King of the Mississippi by bobandlucy - FINISHED - Artesania Latina - Scale 1:80

[bobandlucy]

I received my order of wood and have been adding baseboards on the exterior walls in order to hide the gaps. This would have been easier if done prior to placing the support columns, but I did not want to wait. However, this was not impossible, and was even fun trying to figure the angles and avoid getting glue where it doesn't belong. I'm happy with the results so far, and with the dimensions of the baseboards (1x2 mm).

 

Similarly, placing the horses in the stable area would have been easier at an earlier stage, but was also fun. Using tweezers to manipulate them into position reminded me of the old child's game "Operation." Kept expecting to hear the buzzer. . .

 

I have not glued any human figures in as it's too early, but seeing them and the horses on the model really makes clear some of the dimensional shortcomings of the model. These are HO scale figures, a little off but really the difference should be barely perceptible, if at all (model 1:80, figures 1:87 scales). For instance, the rails at the stable are huge- how many men would it take to lift them off for loading/unloading? And the treads on the spiral staircase. . . probably not impossible to climb but it would be a heck of a workout!

 

 

[druxey]

Your comments on the kit scale fitting out make me think you are on your way to either kit-bashing (modifying the model as you build it) or even scratch building!

[bobandlucy]

David, as you have said- I'm learning with each model. If I had a full shop and the extra material, I would certainly change quite a bit on the KOM. I'm not so much concerned with historical accuracy at this point, but many features of this model are so wildly out of scale that they hurt my brain. However, I will finish it, and it will make an attractive display regardless, I'm sure.

[druxey]

Oh, I'm sure you'll do a nice job on the kit 'as is'. But you may feel you want to kit bash a different kit later on.... Just sayin'!

[bobandlucy]

David, yes, I feel I'm heading in that direction. I'd also like to incorporate dioramas. . . 

[bobandlucy]

I installed the final full height columns towards the stern. I puzzled over this for a while (days), as the manual shows the column tucked under the rounded portion of the second deck, against the building corner trim. On my model, as for most I have seen, the as-built condition does not allow this, and I did not like the appearance of the column slant being more severe than the rest of the run. Some people installed the column in this location and allowed the top of the column to protrude, some moved the column forward- which also would affect the length of one of the diagonal braces. I preferred to maintain the column spacing and also the slant, and so added a stand-off piece between the column and the building trim. This will also prevent possible distortion of the railings when they are added.

 

From the manual:

 

 

As installed:

 

 

 

I also placed the short posts out on the wheel area. Topped one of them with the supplied bead and pin, but realized it would be wise to wait until the railings are installed, as they will provide added rigidity for the posts. Would have been easier to add the beads off the model. . .

Edited October 17, 2021 by bobandlucy

[Bob Fraser]

3 hours ago, bobandlucy said:

...

 

Would have been easier to add the beads off the model. . .

😀 certainly is - knocked a few uprights off or found the uprights on the stair barriers almost inacessible.  BTW don't loose any beads, I think there are just enough and no more.

With the smaller posts it'll make them sturdier to drill them and the deck to pin them in place with cut off nails.

 

Nicely done on the stern upright, that at least gives enough room for crew to access the wheel area between the room and the fencing.

Looking clean and fresh. 👍

 

Bob

[bobandlucy]

I don't know if these boats would have featured any advertising, but I thought a playbill from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in which the rapscallions The Duke and The Dauphin deceive the citizens of a small Arkansas town by selling tickets to a "production" of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, might provide a nice tie-in to the book. It's a little large, but heck, so is everything else on this boat! I've taken the text from the novel, including misspellings:

 

 

 

[bobandlucy]

Decided to take a break from larger issues and built the bench seats. This was more difficult than I anticipated, and required a jig to keep square. I couldn't resist adding the Preiser seated figures I had purchased. Gosh they are delicate, and I did break two of them but was able to fix,

 

My favorite are the couple reading, which in my experience is a rare coupling. Additionally, there is a guy half in the bag, and opposite a man intent upon his destination. Finally a couple, the wife is nagging him and he is in despair.

 

Edited October 23, 2021 by bobandlucy

[Bob Fraser]

Those benches look way better than the pics in the instruction booklet, and the figures really bring them to life!

[bobandlucy]

One of the things I like about building this model is the ability to do some parts out of order. I'm not in the mood to deal with upper deck placement issues right now, so I started on the pilot house. I did not like the method given to mark panes onto the acetate window material, so after framing the windows with the supplied 1x3 mm sapelle, added mullions from 1x2 mm walnut I have, aligning the mullions with the outside of the frames. This leaves a 1mm recess on the inside in which to place the "glass." I need to get better at cutting the acetate, but I still like this better than the method used by the designer. I realized too late that there was a plastic film on one side of the acetate sheet, and had to pop the two I had done out and redo, so it got a little messy. I'm sure the other two will be better.

 

Edited October 27, 2021 by bobandlucy

[Bob Fraser]

Nicely done!

