rvchima

19. Pilot House and Masts
 
The frame for the pilothouse consists of laser cut base and roof outline, joined by 3 pieces of 1/4” square stock. I added some scrap decking material to the floor.
The 2 aft support columns show thru the window and door so I painted part of them black to make them less obvious. Although the instructions call for 1/4” square stock the plans show 1/8” square stock - I’m glad I went with the 1/4” , it is very sturdy which helped when it came time to bend the sheathing around the frame while glueing.
 

 
To shape the 2 laminated pieces I found a spray can with the same radius as the front of the pilot house. After soaking them in hot water and ammonia I rubber- banded them in place and left them overnight:
 

 
The steering wheel is britannia metal, its stand is made up of strip wood per the plans. The plans show a chart table and bench, I added a voice tube and engine order telegraph:
 

 
Here is the furniture in place:
 

 
And here is the completed pilothouse with the roof (and rooster) in place:
 

 

 
As it turned out, almost all the interior details are not visible. It’s pretty dark in there and the sight lines thru the windows block everything but the top of the steering wheel, the voice tube and the bench.
 
This would be a perfect place for putting acetate in the windows but I left them out for the sake of consistency - I had to forgo glazing the doors and windows on the lower deckhouse so that the heat from the motor and ESC would have a way to vent.
 
The masts have been tapered and the metal work attached:
 

 
The instructions call for attaching the foremast by glueing the bottom to the deck which would work fine for a static model but since this deckhouse needs to be removable I changed the attachment point to a spacer that is glued to the front of the deckhouse and will sit on the deck between the water barrel and the ice box - the mast will be glued and pinned to the spacer which is set at a width that will place the mast at the designed rake:
 

 
The aft mast needs a little help securing it. The instructions call for glueing it to the hole in the roof but even for a static model that will not provide much strength when it’s time to tension the rigging since the bottom of the mast is just hanging in the air inside the deckhouse. I put a framework on the underside of the deck that will provide a good glueing surface and that also sets the mast plumb and with the proper rake:
 

18. Steering Gear & Deck Furniture
 
The push rod between the servo and the rudder needs small brass rod at the ends to fit into the small holes on both arms but such thin rod may bend under pressure so I used an idea I found on a RC website and used a wooden dowel for the majority of it. This model is a little unusual in that the pushrod will remain above the deck but it will not be visible since it will be inside a 3-sided box, 2 of which sat on the fantail of the real SEGUIN to protect the steering ropes. The box hiding the pushrod and the fantail grating will be spot glued with white glue so I can remove them if needed.
 

 

 

 
The deck furniture is done, with the exception of the boat. The fore and aft bitts, the ice chest, the stack and the skylight are per the plans. The kit provides a resin piece for the water barrel but I’ve had several wooden ones from Model Expo in my stash since my first build, as it turns out they are a perfect match for the plans so I used one.
 

 
Next up will be the Pilothouse.

Rather than spend a great deal of time creating spare masts to stow the ship's boat on, I decided to display the boat on the stand. I glued down a couple of pieces of strip wood with a slot between them to hold the boat's keel.
 

 
I had planned to install the hammock cranes, but I've discovered (or perhaps rediscovered) that the cranes came with the upgrade kit, not the original kit, and there are thus no cranes shown on the plans. I will have to peruse some other build logs to figure out the spacing for them.

I added stump masts today. I think these make a huge visual difference, as now the knowledgeable viewer knows this is supposed to be a hull model and is not simply an unrigged model.
 

 
BTW, I did not glue the masts in, just in case I ever get a wild hair and decide to add real masts -- an unlikely event, I feel, but one never knows.

Don't Get Too Excited
 
Yes, I have decided to resurrect this long-dormant and neglected build log. First, a little back story: I corresponded with Chris Watton during the development of this kit and was thus was one of the first to buy it when it hit the market all the way back in 2006. I got started on it right away and made pretty good progress at first. Now, even during my most prolific modeling outbursts, there are times when a kit just doesn't get the juices flowing like it used to and gets moved to the back burner. Being a square-rigged ship and all the work that entails, Fly has suffered a number of stints on said back burner, and the current spell has been very long indeed -- going on ten years. 😯  In addition, she has endured six moves (including one cross-country), and -- as might be expected -- she hasn't come through all of those moves completely unscathed.
 
