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

[KeithAug]

On 1/8/2024 at 5:37 PM, Canute said:

I attended a convention over the weekend  for model railroaders

We modellers do live an exciting life, don't we. 🙂

[Keith Black]

1 hour ago, KeithAug said:

We modellers do live an exciting life, don't we

 At this stage of our lives we don't to worry about exciting events blowing our hair back. 

[Canute]

It was a real barn burner, gents.😉😄

[Cathead]

Ken, you near gave me a heart attack when I saw the phrase "barn burner" show up in the preview of new posts in this thread, knowing how recently Brian built his new workshop.

[Canute]

Sorry, Eric. I was just replying to KeithAug's comment. This was a Railroad Prototype Modelers gathering in Cocoa Beach, FL.Annual get-together, so it was like old home week, seeing buddies you only see once a year, along with guys seen more frequently. And having several good seafood restaurants doesn't hurt for this seafood fan.

[mbp521]

Hello again everyone,

 

I figure I had better get some progress shown on her or people may start to lose interest. It's not for lack of work being done on the Caroline, it's just laziness of not updating the build log. Since my last update a month ago I have been busy and I have been giving my XTool quite the workout.

 

So i was able to get all of the deck walls drawn up, cut out and assembled. These were real simple shapes to work with. The main roadblock that I kept running into was the window locations on each of the decks. I first located them all according to the plans, but then I started finding videos of the Titletown USA (Formerly The Caroline N) and discovered that the windows were not all located in the same location as the plans. So I had to do a lot of research of the videos to get the right angle so I could properly locate the windows. I did this by scrolling through the video to the right spot, pausing it and then taking a screen shot the image. I think it worked pretty well and I believe that I have all the windows and doors in their correct locations.

 

Once I felt confident that I had everything correct, it was on to getting the deck walls cut out and assembled.

 

Here is the main deck going together. I cutout some cross bracing and brackets to add some stability to the structure and to give the deck a stable mounting surface.

 

Second deck going together.

 

Pilothouse assembly

And all the deckhouses assembled and resting on the hull.

 

So I wanted to play around with some of the smaller detailed pieces, just to see how they would turn out. I started out with the window unit that sits in one of the galley windows. I assume that it gets a bit toasty in there when the cooks is preparing the crews meals.

I started with the five pieces that make up the unit. Apologies for the blurry picture, I phone had trouble focusing on the tiny pieces.

 

The assembled window unit.

 

I used one of the blanks from the window cutouts and glued the window unit to it for that perfect fit. Not too terrible.  

 

Next up, I wanted to work on the hull some and get the contour of the deck set. There is a slight rise in the bow and stern areas that I needed to build. I am assuming that the bow rise was to keep the waves from coming over as well as giving a higher surface area for contact with the barges. As for the aft rise, my best guess is that it just helps keep the churned up water from the props from coming over since this area can get a bit turbulent.

 

Profile of the boat showing the bow and stern rise.

Waters get pretty churned up at at the stern.

 

To add this rise, I cutout a bunch of basswood strips that tapered down from the full rise of 3mm at the stern to 0mm and from 4mm at the bow to 0mm. I glued these in place and then for the stern I cutout some plywood panels to raise the deck beyond the rise.

For the bow section, I just glued down the strips from the forward end of the deckhouse to the bow since the rise terminated at the very front.

Since the bow rise starts before the front of the deckhouse, I trimmed the strips back a bit to coincide with the front of the deckhouse. I thought this was easier than trying to trim the correct amount off the bottom of the deckhouse and maintain the correct angle without any gaps.

 

 

Next I wanted to play around some more with some of the deck details, and since I was on the AC unit kick, I figured why not build the main AC unit. This unit sits between the two funnels on top of the main deck. Kind of hard to make out since I had to zoom in quite a bit.

 

Once again, I drew up the pieces and added some details like the door panels and the protective grill that covers the fan blades.

Glued all the pieces together 

then added control and power boxes to the assembly. I'll get this painted up later on and add some drain lines and power conduits once it has been installed.

 

Now it was time to move on to building up the trim and railings for the upper decks. Starting with the second deck I added the forward railing bulkheads. The were cut from .020 ABS plastic sheets and formed around the deck curves with a heat gun.

I cut out the stanchions that support the panels and glued them all in place.

 

Next I did the same for the main deckhouse.

Then it was on to cutting more ABS strips to trim out the Texas deck.

