Robert E Lee by rodgerdodger - FINISHED - Amati

[dgbot]

Styrene has its place depending on wht you are doing.  It is used to simulate armer plate and other metals.  It can also be used for severe bends such as a cockpit for rhe America. It is used quite a bit for modern vessels.  And once painted you cannot tell the diffeence.  I rarely use it though.

David B

[rodgerdodger]

I hope you will find the blog helpful Larry.  If you haven't seen them there are excellent photos of the model, built by Jim (aka Script), in the Gallery of MSW.  A good help to keep one motivated. 

[rodgerdodger]

Painting and window/door installation.   The instructions contain several pictures of the model during construction before any wall planking or paint is applied.   This is obviously just for illustration purposes as it clear that the wall cladding and the painting has to be completed progressively before each level of cabins is fixed in place.  It also seems advantageous to me to install the windows and doors progressively rather than fixing at a later stage.  Fixing the wall planking I have already mentioned.  Here are cabins A,B,C, and E with planking in place and ready for painting.

 

 

It is always difficult to get good coverage with white paint.  I tried sealing, then I tried priming but in the end it still required several coats before a satisfactory result was obtained.  I used a flat enamel hobby paint and the coats had to be applied thinly otherwise the wall joints begins to disappear in the layers of paint.  For weathering I applied a very weak solution of a grey water-based paint (that the kids use) that was quickly wiped off with a clean cloth.  The effect is aided with the ribbing in the wall plankng and the result looks like a white painted boat that needs a coat of paint!  Whether it is successful I will leave to others to judge.

 

There are a load of lead cast windows and doors in the model (the don’t say how many in the parts list) – too many to paint one at a time.  They are well made and only the odd one or two need filing to remove excess etc.  I pickled them in vinegar as suggested in another section of MSW.   I tried spraying them laid out on paper but found that the window openings clogged up as the paint puddled on the paper.  Instead I made a simple rack from two square balsa beads, spaced at the correct distance to seat the windows.  I sprayed two thin layers of paint using an off-the-shelf can of domestic spray paint.

 

Edit 3/5/2014.  There are two types of window on the model, 4 pane and 6 pane windows.  Glaringly obvious when you see it but I didn't.  Fortunately I correctly used the 6 pane windows on the lower cabins but the windows on the raised cabin should have been 4 pane for example.  I don't think it will be a problem.  The pilot's cabin will have to be all be 4 pane windows instead of 6 and the error will not be obvious - I hope!

 

 

 

 

To fix the windows and doors I used a small dot of epoxy, hopefully sufficient to keep them in place.  For a model of this scale it is important to have the windows as perfectly in line horizontally and vertically as possible.  A 0.5 mm misalignment on the model would be equivalent to a 75mm misalignment full scale!  As there is little clearance within the window cutout to maneuver the window for alignment, it is important to make the window cut-outs in the wall planking correctly aligned during the planking process.  Easier said than done of course!

Edited May 3, 2014 by rodgerdodger

[rodgerdodger]

11, 12.  Boiler Zone and Raised Cabin.  These are straightforward to build and no further comment is required EXCEPT when building the Boiler Zone check that the width is under 90mm.  It has to fit between the columns in the colonnade shown in section 13.  I was one mm out and I had to take corrective action by cutting the front wall at the centre to shorten it and splice together again.

 

 

Above is a picture of the completed Boiler Zone and Raised Cabin components ready for assembly.  Note that painting is complete and windows and doors in place.  Also note the splice in the centre of the Boiler Zone after reducing the width.

[rodgerdodger]

13.   Colonnade  When fixing the colonnade supports (items 134, 134) to the underside of the foredeck (115) note firstly that they are not symmetrical.  The column spacing at one end is different to the other for some reason.  The instructions do no give you any clue as to which way they should go so take your pick as long as the columns line up on opposite sides.  Secondly the position of the supports should be determined relative to the  location of the end of cabin E by marking on the underside of the foredeck the location of cabin E. 

 

The foredeck is a sheet of 1mm ply and naturally flexible.  At all times during construction of the colonnade the sheet has to be flat to ensure that the columns etc., when in place, are vertical and square.  Also accuracy in the build is essential to ensure that columns or cabin F or G are not dangling in the air when finally in place due to differences in the length of the columns and the depth of the cabins.