So, why has Fly never got around to being finished? The primary reason is one that I'm sure some of you can relate to: I'm simply not satisfied with the way she has turned out so far, and that kind of puts a crimp on any desire to complete a model I know I won't be completely happy with. The two things that I particularly dislike about my work so far are first of all that I didn't do a good planking job, and as a result the model has quite a few gaps between planks. Second, I don't like the color. The kit came with dark walnut strips for the second planking, and for reasons that I can no longer recall, I stained those even darker. Since that time, I have decided that I like lighter-colored hulls better. Oh, well. Lastly, there is the not-insignificant consideration that a finished Fly would take up a lot of display space, and why devote precious space to a model that doesn't make you proud?
 
So, after much thought I decided I would eventually finish Fly as a hull model, and now seems as good a time as any to finally tick this task off my to-do list. The first things to do will be to dust the model off, repair the present damage (notably to guns and their rigging), figure out where I left off in the build sequence, and then decide how much detail I will add before finally deciding that Fly will be done enough to call done.
 
So, enjoy what is left of this journey!
 

So, here is what the hull looks like as of July, 2012.




 
Expect more updates on the hull on ... gosh, I don't know.  Sometime this year.  Maybe.

This is the aforementioned forward screen bulkhead, along with a view of the two ladders that had to be built from scratch because the kit didn't include enough ladder material.

 
I also added some detail to the gallows, using a file and some scrap card and wood to add beveling, decorative panels, and cheek blocks.

This lovely photo shows what happens when you think you've done an adequate job of planking, only to have the flash show up every ugly gap in the planking.  Next time...must do a better job next time.  Anyways, the stern carvings are a decent casting.  After painting with the basic ochre color, I brought out some detail with some washes.  Of course, the flash then proceeded to wash out all the wash detail.  The curtains are an idea I copied from another build long ago.  The period after 'FLY' is period-appropriate (no pun) and is not included in the PE brass set.  It's just daubed on with a brush.

Another couple of tweaks to the kit.  The cleats in the kit are far to large, so I cobbled together some smaller replacements.

 
The kit's binnacle is also very, very basic, so out that went, too.  I built a replacement based on some drawings and pics submitted by MSW members.  The binnacle lantern is made from a sacrificed CA glue Z-tip, the compass roses are some scaled-down images from the Internet, and the chimney is some part from the scrap bin.  The chimney should be black, but I haven't had much success blackening turned brass parts, so I left it shiny.  Don't tell anyone.

Steamboat Robert E Lee is Finished, 269 Hours, 102 Days
Since returning from a trip to Utah to visit five national parks, I've put in about 40 hours to complete the rigging, accessories, and deck furniture. Here are photos of the final model.


 



The masts and yards were fairly complicated, with the hinged joints between them made up from brass tube and sheet. The chain supplied for the gangways is tiny and required magnifiers to work with. The gangways would never hang in place by themselves so I glued small black wedges to keep them were I want them.

The kit includes two very nice metal and wood anchor kits and a really cute turned capstan. The instructions said to use 1 mm wood strips for the capstan bars, but the turned base had 1 mm round holes so I used brass rod. When I clipped the rod to length after assembly the ends were rough so I touched one gently to my disk sander, and the sander grabbed it and dragged the whole thing into the gap between the spinning disk and table. That really mangled the capstan. I sure wish I had taken a photo.

I ended up turning a new capstan on the end of a dowel. Here's the new one and what's left of the old one.
 

The ship has two tiny lifeboats for 240 or more passengers, and no davits for launching them.

There is one more lifeboat or ship's boat hanging from a boom at the stern. Like the gangways there is no way this would hang correctly by itself, so I pinned it to the stern.
 
Summary
You can't go wrong with a kit by Amati. They have excellent materials and detailed plans, and end up as beautiful models.
 
The illustrated instructions for the Robert E. Lee are in Italian. An English translation is included but you need to refer back to the Italian for illustrations. The build sequence was confusing. Instead of building cabins upward from the lower deck, they are built down from the deck above. That allows you to plank and paint the cabin walls, but it makes it quite confusing to see which parts all need to line up. The instructions recommended rounding the edges of the cabin wall planks. I regret doing that on the lower decks - the paint didn't get into the joints and it makes the work look sloppy. I did not round the planks on the upper decks. You can still see hints that the walls are planked but they look much cleaner. I also found that I could pre-glue several planks to a sheet of brown paper, glue that to the cabin walls, and trim the length later. That gave a much neater look.
 
