1880's Floating Steam Donkey Pile Driver by Keith Black - FINISHED - 1:120 Scale

[Keith Black]

5 hours ago, Rick310 said:

Just a magnificent model Keith!!  What a fun project!!  Incredibly well done!!

 Thank you, Rick.

 

5 hours ago, Glen McGuire said:

I can't top that compliment, so I will repeat it!  This project is bloody ripper! 

 

Such a cool build to follow and every aspect of the work was exceptional.  Congratulations, Keith!!  

 My friend, I've enjoyed having you at my shoulder during this little project. Thank you, Glen.

 

3 hours ago, mbp521 said:

More like a beautiful swan Keith!!

 Brian, thank you for that kind thought. 

 

[AJohnson]

Fantastic little project Keith, love the details, fine painting and weathering! 

[tmj]

So, what's next, Keith? 

[Keith Black]

9 hours ago, AJohnson said:

Fantastic little project Keith, love the details, fine painting and weathering! 

 Thank you, Andrew.

 

6 hours ago, tmj said:

So, what's next, Keith? 

I'm torn Tom. I desperately need to get back to working on the Tennessee but Lula pulls at me mightily. Lula will be the helper/support sternwheeler for this build. In modern pile driving they refer to a helper/support boat as simply a supply ship which makes sense. Then again I may get a wild hair and build that garbage scow.   All kidding aside, a garbage scow done correctly would be a real neat build. So many great subjects, so little time. 

Edited October 15 by Keith Black

[kurtvd19]

I vote for either one over the Tennessee.  Surely somebody has built the Tennessee before - I don't remember a garbage scow though.

Kurt

[Glen McGuire]

As much as I like the Tennessee, I vote for the Lula to complete this unique project.

[Keith Black]

 Resistance is futile, I've printed two copies of Lula and will start scaling her dimensions. 

[Javelin]

Good decision 

 

Great job on that pile driver, great weathering, looks very real! 

[Keith Black]

9 hours ago, Javelin said:

Great job on that pile driver, great weathering, looks very real! 

 Thank you, Roel. 

[Retired guy]

That's a cracker of a job Keith very well presented, and doing the extra shading has made it pop 👍👍 

 

Regards

Richard

[Keith Black]

1 hour ago, Retired guy said:

That's a cracker of a job Keith very well presented, and doing the extra shading has made it pop 👍👍 

 Thank you, Richard. 

[KeithAug]

Not such a wonky donkey after all. Excellent work Keith.

[Cathead]

Absolutely wonderful! Not sure I have novel words to add after all the others got there first. These obscure unique projects are my favorite on MSW and you've really added to the genre here. I'm glad you anticipated my vote and went for the Lula.

[Knocklouder]

I am for Lula, as well. Are you putting it all on the water?  Your work always gives me so many things to try, nice work.      

Bob  M.

[Keith Black]

 Thanks to all for he likes and the support.

 

 

15 hours ago, KeithAug said:

Not such a wonky donkey after all. Excellent work Keith.

 Thank you, Keith. The laughter of that original post make it forever a wonky donkey, thank you for a lasting memory.

 

13 hours ago, Cathead said:

Absolutely wonderful! Not sure I have novel words to add after all the others got there first. These obscure unique projects are my favorite on MSW and you've really added to the genre here. I'm glad you anticipated my vote and went for the Lula.

 Thank you, Eric. I'll be relying heavily on you Peerless build as I start in on Lula. 

 

 

12 hours ago, Knocklouder said:

I am for Lula, as well. Are you putting it all on the water?  Your work always gives me so many things to try, nice work.      

 Thank you, Bob. Yes, Lula will be a waterline model and I expect Goober and Pile to lend a hand since they have experience working on the King of the Mississippi. 

[BANYAN]

Hi Keith, you may have noticed I was watching on/lurking this wonderful build, but had not commented.  Everyone else had complimented and made all the relevant/necessary responses without me further cluttering up your build.  Congrats on finishing the project, it looks great - an interesting maritime related subject matter that I have not seen covered before. KUDOS

 

cheers

 

Pat

[FriedClams]

Catching up after some time away, Keith and what a fantastic looking model you've created!  I know I'm repeating myself here, but I really find the overall feel and impression of the model to be very congruous - each element complements the whole and nothing feels or looks like it doesn't belong.  A great job of merging disparate components into one, and your very effective weathering reinforces that.  Look forward to the final touches.

 

Gary

[Keith Black]

On 10/17/2024 at 7:28 PM, BANYAN said:

Hi Keith, you may have noticed I was watching on/lurking this wonderful build, but had not commented.  Everyone else had complimented and made all the relevant/necessary responses without me further cluttering up your build.  Congrats on finishing the project, it looks great - an interesting maritime related subject matter that I have not seen covered before. KUDOS

Thank you, Pat. Please do not ever feel like you're cluttering one of my logs with comments whether they're on topic or off. I like to think my build logs are representative of my worktable. When in the midst of a build my worktable maybe covered with a myriad of items. Someone other than myself may think not all those items are necessary but each is essential for the task at hand. The same applies with my build logs, some may think the comments by others a clutter especially if off topic. I welcome every comment, on or off topic. On topic comments keep me pointed toward the finish line, off topic comments provide a much needed break along the way.  

 

 

2 hours ago, FriedClams said:

Catching up after some time away, Keith and what a fantastic looking model you've created!  I know I'm repeating myself here, but I really find the overall feel and impression of the model to be very congruous - each element complements the whole and nothing feels or looks like it doesn't belong.  A great job of merging disparate components into one, and your very effective weathering reinforces that.  Look forward to the final touches.

 One of the greatest compliments is when the teacher compliments his student. Thank you, Gary.

