Caroline N by mbp521 - Scale 1:64 - Mississippi River Towboat

[mbp521]

2 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

To look for welds to show on your model, see if you can find photos of Drydocked vessels built by JeffBoat.

Roger, that is actually what I have been doing to research this subject. I found a nice video on YouTube that shows a walk thru of the MV Mississippi IV and then a walk around of the hull. The video does show some good detail. In some of the shots you can see the weld lines, especially where the bottom of the hull meets the side of the hull. There are also some shots that show the sides of the hull and you can make out the welded panels, but they are fairly flat to avoid drag. I do take this walk thru with a grain of salt since this vessel was built in 1961 and the Caroline N was built in 1973, so the building methods might have been different.

 

 

 

 

-Brian

[goatfarmer11]

Ok, I just finished up with your construction of the Cairo so now I am in for this one!

 

Denis

[mbp521]

Welcome aboard Denis, glad to have you. 
 

-Brian

[mbp521]

Hello again everyone,

 

It has been a while since I have been able to get any work done, March was a very busy month. It started off with attending a cousin's wedding in South Louisiana, followed by a couple of rounds of severe storms that knocked down several trees on the property. Unfortunately these trees fell across our fencing used to contain our farm animals, so along with having to play lumberjack, we were also having to play cowboys and round up the herd. So fence repairs took some time to get done, but we managed to get them all repaired and the herd is now once again happy and contained. The fence work was also completed just in time for the Admiral and I to jet off on a two week vacation. Crossed another bucket list item off the list and finally visited Pearl Harbor (and some of the other parts of Hawaii). Once we got back from the trip, it was time to get back to the bench and get some work done. Well, I made a little progress the last week of March before Covid decided to rear it's ugly head and invade our house. First the Admiral came down with it and then me. So I have spent the last week and a half trying to kick this nasty bug, and I finally feel good enough to sit down and post an update.

 

So with all that being said. here is what I was able to get done.

 

I started working on getting the hull plated. I decided that I would go ahead and skin the hull with 1/16" basswood for now. I'm still not 100% sure of how I am going to simulate the steel plates, but I figured that I would go ahead and get the basic shape of the hull done and work on that once it was completed. The first section covered was the center keel area, since this was the easiest shape to make. I started with a cardstock cutout of the area then transcribed it to the basswood sheet.

 

Next I soaked the forward end of the plank and shaped it to get the gentle curve of the bow.

 

Then it was on to gluing the sheet to the hull. I wanted to make sure that I got a good bond so I used a little weight to help hold it down.

Finally the front end of the sheet was glued, clamped and left to dry.

 

While the first sheet was drying, I used the same method to cut out the side sheets. 

 

 

Once the first sheet was dry, I moved on to the port & starboard sides of the bow. I was struggling to get the compound curve of the sheet to lay right, so I decided to trim off the forward curve and take a different approach to it. Here are the side sheets in place. 

I was still struggling with how to cover the bow and stern areas. At first I was going to try planking them both with 1/16" x 3/16" basswood strips, but it just wasn't working the way I wanted it to. So I started rethinking things and decided that I am going to cheat a bit and use body filler to get the general shape. On the bow side it is not so bad, just a few foam blocks to fill in most of the void and some basswood strips on the sides to get the correct height and I should be good to go.

 

The stern area is going to be a bit more difficult since there are numerous compounding curves to contend with. I will throw in a few filler blocks to take up some of the bigger areas, but I think this method will also work to get the general shape as well.

 

This was as far as I got before getting sick. I'm on the mend now and hopefully within the next few days I should be able to get more done and have better progress.

 

For now, thank you all for stopping by.

 

-Brian

[Keith Black]

 Brian, sorry to hear about you and your wife catching Covid and trees falling across your fence. On Thursday I was finally able to get our little .75 acres looking presentable after severe ice and wet snow storms this winter. 

 

 As long as you're able to paint the hull without the grain showing is simulating steel plates really an issue? In those areas you were not able to use ply, could you use card and then use regular filler over the card?  

Edited April 11, 2023 by Keith Black

[mbp521]

2 hours ago, Keith Black said:

sorry to hear about you and your wife catching Covid and trees falling across your fence. On Thursday I was finally able to get our little .75 acres looking presentable after severe ice and wet snow storms this winter.