Trim complete on the Texas Deck and the downspouts going in.

Once the trim was installed I gave each deck a shot of primer to help locate any flaws that need to be touched up. There are some and I will address those later.

The forward steps were built and added to the main deckhouse. I took pictures of the started construction, but forgot to snap some of it going in.

I wanted to add a bit of detail to the topside of the main deck. As you can see the weld lines of the steel panels is pretty visible on the next photo. I felt that since this is pretty open area I should go ahead and add this detail.

I started by marking off the panels where the welds should be.

Then I took some small thread and glued it down along the lines. This should provide a nice profile of the welds on the deck once everything is painted up. At least that's the theory, we'll see how it works out.

 

Then it was time to tackle on of the features that I have been dreading. The railings. Personally I feel the same way about railings and ladders as some people feel about rigging. 

 

So here we go.

 

I figured that brass rod would be the perfect thing to build the railings out of. Its sturdy, easy to bend and cut. So I started with the portside main deckhouse railing. I cut and shaped the top rail and the stanchions.

As I was working on this I was trying to figure out how I was going to hold the second rail pieces in place while I soldered the joints. So I drafted up a quick drawing of a jig that would help hold the cross pieces steady and level.

I measures out and drew up the pieces on the computer, then cut them out.

 

Assembled the pieces for the jig.

 

 

Then gave it a try.

Everything work as it should, with one exception. My soldering skills stink. I tried several times to get the joints straight and to get the solder to pull in correctly, but I'm not sure If I had the iron too hot or too cold, but it just wasn't working for me. I even tried using the solderless adhesive, designed for brass and copper.

 

So it was on to my next option. I tried cutting the railing out of basswood. These made perfect railings, but then I ran into another obstacle. Now I have to sand all the rails to get them rounded. Definitely not worth the trouble of having to sand each and every pipe to get it round, not to mention taking care not to snap the raining in half along the grain.

 

Attempt number three. Why not try making the railings from styrene rods? Styrene is easy to bend and cut and can be held together with CA. No soldering involved.

I'm thinking that I like this route better,

 

And the three attempts at my first railings.

 

I decided to take a break for the railings for a bit and focus my attention elsewhere. To give the windows some depth and detail, I cut some framing from some heavy card stock and applied them to the outsides of the windows. Once painted up they will and a nice little level of detail to the walls.

 

I wanted to finish up on the deck structures so I could get them all painted up and get a good Idea of what the boat was going to look like. So I worked on the pilothouse top.  Again, I drew up the pieces and cut them out. 

Got them assembled. I used some of my leftover risers from the main deck to get the slope of the roof.

 

I couldn't figure out how I was going to get the sloped sides of the roof. There are several compounding angles that would very difficult to cut out and shape. The outside edges are sloped a good bit and curve around with the corners as well as the top sloping backwards to shed the rainwater off.

 

So after scratching a bald spot on my head, pondering this quandary, I finally came up with a solution. I taped the top off to protect the stanchion holes from getting filled in.

and with some air dry putty that I had on hand, I figured I could shape the outer slope and sand it to shape once it had dried.

Well another failed attempt. I didn't take into consideration that the moisture content of the putty would cause the assembly to warp. I tried setting some heavy weights on top of it for a few days, but I couldn't get the warp out of it. So, I ran another set of pieces and glued them all together and this time I used body filler instead of putty. That worked better with no warpage.  Of course in my frustration I failed to take pictures of the body filler assembly.

 

While the body filler was drying I worked on more of the main deckhouse details and installed some of the manhole covers.

Finally after a good sanding and a shot of primer on the whole assembly, this is where I am at. 

 

It's all starting to take shape. Upcoming work, I need to get the deckhouses painted up white and work on the hull. I want to get the props, Kort nozzles and rudders in place and the hull painted up so I can get it mounted to it's base. Those will be some updates for my next installment.

 

Thank you all for stopping by!

 

-Brian

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 16 by mbp521

[wefalck]

Coming on nicely !

 

Concerning the rails:

 

- I think, if you cut a half-round seat for the handrail into the uprights using a burr and then use solder-paste that should work.

 

- likewise for styrene rods, a half-round seat in the uprights and other joints locates the parts and requires less cement - I would use styrene cement, which welds the parts together, rather then glues them.

