kit review 1:16 Indian Girl Canoe - Artesanía Latina

[James H]

1:16 Indian Girl Canoe

Artesania Latina

Catalogue # 19000

Available from Artesania Latina for €54,99

 

 

 

History

Famous for appearing in numerous American Indian films, the ‘Indian Girl’ canoe was created in 1902 by J.H. Rushton, America's leading canoe builder. The ‘Indian Girl’ came in numerous versions. Introduced in 1902 and always Rushton's best-selling canvas canoe, the Indian Girl was available in lengths from 15' to 18'. Offered in Grade A (two-piece gunwales and pocketed ribs) and Grade B (heavier inwales and thin outside rails and rail caps). 

 

Rushton died in 1906. His widow and son incorporated the business and remained in operation until 1917. Canoes and boats built between 1906 and 1917 can usually be identified by the presence of a "J.H. Rushton, Inc." brand or tag. Sometime after the Rushton factory closed in 1917, Joseph Leyere, a noted boat builder from Ogdensburg, New York, acquired the Indian Girl moulds and the rights to build them. He marketed these under the "Whistle Wing" trademark of the St. Lawrence Boat Works until sometime in the late 1920s.

(Abridged from the excellent Wooden Canoe Museum website).

 

The kit

This is a new release from Artesania Latina. I'm not entirely sure which of the incarnations of the Indian Girl canoe it represents, but it clearly appears to look like the one in the photo I added above. That's good enough for me. This quite inexpensive kit will create a model which is just over a foot (30cm) in length, at a scale of 1:16. The kit is packaged in one of Artesania's easily recognisable top lid boxes which has some images of the completed model, including detail shots. The nature of this kit means that there aren't oodles of parts sheets within. Instead, there is one small pack of cellophaned parts, and a bundle of strip wood/metal tube etc. No instructions are supplied in the kit as it's expected that you will follow the online build videos. That could be a little contentious for those who want a paper copy and aren't good with using online resources to build a kit.

 

 

Let's take a look inside the bundle. There are 6 sheets of wooden parts. The first two, seen here, are for building the jig/buck onto which you will plank the canoe shell. Please note the engraved marks on one of the sides of the main jig. these are for transferring the marks to the strip piece which will form the lower keel and determine the position of the inner ribs of the canoe. The formers don't have a centre line engraved on them for some reason, and you will need to add that yourself. The two bulbous parts (J4) are for helping to form the inner ribs before gluing them in place. EB3 are for mounting the nameplate to the plinth.

Sheet 5 contains all of the internal ribs that you will form around part J4. These are over-length so you can trim them after fitting.  The sheet underneath contains the the largest of the two plinth parts, with the small one on the adjacent sheet. Also seen on the plinth sheet are the bow and stern of the canoe. The bottom sheet contains the thwarts, paddles and the bow/stern turtle decks. 

While there aren't too many pre-cut parts, but there is a reference sheet included which has them all printed on.

 

The remainder of the kit materials are in strip form, including some brass tube and rod which will be used for mounting the canoe to its plinth. The lighter material is for planking the canoe and the darker is for internal details as well as keel, seat frames etc.

 

The hessian fabric is for adding to the seat frames, creating the cushion. The rigging cord is for the canoe tether line and also the handle grips on the paddles. 

 

As well as the name plate for the plinth, there is also an ID shield for the canoe itself and parts for the tether, plus further parts for running on the outside of the completed keel.

As there's no manual, you can access the online instructional videos by this link. Please check it out:

 

 

Conclusion

While this I a very simple kit, the completed model does look incredibly nice and won't take up much valuable shelf space. It would make a very nice desk ornament too. A very inexpensive and nicely designed little kit which will give the modeller a good number of pleasant hours in the workshop. 

 

 

RELATED ITEMS

 

Artesania have sent extra items which relate to this kit release, namely a display case and a set of paints which are also specific. 

 

 

Methacrylate Showcase for The Indian Girl Canoe Model
Purchase from Artesania Latina for €59,99

The case for the canoe model is quite specific in its dimensions, and all parts are carefully packed into a robust bubble bag so the delicate acrylic won't be damaged. 

Inside the sleeve, all parts are also wrapped in cellophane. 

There are two parts to the base, creating a recessed lower plinth onto which the clear assembly will sit without need for glue. 

All panels of acrylic are covered on BOTH sides by a peelable protective cover. Also note that a cleaning cloth is provided too. 

The online instructions for this case show the sheets being taped together and then thin CA being run down the seams to permanently secure them. This does give me a little anxiety in case the glue leached from the joint and onto the tape which is holding the panels together. And then there is the risk of clouding. I know you can use odourless CA, but I would perhaps opt to use a glue which is specific for Methacrylate, and clamps/tools for making sure you get all angles correct. This is essential to make sure the last part fits. The tape method does mean you test all panels together before CA, but I'll leave that decision to you.

 

Paint set for Indian Girl Canoe
Purchase from Artesania Latina for €15,99

 

This acrylic paint set contains SIX 20ml bottles of paint, filler, varnish, and also stain. The colours are specific to this kit, and include the white as an undercoat. All are water-based. The contents are:

• Off white 
• Hull green
• Semi-gloss varnish
• White primer/filler
• Water based wood dye
• Night green

 

Artesania's site says the paints are also suitable for airbrushing. It gives no details about this, but assume you would need to thin them at least 50% with water or other thinner which aids smooth acrylic flow in an airbrush. 

 

 

My sincere thanks to Artesania Latina for sending these items to be reviewed on Model Ship World. To buy them, click the links in this article.