Thank you Keith. Not sure what is up with Mother Nature this year, but she is definitely on the warpath. Our damage was insignificant compared to what the South and Midwest has been dealing with, as well as the wintry stuff you guys up north have been getting. 
 

2 hours ago, Keith Black said:

 As long as you're able to paint the hull with out the grain showing is simulating steel plates really an issue?

I don’t think it will be as much of an issue on the bottom, as it will be with the sides. Since these will be more visible I want to focus more attention on the plates there. 
 

2 hours ago, Keith Black said:

In those areas you were not able to use ply, could you use card and then use regular filler over the card?

At first I had thought about that too, but there were a couple of the bulkheads that I didn’t quite measure correctly and they came up a little short to get the hull contour right. I guess I could build them up a bit and go with the card stock. I’ll give it some thought before diving headlong into the filler. 
 

-Brian

[Cathead]

Thanks for the update! Lots you're dealing with, glad you're coming out ok on the other side. Those are some tricky hull shapes for sure.

[KeithAug]

Hi Brian

 

Between battling global warming, diplomatic missions and global pandemics I'm surprised you got anything done. Have you considered running for President?😀

 

 

[mbp521]

On 4/13/2023 at 8:45 AM, KeithAug said:

Have you considered running for President?

Too funny Keith! Without getting too political here, I would, but I'm too honest. 😁

 

-Brian

[KeithAug]

On 4/17/2023 at 8:22 PM, mbp521 said:

, I would, but I'm too honest.

Yep  - morals are a problem in most of the world!

[Zetec]

Hi Brain hope you are now over all your troubles and back in good health. I do like the work you have done so far keep it up. I am asking a question on the small boats on the Cairo you say you used a Model Shipways 5.25" kit model as a base for these 4 boats. I thought I might copy you idea as I dont know if I could scratch build them. I have looked for this kit but cant find it is it possible for you to let me have the Make and model and kit number for the one you used. Sorry to use this build log I asked a question on the Cairo site a while ago I how know why I got no reply with what you have had going on. The answer to that question is no longer required.

 

Thanks in advance John

[mbp521]

Hey everyone, I have put the Caroline N on a temporary hiatus while I work on another project. I have finally started work on my new shipyard. I wanted to get most of this completed while the temperatures here in Texas are somewhat manageable. I have started a Shore Leave build log on it if you wanted to pop over and follow along as I progress. You can check it out here.

 

Hopefully it won't take me too long to get the shipyard done and I'll be back to work on the Caroline N in my new digs.

 

-Brian

[mbp521]

On 5/6/2023 at 1:01 AM, Zetec said:

Hi Brain hope you are now over all your troubles and back in good health. I do like the work you have done so far keep it up. I am asking a question on the small boats on the Cairo you say you used a Model Shipways 5.25" kit model as a base for these 4 boats. I thought I might copy you idea as I dont know if I could scratch build them. I have looked for this kit but cant find it is it possible for you to let me have the Make and model and kit number for the one you used. Sorry to use this build log I asked a question on the Cairo site a while ago I how know why I got no reply with what you have had going on. The answer to that question is no longer required.

Hi John,

 

I do apologize for not getting back with you on the cannons, I have not been keeping up with my email like I should and missed the notification. Hopefully you were able to sort them out. The kits I used for the ships boats were the Model Shipways 5 3/16" lifeboat kits (found here: https://modelexpo-online.com/5-316-135mm-Plank-on-frame-Lifeboat-Kit_p_849.html ) I did have to lengthen the keel about an inch to get them to the right scale, but for the most part this was an easy task and they worked out fairly well. I am always happy to help out and will try to keep a closer eye on comments in my Cairo build log, but in the future if you have any questions along the way, you can also send me a private message, I might see that a little easier and respond a lot faster since MSW sends a separate email with a new topic. 

 

-Brian

[FriedClams]

Missed this build log somehow but caught up now.  Nice looking riverboat.  Best of luck on this build and in the construction of your new shop.  Hope you and the misses are back to normal.

 

Gary

[Gator325]

There was no year on the date of this post.  Are the plans ready yet?

I would love to build this model.