 

[KeithAug]

That is hell of an extensive update Brian - and all those laser cut pieces are making me jealous. As for the rails, is styrene going to be durable enough? Presumably if she is going into a case it will be OK. The dusting could be problematic if it is not being cased. I have a way of getting the brass option very regular if you are not wedded to the styrene option. Let me know if you are interested.

 

[Cathead]

Oh, wow. And here I was telling myself it was ok to be moving so slowly on my riverboat because Brian wasn't making much progress either. Oopsie.

 

This looks amazing, and I enjoy all the problem-solving. 

[KeithAug]

5 minutes ago, Cathead said:

Brian wasn't making much progress either.

Yep Eric - he sold both of us down the river. I better put some extra shifts in.

[mbp521]

2 hours ago, wefalck said:

- I think, if you cut a half-round seat for the handrail into the uprights using a burr and then use solder-paste that should work.

 

- likewise for styrene rods, a half-round seat in the uprights and other joints locates the parts and requires less cement - I would use styrene cement, which welds the parts together, rather then glues them.

Eberhard, thanks for the tips. I haven't sold myself on the styrene rails yet, so I may give that a try. I just looked up solder paste and from the videos I watched it makes it look almost too easy. That's what scares me about it, it looks too easy.   

 

 

54 minutes ago, KeithAug said:

That is hell of an extensive update Brian - and all those laser cut pieces are making me jealous. As for the rails, is styrene going to be durable enough? Presumably if she is going into a case it will be OK. The dusting could be problematic if it is not being cased. I have a way of getting the brass option very regular if you are not wedded to the styrene option. Let me know if you are interested.

Thank you Keith! It only extensive due to my lack of updates. I get to working on the boat, taking pictures, then life takes over and the next thing I know a month has passed and I have a 100 pictures that I need to upload and write about. As for your offer to show me how to go with the brass method, I will definitely take you up on it. I will have to use brass on the railing on top of the pilothouse. The stanchions are spaced too far apart and the rails are much to thin to use styrene on. Please feel free to share.

 

57 minutes ago, Cathead said:

Oh, wow. And here I was telling myself it was ok to be moving so slowly on my riverboat because Brian wasn't making much progress either. Oopsie.

Thank you Eric, too funny. My progress has been lurking in the shadows, and I do think that you are moving along at a good pace. Besides, perfection takes time.

 

52 minutes ago, KeithAug said:

he sold both of us down the river.

I see what you did there.  

 

-Brian

[KeithAug]

1 hour ago, mbp521 said:

As for your offer to show me how to go with the brass method,

Brian - I would tend to make a simple plywood jig for this type of operation as follows:-

 

The slots in the plywood are most easily made with a slitting saw on a small table saw - e.g. Byrnes. If the top / middle rails and stanchions are of different diameters use different slot widths.

 

Drilling holes at all the intersections provides clearance for access by the soldering iron tip. 

 

The 1, 2, 3 sequence probably makes most sense as continuous runs of the top rail and stanchions will give the best visual effect. 

 

The grid of slots accurately controls the position (uniformity) of the finished guard rail.

 

I hope this makes sense? Let me know if it doesn't. Feel free to ignore it if you find a better solution.

[wefalck]

He could also use the laser-cutter to engrave those slots ...

[KeithAug]

3 minutes ago, wefalck said:

He could also use the laser-cutter to engrave those slots

Eberhard - beyond my experience. Is it possible to get good control of the width / depth? Clearly it is very easy with a saw if one is available.

[wefalck]

I gather Brian can comment on this with more practical experience.

 

However, usually the power of the laser can be modulated as well as the speed of travelling set, both of which determine the penetration of the laser-beam. 

 

There is a minium width of the cut plus kerf, but one can make the slots wider by running the laser with a slight off-set several times.

 

The char from the laser could actually be beneficial as it protects the wood underneath from further smoldering during soldering.

 

[mbp521]

15 hours ago, KeithAug said:

beyond my experience. Is it possible to get good control of the width / depth? 

It is definitely possible to control the laser output during engraving, cutting and scoring. While I haven’t worked my way up to engraving at different power and speed settings, I have used it on cutting and scoring.
 

Different thicknesses and types of materials call for different power and speed levels, so I would assume the same applies for engraving. 
 

I believe that you and Eberhard on to something. I think I’ll try making a jig with the laser for two reasons. The setup is easier with the laser. I am almost guaranteed a true square grid for the rails and second, the only table saw that I have is a 10” industrial that wouldn’t allow me to cut a narrow enough kerf for the size brass rod (1mm) I am using. 

