hopefully I’m back on track
For both you and Steve 5 ;
Look at Christmas ornaments . Definitely !They make those things in different sizes . They would work ! Nice picture by the way . T.B
Steve 5 ;
Those are gorgeous wheels .But a sidenote here ;
The wheels on the likes of the " Big Named " boats were kept in almost pristene appearance .Why ? Well exposure for too long to the waters of the scrubbing action of the mud suspended in the rivers would weaken the bare wood substantially .
I believe the Lee’s wheels were either red or blue . Not sure , mind you . T.B. P.S - I think somewhere , someone stated , they might’ve been dark grey !
That’s the idea .
Now they really need to be larger in size say 1/2 " x 1" almost an oblong . Build them in one of the crates . Then you can make many all the same size . The wrap needs to look like old burlap - Kind of a dark brownish tan . Almost a weak coffee and cream color . Hope this helps . T.B. Please excuse this comment . It normally took four " Bucks " to carry one bale . I am referrencing the vernacular back then , this referred to the African - American males required to do the job .
thank’s tanker builder , I was thinking of soaking some paper in tea , then letting it dry out , haven’t had a chance yet . still up in the air about the wheel’s , I really like the wood effect , might end up using artistic license on that one . put a photo of the stack’s in , they still need a little work , but I like them .
I take it tanker that white is really the only colour to paint this boat ?
Steve5;
Yes, my friend .Sad to say she was All white with Red letters on the Paddle boxes .Some say that one time, Before the famous race in which she cheated she had red rails and fancywork .
I have not been able to verify that .I have seen one picture where all the windows and doors had a very light grey paint though.
That’s one reason why I had asked for the Natchez as a Christmas gift .She was way more colorful . I may buy one and change it to the Natchez . Same boat different colors .The kit , as I have said was the same for both except the paddle-box lettering .
I have modeled enough now to make the change of letters very easy . So I can use the " Lee " instead . If I were you, I would excercise that artistic license in the door and window areas too .
I have always believed she looked better with Light grey in those areas to counter-balance the natural wood of the fore-deck upper supports . Now that you have made that decision , I think you should keep those wheels and do the same fantastic job on those deck supports too.
If you have difficulty finding any material , I would be glad to obtain the items and send them to you .Message me . Tanker - Builder
Years ago, at a Nautical Research Guild convention, I heard a lecture by John Fryant, one of the most knowlegeable steamboat modelers around, about his model of the Robt. E. Lee. He’d done a great deal of research on her.
One revelation (to me at least) was that there were really only two reasons for the fame of this particular riverboat. One was the Currier and Ives print of her race with the Natchez: http://ualrexhibits.org/steamboats/wp-content/blogs.dir/10/files/05/ualr-ph-0101_na_na_na_na_pho065_web.jpg . The other was the song “Waitin’ for the Robert E. Lee” - which in fact was written about a later, smaller vessel of the same name.
I did a little digging on the web, and found this set of plans, which looks pretty impressive to me (though I’m certainly not an authority on steamboats): http://steamboats.com/museum/modelplans.html .
Here are a few photos of Mr. Fryant’s model: http://steamboats.com/museum/fryant.html .
And here’s a pretty good photo of the actual boat: https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7034/6808751505_5d3f47d081_z.jpg .
If you google “Robt. E. Lee steamboat” you’ll be taken to a whole lot of interesting pictures - including several shots of models built, to varying standards, from the Pyro/Lifelike/Lindberg kit.
The shortage of really good American riverboat kits - plastic, wood, and other - is a real shame. They make spectacular models.
Good luck.
T.B.
thank’s mate , appreciate the offer , and will do , if I have any issue’s , sad about the colour scheme . might have to put a coloured rail in , or something , lol .
J.T.
thank’s for the picture’s and history , they will come in very handy .
started on the first deck
Hey :
Looking good Mate ; Now when you get the hull painted remember this , she was either Dark red or black for the underwater areas with no waterline stripe .
Your deck looks good , To age it some you can wash it with a wash of Acrylic clear tinted with some chocolate and white . Probably one small drop of each to a large bottle of clear semi gloss paint .
The Bulkhead in the picture would be sooty grey behind the boilers . On the center area only.
Want to have some fun .If you can .( I don’t know if it’s available there ) there’s a product here called " Rub n Buff". They have a burnt steel and sooty black .You rub them on and polish like crazy .The color stays on the item .Then you cover it with Clear semigloss or flat acrylic clear . It’s used to antique picture frames .
This would be excellent for the boilers and steam lines .Remember , Back then they weren’t lagged ( Insulated ) . Some smudging in front as the boiler deck in front of the beasts would have been a sheet or two of steel or iron in case the firebox did a blowback which did happen from time to time .
Good luck and keep the pictures coming . Tanker - Builder
thank’s tanker builder , will have alook for rub n buff , I haven’t heard of it , I got a stupid question for you , I’ll apologise in advance , as the boat is all white , do I leave the plastic natural , or paint it a white colour ? ,
steve5
I built this kit long ago when t was fairly new. I hate to think how bad a job I did on it. Last year I picked one up for a couple dollars at our contest and have it sitting in the garage, waiting. My wife suggested to wait until I was retired to work on it. The trouble is I also have the wooden model of it too.
Hit 65 next month so probably late next year I’ll at least go into part itme as I can’t afford to retire. At least it wilsl give me more building itme if medical problems don’t interfer too much.
ikar01
it’s not a bad kit , the instuctions aren’t the best , but I’m having fun . I hope this come’s in handy for you . if not me at least the valuable help I’m getting .
tanker builder
is this like the colour you described , it is a fair bit darker than the picture , It’s only vallejo ger. red brown primer ?
steve5
Leaving the plastic as is, is tempting. But, paint is a better option. If only so that the plastic is not translucent. A good flat white will better represent painted wood, too.
You probably want a coat of primer, too.
thank’s capnmac82 , somehow I thought that was the answer , guess I was just being lazy lol .
Hi Steve5:
Hello my friend .Hey , on the color’s , Don’t even think about leaving the plastic unpainted .The plastic from that era is prone to very bad yellowing over time . And from that company too !
Painting is good , but you did make a Boo-Boo ! The boat’s hull was white for at least a foot and a half or two for unladen appearance . The color is alright . If it is darker , as a result of flash whitening being lighter, you’re good . T.B.
thank’s tanker , I totally misunderstood you , when you said no waterline , I read over stripe , duh!! , so the white is just under the middle of the boat ,as the deck is slightly curved up at each end. Because I’m repainting the hull , I might go to black , now that I have had a chance to look at it , think that will make it stand out more ,
as I said to capnmac , I was just being lazy , over the white ,
going into town today see if I can get some hessian looking cloth to make those bales , prof J.T. gave me a good pic of the actual size of the bale’s .they look between 1.8 & 2m tall.get back to you when I get some more picture’s mate .
steve5
tanker I went for a slightly beaten up look for the boiler , the bulkhead isn’t that great at the moment ,but I’ll keep at it , before I paint and glue the piece of plastic in front of the boiler , is this what you meant for the blow back’s ?
does this look better for the bale’s T.B. , this photo makes the mesh look way bigger , than from where we will see it
Hey ;
That’s alright .You can muddy color that area with a white /tan mix and no one will be the wiser .Just make sure you do a bow wave kind of line of cleaner hull just behind the Paddle-Wheels . Then you’ll be fine . T.B.