[Daniel Kimmer]

Keith,

When you started the Steam Donkey you thought you would barely have time to finish it and now you're thinking about a Lula and a garbage scow, I love it.

The weathering is exceptional. Great work.

 

Dan

[clearway]

22 hours ago, Keith Black said:

When in the midst of a build my worktable maybe covered with a myriad of items

I hear you there Keith- every once in a while i need to take everything off and tidy up so i can find things again! You did a great job there and can't wait to see the  sternwheeler..... garbage scow- would that be a first on M.S.W.

 

Keith

[Keith Black]

22 hours ago, Daniel Kimmer said:

When you started the Steam Donkey you thought you would barely have time to finish it and now you're thinking about a Lula and a garbage scow, I love it.

The weathering is exceptional. Great work.

 Thank you, Dan. I had no worries about finishing the pile driver, it's the pile driver, support boat, now piling barge, tower crane, and dock diorama vision along with the Tennessee that I worry about not having time left to finish. 

 

 

19 minutes ago, clearway said:

I hear you there Keith- every once in a while i need to take everything off and tidy up so i can find things again! You did a great job there and can't wait to see the  sternwheeler..... garbage scow- would that be a first on M.S.W.

 Thank you, Keith. The garbage scow was tongue in cheek. I did do some research on the subject and the below is a most interesting peek back into the "way it was" 

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=new+york+historical+film+clip+showing+garbage+scow+being+loaded+by+horse+and+wagon&client=safari&sca_esv=5a02a879fec8af02&rls=en&ei=7jAVZ-XpI861ptQP45SPWQ&ved=0ahUKEwjlmJLPsZ2JAxXOmokEHWPKIwsQ4dUDCA8&oq=new+york+historical+film+clip+showing+garbage+scow+being+loaded+by+horse+and+wagon&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiUm5ldyB5b3JrIGhpc3RvcmljYWwgZmlsbSBjbGlwIHNob3dpbmcgZ2FyYmFnZSBzY293IGJlaW5nIGxvYWRlZCBieSBob3JzZSBhbmQgd2Fnb25IAFAAWABwAHgAkAEAmAEAoAEAqgEAuAEMyAEA-AEBmAIAoAIAmAMAkgcAoAcA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:1d3fa88b,vid:dGs9Ve-Pw74,st:0

[GrandpaPhil]

Excellently done and executed, Keith!

 

 

Edited October 20 by GrandpaPhil

[Keith Black]

3 hours ago, GrandpaPhil said:

Excellently done and executed, Keith!

 Thank you, Phil. Not quite done, a few bits remain to be added plus a couple of figures. 

[Keith Black]

Thank you to everyone for the likes, the kind comments and for following along..

 

 i've added some of the remaining props. I still have a ladder to make that was used to open and shut the upper cable tower doors. It will get mounted horizontally on the left side of the shed, that and the addition of a couple of figures and this little project will be done. The next photo post should be the finally.

 

 I darkened the deck a bit more, I hated doing so because less of the brown tones are visible but that's the why the guys were, nothing more than floating pigpens.  If they had been toilets you wouldn't have wanted to sit on one.  

 

 A small overflow woodpile added. 

 

 Lula delivered a pile of firewood that needs to be carried into the shed and stacked. Friction drum line coil added. This is he line that would have been used for tying the piling and dragging them up into the hammer slide. 

 

 Old drum line stacked outside the door. I adhered some single wood bits to the deck trying to represent the general untidiness.

 

 Overall view, in the near future there'll be a ladder hanging on that shed wall. 

 Everything is glued down, when the model is turned upside down nothing falls off......hopefully. 

 

  Thank you to each of you for your support.

 

   Keith

Edited October 22 by Keith Black

[Glen McGuire]

Everything has come together very nicely, Keith.  Your weathering, smudging, and dirtying look very authentic.

[mbp521]

I can only come up with two words Keith, “outstanding realism”. The weathering, distressed side rails, and grit, are top notch workmanship. Looking forward to Lula. 

 

-Brian

[clearway]

starting to come alive Keith - amazing what a bit of clutter can do.

 

Keith

[wefalck]

It's quite amazing, considering what clutter we accumulate on our workbenches over time, how difficult it is to produce a convincingly random clutter accumulation on a model ...

[Keith Black]

 

yada yada

 

18 hours ago, Glen McGuire said:

Everything has come together very nicely, Keith.  Your weathering, smudging, and dirtying look very authentic.

 Thank you, Glen. 

 

16 hours ago, mbp521 said:

can only come up with two words Keith, “outstanding realism”. The weathering, distressed side rails, and grit, are top notch workmanship. Looking forward to Lula. 

 Thank you, Brian. 

 

1 hour ago, clearway said:

starting to come alive Keith - amazing what a bit of clutter can do.

 Thank you, Keith

 

1 hour ago, wefalck said:

t's quite amazing, considering what clutter we accumulate on our workbenches over time, how difficult it is to produce a convincingly random clutter accumulation on a model ...

 Thank you, Eberhard. 

 

 Gentleman, I've tried as best I could to make the model look like a brief moment in time using the below photo as a templet. Unfortunately there are things on the deck I don't recognize. From the photos mcb provided, the pictured driver is pretty exemplary of the floating pile drivers of the era. 

 

   Keith

 

[tmj]

Beautiful Keith!!! 

If you're having a hard time with 'finally' completing this fantastic build, and still find yourself looking for some other little touches that you could add to it... Hmm. Maybe 'further darkening' the walking path around and into the door showing a lot of foot traffic, dirty boots and abuse in that area as well as any 'other' areas that would get significantly more foot traffic than other areas. Just a thought. 🙂