I just ordered a bottle of solder paste to give that a shot so I may sit down this weekend and see if I can build up a jig. I’ll keep everyone posted as to my progress. 
 

-Brian

[KeithAug]

1 hour ago, mbp521 said:

the only table saw that I have is a 10” industrial that wouldn’t allow me to cut a narrow enough kerf

Yes I thought that might be the case. I'll be interested to see how the laser test turns out. I have another option for making the jig if all else fails.

 

 

[kurtvd19]

I have made and used the type of soldering jig described.  I was not bothered much by the torch's effect on the wood as I used my Smith Little Torch.  However, I kept a bowl of water and a good sized ratty paint brush right next to my soldering spot on the bench in case of fire.  I used it a few times to knock down smoldering areas before flames would appear.  I also have a fire extinguisher real close.  Be prepared rather than being sorry you were not prepared.

Kurt

[Roger Pellett]

Brian, you’re doing great!  Overall you are capturing the look of this regional American watercraft.

 

I’d like to weigh in on your soldering problem:

 

Wire-  A while ago someone on MSW mentioned square wire.  It’s great stuff! It is available as both copper and brass in a variety of sizes; the smallest that I’ve found is 1/32.”  Lots of applications.  Uprights for your railings?

 

Solder Flux combination-  Some highly recommended solder flux combinations ,  particularly the pastes just don’t work for me.  I don’t know why.  I use Bakers Fluid for flux.  It’s a very low viscosity liquid that draws solder into tight joints.  I use this with solders of different diameters, particularly 1/32” dia and .010”dia 

 

Heat Source-  My hat’s off to Kurt and others who can solder with a torch; it’s a real art, not easily learned. A while ago, I would have recommended a Weller cordless iron but mine just died after what I consider to be an unreasonably short life.  I use two plug in irons, a 15 watt with a very narrow tip and 40 watt.  I like the electric irons as they can concentrate heat over a small area.

 

To summarize, soldering seems to involve a degree of witchcraft despite attempts to rationalize it.  If something doesn’t work try something else until you find a combination that does.

 

Roger

 

 

[KeithAug]

Brian - prompted by the above I should have been more explicit about the soldering. I solder with a variable temperature iron (typically set to its default setting of 320c) - although in the past I have used a fairly basic Weller single temperature soldering iron. I have never set fire to the jig - just some light charing at worst. I have never tried a torch for soldering brass wire of circa .050" or less diameter because I have found it unnecessary. I tend to solder with lead free solder wire of about 1/32" diameter. It is pre fluxed but just to be sure I always add a dab of plumbers soldering flux. This tends to work well for making guard rails.

[yvesvidal]

What a great model !!!

 

As other experts have mentioned, for soldering the key, is cleanness, flux and proper heat. Once you get the gist of it, it works really well and is super solid.

You can then file with emery tape, the extra blobs of solder and after painting, it will look like the real thing.

 

Your wood work is amazing. I love that A/C unit on the side of the cabin wall, so realistic.

 

It truly helps to have your own laser cutting machine. What instrument/equipment do you use? How about the software to draw the parts?

 

Yves

[mbp521]

On 2/18/2024 at 9:45 AM, yvesvidal said:

It truly helps to have your own laser cutting machine. What instrument/equipment do you use? How about the software to draw the parts?

Thank you Yves for the kind comments. I am using an XTool S1 laser engraver and the proprietary software that comes with it called XTool Creative Space. I have to say, it has opened up a whole new world of making model ship parts.

 

On 2/18/2024 at 9:45 AM, yvesvidal said:

I love that A/C unit on the side of the cabin wall, so realistic.

Funny that you say that. The guy that I am building this boat for read my last update and sent me a text message laughing about that very detail. My response was, "I don't miss details"  

 

 

-Brian

[Roger Pellett]

Re; Window AC Unit

 

In 1972 I made my first of several business trips to Europe.  To visit a nearby Mannesmann pipe forging plant I stayed in a hotel along side the Rhine River in Düsseldorf.  I was fascinated by the variety of river craft passing by.  These vessels of several European Nationalities  were often crewed by families and had potted flowers at the windows, laundry drying, bicycles and occasionally a small car stored on board.

 

My point is that riverine craft are often an interesting mix of maritime culture and down home amenities.  While the modern US towboats are usually corporate owned they do not hesitate to utilize shoreside gear.

