USS Cairo 1862 by MPB521 – FINISHED - Scale 1:48 - American Civil War Ironclad - First Scratch Build

[Cathead]

Oh, good memories of the various casts/braces I was in last March after hatcheting my wrist. Poor sleep, no modeling, etc. Best wishes for recovery!

[mtaylor]

Ouch... makes me wince just thinking about it.   I hope it heals well and it's good that the Admiral pushed you even if slows you down during the healing period.  

[KeithAug]

On 1/5/2023 at 7:24 PM, mbp521 said:

Had to have little work done to repair a torn bicep tendon.

Brian,
Ouch! Somehow I missed this. It’s good how you guys can plan your health issues around the annual insurance cycle. 
Get well soon and remember to thank your driver! 🙂

[bdgiantman2]

Speedy healing to you, Brian. Hear those braces are no fun to wear. I see a number of people come through wearing these during ski season at the airport I work at, but those are usually on legs and not arms.  We will all practice our patience with you while you mend up which is more important no matter how much wanting to make new saw dust. Being healthy and whole is very important. 

[mbp521]

Thank you all for the well wishes. Even though I am not able to work on an actual wooden model ship build, I am able to work on wooden puzzle of a ship. 😁

 

While entertaining, still nothing like making some sawdust. Hopefully only a couple of more weeks in this contraption and I can get back to it. 

-Brian

[Keith Black]

 Brian, nice looking puzzle. I enjoy working on chess puzzles, I wish I enjoyed jigsaw puzzles as well. May you heal quickly. 

[Cathead]

That's cheating, you didn't even have to shape the pieces yourself!

[mbp521]

2 hours ago, Cathead said:

That's cheating, you didn't even have to shape the pieces yourself!

Yeah, I guess it is cheating a bit. But the rigging sure was easy. 😁

 

-Brian

[KeithAug]

On 1/17/2023 at 1:16 PM, mbp521 said:

Hopefully only a couple of more weeks in this contraption and I can get back to it. 

Brian, Your 2 weeks shore leave is over. How are you doing?

[mbp521]

2 hours ago, KeithAug said:

Brian, Your 2 weeks shore leave is over. How are you doing?

I am still around, just a couple of more days and I should get this contraption off my arm and start physical therapy (torture). With the brace gone I should be able to at least get things ramped up on my next build, At the very least I can get the build log started. Stay tuned. 😁

 

-Brian

[mbp521]

Alrighty folks, the brace is finally off and the new build has begun. Come on over and take a look.

 

-Brian

[Zetec]

Hi Brain glad to see you are back building again I like the look of the one you have just started. Could I please ask a couple of questions on items that you used on this model I am thinking ahead so I got them when I need them. What are the sizes of the rigging blocks or strapped blocks you used on the gun carriges and also the size of the ropes. I want to get the right size first time as the postage is more than the items. I got the bulbs and the lights you used the lights are very good.

 

Many thanks in advance John

[mbp521]

8 hours ago, Zetec said:

Hi Brain glad to see you are back building again I like the look of the one you have just started. Could I please ask a couple of questions on items that you used on this model I am thinking ahead so I got them when I need them. What are the sizes of the rigging blocks or strapped blocks you used on the gun carriges and also the size of the ropes. I want to get the right size first time as the postage is more than the items. I got the bulbs and the lights you used the lights are very good.

 

Hi John, glad to finally be back at it and that you like the lights and led's. I used 4mm double sheaved blocks for the gun carriages, and for the ropes I used .025 (.63mm) rope for the training tackle and .045 (1.14mm) rope for the breaching ropes. I ordered these from Chuck at syrenshipmodelcompany.com and I do believe he ships to the UK, but you may be able to find somewhere more local, like Cornwall Model Boats to avoid international shipping fees. Hope this helps you out.

 

-Brian

[Zetec]

Hi Brain thanks for that info. I have found some resin ones in this country so not the cost of the postage. I cant find a picture of the paddel wheel that I can size the spokes and the rims what did you use and what size.

 

Thanks again John

[mbp521]

10 hours ago, Zetec said:

Hi Brain thanks for that info. I have found some resin ones in this country so not the cost of the postage. I cant find a picture of the paddel wheel that I can size the spokes and the rims what did you use and what size.

Happy to help out John, glad to see that you were able to find some local and avoid that international shipping. It definitely can get pricey.

 

If you are looking for my construction of the paddlewheel, take a look at post #129 on page 5 of this build. That is where it starts and runs for a few posts. As for the dimension of the paddlewheel, in 1:48 scale the outer (larger) rings have an outside diameter of 139mm while the inside (smaller) rings have an outside diameter of 91mm. If you also take a look at post #490 on page 17 of this build,, I have some close up pictures of the paddlewheel frame on the Cairo display that I took last year, you can use for a reference of it's construction.

 

-Brian

[goatfarmer11]

Hello Brian, I just read this thread from start to finish and I am in awe!  Every time I thought you were adding the last detail you would come up with more.  A truly inspiring build of heirloom quality.  I am just getting ready for my first, a simple steam launch and have learned so much by seeing how you accomplished the level of detail in your model.  Thank you so much for sharing and I am now headed to your next build.

 

Denis

[Zetec]

Hi Brain hope you are well. I am haveing a problem in trying to get the sizes of the guns i have a couple of plans but when I scale them I get different sizes.

Also when I look at your pictures they look bigger I dont want to make them and find out there the wrong size. So if possible could you give me the length of the guns and also the size of the timber you used to make the gun carriages.

 

Thanks in advance  John

[Francis A Rogers]

Hello,

 

I'm trying to build the sister ship to this, DeKalb.  How did you get those plans?  Where can I get a copy?

 

 

[mbp521]

Hello Francis. I sent you a PM with information on the plans. Please consider posting a build log here on MSW, I would love to follow along, as I am sure others would as well.

 

-Brian

[mbp521]

John @Zetec, posed a good question in a PM to me and I figured I would share it here as well, in hopes that it helps future builders of the City Class boats understand how the ships boats were launched.

 

He had asked: "I was looking at the picture of the real boat and the lifeboats on them and how the davits were as they are looking inwards how did they launch the boats I have thought and thought but could not think of a way they done it any ideas." 

 

These City Class Ironclads had a unique way of storing and launching their boats, and just by looking at them it can be a bit confusing as to how it was done. I did a lot of research on my build but could never find any info on how it was actually done, but by studying the old photos of these ships I came to get a pretty good idea of how they could have been deployed. I threw together this little drawing that will hopefully help explain how the boats are launched. This may not be exactly how it was done, but given the limited information available it though it was a pretty good stab at their function. If anyone else has a better theory or more info, please feel free to chime in and correct my assumption, it definitely won't hurt my feelings..

 

 

-Brian