Lula by Keith Black - 1:120 Scale - 1870s Sternwheeler Supply Boat for Floating Pile Driver

[Glen McGuire]

11 hours ago, Keith Black said:

Once the Tennessee is done then I'd love to start on a diorama.

Wait a minute!  I thought a ship in bottle with penguins was next on your list!?!?  And I know just the guy that can carve you some awesome penguins.  Check out what @gsdpic did.  See post #18.

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/37836-friendship-sloop-by-gsdpic-bluejacket-shipcrafters-112/#comment-1091805

 

And your Lula is really coming together nicely.  Wonderful work, Keith!

Edited Saturday at 01:55 PM by Glen McGuire

[clearway]

Nice Keith- i take a couple of days away for the steam gala at Keighley and she has sprang forwards leaps and bounds.

 

Keith

[Jim Lad]

Looking good, Keith. Are you going to leave those sidelight boxes white?

 

John

[Keith Black]

On 3/22/2025 at 9:54 AM, Glen McGuire said:

Wait a minute!  I thought a ship in bottle with penguins was next on your list!?!?  And I know just the guy that can carve you some awesome penguins.  Check out what @gsdpic did.  See post #18.

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/37836-friendship-sloop-by-gsdpic-bluejacket-shipcrafters-112/#comment-1091805

 

And your Lula is really coming together nicely.  Wonderful work, Keith!

 Thank you, Glen. I'll leave SIB work to your capable hands and as far as penguins go........I'm back on the patch. 

 

21 hours ago, clearway said:

Nice Keith- i take a couple of days away for the steam gala at Keighley and she has sprang forwards leaps and bounds

 Thank you, Keith. I've managed to get some extra work time in on Lula lately. 

 

20 hours ago, Jim Lad said:

Looking good, Keith. Are you going to leave those sidelight boxes white?

 Thank you, John. Yes, I'm leaving the light boards white because white paint reflects better according to Google AI.

 

 "Red light will appear brighter when reflected off white paint because white paint reflects all colors of light, including red, while red paint only reflects red light"

 

"Red paint contains pigments that selectively reflect red light and absorb other colors. When red light shines on red paint, the red paint reflects the red light back, but the amount of reflected light is less than that of white paint, as it doesn't reflect all wavelengths of light" 

 

"Green light will appear brighter when reflected off white paint because white paint reflects all wavelengths of light, including green, while green paint only reflects green light and absorbs others" 

 

 "Since white paint reflects all colors, including green, it will appear brighter when illuminated with green light compared to green paint, which only reflects green light"

 

 I've seen light boards left natural when hung in the shrouds, painted red and green, painted black, dark gray, and silver. But because of the above I went with white. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Sunday at 04:30 PM by Keith Black

[Jim Lad]

Thanks for those quotes. Mark.  Traditionally, of course, the light boxes were painted red and green, and now they are usually painted black.

 

John

[MAGIC's Craig]

2 hours ago, Keith Black said:

 

 Thank you, John. Yes, I'm leaving the light boards white because white paint reflects better according to Google AI.

 

 "Red light will appear brighter when reflected off white paint because white paint reflects all colors of light, including red, while red paint only reflects red light"

 

"Red paint contains pigments that selectively reflect red light and absorb other colors. When red light shines on red paint, the red paint reflects the red light back, but the amount of reflected light is less than that of white paint, as it doesn't reflect all wavelengths of light" 

 

"Green light will appear brighter when reflected off white paint because white paint reflects all wavelengths of light, including green, while green paint only reflects green light and absorbs others" 

 

 "Since white paint reflects all colors, including green, it will appear brighter when illuminated with green light compared to green paint, which only reflects green light"

 

 I've seen light boards left natural when hung in the shrouds, painted red and green, painted black, dark gray, and silver. But because of the above I went with white. 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, one learns something everyday...I have sailed with many black and natural finished light boards, but not white. Perhaps they were finished thus to avoid excessive glare from light scatter when on deck.  (I note that it doesn't seem to help in fog or rain.) This use of white light boards, however, does make some sense and so I shall follow your logic with the light boards on TWILIGHT when I get to mounting them. Thanks again for the thorough research on all aspects of your model(s).

Craig

[Keith Black]

10 hours ago, Jim Lad said:

Thanks for those quotes. Mark.  Traditionally, of course, the light boxes were painted red and green, and now they are usually painted black.

 John, thank you for questioning the light boards color. I also went with white light boards because of Lula's owners decision, with the exception of the black trim, to paint everything that didn't move white.

 

10 hours ago, MAGIC's Craig said:

Well, one learns something everyday...I have sailed with many black and natural finished light boards, but not white. Perhaps they were finished thus to avoid excessive glare from light scatter when on deck.  (I note that it doesn't seem to help in fog or rain.) This use of white light boards, however, does make some sense and so I shall follow your logic with the light boards on TWILIGHT when I get to mounting them. Thanks again for the thorough research on all aspects of your model(s).

 Thank you, Craig. I try to be accurate when building but sometimes I fail and that bothers me. Hopefully I'll continue to learn and each new project will be more accurate than the last.  