 

Roger

Edited March 1 by Roger Pellett

[mbp521]

While researching for my build I found several different pictures of the Caroline N, even back to the time it was still owned by its original company ACBL and called the Luis H. Meece. In all of those port side photos the window unit is in every one of them. Even now with Marquette Transportation owning the boat the window unit is still there. It is also in the same location of her sister boats as well, Limestone Lady & Miss Kris so I am not wondering if this was a Jeffboat thing for this particular run of boats.

 

-Brian

[Roger Pellett]

Sure,  when the first in her class was launched, there probably was a lack of ventilation in the space behind the window, SO, send someone uptown to buy an AC unit!   The fix was then repeated on follow on boats.

 

Roger

[mbp521]

2 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

there probably was a lack of ventilation in the space behind the window

It is located in the galley, so I’m pretty sure a little extra cooling is needed when all the stove burners are lit. Especially in the heat of Summer. 
 

-Brian

[Roger Pellett]

Actually, in the 1960’s there was quite a bit of, for its time, high level Naval Architecture performed to optimize these towboats.  Propeller/Kort nozzle combinations, flanking rudders, and even tow sizes were all studied.

 

The University of Michigan operates the second largest experimental Naval Architecture Towing tank in the USA.  At 450+- feet long it is about half as long as the US Navy’s 1000’+ long tank.  As a student in the early 1960’s I remember a model towboat with various numbers and arrangements of barges being towed.  This would have been an expensive project and I don’t remember who the client was.  It could have been US Govt Maritime Commission.  Someone, however, spent a lot of money determining the optimal way to make up a tow.

 

Roger.

Edited March 2 by Roger Pellett

[Zetec]

Hi Brain its John from england who is building the Cairo I have lost your email address mine If you still got mine could you post me youremail address and I will send you some photos of the finished boat.

 

Zetec

[mbp521]

Hello again everyone, it has been way too long since my last update. I have been busy, I have just been dealing with computer problems. My old laptop decided to give up the ghost so I had to purchase a new one. Well after being a Windows guy for 30 years, I finally converted to the dark side and got a Mac. I knew there would be a learning curve to get used to a new style of computering, but it took me little longer than I had planned to get things moved over from my old laptop and figure out how to use the new style of apps. But I persevered and finally got it all moved over and I am ready to go. So pull up a chair, grab a drink and get ready for a major photo dump of progress.

 

So on my last update I was having difficulty trying to solder my railings and had decided to go with the styrene method. While I pondered how to do the small railing on top of the pilothouse, I worked on the lower sections of railing. Here is the railing that surrounds the pilothouse going together.

I couldn't get the small jig that I had previously made up to get a consistent results, and I was having a hard time getting the stanchions to stand straight up. So I made up a different jig that had slots cut in at the correct spacing and clamped the two halves together. This held the vertical stanchions perfectly upright and steady while I glued the top rail in place. Once this section was complete I removed the section of railing, placed it on my mat then used a small piece of scrap wood cut to the correct spacing to add the lower rail. I forgot to take pictures of this part, but in the next picture you can see a couple of the pieces of scrap wood on the railing show how it was spaced.

More of the lower deck railings.

 

Then it was on to the smaller railing. I took @KeithAug advice of making a jig with my Xtool to frame up the ladder as a test piece. 

So far so good. Then I cut the brass rod pieces and placed them into the jig.

 

I decided to give the solder paste a try, and it didn't let me down. This was so much easier than trying to flux and solder the pieces together in the jig.

After a little filing and cleanup I am very pleased with the outcome.

 

Since the ladder was a success, I decided to use the solder paste on the pilothouse railing. For this one, I made up another jig that gave me the proper spacing for the height of the rail and soldered each stanchion one by one.

Again, I am completely satisfied with the results. Now I'll just need to tie the ladder in with the railing, but that will have to come once I get the decks secured in place.

 

After competing the railing, it was time to work on the hull features. I wanted to get everything on the underside of the hull done so I could get it mounted to a temporary base and work on everything upright. So I started with the Korts and wheels. On my previous post I had already cut and shaped the Korts and temp mounted them in place. Now it was time to install the fairings where they tie to the hull. Nothing out of the ordinary here, just cut a few pieces of wood sheets to match the contour of the Korts and hull.

Then I made a couple of plugs with centering holes so that I knew where to align the wheel shafts.

The centering plugs also helped me mark where the wheel shafts will penetrate the hull.

Once the penetration points were marked, it was time to do a little drilling.

