Robert E Lee by jarero - Scientific Models - Scale 1:139

[jarero]

I have procrastinated long enough on putting up this log so I have a little catching up to do.  My wife got this model for me a birthday present while I was still finishing up my Swift build.  I'm sure most of you know that this model company is no longer in business and that there is at least one other company (Amati) that currently makes a version of this same boat.  

 

I knew nothing of the history of this boat prior to this build so the first step was to learn about the history behind the Robert E Lee....

 

Just a few interesting points:

 

Built in 1866.

 

She was named after the famous American Civil War general Robert E. Lee who was probably most famous for his participation at Gettysburg.  I thought it was interesting that at first Lee did not support the south in their plan to secede from the union, that is until his home state of Virginia seceded.

 

It seems that the vast majority of the river steamboats of this era were destroyed by either boiler explosions or fire (or both) and the the Robert E Lee was no exception when it burned near New Orleans in 1882 killing 21 people.  The exact source and cause of the fire is unknown.

 

The boat was made famous in 1870 by participating in the "great steamboat race" from St Louis to New Orleans where she beat the Natchez by nearly 4 hours.  It seems that the race didn't have many rules because the Robert wasn't carrying any cargo and had a skeleton crew where as the Natchez had a full load of passengers and cargo.  The Natchez also got stuck on a sand bar for 6 hours during the race.  Doesn't seem fair does it?

 

Ok, on to some pictures.....

 

 

 

Note the comment about the "precision" metal components. I'm afraid that is stretching the truth a bit.

 

 

Though the metal casting seem of particularly low quality the instructions and drawings at first glance appear to be pretty decent!

[jarero]

Inside the box:

 

 

 

 

 

[wim500]

Looks like a very interesting build and I wish you good luck with the build of it.

It's true most steamboats were destroyed by boiler explosions.

[Script]

Jared,

 

Glad to see you're getting started...It will be fun to watch and I hope to get a front row seat!

 

I see on the picture that your railings are something called fibre?  My Amati kit had metal ones.  Also, the cargo posts look complete....in the Amati kit thay had to be built...

 

They appear to supply the same anchors....makes me wonder if the Amati kit is their acquisition of your Scientific kit.

 

My instructions were very thorough...in Italian!  The translated section was more of a reference with very little detail.

 

Did you get cast metal doors and windows? The scale is so small I hope so......

 

Cheers,

 

Jim

 

[jarero]

 

No laser cut parts here, heck they weren't even punched. It seems I will have to cut out every piece.

 

The hull prior to shaping:

 

The plans came with a great profile guide to help shape the hull.

 

I made a photo copy of these, cut them out and glued to some scrap wood. I cut out the shapes to create a negative to use as a template.

 

[themadchemist]

HeyJarero

Good to see the box broken into on this one. Living in the mississippi (actually we're between the mississippi and ohio rivers), this is an interesting ship with local history. It would of been a grand trip to ride down the miss on one of these back in the day.

Hey since she the Robert E Lee are you gonna paint her orange with a reb' flag on her roof and of course the big 01 on the side, LOL. Sadly I actaully have a friend that has a General Lee clone. He works fro OSHA, so go figure.

 

 

The loaded verses unloaded is a disadvantage but the sand bar was a captaininng fault. Navigating sand bars in the river is like reefs in the ocean, except sand bars move over time with silt and river flow. The last few times we've been to Paducah, crossing the Ohio, they've been dreging the rivers for travel. Southern IL is a cool place to live. we are about 30 minutes from were the ohio and miss come together in Cairo.

[Script]

Jared,

 

Must be posting at the same time......

 

I see you got cast metal stairs.....had to build all of mine except the front main stairway.

 

And your railings come complete with posts!  I had to custom paint and cut all 100+ posts and set them in place........

 

What is the pilot house fabricated from?  Or is the pic to be used for tracing for cutting pieces?  Had to build that too.....

 

Should be fun!

 

Jim

 

 

 

[themadchemist]

Oh and I heard, of course its just rumour, that the fire was caused by a flaming arrow from Luke Duke..   Sorry couldn't resist.

 

Wow that bottom stern needs a bunch of carving.

[jarero]

Looks like a very interesting build and I wish you good luck with the build of it.

It's true most steamboats were destroyed by boiler explosions.

Thanks!

 

Jared,

 

Glad to see you're getting started...It will be fun to watch and I hope to get a front row seat!

 

I see on the picture that your railings are something called fibre?  My Amati kit had metal ones.  Also, the cargo posts look complete....in the Amati kit thay had to be built...

 

They appear to supply the same anchors....makes me wonder if the Amati kit is their acquisition of your Scientific kit.

 

My instructions were very thorough...in Italian!  The translated section was more of a reference with very little detail.

 

Did you get cast metal doors and windows? The scale is so small I hope so......