[Javelin]

Actually nowadays they are painted matt black by colreg regulation. 

The reason is that it shouldn't reflect the colour of the light at all, simply because the light would then be visible from unwanted angles (in case of sidelight that would be from angles too much astern).

That said, I believe that only came into use in 1970 or later, so for Lula I guess it's really up to you. 

 

In any case this thread is great to follow, so much detail on such a small model. She really looks the part!

 

[Keith Black]

14 hours ago, Javelin said:

Actually nowadays they are painted matt black by colreg regulation. 

The reason is that it shouldn't reflect the colour of the light at all, simply because the light would then be visible from unwanted angles (in case of sidelight that would be from angles too much astern).

That said, I believe that only came into use in 1970 or later, so for Lula I guess it's really up to you. 

 

In any case this thread is great to follow, so much detail on such a small model. She really looks the part!

 Thank you, Roel. 

 

The 1972 Convention was designed to update and replace the Collision Regulations of 1960 which were adopted at the same time as the 1960 SOLAS Convention. 

 

Annex I - Positioning and technical details of lights and shapes

5. Screens for sidelights

The sidelights of vessels of 20 m or more in length shall be fitted with inboard screens painted matt black, and meeting the requirements of section 9 of this annex. On vessels of less than 20 m in length the sidelights, if necessary to meet the requirements of section 9 of this annex, shall be fitted with inboard matt black screens. With a combined lantern, using a single vertical filament and a very narrow division between the green and red sections, external screens need not be fitted.

 

 

On 3/22/2025 at 8:24 PM, MAGIC's Craig said:

This use of white light boards, however, does make some sense and so I shall follow your logic with the light boards on TWILIGHT when I get to mounting them. Thanks again for the thorough research on all aspects of your model(s).

Craig, you better nix the thought of white light boards. Sorry to have lead you and anyone else astray. 

[MAGIC's Craig]

14 hours ago, Keith Black said:

 Thank you, Roel. 

 

The 1972 Convention was designed to update and replace the Collision Regulations of 1960 which were adopted at the same time as the 1960 SOLAS Convention. 

 

Annex I - Positioning and technical details of lights and shapes

5. Screens for sidelights

The sidelights of vessels of 20 m or more in length shall be fitted with inboard screens painted matt black, and meeting the requirements of section 9 of this annex. On vessels of less than 20 m in length the sidelights, if necessary to meet the requirements of section 9 of this annex, shall be fitted with inboard matt black screens. With a combined lantern, using a single vertical filament and a very narrow division between the green and red sections, external screens need not be fitted.

 

 

Craig, you better nix the thought of white light boards. Sorry to have lead you and anyone else astray. 

Oh, well...Can't have a CG fellow arrest the model for the color of the light board backs...back to flat black - whenever I get to them .  Craig  😉

 

[Keith Black]

 Thank you to everyone for your comments and likes

 

As I said, I'll be leaving Lula's light boards white. Side lights were recommended in 1858 and signed into law in1864 by President Lincoln. I can not find light board color requirements mentioned in the early regulations. 

 

 

 A brief update... I got the boiler stack chain stays attached which took the better part of a full workday. The chain size required wire no greater than 28 GA for making the eyes. To attach chain stays I have to sneak up on the correct link length by trial and error. It's a very tedious process and I wish I knew a faster/better means to accomplish this task. One link makes all the difference in the world and it drives me a bit batty getting the perfect length.

 

 With the stack stays done next up is the pilothouse. It'll be three or four days before I have an opportunity to get back to work on Lula so it will be awhile before I'm able to post progress and photos.  

 

  Thank you for your support and for following along.

 

   Keith

[Ian_Grant]

The other thing about chains which drives ME batty is blackening them. I have had little success. 😞

[Keith Black]

5 minutes ago, Ian_Grant said:

The other thing about chains which drives ME batty is blackening them. I have had little success. 😞

 Ian, until recently I would have agreed with you 100% but the last two times I've used Birchwood Casey I've had success amazingly enough. I blackened the chains for the derrick crane stays and the sidelight lanterns and they came out perfect. I'm somewhat shocked because in the past I've had a flakey/sooty finish which easily rubbed off. 

 

 The last two times I've soaked the pieces to be blackened in acetone and thoroughly rinsed in water as usual but instead of soaking the parts in the blackening solution I used a Q-tip soaked in BC and rubbed the pieces for 30 to 45 seconds and let sit for 15 seconds. I did this twice rinsing in water after each application and they came out great. I am ashamed to say that with the exception of using acetone instead of alcohol these are the exact directions on the bottle which after seven or eight years of frustration I finally read.   

[Ian_Grant]

I always get that flaky finish too! And I too dump the chains into the solution.

 

I will try your new method.

 

Thanks Keith!

[wefalck]

Leaving a part too long in a blackening solution results in a buildup of several layers, which then can detach, i.e. flake. Using a ‚tampon‘ process means that the surface is exposed to a limited amount of blackening solution, reducing the risk of flaking.