Wheel shafts temp installed to test their alignment.

Then the wheel shafts were cut and mock wheels made to make sure that I had the centering and clearances correct.

 

Once the holes were drilled and the shafts cut, it was time to work on the shaft supports. I cut out several pieces to layer up the supports and carve them down.

Three layers was just about right, now its time to carve them down.

Roughly shaped, and testing the fit.

This is the look that I am going for.

 

On to the wheels. I used the mock patterns that I had previously made to align each blade. I made the hub in the same manner that I made the supports. I cut out several layers  and sanded them to shape. I didn't take pictures of this process as well, but you can see end results of the hubs in this photo. I then cut out another pattern of the wheels and separated the blades from the hub and proceeded to glue them at the proper angle on the shaped hubs.

One of the completed wheels.

And temp installed in the Kort. Just a little sanding, shaping and paint and they should be good.

 

Next it was time to work on the rudders. I started with the main rudders. These were cut from pieces of wood sheeting. I didn't have any materials thick enough for the completed rudder so I layered these as well. Here is the initial shape. 

The two layers glued together.

Shaping to get the correct contour. 

 

Rudders temp installed to test their alignment. I also threw in another little detail with the addition of a galvanic anodes. These were place in various places along the hull, rudder and Korts to help with corrosion prevention.

 

Time for the flanking rudders. Same process, these were also cut out of wood sheets, but there is not any contour to these. They are fairly flat and need to have a narrow profile since they are rarely used when the boat is going forward. This low profile reduces drag and prevents the disruption of water flow through the Korts. There is some cross bracing to help stabilize any flex from the water flowing across it. Here is the initial pattern.

Cross bracing installed.

More bracing. This is used to streamline the water flow around the rudder shaft.

More galvanic anodes installed on these rudders as well. 

All four rudders completed.

While perusing the internet for more study material I ran across an another little detail that was built into the boats. I'm not sure what it's called and my searches were coming up empty, but that is not saying much because its sometimes hard to look something up if you don't know what to call it. Anyway, I noticed from some of the videos of towboats in dry dock that there was this fairing attached to aft section of the hull. My best guess is that its purpose is to help keep the turbulent water from coming over the aft deck. So I glued on a thin strip of wood and installed these very tiny gussets cut from .020 ABS sheets.

 

Here are the gussets.

Gussets going in.

The finished fairing

 

 

Time to get it all premiered up and ready for some paint.

And more galvanic anodes going in.

Next up was the installation of the coil coolers. These were radiators of sorts installed on the hull sides that uses river water to cool copper fins that circulate engine and clutch oil through. The coolers are mounted recessed in the hull and a protective grill installed on the outside to protect the fins from river debris.

 

Here are the cooling fins that I cut out on the laser cutter.

Recesses cut into the hull for the cooling fins.

Fins installed in the hull

Here is the protective grill alongside the hull and coolers. These will get attached after the hull is painted and the cooler fins coated with a touch of copper paint.

Painting of the hull, wheels and rudders.

 

Flanking rudders installed.

Main rudders temp installed to test for clearance.

Port rudders aligned

All rudders installed and anodes painted up.

Up close shots showing details.

 

Time to flip it over and install the coil cooler guards. It wasn't until I posted this photo that I noticed the gap in the wood planks on the hull. I'll need to go back and fix that.

 

Here she is in her correct, upright position with all decks sitting in place.

 

One final feature that was almost completed that I wanted to add to this update was the construction of the stacks.

 

I started with a basic framework of a base and top with a center support to maintain the correct height of the stacks.

Then it was time to cover the frame with strips of wood. Here is the first strip going in.

More progress. Starting to take shape.

Completely covered with a light sanding to smooth out the edges of the planks.

Here is the cap and fairing that will sit on top of the stack

The two pieces assembled.

And the cap installed on the stack and a final sanding.

Both stacks completed and temp installed.

Another view. I will take these and cover them with some body filler to fill in the gaps and give the top pairing its final shape. Hopefully that will be done by my next update .

 

Well that is it for this update, I hope to be a little more timely with my next one. Thank you all for sticking with me on this and stopping by. As always I appreciate all the kind words and input.

 

-Brian

 

Edited April 17 by mbp521

[Keith Black]

 Brian, when you said major photo dump you weren't kidding, you've been a busy man.The underside of the hull looks like the real deal, you're going to have to put a mirror under her when she's finished. Super impressive progress.