 

Cheers,

 

Jim

 

Thanks Jim!

 

Not sure if the two kits are related or not? The instructions appear to have been written in English initially for this kit though. The cargo posts are complete and are cast metal pieces:

 

You can see a cargo post in the lower left hand corner of this picture:

 

Were your railings photo etch? The fibre at least seems nice and flexible.

 

I am still struggling with a solution to the doors and window as the instructions say to used the included card stock with windows and doors printed on. Kinda cheesy.

 

I have plans to replace most of the items you see on this flimsy piece of card stock with either wood, metal or plastic.

[john46]

Will follow your built with interest. Happy modeling.

 

Regards,

John

[jarero]

Jared,

 

Must be posting at the same time......

 

I see you got cast metal stairs.....had to build all of mine except the front main stairway.

 

And your railings come complete with posts!  I had to custom paint and cut all 100+ posts and set them in place........

 

What is the pilot house fabricated from?  Or is the pic to be used for tracing for cutting pieces?  Had to build that too.....

 

Should be fun!

 

Jim

 

Yep, looks like cross posting to me !

 

The stairs should work out ok once I clean up the casting on them.  I can't imagine trying to build them at this scale.  I haven't got to the pilot house yet but I believe it is made up of four wooden sides with clear plastic windows and card stock as a roof "decoration".  

 

I have spend countless hours studying the pictures in your build and it has helped immensely.  It is really cool to see and hear the differences between your kit and this one!

[jarero]

HeyJarero

Good to see the box broken into on this one. Living in the mississippi (actually we're between the mississippi and ohio rivers), this is an interesting ship with local history. It would of been a grand trip to ride down the miss on one of these back in the day.

Hey since she the Robert E Lee are you gonna paint her orange with a reb' flag on her roof and of course the big 01 on the side, LOL. Sadly I actaully have a friend that has a General Lee clone. He works fro OSHA, so go figure.

imagesCATNJVXW.jpg

 

The loaded verses unloaded is a disadvantage but the sand bar was a captaininng fault. Navigating sand bars in the river is like reefs in the ocean, except sand bars move over time with silt and river flow. The last few times we've been to Paducah, crossing the Ohio, they've been dreging the rivers for travel. Southern IL is a cool place to live. we are about 30 minutes from were the ohio and miss come together in Cairo.

Keith, I love it, a safety guy driving a car that was crashed more times than I can count!  Irony at it's finest.  

 

I agree that the navigation was on the captain.  It would be interesting though it the boats had been similarly weighted.

 

No plans to paint it like the infamous Mopar but I do wear a pair of Daisy Dukes just to get in the spirit  when I am working on her! 

[jarero]

Will follow your built with interest. Happy modeling.

 

Regards,

John

Thanks John and welcome!

[themadchemist]

Daisy Dukes, HUM, now that's an image I can't get rid of, THANKS!

Although it may attract help from Sarah, but slow down the build. Just cut back on the he-man pheromones and you should be ok though.

 

and I think you BOTH are crazy! Do you both come from a planet where superhuman eye site is natural. These little munckin sized kits aren't even an option for me. Love watching them built though.

 

I agree on the paper pieces, Thats not just cheesy but ... double cheesy  Although if that card stock is 8 1/2 x 11 they are some SMALL parts. and I've seen some remarkable work with card stock. One thing I find interesting is how they abbreviated Robert with Robt., seems 3 more letters would of not been a problem. At least they didn't call it the Bob E Lee

[Script]

Jared,

 

My paddlewheels were cast metal complete circles...just had to put them on axles and attach blades.

 

No barrels or ships wheel were provided.

 

I do have a steam whistle, bells, and some lifeboats.

 

And a set of anchors if you want them...... :D :D

 

Yes, the railings, stack tops, and lettering were all photo etched brass.

 

Cheers,

 

Jim

 

 

 

[Script]

Oh, the hull was pretty much at final shape, just required some light sanding.

[jarero]

Daisy Dukes, HUM, now that's an image I can't get rid of, THANKS!

Although it may attract help from Sarah, but slow down the build. Just cut back on the he-man pheromones and you should be ok though.

 

and I think you BOTH are crazy! Do you both come from a planet where superhuman eye site is natural. These little munckin sized kits aren't even an option for me. Love watching them built though.

 

I agree on the paper pieces, Thats not just cheesy but ... double cheesy  Although if that card stock is 8 1/2 x 11 they are some SMALL parts. and I've seen some remarkable work with card stock. One thing I find interesting is how they abbreviated Robert with Robt., seems 3 more letters would of not been a problem. At least they didn't call it the Bob E Lee

Without a doubt we are both crazy.

 

Ooh, I like it, I think I will change the name on the side to "The Bob" or "Bobby"

 

Oh, the hull was pretty much at final shape, just required some light sanding.