This is not an easy model. All the planking, windows and doors, and a surprising amount of rigging add up to a lot of work. In the end, though, Amati's Robert E Lee builds into a beautiful model.

Thank you all for the gracious comments. I enjoy the work and do appreciate all the feedback. It often surprises me how frequently I refer back to my old posts to see how I did something or what kind of paint that I used. So the build logs are a useful reference for me, and I hope that they will help other modelers in the future.
 
I will be starting on a woodworking project, a TV console cabinet for my son, so no posts here for a while.
 
Eric, thank you for the perspective on lifeboats. I suspected that they were impractical and maybe unnecessary on riverboats. However, Smithsonian Magazine had an interesting article, When Deadly Steamboat Races Enthralled America, with some pretty grizzly statistics about steamboat disasters, mostly due to fires or boiler explosions. It makes steamboats seem somewhat less glamorous.

Hi Rod,
Yet another very nice build!!
(Wots next? 😀)
 
Cheers....HOF.

Beautiful work. Thank you for sharing and giving us all pointers. Very well done. Be very proud. 

Congratulations  great build,   

Rod, congratulations on finishing The Robert E. Lee. Steamboats are special. Yours is extra special.

Steamboat Robert E Lee is Finished, 269 Hours, 102 Days
Since returning from a trip to Utah to visit five national parks, I've put in about 40 hours to complete the rigging, accessories, and deck furniture. Here are photos of the final model.


 



The masts and yards were fairly complicated, with the hinged joints between them made up from brass tube and sheet. The chain supplied for the gangways is tiny and required magnifiers to work with. The gangways would never hang in place by themselves so I glued small black wedges to keep them were I want them.

The kit includes two very nice metal and wood anchor kits and a really cute turned capstan. The instructions said to use 1 mm wood strips for the capstan bars, but the turned base had 1 mm round holes so I used brass rod. When I clipped the rod to length after assembly the ends were rough so I touched one gently to my disk sander, and the sander grabbed it and dragged the whole thing into the gap between the spinning disk and table. That really mangled the capstan. I sure wish I had taken a photo.

I ended up turning a new capstan on the end of a dowel. Here's the new one and what's left of the old one.
 

The ship has two tiny lifeboats for 240 or more passengers, and no davits for launching them.

There is one more lifeboat or ship's boat hanging from a boom at the stern. Like the gangways there is no way this would hang correctly by itself, so I pinned it to the stern.
 
Summary
You can't go wrong with a kit by Amati. They have excellent materials and detailed plans, and end up as beautiful models.
 
The illustrated instructions for the Robert E. Lee are in Italian. An English translation is included but you need to refer back to the Italian for illustrations. The build sequence was confusing. Instead of building cabins upward from the lower deck, they are built down from the deck above. That allows you to plank and paint the cabin walls, but it makes it quite confusing to see which parts all need to line up. The instructions recommended rounding the edges of the cabin wall planks. I regret doing that on the lower decks - the paint didn't get into the joints and it makes the work look sloppy. I did not round the planks on the upper decks. You can still see hints that the walls are planked but they look much cleaner. I also found that I could pre-glue several planks to a sheet of brown paper, glue that to the cabin walls, and trim the length later. That gave a much neater look.
 
This is not an easy model. All the planking, windows and doors, and a surprising amount of rigging add up to a lot of work. In the end, though, Amati's Robert E Lee builds into a beautiful model.

Steamboat Robert E Lee is Finished, 269 Hours, 102 Days
Since returning from a trip to Utah to visit five national parks, I've put in about 40 hours to complete the rigging, accessories, and deck furniture. Here are photos of the final model.


 



The masts and yards were fairly complicated, with the hinged joints between them made up from brass tube and sheet. The chain supplied for the gangways is tiny and required magnifiers to work with. The gangways would never hang in place by themselves so I glued small black wedges to keep them were I want them.

The kit includes two very nice metal and wood anchor kits and a really cute turned capstan. The instructions said to use 1 mm wood strips for the capstan bars, but the turned base had 1 mm round holes so I used brass rod. When I clipped the rod to length after assembly the ends were rough so I touched one gently to my disk sander, and the sander grabbed it and dragged the whole thing into the gap between the spinning disk and table. That really mangled the capstan. I sure wish I had taken a photo.

