Robert E Lee by John Ruy - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 3/32” to 1’ scale or 1:128 - Steamboat

[John Ruy]

The Pilot House…

 

Note: The blueprint reads as follows

 

Note!

  In making the model the Pilot House should be made as completely as possible as much of the effectiveness of the model depends on it. 

No pressure, right?

Cut walls from 1/32” sheet basswood. 

Cut in N Scale windows…

Cut out Wheel from the same material. 

Painted walls and stained wheel. 

Installed glazing…

Assembled…

Placed Decals… Yes 👍 1970s water slide decals still good. 

Placed battens…

Built another set of stairs…

Rafter tails on the roof…

Not complete without the hand carved coal stove. 

Pilot House furnished…

Still needs the roof adornments, But this show boat is starting to look finished. 
 

Lots more to finish rigging the Main Deck. Cheers 🍻 

 

Edited November 28, 2022 by John Ruy

[Glen McGuire]

Well done under that extra pressure!!!

[mbp521]

Looks like you handled the pressure pretty well. Nice work on the pilot house. 
 

-Brian

[John Ruy]

Roof Top completed…

 

Onwards 🍻

Edited November 28, 2022 by John Ruy

[John Ruy]

Flag Pole…

Installing Jack Staff and Spreader. 

Flag Pole installed, ready for Anchors. 

 Cutting out Anchor Timbers. 

Anchors complete…

Installing Guy Cable Turnbuckles for the Flag Pole. 

Painting the Guy Cables flat black. 

Bow fittings completed, ready for Derrick Rigging. 
 

Cheers 🍻 

[John Ruy]

Derrick Rigging…

The kit supplied rope is white. I wanted the rope to have more of a manila rope color, so I used my own custom Yellow Ochre mix of acrylics to achieve the color. 

Cleaning up the blocks and drilling out the holes. 

Stropped the blocks with black sewing thread. 

Derrick rigging completed. 

I decided I needed to redo the Life Boat and Work Boat rigging. After seeing the Derrick Rigging completed, I had to revisit. 😆 There’s that OCD, again. 

Ok, now I can move on to the Gang Planks. We are getting dangerously close to completion. 
 

Cheers 🍻 

 

[mbp521]

John, your build just keeps getting better with each post. Different approach to coloring your ropes, not only does it allow you have the color you want, but I would think that the paint would help stiffen the rope as well giving it a nice taught look. 
 

-Brian

[John Ruy]

8 hours ago, mbp521 said:

John, your build just keeps getting better with each post. Different approach to coloring your ropes, not only does it allow you have the color you want, but I would think that the paint would help stiffen the rope as well giving it a nice taught look. 
 

-Brian

Thanks Brian…

The rope is still very flexible, the acrylic paint works pretty much like a dye. I learned this technique building The Whaleboat by Model Shipways. I have used it on several models. 
 

John

[John Ruy]

Gang Planks…

Framing the planks…

Gang Planks planked…

Gang planks rigged…

 

Cheers 🍻 

 

 

Edited December 15, 2022 by John Ruy

[John Ruy]

Cargo Posts…

Main Deck completed…🍻

[John Ruy]

Flags and Decals…

Done… Started this build just over a year ago. Time to build a case to display her. Thanks to all who pulled up a chair and encouraged me all the way. 
 

Onwards

 

Now I can get back to the Bluenose. 
 

Rolling on up the river. The fastest Mississippi Riverboat, winner of the Great Race in 1870. 🍻

 

Edited December 15, 2022 by John Ruy

[ccoyle]

Very nice!

[GrandpaPhil]

Congratulations on the finish!  Very nicely done!

[gsdpic]

Wow, congratulations on finishing this beautiful, intricate build!  She's a real show stopper.   I very much enjoyed following along.

[mbp521]

Congrats on getting her done. Looks like a lot of builds are wrapping up before the new year. Beautiful work, can’t wait to see what’s next.  I may have to add this one to my wish list. 
 

-Brian

[yvesvidal]

What an incredible model. It is stunning.

Thank you for putting together that very rare and complex model, for our visual and intellectual pleasures.

 

Yves

Edited December 15, 2022 by yvesvidal

[Glen McGuire]

Let me add my congratulations to the group on such a fine build.  It's been a real pleasure watching your work, John.

[Knocklouder]

Well done sir, I have enjoyed  this build from start to finish  nicely done indeed  

[MrBlueJacket]

Great job, John. Your customer file now shows a 10% discount on the next kit you buy from us.

 

Nic

[Nunnehi (Don)]

Beautifully done - congratulations!

 

Don

[bobandlucy]

Love it!

[John Ruy]

Thanks again for all your comments and encouragement. This model was my greatest challenge thus far. It certainly has been a pleasure to build. 
 

Gallery photos have been posted. 
 

Onwards 🍻

Edited December 16, 2022 by John Ruy

[Cathead]

Great job on a complex build! She really came out nicely. Don't forget to show us the case when you get her in it! A nice addition to the steamboat library here on MSW.

[John Ruy]

On 12/16/2022 at 10:09 PM, Cathead said:

Great job on a complex build! She really came out nicely. Don't forget to show us the case when you get her in it! A nice addition to the steamboat library here on MSW.

Display Case from scratch…

Using a table saw to cut dado joints in corner pieces. 

Ready for assembly…

Clamping Top Frame…

Used L-Brackets to support corners…

Attaching the Top…

Painted Black Semi Gloss…

Cut Green Edge Plexiglass with table saw. 

Mounting the Robert E Lee. Used two spots of PVA Glue on the Flat Bottom Hull and mounted directly on the bottom of the Display Case. 

Display Case completed. 

She now resides in my Gallery and I can get back to my studio and work on my current projects the Corsaro II and the Bluenose.  
 

Cheers 🍻 
 

Edited March 24, 2023 by John Ruy

[MrBlueJacket]

Nice case!

[Auger]

You should do a write-up on your case making. 😉

Also love your blue sky case backgrounds. ❤️

Edited March 24, 2023 by Auger

[yvesvidal]

On 3/24/2023 at 1:01 PM, John Ruy said:

 

What a fantastic collection.

 

Yves