Only the bow and stern needed significant material removed to get to the final shape.  The bit in the middle was pretty darn close out of the box.  

[Script]

Do not forget, madchemist.....I still have the Mortar....

 

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[jarero]

This picture shows a little more of the material to be removed at the bow:

 

And here are some pictures after sanding and shaping:

 

 

 

 

 

[Script]

And a BIG magnifying glass...

[jarero]

Time to start cutting out the main deck and getting ready to glue it in place. It is made up of 4 main pieces that had to be cut out:

 

 

 

 

[jarero]

I figured that some weight on top of the main deck would help insure that the pieces fully adhered.

 

Gluing the deck pieces down on the hull:

 

 

 

[jarero]

At this stage I attempted to destroy Bob. I had two clamps that were mounted about two thirds of the way down the hull on either side that protruded below the bottom of the hull. I had the weights on as seen in the pictures. Putting these clamps on essentially created a fulcrum point. So clearly you would want to remove the weights first from the "short" end first. Well I guess I should have paid more attention in my physics class because I in all my infinite wisdom did just the opposite which caused the entire thing to summersault onto the floor and break a chunk out of the main deck.

 

Unfortunately my first reaction was to assess the damage and not reach for the camera to document the calamity.  I managed to cut out the broken section of the deck to make it square and I grafted in a patch piece.

 

 

 

All things considered I think I got pretty lucky here!

Edited April 21, 2013 by jarero

[jarero]

Afterwards Sarah assured me it would be ok and with a gentle smile suggested that we display the model with that side facing the wall  .

[themadchemist]

Yes Script, maybe just 1 mortar but a HUGE one.

Fire away I have my ACME mortar repellant at the ready   Wiley Coyote hooked me up with their catalog.

I've stocked up on all kinds of good stuff.

 

The Bob E 01, limited ed paddle-battle crusier, built by none other then our very own Jarero.... in Daisy Dukes no less.  LOL! This is gonna be one crazy build I can see it coming... YIPEE.    

[jarero]

Yes Script, maybe just 1 mortar but a HUGE one.

Fire away I have my ACME mortar repellant at the ready   Wiley Coyote hooked me up with their catalog.

I've stocked up on all kinds of good stuff.

 

The Bob E 01, limited ed paddle-battle crusier, built by none other then our very own Jarero.... in Daisy Dukes no less.  LOL! This is gonna be one crazy build I can see it coming... YIPEE.    

Time to break out the moonshine and go a little crazy!

[edmay]

good day to you jarero,nice hull shaping job and neat patch work,im interested in paddlesteamers and would like to follow your blog,your wife is right ,patch to the wall,have a great day,Edwin

[jarero]

good day to you jarero,nice hull shaping job and neat patch work,im interested in paddlesteamers and would like to follow your blog,your wife is right ,patch to the wall,have a great day,Edwin

Greeting Edwin and by all means follow along and feel free to comment/help where you can since I am a steamboat novice.  

[Script]

Jared,  

 

Unfortunately I lost the pics of my early construction..... ....

 

The Main deck was four very thin pieces and I used chili cans where you used weights.  Had no problem taking them off.....

 

Your repair looks fine...won't even be noticed once you start putting stuff on it...

 

My decks were not pre-scored, all were planked with .5x3mm lath.

 

And there were no measurements anywhere on the plans as to deck length or slope....had to wing it....

 

My choices are Kentucky Ale or Magic Hat #9.....or something from the highlands...

 

Cheers,

 

Jim

 

 

Keith,  

 

I use special ammo in the Bob's mortar.....not to be revealed unless fired upon first!

 

[themadchemist]

Its not that ACME anti-mortar repellant Mortar ammo is it, Script? Drat's foiled again.  and none of my kits have guns.

 

So it's not the General Lee huh, but its already flying through the air, HUM.... I'm tellin' ya, The Bob E 01, I think, has different ideas. Some times you just have to give those models a hard talkin' to. Oh BTW did it stop mid-flight and everything go to commercial break, HA.  See if you had Al he could of done the physic for you, but then you'd have to put up with all his BS. (he just remindd me its not a BS, but a PhD - Ha yea went PhD = piled higher and deeper)

 

I'm sure once you score the patch to match the deck and have all the deck fixtures in place It'll never be seen. This reminds me of my dilema of redoing that back of my Swift. I've decided to remove the back deckhouse and add a wheel and binnacle, and I'd love if the hole for the back house was farther forward. I've considerd patching the hole closed but worry about matching the decking, especially with the stripe I'm doing.

 

Also, just possibly and of course this is just conjecture, maybe them Daisy Duke's are effecting your ablity to think correctly, (although she was always one of the smarter ones.) maybe there too tight and it effecting your circulation. Oh Geez, now I have that image in my head