I ended up turning a new capstan on the end of a dowel. Here's the new one and what's left of the old one.
 

The ship has two tiny lifeboats for 240 or more passengers, and no davits for launching them.

There is one more lifeboat or ship's boat hanging from a boom at the stern. Like the gangways there is no way this would hang correctly by itself, so I pinned it to the stern.
 
Summary
You can't go wrong with a kit by Amati. They have excellent materials and detailed plans, and end up as beautiful models.
 
The illustrated instructions for the Robert E. Lee are in Italian. An English translation is included but you need to refer back to the Italian for illustrations. The build sequence was confusing. Instead of building cabins upward from the lower deck, they are built down from the deck above. That allows you to plank and paint the cabin walls, but it makes it quite confusing to see which parts all need to line up. The instructions recommended rounding the edges of the cabin wall planks. I regret doing that on the lower decks - the paint didn't get into the joints and it makes the work look sloppy. I did not round the planks on the upper decks. You can still see hints that the walls are planked but they look much cleaner. I also found that I could pre-glue several planks to a sheet of brown paper, glue that to the cabin walls, and trim the length later. That gave a much neater look.
 
This is not an easy model. All the planking, windows and doors, and a surprising amount of rigging add up to a lot of work. In the end, though, Amati's Robert E Lee builds into a beautiful model.

Steamboat Robert E Lee is Finished, 269 Hours, 102 Days
Since returning from a trip to Utah to visit five national parks, I've put in about 40 hours to complete the rigging, accessories, and deck furniture. Here are photos of the final model.


 



The masts and yards were fairly complicated, with the hinged joints between them made up from brass tube and sheet. The chain supplied for the gangways is tiny and required magnifiers to work with. The gangways would never hang in place by themselves so I glued small black wedges to keep them were I want them.

The kit includes two very nice metal and wood anchor kits and a really cute turned capstan. The instructions said to use 1 mm wood strips for the capstan bars, but the turned base had 1 mm round holes so I used brass rod. When I clipped the rod to length after assembly the ends were rough so I touched one gently to my disk sander, and the sander grabbed it and dragged the whole thing into the gap between the spinning disk and table. That really mangled the capstan. I sure wish I had taken a photo.

I ended up turning a new capstan on the end of a dowel. Here's the new one and what's left of the old one.
 

The ship has two tiny lifeboats for 240 or more passengers, and no davits for launching them.

There is one more lifeboat or ship's boat hanging from a boom at the stern. Like the gangways there is no way this would hang correctly by itself, so I pinned it to the stern.
 
Summary
You can't go wrong with a kit by Amati. They have excellent materials and detailed plans, and end up as beautiful models.
 
The illustrated instructions for the Robert E. Lee are in Italian. An English translation is included but you need to refer back to the Italian for illustrations. The build sequence was confusing. Instead of building cabins upward from the lower deck, they are built down from the deck above. That allows you to plank and paint the cabin walls, but it makes it quite confusing to see which parts all need to line up. The instructions recommended rounding the edges of the cabin wall planks. I regret doing that on the lower decks - the paint didn't get into the joints and it makes the work look sloppy. I did not round the planks on the upper decks. You can still see hints that the walls are planked but they look much cleaner. I also found that I could pre-glue several planks to a sheet of brown paper, glue that to the cabin walls, and trim the length later. That gave a much neater look.
 
This is not an easy model. All the planking, windows and doors, and a surprising amount of rigging add up to a lot of work. In the end, though, Amati's Robert E Lee builds into a beautiful model.

Steamboat Robert E Lee is Finished, 269 Hours, 102 Days
Since returning from a trip to Utah to visit five national parks, I've put in about 40 hours to complete the rigging, accessories, and deck furniture. Here are photos of the final model.


 



The masts and yards were fairly complicated, with the hinged joints between them made up from brass tube and sheet. The chain supplied for the gangways is tiny and required magnifiers to work with. The gangways would never hang in place by themselves so I glued small black wedges to keep them were I want them.

The kit includes two very nice metal and wood anchor kits and a really cute turned capstan. The instructions said to use 1 mm wood strips for the capstan bars, but the turned base had 1 mm round holes so I used brass rod. When I clipped the rod to length after assembly the ends were rough so I touched one gently to my disk sander, and the sander grabbed it and dragged the whole thing into the gap between the spinning disk and table. That really mangled the capstan. I sure wish I had taken a photo.

