Rangeley Guide Boat by FriedClams - Finished - Circa 1910 - 1:18

[FriedClams]

 

On 3/17/2022 at 5:09 PM, FlyingFish said:

Are you going to pin the planking to the ribs eventually?

 

Hello FF and thanks for stopping by.  It's a good question, but no, the ribs will be simply glued into place.  I decided not to include rivets because the numbers are too great.  There are 22 strakes and 61 ribs, so that would require 1,342 rivets.  Add to that the plank-to-plank rivets at the laps between the ribs and that brings the number to 2,700.  And there's yet more lap rivets from the last ribs to the stems.  I'm not that dedicated – not on an 11-inch model anyway.  

 

On 3/18/2022 at 2:08 AM, Valeriy V said:

Gary, this is great and clean work!

 

Thank you Valeriy for the kind words.  It is so good to hear from you and I do hope that you and your family are well and safe from the madness.

 

Gary   

[KeithAug]

On 3/22/2022 at 5:44 PM, FriedClams said:

I'm not that dedicated – not on an 11-inch model anyway.  

Spoil sport!

[FriedClams]

Greetings fellow modelers

 

I have a short progress report on the Rangeley boat, but first I'd like to share a recently completed plastic model.  I thought you might be interested in this, because if you're like me, sometimes it's refreshing to work on a project that is outside your usual modeling interest and medium.  Typically, I work on one model at a time, but to break out of a modeling malaise, a small model like this which is inexpensive and can be completed in a few days, is just the ticket.

 

Case VAI 1942 – 1955 by Thunder Model 1:35   It's marketed toward military modelers and typically sells around $25 U.S. or less.

 

At around 70 parts, it goes together quickly and easily with only a few fiddly spots.  It took more time to paint than build.  All I added was ignition wiring and I modified the steering linkage to cock the front wheels.

 

It's about 3.5” (9 CM) in length – and who doesn't like a little red tractor?

 

 

 

A minor complaint of the kit is the silicone tires have seam flash that is difficult to remove.

 

 

 

Back to the Rangeley.

 

The ribs have been installed and I began by brush painting the interior of the hull gray.  I added a little orange into the mix to remove some of that chalky look and to warm it up a bit.  Normally, I would not paint first and then glue pieces to it, because it isn't secure, and the part will pop off at the slightest excuse and take the paint with it.  But this boat has many ribs (61), and they are placed closely together which would make painting the hull after they are installed difficult, even with an airbrush.  I was concerned about too little paint getting under the ribs and/or pooling in other places as a result of trying to get full coverage.  And once the bottom board and the gunwales are installed, the ribs will be secure and won't be going anywhere.

 

The ribs are styrene strip .023” (.56mm) x .043” (1.1mm) and in 1:18 they are a very close match to the full size 11/16” (17.5mm) x 3/8” (9.5mm) material. They were airbrushed on three sides with the same gray.

 

 

 

The ribs were placed with the help of a few simple made tools.  The first was a square made of heavy paper.  This showed me when the ribs were out of square across the breadth of the hull.

 

 

 

A squared stand with hanging tabs, helped in checking rib plumb.  This worked well at the center portion of the hull but became quite useless as I advanced closer to the stems.

 

 

 

And a little spacer to assist in placing the next rib.  Again, this also worked great until I approached the stems at which time the working area became too tight and too steep.

 

 

 

In the photo above, you can see I wasn't terribly concerned about slopping on the CA at the keel, because the entire length the keel will be covered with bottom boards.  The same is true at the top of the shear as it will be hidden by the gunwale, although I did apply the glue at this location with greater care.  But the length between those two points, where the ribs lay across the laps, I wanted to look as pristine as I could make it.  A big shiny glob of glue there is unacceptable.  It did not turn out pristine, but it turned out to my satisfaction.

 

 

The process in attaching each rib went like this.  With the spacer in place, the center of the rib was glued down hard with CA to the keel.  Then the underside of one of the free ends was wiped with a swab wet with PVA and then pushed down to the hull while at the same time pushing against the spacer.  Repeat on the other free end.  After the PVA dried, the ends of the ribs were reinforced with CA at the shear where the gunwale will be placed.  Easy, but monotonous in the extreme.