 

 

[bricklayer]

Hello Brian, hi all

I´ve seen towboats on the Rhine. They tow two to six barges, only. Unlike the Mississippi towboats they have elevating wheelhouses to adapt to limited clearance of bridges across the river.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schubboot#/media/Datei:Buran.rhein009.jpg

I`d like to see a continuation of your build log, if you don`t mind.

 

Michael

 

 

[mbp521]

Hello again everyone,

 

It is finally about time that I get back to the bench and get some real work done, and not this around the house to-do list stuff. I don't have a lot to show right now, since I am just getting back into the groove, but I wanted to get something out there. I last left off working on getting the bottom of the hull covered. I was initially going to skin the whole thing over with basswood sheets, but the bow and the stern area had way too many compounding curves and angles to get the wood sheets to lie down correctly so I then decided that I would plank it to see how that would look. Still with the difficult curvatures around the Kort Nozzles, I still struggled to get the planks to line up and lie down as well. I started planking the middle and got so frustrated that I finally decided that I would just go in and fill the whole thing with body filler. So I tore out most of the planking and used a light weight air drying clay to fill in between the bulkheads, The clay was cheaper than the body filler, but took several days to fully cure. I then took a few strips of planking and glued them in place about an inch or so apart. The strips will serve as a depth guide for the applicator as well as an indicator of how far I need to sand the body filler down. I figured with all the gaps that I was going to have to fill in with the planking in this area, I might as well save some frustration and wood and just fill the whole thing in. Besides, this area will hardly be seen at all anyway.

 

Here are the guide planks going and the clay filler in place. Even pre-soaked the planks had to be held in place with weights to keep their form while the glue dried.

 

 

Next I slathered on a couple of coats of body filler and let that set. This is the first coat going on. 

 

First round of sanding is done. There are some low spots and pinholes that need to be filled in, but for the most part I think it turned out well.

 

That is all for this update. I know it's not much, but I hope to have more next time around. Winter will be here before you know it which provides ample time for shipbuilding. I'm actually just tickled to finally get to use the new bench and shipyard setup.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

-Brian

[Keith Black]

1 hour ago, mbp521 said:

for the most part I think it turned out well.

It indeed turned out well, Brian. 

[KeithAug]

On 11/14/2023 at 10:05 PM, mbp521 said:

used a light weight air drying clay to fill in between the bulkheads,

That's novel Brian. I have not seen that before. As you say the result looks really sharp. I guess she is quite stern heavy - a common problem! 😀

[mbp521]

1 hour ago, KeithAug said:

I guess she is quite stern heavy - a common problem! 😀

Oh so true Keith. She’s going to have some weight to her. 
 

-Brian

[mbp521]

Hello again,

 

Time has a way of getting away from us, and I didn't realize that it has been over a month since my last update. With the holidays, I needed two of me to keep up with everything that I was doing. I have made some progress on the the Caroline though, and I figure it about time to get something posted.

 

So before the holiday's hit I managed to work on the Kort Nozzles. For these I found that 1 1/2" plastic conduit was the perfect diameter for these, and saved me a ton of time having to shape these out of styrene. Ok, I admit the size wasn't exactly perfect, they were .75mm larger than the correct scale, but I figured that was close enough, and by the time I finished shaping them I would be close enough. Besides these will be on the bottom and not fully seen.

 

Placement on the hull in there approximate location.

 

I put the nozzles on my drum sander and used that as an arbor to sand them into shape with a sanding block and files. I forgot to take photos of the process, my phone was in my hobby room and I was too lazy to go get it. But anyway, this was the first nozzle roughly shaped, compared to the original pipe.

 

Both nozzles with their general shape. I still need to get them smoothed out a little more and add a few details for them, but I like what I have so far.

 

Then the Christmas holiday hit and Santa was very good to me. The Admiral and I decided that we needed a new toy to support our craft and shipbuilding hobby and we decided to invest in a laser engraver. After extensive research we decided that an XTool S1 would be worth the investment, so we bit the bullet and purchased one.

 

So I spent a few days tinkering around with the engraver and it's software, making small, little simple projects just to get the feel for it, then it was time to see what it could really do. So why not try it out on the Caroline. Here I am working on the walls for the first two decks. Pretty easy since they are somewhat square.

 

Then it was time to see what this baby would do.