I ended up turning a new capstan on the end of a dowel. Here's the new one and what's left of the old one.
 

The ship has two tiny lifeboats for 240 or more passengers, and no davits for launching them.

There is one more lifeboat or ship's boat hanging from a boom at the stern. Like the gangways there is no way this would hang correctly by itself, so I pinned it to the stern.
 
Summary
You can't go wrong with a kit by Amati. They have excellent materials and detailed plans, and end up as beautiful models.
 
The illustrated instructions for the Robert E. Lee are in Italian. An English translation is included but you need to refer back to the Italian for illustrations. The build sequence was confusing. Instead of building cabins upward from the lower deck, they are built down from the deck above. That allows you to plank and paint the cabin walls, but it makes it quite confusing to see which parts all need to line up. The instructions recommended rounding the edges of the cabin wall planks. I regret doing that on the lower decks - the paint didn't get into the joints and it makes the work look sloppy. I did not round the planks on the upper decks. You can still see hints that the walls are planked but they look much cleaner. I also found that I could pre-glue several planks to a sheet of brown paper, glue that to the cabin walls, and trim the length later. That gave a much neater look.
 
This is not an easy model. All the planking, windows and doors, and a surprising amount of rigging add up to a lot of work. In the end, though, Amati's Robert E Lee builds into a beautiful model.

Steamboat Robert E Lee is Finished, 269 Hours, 102 Days
Since returning from a trip to Utah to visit five national parks, I've put in about 40 hours to complete the rigging, accessories, and deck furniture. Here are photos of the final model.


 



The masts and yards were fairly complicated, with the hinged joints between them made up from brass tube and sheet. The chain supplied for the gangways is tiny and required magnifiers to work with. The gangways would never hang in place by themselves so I glued small black wedges to keep them were I want them.

The kit includes two very nice metal and wood anchor kits and a really cute turned capstan. The instructions said to use 1 mm wood strips for the capstan bars, but the turned base had 1 mm round holes so I used brass rod. When I clipped the rod to length after assembly the ends were rough so I touched one gently to my disk sander, and the sander grabbed it and dragged the whole thing into the gap between the spinning disk and table. That really mangled the capstan. I sure wish I had taken a photo.

I ended up turning a new capstan on the end of a dowel. Here's the new one and what's left of the old one.
 

The ship has two tiny lifeboats for 240 or more passengers, and no davits for launching them.

There is one more lifeboat or ship's boat hanging from a boom at the stern. Like the gangways there is no way this would hang correctly by itself, so I pinned it to the stern.
 
Summary
You can't go wrong with a kit by Amati. They have excellent materials and detailed plans, and end up as beautiful models.
 
The illustrated instructions for the Robert E. Lee are in Italian. An English translation is included but you need to refer back to the Italian for illustrations. The build sequence was confusing. Instead of building cabins upward from the lower deck, they are built down from the deck above. That allows you to plank and paint the cabin walls, but it makes it quite confusing to see which parts all need to line up. The instructions recommended rounding the edges of the cabin wall planks. I regret doing that on the lower decks - the paint didn't get into the joints and it makes the work look sloppy. I did not round the planks on the upper decks. You can still see hints that the walls are planked but they look much cleaner. I also found that I could pre-glue several planks to a sheet of brown paper, glue that to the cabin walls, and trim the length later. That gave a much neater look.
 
This is not an easy model. All the planking, windows and doors, and a surprising amount of rigging add up to a lot of work. In the end, though, Amati's Robert E Lee builds into a beautiful model.

Steamboat Robert E Lee is Finished, 269 Hours, 102 Days
Since returning from a trip to Utah to visit five national parks, I've put in about 40 hours to complete the rigging, accessories, and deck furniture. Here are photos of the final model.


 



The masts and yards were fairly complicated, with the hinged joints between them made up from brass tube and sheet. The chain supplied for the gangways is tiny and required magnifiers to work with. The gangways would never hang in place by themselves so I glued small black wedges to keep them were I want them.