 

 

As is true of most things like this, you develop a workflow and fall into a rhythm as you proceed that improves the quality and speed of the work. Unfortunately, that only happened as the last rib went on.

 

 

Defeated by creep, only 58 of the 61 ribs made it onto the boat.  But who's counting.  

 

 

Thanks for stopping to take a look.

 

Gary

 

 

[KeithAug]

Gary - beautiful job on the frames ----------------------------- pity about the rivets😀.

[Keith Black]

 Gary, what a mesmerizing pattern the ribs and the hull make. The shadows are consistent emphasizing the spacing consistency of the ribs and planks, very well done. 

 

 Neat little Case tractor. A few trips thought the fields and that seam flash will take care of itself. 

 

2 hours ago, FriedClams said:

who doesn't like a little red tractor?

 

 

 I'm a bit partial to em. 

[KenW]

All I can say is, "WOW"!

Your work is always professional quality.

A pleasure to follow along.

Cheers.

[ct mike]

Gary, Wow. I don't think anyone looking at the ribs except at the symmetry, the  patterns and the shadows They are mesmerizing.  No one will be looking for globs of glue or the missing ribs.  Unless you tell them.  Haha.  Beautiful work. Mike

 

[wefalck]

Nice job on the hull so far! Using styrene for parts that are painted saves you a lot of sanding and other preparation.

 

Don't know, how soft the rubber of tires on your tractor is, but on parts like this I use a coarse diamond burr or wheel in the hand-held electric drill to remove flash.

[FriedClams]

On 3/24/2022 at 2:32 PM, KeithAug said:

beautiful job on the frames ----------------------------- pity about the rivets😀

 

Thanks Keith.  Yes, it is a pity about the rivets, but perhaps some rainy Sunday, I'll put them on - or not.

 

22 hours ago, Keith Black said:

Gary, what a mesmerizing pattern the ribs and the hull make.

 

Hello Keith.  The extreme light angle really makes them pop out for sure.  Very nice Farmall tractor you have there.  What year is it and did you do the restoration yourself?  Do you show it off at county fairs and such?  A family story with it?   OK, I'm done asking questions.  Thanks for the nice words on the boat Keith.

 

22 hours ago, KenW said:

Your work is always professional quality.

 

Thank you so much Ken, I appreciate it.

 

5 hours ago, ct mike said:

No one will be looking for globs of glue or the missing ribs.  Unless you tell them.

 

Hi Mike.  If I find any glue globs, I'll do as I always do and cover them up with something - a coil of rope maybe.  Once a model is done, I don't point viewers to its short comings if they haven't already found it on their own.  Thanks for the nice comment Mike.

 

5 hours ago, wefalck said:

Nice job on the hull so far! Using styrene for parts that are painted saves you a lot of sanding and other preparation.

 

Thanks Wefalck.  Using styrene does solve many problems such as crispness in the final look and material flexibility.  All period boats were painted, so with that decision made for me, choosing styrene for these thin ribs was easy.  I will give your diamond burr suggestion for the tires a try.  The material is quite soft and has a tendency to tear rather than cut.  LZ Models in Ireland produces a set of resin wheels as an upgrade for the kit but after shipping to North America, it costs almost as much as the kit itself.

 

 

Thanks to all for the likes and for taking a look.

 

Gary

[Keith Black]

29 minutes ago, FriedClams said:

Very nice Farmall tractor you have there.  What year is it and did you do the restoration yourself?  Do you show it off at county fairs and such?  A family story with it? 

 Thank you, Gary. It's a 1949. It was one of those 'I just have to have it' moments. I restored it, showed it a few times during Heritage Day here in town and now wish it was in someone else's backyard. 

[FlyingFish]

On 3/22/2022 at 5:44 PM, FriedClams said:

There are 22 strakes and 61 ribs, so that would require 1,342 rivets.  Add to that the plank-to-plank rivets at the laps between the ribs and that brings the number to 2,700

Should only take a week or so.... 🤣

Love the tractor!!

[FriedClams]

Greetings fellow modelers and thanks to all for the visits, comments and likes.