 

The colonnade column supports being glued in place.  This is when I discovered that the width of the boiler zone (cabin F) should not exceed 90mm.  I was 1mm over as previously mentioned.  Also the extent of cabin E is shown shaded

 

View of the jigs used to construct the colonnade columns and cut the taper on the sloping leg of the column.  Accuracy was essential here and despite taking care I found it necessary to bunch up the completed columns on a flat board and carefully sand them so that they all were the same length.

 

Glueing the columns in position.  For this task I used a 12v gel battery which served the dual purpose of keeping the deck sheet flat and providing a ‘wall’ against which I could place the columns and keep them vertical.

[rodgerdodger]

In the meantime work has been progressing very slowly and tediously on the finishing of cabins A, B, C and E, F and G.  With up to four coats on each area, waiting for each coat to dry, then the weathering (why am I bothering?), painting the windows, fixing them and so on.   You can only do so much at time so it is a matter of popping in and out of the workroom when you can.  Sadly it denies you of any excuse not to tackle those other jobs about the house.  It is what you expect with models that have to be painted and finished as you progress but looking at the picture of the finished model I have to wonder if and when I will get there.

[rodgerdodger]

Colonnade cont’d.

 

 

The Boiler Zone and Raised Cabin glued to the underside of the Colonnade ready to be landed on the main deck.  A lot of checking and rechecking is required to be sure that the colonnade columns, the Boiler Zone and Raised Cabin columns sit neatly on the deck with no gaps.  The tendency for the colonnade deck (115) to bend, especially due to the components being glued on just the underside, didn’t make it easy.

[rodgerdodger]

14. Main Staircase  Before fixing the colonnade to the deck I decided to work on the main staircase.  I suspected that once the colonnade was in place assembling and fixing the staircase would be problematic.

 

The main staircase is a lead alloy casting – not particularly well made.  I started by filing off the faux planking from the balustrades as it was not well done and wouldn’t be missed.  Further filing was necessary to ensure the bottom step was parallel with the top landings so that the stairs when installed sat correctly upright plus other cosmetic work.  To be able to glue the four lower steps onto the casting correctly I decided to install the column under the middle landing first.  It took some measurements and some trial and error to get the right length for the column and I drilled a hole thro’ the middle landing to make the column more stable.  I then glued the casting to the steps using a jig to hold the casting up at the same time checking that the top landings were level.  It doesn’t help that the lower steps land on the section of foredeck that is inclined and they have to be slightly tapered on the underside to cope with this.

 

 

Now that the main staircase is freestanding it can be located in the correct position on the main deck by temporarily putting the colonnade in place and marking the correct location for the staircase.  Again a bit of trial and error to get it right.

 

 

The main staircase in position ready for the colonnade to be placed over. As you can see I decided to give the staircase some red-carpet treatment. 

[WackoWolf]

The stairs came out beautiful, nice and clean and crisp. Keep the pictures coming.

[dgbot]

As he said nice and clean.  Smart move on thinking ahead.  Most riverboats tend to throw curve balls when it comes to a building sequence.  It is always a good idea to go through the instructions several times so you get an idea of what is coming at you.

David B

[rodgerdodger]

15 First Structure Assembly.  With the main staircase in place the colonnade and cabins A, B, C, and E can be placed fixed in position onto the first deck.  The instructions advise ‘consult the designs and proceed with great care’.  Not at all helpful!  The main thing is to keep every thing square, on centerline and make sure all components make full contact with the deck. 

 

(Missed out on taking a picture at this point.)

 

16 Finishing the first deck.     I decided to skip this stage as fixing the edge strip and other items can be done later.

 

17 Lower part (i.e. underside) First Deck.  This stage is illustrated in the instructions, not on the drawings.  I started planking the underside of the first deck after planking the topside.  My thinking was to make the deck sheet stiffer as the overhangs were flapping in the breeze so to speak being only 1mm thick.  I discovered planking the underside did not help the stiffness and furthermore the ‘reinforcing cross pieces’ cannot be correctly located until the first deck structures are in place.  Note that the drawing shows four ‘reinforcing cross pieces’ aft of the paddlewheel housing but omits the four cross pieces fore of the housing.  These can be seen in the photo of the completed boat on the box lid.

