King of the Mississippi by OldBritAbroad - Artesania Latina

[S.Coleman]

I dont know what it is about this kit but it makes me want to build it again! I had some seriously good fun. And it looks like you are doing the same. It's looking real nice and sharp. Top work. I do like the doors to the boiler room. Thumbs up!

[Mike Dowling]

I think the deliberate mistake was the left hand end panel as you look at it. Do I get my plane ride ?

[OldBritAbroad]

Sorry Mike, no prize for you 😭

 

If you look at the double room structure, to the right you’ll see that I unfortunately glued the rear wall in the wrong way round! D’oh! So the doors and ventilation grids don’t match across the deck. I decided not to bother trying to fix it - I’d probably only break something irreparably.

 

Bent some Sapele for the arched doorway tops - 5 minutes in hot water did it - so tomorrow’s job is glueing on the side planking for the main deck structures then (if time permits) fitting in the doorway linings etc before glueing in the doors, as I’ve decided my doors will be fixed closed - mainly because I don’t like the door hinges on the front structure; they remind me to much of a Vincent Price (ah, there was a thespian!) movie.

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

that's a small problem,  with little to no consequences     did both structures line up with the slots in the deck platform?   both of mine are off.....the fore structure more than the aft structure.   then again,  the deck platform isn't cemented to the hull yet.

 

yea......I bit the bullet.....your having way too much fun here      it was too much for me....I had to join in!

[Mike Dowling]

Where's your link popeye ?

[popeye the sailor]

I'm doing something a bit different with the hull.   I had a devil of a time with the thin plywood side panels......the bow section didn't appear to be spilled correctly combined with my not faring the bow bulkheads completely.  I probably should post a log.......but there are quite a few logs on this model already.  I may post one though.  if it looks like a dog's body.......perhaps not.

[OldBritAbroad]

Hi popeye, nice to know I’ve motivated you - must be the only time that’s been laid at my door!

 

Re the slots - not a problem as the turned-around piece is one of the side panels - no tabs to worry about. Even if it had been one of the tabbed pieces it wouldn’t matter as they are centrally located on the midship line.

 

Yes the thin ply is easily deformed - or cracked (I discovered I’d also cracked one of the 2nd deck structure sections, will need to fix that soon).

 

Currently putting on the structure planking on the main deck structures, I’ll finish that tomorrow and will post a couple of pics then.

 

Hugh

 

 

Edited February 17, 2018 by OldBritAbroad

[OldBritAbroad]

OK so no pics yet - a couple of days wait while I repaint the front room.

 

Some unforced errors on my part I’ve noticed - one was the arched doors on the front main deck structure. I’d carefully aligned the pins etc for each set of doors, then managed to switch each part of the pairs when glueing them in, so the handles are now slightly misaligned. (Pic to follow). Also the sapele framing for the doorways came adrift from the main plywood somehow, leaving a noticeable gap.

 

Cant be fixed now, so will back the doors with some black paper to hide the gaps.

 

Also I’d decided to add the corner pieces before doing the side planking. Mistake. Do the planking then add the corner pieces - saves an awfully of tiny cutting that results!

 

Made the livestock feeding troughs, fairly straightforward though the side/end pieces should be 3*2 mm

 

Hugh

[popeye the sailor]

yes....you did Hugh.  not only that,  I have the wood table in the computer room,  and a plastic table I set up in the spare bedroom.  I've halted any plastic projects now,  to do this.  I'm still working on the beginnings for the time being......I'll do a log when I have a concept nailed down    I've also been looking at Vossy's build,  even though it's a different manufacturer......the subject matter is still the same.   looking forward in seeing more pictures.

[md1400cs]

Hugh,

 

Kit looks to be excellent quality. I've also just pulled up a chair. Will follow along as well. 

 

Regards, 

[OldBritAbroad]

Hi Michael, welcome aboard and I hope you enjoy your voyage! Any comments and/or criticisms will be appreciated; as I’ve mentioned before, this is a voyage of discovery and learning (much of which to date consists of the old adage of measure twice, cut once! I’d also add, if it looks wrong it probably is!)

