding.  We can not always rely on private funding and donations.

I agree.. especially when there are so few of these boats left intact up here.. we have one in Dawson City (the Keno) and the rest of them are in graveyards scattered along the Yukon River. In fact we had real low water levels in the Spring on the Yukon River due to a cool spring and low snow melt and the original Klondike could be seen -she broke her back some time in the 1920-30s and they built a second SS Klondike using the hardware and engines from the first one.  

For those who are interested.. Parks Canada is getting some money to complete the restoration on the SS Klondike  Whitehorse's historic S.S. Klondike to get a $14M makeover | CBC News

7 hours ago, chris watton said:

I too have a lot of the Ancre books/monographs, even the French language only ones!

Im glad to know that Im not the only one! 

1 hour ago, chris watton said:

I have a kind of addiction, and it is buying these plans, at times for no other reason than to stare and admire the lines of them for hours on end. I find them fascinating. 

This is one of my latest, it is a particularly beautiful 48th scale plan of the San Josef of 112 guns (reputed to once belong to Emma Hamilton) – and damn do those headrails look nice and simple to transfer into a kit version!

 

In the same tube, I also had an even bigger plan of Caledonia (120 – but rounded upper bow, so probably never do that one), and 2 for the old Roebuck Class 44 gun 2-deckers. Not sure if I shall ever use them, but I would like display all of them one day, if I can ever sell my house and move to somewhere that has the room in my workshop…
 

Chris: I have a bad (and expensive) habit of buying monograph plans from the French Ancre website https://ancre.fr/en/ . I find the French frigates have amazing lines and design and Ancre crew do a amazing job of transposing the old plans into something a modeler can tackle. I suspect you are already familiar with them but I just wanted to let  you know that there are others that also admire the lines and design of these beautiful ships. 

8 hours ago, chris watton said:

My usual rule of thumb is this – Any warship pre 1800, I will always insist of red inner bulwarks and carriages unless I have strong evidence to the contrary. After this date, I feel I can be a little ‘looser’ with the options, using off-white, ochre or green, depending on date and type of vessel. As you mention, Surprise is being depicted (for the prototype at least) to those later dates, so colour scheme is a little more flexible.

 

But again, it will always be up to the modeller what they want to do – they are furnished with options.

 

Oh, meant to ask - what colours were the cutters, was it a red one and green one, or red and blue, I cannot remember!
 

Chris: Not to say this is gospel, the maritime museum in San Diego has a ochre colour for there guns below deck on the HMS Surprise moored at the museum. For what its worth!

1 hour ago, Keith Black said:

 Four foot sections, they must have split those with wedges. Lots of hard work sitting there. 

I would agree with you.. all softwood.. we only grow pine, spruce, poplar and cottonwood up here... and when its green it treats the axe like a rubber ball.. 

MIKE

2 hours ago, John Ruy said:

Doors and Windows continue… I have also started wiring for lights. @Kusawa2000 Mike, note the deck lighting in the last pic. 😉

Cheers 🍻 

 

Steady as she goes…

 

John: The lighting is dead on! Ready for loading the 10 cords of firewood! 

1 hour ago, John Ruy said:

Thanks Mike, Great shots of the lighting.  Good confirmation of the type of lighting. My research has shown the use of a Dyno for electricity on board. 
 

I will be placing an LED in those cavities along with the inside lighting and over cargo doorways, staircases, etc…

 

John

 

 

John: good approach. And be aware they light is located on both sides of the ship at the same spot. Great progress.. As mentioned they are doing major restoration on her right now and she isnt open to the public. This is year 2 of the restoration. Based on the progress I suspect they will be at it next year as well

MIKE

58 minutes ago, John Ruy said:

@Kusawa2000 Looks like winter must take its toll on her. She looks be in ruff shape requiring constant maintenance. 
 

John

john: They are doing a major restoration on her right now.. the hull has been completed and they are now working on the structure above deck.. I imagine there has been some scraping and sanding going on at this point.

MIKE

Everyone: Here are the pics of the mystery light off of the Klondike. Took the pics today. They are located on the port and starboard side of the boat. From the pics I would say its a safe guess they are display lights for loading and unloading out of the side bay door. 

Hope that clears things up!

Mike Draper

Whitehorse, Yukon

Canada

On 7/29/2025 at 6:07 AM, John Ruy said:

Mike, that was my thoughts as well. Some sort of flood light for the shore line makes perfect sense. Thanks for running it down. &nbsp
 

John

12 hours ago, Keith Black said:

 

 John, do you have any notion as to when they might have been added? Now that you know it is a running light, are you going to portray it as such on your Klondike model? 

i dont think it was a running light.. I suspect when they moored the paddlewheeler along the shore they probably had it as a deck light to assist in any loading and unloading. These boats ran on firewood, not coal and they were known to burn 2 cords/hour (that was what I was told) when they were going upriver so there was quite a few fuel wood stations along the way.. any lighting would help in loading.. But I didnt get to the Klondike today but I will make sure to get there tomorrow. 

MIKE

57 minutes ago, John Ruy said:

The S.S. Klondike, 1937-55: A Structural History by Arnold E. Roos Volume III 
 

http://parkscanadahistory.com/series/mrs/342-3.pdf

Excerpts from this document of nearly 400 pages shows promise of amazing detail and confirmation they are lights. It also describes in amazing detail other exterior lighting. 😎

 

The light sockets located near the aft running lights on the port and starboard sides may have been added at a later date. The problem with these is that they do not readily show up in photographs, as they were white on a white background; however, it appears fairly certain that they were not in place by 1943. 

 

Running lights- center line is 115 feet 6-1/2 inches aft of reference point- set in a 1 foot 4 inch diameter hole- held in place by 3 metal clips 

 

 

Everyone: I will do a quick drive by today to see if I can get a look at it but I suspect you are right.. I think its a exterior light

MIKE

4 hours ago, chris watton said:

Well, being a wooden kit, there is nothing to stop you doing this and discarding the kit parts. I see this with the pre made decks, some plank their own. Nothing wrong with doing this at all. Indeed, I expect it from some modellers.

Chris: True enough! I admit it will be nice to have options!

Call me crazy but I always enjoyed planking above the wale. I find the individual planks really gave the hull a lot of character. I agree most of the hulls will be painted so if its individually planked or a template etched with the planks and treenails it may be hard to tell the difference. Maybe have it as a option at the time of purchase? Just floating the idea out there...