 

 

Starting the planking before the first deck cabins are in place.

 

 

Four reinforcing cross pieces fore and aft of the paddlewheel housing.  The four forward cross pieces are located to suit the window layout on cabin E.

 

 

Underside of deck completed and painted with paddlewheels in place.  All ready to be turned over and never to be seen again unless you view the boat on your hands and knees!

[edmay]

Hello to you,your neat workmanship and explanations are much appreciated,thank you.Edwin

[rodgerdodger]

18 & 19 Cabins H & I.   To set out the cabin walls for Cabin I it is important to note that the forward edge of deck piece 171 has to be vertically above the forward edge of deck piece 175, other wise there will be problems when it comes to installing the balustrade later.

 

To set out the walls of Cabin H note that the rear edge of deck piece 161 has to be vertically above the rear edge of deck piece 17.  Also the rear wall of the Cabin has to be just 1mm back from the rear edge of deck piece 161 (1mm to allow for the cabin wall planking).  

 

The deck pieces 161 and 172 had to be rebated a little to fit up to the paddlewheel housings.

 

 

Having completed the cabins H & I the area for deck planking on the 2^nd deck can be marked and the decking completed. 

 

The second deck with planking completed and stair balustrades in place before the cabins H & I are installed.

[WackoWolf]

This is turning out very nice. A little at a time and she is looking Beautiful. Keep the pictures coming and Thank you for sharing with us.

[rodgerdodger]

Thankyou Wacko Joe and my 'likers' for hanging on with my log.  The trap with these logs is that once you start I feel you have to keep it going despite the occasional urge to down tools and take up golf or something!  So I can feel the pressure is on with everyone looking over my shoulder so-to speak.  I am finding the model challenging for reasons that I will discuss later and full marks to you Jim (aka Script) for successfully completing your model.  Completion for me seems a long way off right now.

 

To continue: -

 

Cabins H & I Cont’d.  Theses cabins have now been fully planked and windows/doors inserted.  The wall planking on this level is left au naturel, which saves some time, and finished with a coat of flat acrylic - clear.

                                                                                                          

 

The completed cabins ready for fixing to the model.  But before doing so I decided I would install the deck edge plank at the stern of Cabin H  as once the cabin is installed it will be more difficult to fix it in the correct location.

 

All of the decks require an edge plank formed from a 3mm x 1mm timber strip.  The decks are only 1.5 – 2mm thick so it is essential to locate the edge strips accurately.  I used clamps with small timber strips to provide a ‘landing’ for the edge strip.  Hard to explain and better illustrated in the following pictures.  The small packers on the top of the deck are necessary to provide clearance for the edge strip.

 

 

It was relatively easy to bend the strips by soaking in water then forming the curves by molding the strip into shape using my fingers.  I then pinned the strip to a board to dry out using the deck plan for a guide as illustrated below that is a technique familiar to all modelers I am sure.  When dry the edge strip was then painted before fixing.

 

 

 

The photo shows the edge decking in position, threaded through the clamps, ready to be glued to the deck.  I used medium CA (carefully) to glue the edge strips in place.  Despite the ‘landing’ strips I still had to be careful that the edge strip was correctly located on the edge of the deck due to the fact the strips are not always 100% straight.   

 

Having completed this piece of deck edging I have decided to proceed with all the deck edging now, plus the other items mentioned in Item 16 in the instruction manual.  Very fiddly stuff so it might be a while before you hear from me again!

 

 

 

[dgbot]

You are progressing well.

David B

[mathewp]

Your doing very nice work for your "later years". I'm impressed. Look forward to the rest of your build. 

[rodgerdodger]

15 Finishing the first deck.  The edging to the first deck and second deck is now completed together with the vertical ‘reinforcements’ and horizontal strips in the area of the paddlewheel housing. This is how the model now looks at the completion of  stage 20 with cabins H & I in place ready for decking level 3.   