The kit includes two very nice metal and wood anchor kits and a really cute turned capstan. The instructions said to use 1 mm wood strips for the capstan bars, but the turned base had 1 mm round holes so I used brass rod. When I clipped the rod to length after assembly the ends were rough so I touched one gently to my disk sander, and the sander grabbed it and dragged the whole thing into the gap between the spinning disk and table. That really mangled the capstan. I sure wish I had taken a photo.

I ended up turning a new capstan on the end of a dowel. Here's the new one and what's left of the old one.
 

The ship has two tiny lifeboats for 240 or more passengers, and no davits for launching them.

There is one more lifeboat or ship's boat hanging from a boom at the stern. Like the gangways there is no way this would hang correctly by itself, so I pinned it to the stern.
 
Summary
You can't go wrong with a kit by Amati. They have excellent materials and detailed plans, and end up as beautiful models.
 
The illustrated instructions for the Robert E. Lee are in Italian. An English translation is included but you need to refer back to the Italian for illustrations. The build sequence was confusing. Instead of building cabins upward from the lower deck, they are built down from the deck above. That allows you to plank and paint the cabin walls, but it makes it quite confusing to see which parts all need to line up. The instructions recommended rounding the edges of the cabin wall planks. I regret doing that on the lower decks - the paint didn't get into the joints and it makes the work look sloppy. I did not round the planks on the upper decks. You can still see hints that the walls are planked but they look much cleaner. I also found that I could pre-glue several planks to a sheet of brown paper, glue that to the cabin walls, and trim the length later. That gave a much neater look.
 
This is not an easy model. All the planking, windows and doors, and a surprising amount of rigging add up to a lot of work. In the end, though, Amati's Robert E Lee builds into a beautiful model.

Steamboat Robert E Lee is Finished, 269 Hours, 102 Days
Since returning from a trip to Utah to visit five national parks, I've put in about 40 hours to complete the rigging, accessories, and deck furniture. Here are photos of the final model.


 



The masts and yards were fairly complicated, with the hinged joints between them made up from brass tube and sheet. The chain supplied for the gangways is tiny and required magnifiers to work with. The gangways would never hang in place by themselves so I glued small black wedges to keep them were I want them.

The kit includes two very nice metal and wood anchor kits and a really cute turned capstan. The instructions said to use 1 mm wood strips for the capstan bars, but the turned base had 1 mm round holes so I used brass rod. When I clipped the rod to length after assembly the ends were rough so I touched one gently to my disk sander, and the sander grabbed it and dragged the whole thing into the gap between the spinning disk and table. That really mangled the capstan. I sure wish I had taken a photo.

I ended up turning a new capstan on the end of a dowel. Here's the new one and what's left of the old one.
 

The ship has two tiny lifeboats for 240 or more passengers, and no davits for launching them.

There is one more lifeboat or ship's boat hanging from a boom at the stern. Like the gangways there is no way this would hang correctly by itself, so I pinned it to the stern.
 
Summary
You can't go wrong with a kit by Amati. They have excellent materials and detailed plans, and end up as beautiful models.
 
The illustrated instructions for the Robert E. Lee are in Italian. An English translation is included but you need to refer back to the Italian for illustrations. The build sequence was confusing. Instead of building cabins upward from the lower deck, they are built down from the deck above. That allows you to plank and paint the cabin walls, but it makes it quite confusing to see which parts all need to line up. The instructions recommended rounding the edges of the cabin wall planks. I regret doing that on the lower decks - the paint didn't get into the joints and it makes the work look sloppy. I did not round the planks on the upper decks. You can still see hints that the walls are planked but they look much cleaner. I also found that I could pre-glue several planks to a sheet of brown paper, glue that to the cabin walls, and trim the length later. That gave a much neater look.
 
This is not an easy model. All the planking, windows and doors, and a surprising amount of rigging add up to a lot of work. In the end, though, Amati's Robert E Lee builds into a beautiful model.

Steamboat Robert E Lee is Finished, 269 Hours, 102 Days
Since returning from a trip to Utah to visit five national parks, I've put in about 40 hours to complete the rigging, accessories, and deck furniture. Here are photos of the final model.


 



The masts and yards were fairly complicated, with the hinged joints between them made up from brass tube and sheet. The chain supplied for the gangways is tiny and required magnifiers to work with. The gangways would never hang in place by themselves so I glued small black wedges to keep them were I want them.