 

Couldn't ask for better results. So I played around with the windows a bit, using different thicknesses of wood to give them more dimension and depth and engraving the window frames, as well as some of the door features. 

So to help with some of the wall structure I drew up little brackets to help support the wall braces and cut them out as well as the braces.

 

Then it was time to give it all a test fit. I'm thinking I am going to really like this tool.

 

I do realize that this is somewhat turning a scratch build into a kit build, and hopefully no one thinks that this is cheating. But hey, aren't most kits started from a scratch built model? 

 

I've got more to come, but I just found out the hard way that CA has a shelf life, and after first opening my current bottle two years ago, it's adhesion is just not what it used to be. So for now I'll work on some of the other deck walls and get them designed while I am waiting on a new bottle of CA to arrive.

 

That will do it for this update. Thank you all for stopping by and the kind comments.

 

-Brian

 

 

[Cathead]

Wow…that’s amazing. I didn’t realize you could DIY kit-like parts like that. I also didn’t need to know that (or rather, my wallet didn’t). Great to see more progress!

[Roger Pellett]

Brian,

 

I’m curious.  Without getting too much into the weeds, what sort of software does thing use? I’m assuming that it runs on an ordinary computer to be transferred to the engraver.  Is it easy to use?

 

Roger

[mbp521]

1 hour ago, Roger Pellett said:

what sort of software does thing use?

It runs on a free downloadable proprietary software called XTool Creative Space (XCS) which is real easy to use plus there are several tutorials out there to help with the more complicated features. Another program that interfaces well with it and a lot of XTool owners use is Lightburn, but that’s a aftermarket software that costs, but it does offer many more features than XCS. You can also create a .svg file in any supported software and manipulate it in the XCS program. I managed to learn a good bit in a few short days. 
 

-Brian

Edited January 5 by mbp521

[mbp521]

4 hours ago, Cathead said:

I didn’t realize you could DIY kit-like parts like that.

It wasn’t until I started making the parts that I realized that many of the kit manufacturers probably use similar equipment to make their kits. Albeit their machines are likely a lot more pricey and robust than this one. 
 

-Brian

[KeithAug]

On 1/5/2024 at 2:59 AM, mbp521 said:

It runs on a free downloadable proprietary software called XTool Creative Space (XCS) which is real easy to use plus there are several tutorials out there to help with the more complicated features.

You make it sound very easy Brian. But I am sure I could screw it up. However I am very jealous. Now how to buy one secretly and convince the wife it's just a barbecue.😀

[mbp521]

5 hours ago, KeithAug said:

You make it sound very easy Brian. But I am sure I could screw it up. However I am very jealous. Now how to buy one secretly and convince the wife it's just a barbecue.😀

It really is pretty easy to use Keith, and there are numerous tutorials out there that give step by step instructions. I bet if you set the laser to the highest setting and slow passes on engrave you could cook with it. Now to just convince your wife of that, it could be called a multi functional BBQ.😆

 

-Brian

[wefalck]

I only had a quick look at their Web-site, but wondered how the machine handles fumes? They say that once can cut acrylic glass several millimetres thick, which would generate quite a bit of not-so-healthy fumes. The same would apply for cutting polystyrene.

[mbp521]

2 hours ago, wefalck said:

I only had a quick look at their Web-site, but wondered how the machine handles fumes? They say that once can cut acrylic glass several millimetres thick, which would generate quite a bit of not-so-healthy fumes. The same would apply for cutting polystyrene.

The machine has an exhaust fan on the back with a duct that you can vent outside. They also have an air purifier attachment that you can purchase separately that filters the exhaust fumes and smoke. For now, I just have the duct attached to the back and when I run the tool, I just pop the window open and drop the duct outside. A little crude, but it works for now until I can get around to building a permanent solution for it. 
 

-Brian

[Canute]

Your superstructure will be looking sharp, Brian. 👍

I think many of the international modeling organizations consider these laser cut parts as scratch built if you design the files for the laser cutter, such as what Brian did. Having machine cut pieces isn't an issue; who designed the parts is the key.

I attended a convention over the weekend  for model railroaders and they had a session on these laser cutters. Safety was stressed about fumes, ventilation and what not to cut, like the acrylics wefalck mentions.