Looking at photos of pilot houses they're all different. The only thing I found in common was larger windows to the front, some just one pane, some with thin vertical mullions and some with thin square mullions, just as long as the viewing was good.  The sides were all thicker in most cases.

I suppose it depended on how much they wanted to spend on glass - smaller = cheaper 🙂

I just left mine as the large panes - it was easier, although I did line the interior with sapele planking.

 

[bobandlucy]

Finished the pilot house. The pilot probably doesn't yet realize that he's trapped in there forever. I hope for his sake he's got a few bottles in there. . . I am concerned that he may be overcome by smoke from the stove, as the stovepipe is not centered on the stove collar. Oh, well. . . as far as I know, plastic people do not breathe very deeply.

 

Edited November 2, 2021 by bobandlucy

[bobandlucy]

Finally installed the railings around the spiral staircase opening, and shaped the wavecatcher at the bow. Glued on the third deck. Stacked up the remaining upper components for fun. A good days progress, I think.

 

[Bob Fraser]

That's nice work on the stairs and the surrounds. Did you paint the railings? Just noticed the pins too, nice touch.

 

Cheers,

Bob

[bobandlucy]

Thanks, Bob. I did paint the railings. I had picked up a bag of pins at the hobby store, so did not have to use up the kit pins. Because I had painted the rails and the columns, and used CA glue to assemble them, I felt the pins added some structural integrity. As it turned out, I like the final appearance.

 

Yesterday I glued the elevated portion of the third deck to the bottom of the staterooms and added the pins for the ventilation openings. I had pre-drilled the holes with a drill press, so just had to use a pin vise to extend the holes into the deck. Also, cut off the locating tabs from the top of the staterooms, as they were in the wrong place. I still have to deal with the wrap-around windows. . . really should have added the window material before gluing the rounded portion of the building together. I'm not sure how I will do this now.

 

Soon I will be adding columns/posts to the second and third decks. Not sure if I am going to attempt to notch them to accept the top and bottom rails as shown in the manual. I don't have suitable tools to make these accurately and repeatable. Would use a mill or small table saw for this, I imagine.

 

 

 

 

I will not rush finishing this model, but am awaiting delivery of the next, the new Harriet Lane from Model Expo, which is the fourth in the Shipwrights learning series by David Antscherl. Building the Dory, Pram, and Lobster Smack gave me the experience I needed to attempt this KOM model. Needless to say, the Harriet Lane is sufficiently daunting in complexity, as a Level 4 model, to have already given me that feeling of trepidation I seem to enjoy when starting a new project. Plus she fits right into the shipbuilding era to which I am most attracted!

 

 

Edited November 7, 2021 by bobandlucy

[Bob Fraser]

1 hour ago, bobandlucy said:

I still have to deal with the wrap-around windows. . . really should have added the window material before gluing the rounded portion of the building together. I'm not sure how I will do this now.

 

One method would be to put the window material on the outside and use a raised external framework to cover the edges.

Another might be to put an internal framework to hold the window and then add a secondary frame to hold it in place, or instead of an internal framework carefully thin out the wall around the edge of the window and use a frame to the inside edge of that to hold it in place.

 

As for the next layer of railings, the method you used for the stairwell ones looks good.

It's all looking good and coming together.

 

The next model, I feel, should always try and stretch what you can do. That one's a nice looking ship too.

She's credited with firing the first naval shot in the war - a Confederate (distant cousin) relative of mine is credited with firing the first cannon shot of the war !  😀

 

 

[bobandlucy]

Here's what I did with the wrap-around windows:

 

[bobandlucy]

I'm at the point where I should be building the remaining stairs, but found that the wood specified for the treads is not in the kit. Ordered some lumber online. While waiting, I started the second deck railings and column decorations. This is fussy work, as the spaces are too small for fingers, so using tweezers and magnifying visor.

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by bobandlucy

[Bob Fraser]

Shame about the lack of wood, but gives the tim to do other things.

I'd leave the curved sections until after the stairs are fitted, as this leaves you space to put them in.

It's looking really neat - how did you get the triangle embellishments to stay up please?

And yet another question, are the haybales and horses Prieser or another make? I've 2 crew figures but haven't thought about the passengers or animals yet.

Cheers,

Bob

[bobandlucy]

Thanks, Bob. I'm pretty happy with things so far. I am not now doing the railings where staircases are located.

 

The kit is also short of the 1.5x3 mm rail material, but I may have enough to do the straight run on the other side of the boat.  Still, there's lots of other areas to work on.

 

I'm using CA gel to place the column decorations. Using a round toothpick to place gel in dots along the glued edges, and using an angled tweezers for placement. It's not easy to get them perfectly square to the structure. What is helping somewhat is that there is a very small lip left on the underside of the deck above, resulting from the sapelle deck edging being slightly wider than the deck is thick, and I had made the edging flush with the top of the deck. I had thought of sanding the edging flush with the bottom of the deck, but the overhang was so slight, and I was worried about mucking up the straight line appearance. This lip was also helpful in placing the slanted columns uniformly.