 

 

Note that the upper horizontal white strip on the paddlewheel housing does not line up with the horizontal strip to the rear of the housing.  Oops!  This is because the line of the upper white strip is governed by the position of the windows on cabin E.  I used the cabin elevation on the plans to set out the windows that was obviously incorrect and I did not foresee this problem.  Needless to say the instructions don’t mention it.  I don’t think the error requires any drastic corrective action.

 

While I think of it you will see that I fixed some 'skis' to the underside of the hull before I flipped it over when I had completed the underside planking.  The skis are helpful in setting the model up at an angle when fixing edge strips etc and when I get to fixing the balustrades at the upper levels.

Edited May 31, 2014 by rodgerdodger

[rodgerdodger]

Before putting in place Cabins H & I, I decided to drill the 1st deck at the location of the masts in front of the main staircase as access would be difficult later.  I used the deck plans to locate the position for drilling and, guess what, at 10cm spacing as per the drawing they miss the hull and go through the underside decking.  As the masts are free standing I decided it was necessary to seat them in the hull and re-drilled the holes at 90mm centres.  So I have a couple of spare holes that will require a coil of rope or similar to cover them.

Anybody following this log one day with their build - beware!

 

[rodgerdodger]

21 External Staircases   These are made from preformed stair-flights that makes the task much easier although the tweezers still come in handy.

 

 

External staircases under construction.

[rodgerdodger]

22, 22a & 22b Skylights on the 4^th Deck  (I think this should read 3^rd deck).  Before planking the third deck I decided to assemble the skylights to be able to mark out the area for the 3^rd deck planking more accurately. 

 

Firstly I planked the ply rooves of the central skylight and two side skylights.   The actual skylights are lead alloy castings – well made and requiring very little work to clean them up. The key is to carefully plan the layout of the skylight strips.  Cutting of the strips is required at the corners and you have to keep an eye on which end of the strip you cut.  Once the skylights have been accurately laid out the position of the 2x2 strip can be correctly located on the underside of the skylight roof, to which the skylights are then glued using medium CA.

 

The photo illustrates progress on the three skylights.

 

The central skylight goes across the joint between the central cabin and cabin H, and cabin H is on an incline.  The instructions do not describe how to cater for this.  I decided to cut through the skylight at the joint so that the skylight will sit neatly on the deck fore and aft of the joint as illustrated in the following photo.

 

[dgbot]

You are getting there. Keep it up.

David B

[Script]

Roger,

Looking fine!

 

Makes me remember some of the issues you are describing. Your narrative is very thorough...much better than my random ramblings.

 

Keep up the great work!

 

Cheers,

 

Jim

[rodgerdodger]

Thankyou Jim and David B for your encouragement - all helps to keep the motivation up!

 

23 & 24 Cabins M and N.  Now completed without any new dramas and shown in position (but not yet fixed until painted).   The skylights have been painted (it took four thin coats to get a satisfactory cover) and the deck planking completed on the 3^rd deck, the skylights and cabin M.  The next step is to ‘stain’ all these decks at the same time and hopefully achieve a uniform finish between them.  Then it is a matter of painting the Cabins M and N and fixing them all in position.  But I must remember to add the edging strips to the skylights and cabin M before fixing in place to make life a bit easier.

 

Getting there! 

[GrumpyG]

Brill! Keep up the blog coz I am starting the same build! Gerry

[rodgerdodger]

Good luck with your build Gerry and I look forward to seeing some progress shots.

 

I have moved on with the installation of the skylights and cabins M & N but before doing so I had to prepare the edge strips and trims.  As with any painted model various items have to be painted before gluing in place, rather than painting when fixed, to get the best result.  The following picture shows the edge strips and trims during the painting process.  There was no way I could bend a 3mm x 1mm strip around the tight curves so they were made from laminated 3mm x 0.5 strips (not provided with kit).

 

 

The following picture shows the skylights in position and the 1mm sq white edge trim that goes around the perimeter of the skylights.

 

 

I had better luck with the ‘staining’ of the three upper decks including the skylight decks.  The next picture shows a more uniform colour and match between the decks.  Unfortunately I was'nt so lucky with the first deck as previously explained but I hope that will be largely disguised with deck furniture, cargo bales etc.

