Mighty Mite by pwog - Nauticurso - 1:64 - Harbor Tugboat

[pwog]

So, my next build was a complete surprise to me. Knowing my love for tugboats, my wife gave me the Mighty Mite steam powered harbor tugboat kit from NautiCurso. It is a plank on bulkhead construction and 1/64 scale.

 

My further research tells me that there wasn’t an actual tugboat called Mighty Mite, but I guess it is representative of small steam powered harbor tugboats that were built in Philadelphia starting in 1887.

They were built at the Neafie & Levy Ship and Engine Building Company which was one of the earliest iron shipbuilders and the chief rival to William Cramp in 19th-century Philadelphia.  It was started in 1844 by Thomas Reaney, Jacob Neafie and William Smith; Smith died in 1845 and John Levy took his place; Reaney left in 1859 to start his own shipyard in Chester and from then on it was Neafie & Levy, until it closed in 1907.  The shipyard was located in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, on land now occupied by a Philadelphia Electric power plant: the plant's pier is believed to date from the site's days as a shipyard.  See it from the air on Google here. (*note: taken from http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/19thcentury/neafie.htm)

 

I have searched these forums for build logs of the Mighty Mite, but couldn’t find any. I can’t imagine I am the first and if anybody out there has built one of these kits or scratch built one, I would love to hear from you.

 

The first image below is of the kit contents.

 

The image below is of the building board and the frames that I cut out of their sheets.

Here I have mounted the frames onto the building board.

Edited January 8, 2023 by pwog

[pwog]

A short update. 
 

I attached the keel and started to hang the planks. 
 

A shout out to @MrBlueJacket. There was a small booklet included with my Swampscott Dory kit. It was a general information and instructions for planked kits. It is proving to be invaluable to me. 

 

[FriedClams]

I just found your log Paul, and a very interesting build this is going to be.  I agree, there is something about a tug - the shape and power of the craft.  They just command your attention.  And thanks for the historical background on the builder and the links.  Putting a story to a model breathes real life into them.

 

Good luck with your new project.  You keep raising the bar on the build difficulty, and I'm sure it will turn out great, as have your other three.  Good solid start, by the way.  

 

Gary

 

 

[pwog]

53 minutes ago, FriedClams said:

I just found your log Paul, and a very interesting build this is going to be.  I agree, there is something about a tug - the shape and power of the craft.  They just command your attention.  And thanks for the historical background on the builder and the links.  Putting a story to a model breathes real life into them.

 

Good luck with your new project.  You keep raising the bar on the build difficulty, and I'm sure it will turn out great, as have your other three.  Good solid start, by the way.  

 

Gary

 

 

Thanks so much, Gary. Your comments are always welcome and appreciated. 
 

Paul

[pwog]

It's been a while since I've updated my log. I am making progress and learning a lot about planking. I have finished planking one side and have a third of the other finished. When I was working on the first side I got a bit of tunnel vision and tried my best to fit the planks contiguously, but soon found that was not possible. I ended up having to cut a lot of planks to fit my gaps. It was like a puzzle. Anyway, on the other side I am allowing for the gaps, but hoping I will not have as many fill pieces to fit in. In the end, I will be using a filler and sanding, so I'm hoping it won't matter.

 

[FriedClams]

Hey Paul.  That’s not the easiest hull shape to plank.  If it’s your intention to fill and sand, I think you should be fine.  You can fill the gaps and build up material where needed to obtain smooth fair lines.

 

You probably already know this, but the NRG has a couple of great articles on hull planking.  Being new to this, you may find them helpful in better understanding the process more completely.  I found them invaluable.

 

Gary

 

 

[pwog]

14 hours ago, FriedClams said:

Hey Paul.  That’s not the easiest hull shape to plank.  If it’s your intention to fill and sand, I think you should be fine.  You can fill the gaps and build up material where needed to obtain smooth fair lines.

 

You probably already know this, but the NRG has a couple of great articles on hull planking.  Being new to this, you may find them helpful in better understanding the process more completely.  I found them invaluable.

 

Gary

 

 

Thanks for the feedback Gary. I know it looks pretty rough right now, but I’m thinking that with fill and sanding I’ll be able to get a fair shape. 
 

I’m also going to look up the articles you mention above. 

 

Wow! I've been going through the planking primer and now see how rough my planking looks!😳 Well, I'm going to forge ahead and stick to my plan. I will try to incorporate some of the information within the primer as I plank the other side.

Edited February 11, 2023 by pwog