 

The horses and stable keeper are Preiser (to my mind the best). I also bought a 5 pack of Model Power figures, which includes the Pilot. The hay bales are from JTT Scenery Products. It is very hard to find period-appropriate figures online- I spent many hours and did find some 1900s era figures. A lot of them are unavailable "because." Ebay better then Amazon. My biggest haul was from a railroad hobby store (also very hard to find these days), which had an impressive stock of Preiser, and that was where I bought the hay bales as well. Unfortunately, although this store has a web site, they do not do online sales. As an aside, I have spent almost as much on the figures than the model itself cost!

 

Bob

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by bobandlucy

[bobandlucy]

Pressing on, glued down the pilot house, Started on stairways.

 

[Bob Fraser]

Thanks for the reply and info. The Preiser figures are expensive and hard to find period ones too, but they are really good.

Shortage of wood is something AL are/were usually known for, fortunately I was able to pick up some part done kits just for the wood at cheap prices many years ago. It's come in handy  for other small projects too.

 

Stairs look good, now the body is together it'll start to take on it's own life, and look more like the riverboat.

 

Have had to put mine on hold for now - the workspace and time are now taken up by giant lollipops and sweets being made for doorscaping, as well as the big teddy bears 🤯  😀

(Also got double barrelled by a big old horse (16h+) on my right arm yesterday, looked like Popeyes arm after spinach 🙂  - fortunately no break but badly bruised and sore to move.)

Cheers for nnow,

Bob

 

[bobandlucy]

Still waiting on wood to finish the stairways (I did find enough to do the ones already built). I've also run out of wood in two other sizes, and have ordered those also. I did not scrap much wood at all, and consider this a shortcoming of the kit.

 

Today I did the bow-end railings for the stateroom/ventilation deck. I really messed it up, in that I used 3x3 mm material for the top rail in four places. I don't know what I was thinking (I was not thinking), but at least I did the same on both sides!  I then added the pre-cut 1.5x3 mm curved top rails on either side of the steps. Was thinking of re-doing all this, and then decided it did not look bad as is. I think I'll do it the same way on the aft end of the deck and it will look like it was designed this way.

 

The other of today's mess-ups was not noticing that the photo-etch white railing next to the window (near side in photo) is not vertical. I do intend to fix this if I have a decent piece of the P.E. left after completing the rest of the railings.

 

[Bob Fraser]

1 hour ago, bobandlucy said:

Today I did the bow-end railings for the stateroom/ventilation deck. I really messed it up, in that I used 3x3 mm material for the top rail in four places. I don't know what I was thinking (I was not thinking), but at least I did the same on both sides!  I then added the pre-cut 1.5x3 mm curved top rails on either side of the steps.

Look at mine - I did something similar and missed out the PE stuff altogether!

Quote

Was thinking of re-doing all this, and then decided it did not look bad as is. I think I'll do it the same way on the aft end of the deck and it will look like it was designed this way.

👍  Made to your own design - what captain wouldn't want that? 🙂

 

Quote

(the PE) is not vertical. I do intend to fix this if I have a decent piece of the P.E. left 

If you need a piece pm me your address and I'll send some over - having messed up the top tier I do believe I'll have some to spare!

Cheers,

Bob

[bobandlucy]

How nice of you, Bob. I'll let you know. This may well end up lost amongst all the other details. . .

 

This is a fun build. I will be careful around the stable, though. Horses are unpredictable!

[bobandlucy]

The pic in the post above shows where I ran out of wood for columns, posts, and railings. This is a significant shortage.

 

I set out to do the brass wire railings for the staircases. The wire comes coiled and must be straightened. My first attempt at straightening by hand was a disaster. Ordered a tool which arrived today. It works, but from my reading the 1 mm wire used is at the top of its capacity. It came out better, but  still with significant curvature. I read online about using a vise and nylon-tipped pliers, both of which I had, and that worked well. Pics include my first botched attempt (by hand) and four pieces which I installed.

 

This was a good learning experience, in that I can see clearly how both uneven surface and marring can detract from the final product. I really should already know this, as I used to work in a metal shop as a parts finisher ("burr boy"), but that was a very long time ago.

 

Edited November 30, 2021 by bobandlucy

[bobandlucy]

Finished off the second deck railings. More passengers showing up. Despite its flaws (some mine, some the models'), I am getting a lot of enjoyment from the building. 

 

Edited December 5, 2021 by bobandlucy

[Cathead]

Everything looks crisp and consistent. I like how the red fits into the overall color scheme, too.

[Bob Fraser]

The wire is hard to get straight, especially if it's kinked. You've the same rolling tool I used to do the job. Some I've read have advocated rolling it between two glass plates to remove kinks.

Getting those angles is a pain too, even using a template.

They're all looking real good.  Looks like you've framed around the base of the stairwell railings?

7 hours ago, bobandlucy said:

Despite its flaws (some mine, some the models'), I am getting a lot of enjoyment from the building. 

As long as the enjoyment is there, whatever the "flaws" (call them changes, adjustments, amendments, enhancements, scratch build opportunities), things are going well. It's a pleasure to watch your model come alive.