 

I haven't spent much time at the work bench lately, but I do want to show you what I have done.  The gunwales, decks and bottom boards have been placed but none are yet complete.

 

I decided on a classic forest green for the outer hull.  The model was primed and the body color is a mix of Tamiya acrylic primary colors to produce the color I had in my head.  Three thin coats have been applied with at least one more to go as soon as I'm done manhandling the thing.

 

 

 

I chose raw umber to stain the unpainted wood such as the bottom boards, etc.  The stain is a chalk/alcohol mix which could just as effectively been mixed with water, but I prefer the rapid dry time of the alcohol.  I pre-stained the wood before attaching the pieces, but I ended up sanding most of it off the gunwales and decks during the fitting process and it will need to be re-applied.

 

 

The photo below shows the rough state of the decks and clearly there is work yet to be done.  Most Rangeley boats have flat decks with straight edges to the interior, but I chose to arc the inner edge and put a slight crown into it simply because it appeals to my eye.  And it adds to the canoe-on-steroids look.

 

 

 

 

Hope to have more progress to show soon.  Thanks for looking.

 

Gary
 

[wefalck]

Looking very good!

 

I know, I forget this myself all the time, but it would be useful to have something to compare the actual size with.

[Keith Black]

 What a little beauty, Gary. Super tight workmanship. 

[FriedClams]

1 hour ago, wefalck said:

I forget this myself all the time, but it would be useful to have something to compare the actual size with.

 

Yes, you are right Wefalck - my bad.

 

 

Gary

[Valeriy V]

21 minutes ago, FriedClams said:

 

Yes, you are right Wefalck - my bad.

 

Gary, you want to look at this beauty without stopping, it fascinates!  

[druxey]

Vert neat and impressive work , Gary!

[KenW]

Beautiful!  Great workmanship as usual.

Coming to Joint Clubs this year?

Hope to see you there.

Cheers.

[FriedClams]

Thank you Wefalck, Keith, Valeriy, Druxey and Ken for the nice comments!  As always, I appreciate it very much.

 

On 4/2/2022 at 9:49 PM, KenW said:

Coming to Joint Clubs this year?

Hey Ken, no I’m not going to be able to make it to Joint Clubs this year.  Have a good time at the conference and don’t forget to bring that beautiful Providence model with you! 
 

Gary

 

 

[KeithAug]

Wonderful Gary.

[Retired guy]

Your workmanship is absolutely brilliant Gary, also your subtle weathering which make it look so real 👍

 

Regards

Richard 

[FriedClams]

Thank you, Keith and Richard, for the nice comments.  And thanks to all for looking and for the thumbs up.

 

 

This update begins with the two thwarts.  They were straight forward to make and mostly a file and fit affair.

 

 

The fore and aft edge pieces form a tray and keeps fishing gear from sliding off.  It also structurally strengthens the thwart to accept the seat.

 

 

The seats are a scale 12” in diameter and slightly concave.  The cutting surface grid is 1/2"

 

 

 

To create the smooth circular depressions, I first made the holder below to chuck in my portable drill.

 

 

 

Two layers of 1/32” basswood were laminated together with the grain positioned 90 degrees to each other and glued with PVA to the holder.  A fat thumb with sandpaper creates the depression and the piece is released from the holder with alcohol.

 

 

 

In addition to short risers which are fastened to the ribs, the thwarts are also supported by hanging rods.  These rods are placed where you might normally expect to find wooden knees.  Each thwart has four of these metal rods and they are made from .02” diameter phosphor bronze.

 

 

 

They are treated with Jax Flemish Gray and each one gets a bolt head.

 

 

 

Risers, thwarts, rods and seats are added to the boat.

 

 

 

 

The staining on the decks and gunwales have been re-applied after being sanded off in the fitting process as mentioned in a previous post.  They received an India ink/alcohol wash followed by a raw umber chalk/alcohol stain.  It was topped with a rub down of wax which adds a degree of depth and richness to the wood and also protects the surface .  In fact, all the unpainted wood on the model was treated in this same way - ink, chalk and wax.

 

 

 

A set of oars were made from 1/8” dowel. Their lengths were determined from this formula:

 

[(D/2 +2) divided by 7] x 25 = length, where D equals the distance between oarlocks.