 

 

The next photo shows cabins M and N in position and overall progress to date.  It does not show up that well in the photos but the ‘weathering’ of the model has been a blessing in disguise.  It means that the odd splinter in the wood or uneven paint surface doesn’t stand out as a piece of bad workmanship!!

 

 

Except for the installation of stairs to Cabins M & N I have completed up to stage 26 of the instructions. 

[testazyk]

Nice work.  I did the AL King of the Mississippi and loved it and looking at your log makes me want to do another steamboat!

[ir3]

Roger, great work on the R. E. Lee. I built several of these in years past and I see from your build, not much has changed in accuracy. When you first started, was the hull perfectly straight? Thes kits tended to have hulls that had a slight warp in them. Also, I see that you have run into all of the other little 1mm errors here and there but have taken care of them as you go. When they add up, it's a nightmare to get everything to fit properly. This is a great kit but does take a lot of planning and measuring before gluing up the next step. Looking forward to your updates. I am particularly interested in seeing how you handle the railings.

Edited June 27, 2014 by ir3

[HIPEXEC]

Love those stairs!

[rodgerdodger]

You are spot on ir3, accuracy is the key with this model and I will have a bit to say about this when I finally review the model, if I get there that is.  The hull was solid and very accurate - no twists or bends, but I am not sure what the material was - some form compressed wood particles I think.  Interesting you should mention the railings - that was the next stage in my log.

 

27 Rear Railing.   The wires provided for the rear railing are 1mm dia and the railing posts cut from 2x2mm timber.  As the posts have to be vertical and the rails are parallel to an inclined deck some tolerance is required in the hole drilled in the rail posts for the rails.  A hole greater than 1mm drilled in the 2x2mm posts to suit the wire provided I felt did not leave enough room for error.  I decided to ditch the wire provided and I obtained wire a gauge smaller.  Unfortunately brass wire was not available so I used piano wire that made life even more difficult as it turned out.  However I persevered and completed the assembly and the result is ok but I would not recommend using piano wire to others.

 

Firstly the rail posts had to be cut very accurately and trial fitted before drilling.  Needless to say they were not precisely the same length from one side of the deck to the other.  To drill the holes for the rails I made a template from a scrap piece of brass sheet with the holes accurately drilled, glued and pinned it to a scrap piece of ply and built a jig on the reverse side to locate the post while drilling. 

 

 

I bent the rails as close as I could to the radius of the stern of the deck by twisting the four rails in a bunch around a large diameter dowel.  A bit hit-and-miss but I achieved enough bend in the wires to take the spring out of them before fixing.  I then threaded the 12 columns onto the wires.  I now had a highly articulated assembly that was very difficult to maneuver and wouldn’t stay in one place for any length of time.  Instead of drilling into the rear cabin wall to locate the rails I made an additional post and glued it to the end of the rails while trial fitting onto the model which made the assembly a little more stable.  All a bit tricky.

 

 

The post to the right in the above picture has been glued to the rails to give the assembly some stability.  The first step in fixing the post and rails in position was to glue this post to the rear of the cabin.  Then each post is progressively located in position around the curve of the deck stern.  Gluing the posts in place is made difficult by the deck edge board that prevents the posts being slid into place.  My solution was to delicately place a drop of thin CA at the base of the post, using a thin tube supplied with the CA for getting into tight corners.  After all the posts were in position I cut the rails to the correct length at the free end and glued on another post which in turn was glued to the cabin wall.  It was impractical to glue the top of the posts to the underside of the upper deck, so I used thin CA to glue the rails to each post.  The end result is that the rails are holding up the posts rather than the posts holding up the rails!

 

 

The end result looks ok but it was a battle to achieve.  It took a lot of pushing and pulling to get everything into the right spot before fixing in place and there will be a need for some touch up at the end of the project.  I am not sure if I will paint the rails - will wait and see.   Not a very pretty method of building this stage but I can’t think of a better way at the moment.

 

I apologise for the quality of my pictures but I would rather spend time on the model rather than time finessing the pictures.