 

I managed to find a few hours this week tidying things up and building some odd pieces - the pics attached show my progress with the main deck structures, the feeding troughs and the livestock bar supports (bit of a pain to make; for future builders, cut the 1.5mm first, then the 5mm - both of which create the slot to hold the retaining bars, then bevel the lower edge. I did the last first and it made holding the piece very awkward, though I only lost one due to breakage in the end).

 

I’ve now planked all the main deck structures and they’re ready for finishing. The African Walnut will be given a clear satin varnish; the planking will be stained/varnished in a standard light oak.

 

The 0.5mm planking, I’ve noticed, tends to fray across the edges at the top and bottom so, depending on final fit, I may need to add a finishing strip to hide those poor edges.

 

One final thing to add, which you’ll see in the 2nd pic below, is that I managed to get the tabs in the structures to fit in the slots without any repositioning. I have to say this took a little force (and trepidation on my part!) but they did fit, though I’ve noticed the front section of the front structure is now very slightly bowed out.

 

You can also see in the 1st pic where the door handles don’t line up correctly - they’re about 0.5mm off from each other. Would have been perfect if I’d kept the door pairs together lol. Also not too happy with the Sapele trim on the top of the front structure doors (which I’d cut in half lengthwise as the suggested measurement seemed too heavy) - it doesn’t match the curve on the doors, but too late to do anything with it now.

 

Next job is to finish the Sapele straight door surrounds on the rear structure (I’m two-thirds done), glue in the doors, final sanding to shape then put aside whilst I plank the hull.

 

Hugh

 

 

Edited February 24, 2018 by OldBritAbroad

[popeye the sailor]

funny....I looked for those pieces      I know now that I have to make the cleats for the bars.   you may end up doing what I did for the structures......I cut the slots for them to fit.  did you dry fit the second level deck?   there will be issues there to,  if the structures are in the correct alignment.   what did you stain the deck with?

[OldBritAbroad]

popeye, I did indeed dry fit the second deck - no issues there. The deck is stained with Minwax’s Summer Oak. I’m going to go over that with a clear matt varnish.

[popeye the sailor]

that's odd..........nothing I've done on my end.  the structures only assemble one way....and the only assembly done at this time.

[OldBritAbroad]

A quick update, managed a couple of hours over the last few days - being retired sure is busy!

 

I’m planking the hull at the moment. As other builders have noted, the kit is short - by about 5 strips - of the walnut used, so I’ve got to order some more. I’ve done the sides (almost) so my plan is to finish that, then do as much of the bottom as I can, working from the sides inward. I’ll be using the cutout sheet of ply to gauge the bow-facing cuts for the strips nearest the sides; I’ll add a pic to show what I mean.

 

I’ve also glued on the livestock bar supports. I’m thinking adding the actual bars might be a challenge given the tightness of it all...

 

Lastly I’ve outlined the 2nd & 3rd decks for the parquet planking. What fun that will be!

 

Hugh

 

 

[Paul Jarman]

Nice,

I will follow with interest as I have this kit arriving on Tuesday.

Paul

[popeye the sailor]

what angle did you draw your lines?  I'm thinking of doing it a bit differently......it will aide in my decision     looking good!

[OldBritAbroad]

popeye, they’re at 45°. Currently cutting lots of 5cm planks....

[Geoffrey]

looking very good - I love that you are doing the 45 degree planking. I have always been festinated my Mississippi Paddle Boats. Something to think about for a future build. 

[OldBritAbroad]

No update for the moment - I’ve gotten rather busy at home! Two pics (only the first for now, the other soonest) showing the start of the 45° planking. Hope to restart work soon!

 

Hugh

 

 

[mbp521]

Hugh,

 

Just found your build log. Very nice work on the KotM. I built this kit a year or so ago and enjoyed it start to finish. Looks like you are at one of the most tedious parts of the build. I can honestly say that all the effort is very much worth it in the end.

 

-Brian

[OldBritAbroad]

Hi Brian, thanks for he kind words. Unfortunately I’ve been way too busy with other stuff - and a trip back to the U.K. last summer - to have done any further work. I’m going to try again later this year once my wife has finished remodelling the house around me!

 

Hugh