 

 

 

 

 

The oarlocks are brass - soldered together and finished with Jax Flemish Gray.

 

 

 

They are pinned to the oars.  They can be placed at any of the four sockets and positioned in any orientation.

 

 

 

Four oarlock pads are fashioned from basswood.  They are 12 scale inches long.

 

 

 

Some stain, some bolt heads and holes for the sockets.

 

 

 

The brass sockets are added and attached to the gunwales.  Placement location of the pads varies by boat builder, but typically the socket is 12” to 14” aft of the thwart edge. 

 

 

 

These guide boats usually provided a stern seat/chair for the comfort of the paying customer.

 

 

 

 

Here is the present state of the model.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is some cleanup work yet to be done on the outer hull followed by a final coat of paint, but the boat itself is close to complete.

 

Next is a display base/stand, some assorted accessories and the final photos.

 

Thanks for stopping by to take a look.

 

Gary

 

 

[usedtosail]

Beautiful work Gary.

[Keith Black]

 Never has 'less is more' been more appropriate than when applied to this model, Gary. Simple yet elegant in both design and execution. The stain isn't heavy but stands out nicely against the white interior of the hull and the wood shouts out maintained wear. Gary, it's perfect as it sits. "There is some cleanup work yet to be done on the outer hull followed by a final coat of paint" I think is more for your head than the model. The only thing needed is a rippled blue surface of cattails and waterfowl. 

[wefalck]

Beautiful indeed!

 

I think I have seen these quite strange seating pads before on photographs and wondered, how comfortable they actually were - afterall our bottoms have two bulges and a depression in the middle, while the seats have a depression in the middle and raised edges all around ...

 

[FlyingFish]

That's a very accomplished build Gary, love the clean lines, details and weathering. Would love to be the paying guest (with a fishing rod) in this fine boat!

Edited April 21, 2022 by FlyingFish

[druxey]

Terrific work, Gary. She looks quite delightful.

[KeithAug]

Beautiful, a work of art. 

[FriedClams]

Thanks to all for the likes and for stopping by.

 

On 4/20/2022 at 2:07 PM, usedtosail said:

Beautiful work Gary.

 

Thank you, Tom

 

On 4/20/2022 at 2:34 PM, Keith Black said:

Simple yet elegant in both design and execution.

 

Thanks Keith.  All I had to do was execute someone else's design, and a voice in my head kept whispering to me “keep it simply stupid”.  So that's what I tried to do.  It's true, I'm being something of a fussbudget on the outer hull – but just one more thin coat of paint and . . . 

 

Oh, and "a rippled blue surface of cattails and waterfowl" sounds wonderful.

 

On 4/20/2022 at 4:04 PM, wefalck said:

I have seen these quite strange seating pads before on photographs and wondered, how comfortable they actually were

 

Hello Wefalck, and thanks.  Yes, the seats are different and virtually every period boat had them.  I have read the intention was to keep inexperienced customers centered in the boat.  Having never sat in one, I can't comment on the comfort, but I imagine the comfort level was inversely proportional to how 'broad across the beam' the customer was.

 

On 4/21/2022 at 4:56 AM, FlyingFish said:

love the clean lines, details and weathering. Would love to be the paying guest (with a fishing rod) in this fine boat!

 

I'm always amazed how many working boats that were designed and built to be strictly utilitarian, are also handsome and appealing as well.  I'm not sure how much you would enjoy fishing the Rangeley Lakes – there are no 'Great Whites' there you know.  Thanks FF.

 

On 4/21/2022 at 7:41 AM, druxey said:

Terrific work, Gary. She looks quite delightful.

 

Thanks Druxey - It's been a fun model to build.

 

22 hours ago, KeithAug said:

Beautiful, a work of art.

 

Thanks so much Keith - if only it had rivets.

 

 

I'm in the middle of several "landscape improvement" projects, but still hope to have a completed model posting in a week . . or so.  

 

Thanks and stay well.

 

Gary

 

[KeithAug]

26 minutes ago, FriedClams said:

Thanks so much Keith - if only it had rivets.

Ah, yes. I forgot about the rivet deficiency😁