The kit includes two very nice metal and wood anchor kits and a really cute turned capstan. The instructions said to use 1 mm wood strips for the capstan bars, but the turned base had 1 mm round holes so I used brass rod. When I clipped the rod to length after assembly the ends were rough so I touched one gently to my disk sander, and the sander grabbed it and dragged the whole thing into the gap between the spinning disk and table. That really mangled the capstan. I sure wish I had taken a photo.

I ended up turning a new capstan on the end of a dowel. Here's the new one and what's left of the old one.
 

The ship has two tiny lifeboats for 240 or more passengers, and no davits for launching them.

There is one more lifeboat or ship's boat hanging from a boom at the stern. Like the gangways there is no way this would hang correctly by itself, so I pinned it to the stern.
 
Summary
You can't go wrong with a kit by Amati. They have excellent materials and detailed plans, and end up as beautiful models.
 
The illustrated instructions for the Robert E. Lee are in Italian. An English translation is included but you need to refer back to the Italian for illustrations. The build sequence was confusing. Instead of building cabins upward from the lower deck, they are built down from the deck above. That allows you to plank and paint the cabin walls, but it makes it quite confusing to see which parts all need to line up. The instructions recommended rounding the edges of the cabin wall planks. I regret doing that on the lower decks - the paint didn't get into the joints and it makes the work look sloppy. I did not round the planks on the upper decks. You can still see hints that the walls are planked but they look much cleaner. I also found that I could pre-glue several planks to a sheet of brown paper, glue that to the cabin walls, and trim the length later. That gave a much neater look.
 
This is not an easy model. All the planking, windows and doors, and a surprising amount of rigging add up to a lot of work. In the end, though, Amati's Robert E Lee builds into a beautiful model.

Steamboat Robert E Lee is Finished, 269 Hours, 102 Days
Since returning from a trip to Utah to visit five national parks, I've put in about 40 hours to complete the rigging, accessories, and deck furniture. Here are photos of the final model.


 



The masts and yards were fairly complicated, with the hinged joints between them made up from brass tube and sheet. The chain supplied for the gangways is tiny and required magnifiers to work with. The gangways would never hang in place by themselves so I glued small black wedges to keep them were I want them.

The kit includes two very nice metal and wood anchor kits and a really cute turned capstan. The instructions said to use 1 mm wood strips for the capstan bars, but the turned base had 1 mm round holes so I used brass rod. When I clipped the rod to length after assembly the ends were rough so I touched one gently to my disk sander, and the sander grabbed it and dragged the whole thing into the gap between the spinning disk and table. That really mangled the capstan. I sure wish I had taken a photo.

I ended up turning a new capstan on the end of a dowel. Here's the new one and what's left of the old one.
 

The ship has two tiny lifeboats for 240 or more passengers, and no davits for launching them.

There is one more lifeboat or ship's boat hanging from a boom at the stern. Like the gangways there is no way this would hang correctly by itself, so I pinned it to the stern.
 
Summary
You can't go wrong with a kit by Amati. They have excellent materials and detailed plans, and end up as beautiful models.
 
The illustrated instructions for the Robert E. Lee are in Italian. An English translation is included but you need to refer back to the Italian for illustrations. The build sequence was confusing. Instead of building cabins upward from the lower deck, they are built down from the deck above. That allows you to plank and paint the cabin walls, but it makes it quite confusing to see which parts all need to line up. The instructions recommended rounding the edges of the cabin wall planks. I regret doing that on the lower decks - the paint didn't get into the joints and it makes the work look sloppy. I did not round the planks on the upper decks. You can still see hints that the walls are planked but they look much cleaner. I also found that I could pre-glue several planks to a sheet of brown paper, glue that to the cabin walls, and trim the length later. That gave a much neater look.
 
This is not an easy model. All the planking, windows and doors, and a surprising amount of rigging add up to a lot of work. In the end, though, Amati's Robert E Lee builds into a beautiful model.

Smokestacks
The forward smokestacks came nicely turned from hardwood. I curved the photo etched trim pieces and attached them to the tops. The stacks are braced side-to-side with three tubes each surrounded by 3 rings supporting 4 wires. The kit did not include the brass tubes so I substituted aluminum that I had on hand. The kit came with extremely thin brass wire so I substituted black thread. Assembly was fiddly but not impossible. I can't imagine how the rings and wires could offer and structural support, so I suppose they were purely decorative.