I finished the first of 3 tugboats that I’m building for an HO scale diorama.
I took pictures while I was building it. I’m about halfway through the second tug.
http://public.fotki.com/DaveInTheHat/davetown/project-tugboat/
Wow. Great looking little tug!
Mark
Wow that tugboat would steal some limelight out from the centerpiece. Terrific job!
Dave what kit did you use for this terrific looking model?
Don
Don, Its a Lindberg kit. I bought it half started on ebay. I’m building another one thats the same kit. The third one will be a diesel tug, also by Lindberg.
Oh the Hercules! I am glad it got a good home I remember seeing it on ebay now.
Don
Interesting! I never realised that Lindberg actually produced two different models of tugs. I recently bought the “Diesel Tug” also at a bargain price on eBay. I was surprised at how large the scale was compared to the Revell 1/100ish tug I built a few months ago (I’ll try and post some photos of this soon). The box gives a scale of 1/82, but according to my calculations it’s more like 1/55-1/60. What size/scale is the one you are currently building? I assume it’s a smaller scale (is this one of the kits which was included in Lindberg’s “Waterfront Four” box set?) Your tugboat model looks great BTW! The painting + weathering is very convincing.
Fan-bloody-tastic! Went to your site, beautiful pix, really wel done build.
The pix don’t have any info with them, what’s your secret to the awesome weathered and peeling paint on the deckhouse?
Well done![wow]
The scale is questionable. The haul measures about 85 feet in HO scale. The cabin doors measure 5 1/2 feet. The men that come in the kit are about 8’ tall. Something is out of wack, but it looks ok. I’m not sure what the ‘waterfront four’ is. I got this kit half started on ebay.
I changed out the railing stanchions and railings for some brass ones that looked to me more in scale. I haven’t completley finished it yet but it is pretty well painted. I don’t have it weathered though and honestly I doubt I could weather it to look anything like Daves. I will try to post some pictures in the next few days. The kit is based on a tug 85 ft long.
There also was a Carol Ann tug by lindburgh, motorized that I saw on ebay.
Don
I made up a mold for new doors than what was in the kit. The “Four” was a River towboat, fireboat, tugboat and I believe a fishing boat. Hard to find now on E Bay.
Don
I distressed the plastic with rough sand paper from a floor sander, a stiff wire brush, and a sawblade that I dragged sideways on the plastic. I primed the plastic with Floquil primer. Then brush painted it with Dr. Ben’s Aged Driftwood. A quick wash with a mixture of ink and alcohol. I sprayed the upper and lower areas of the cabin with Floquil box car red. Then lightly dry brushed Folk Art barn red.
I pretty much just kinda winged it. I haven’t done much with making plastic look like wood before.
Lindberg aso released that steam tug as a USCG tug a couple of times. The Waterfront 4 were approximately 1:160 to 1:200 scale - depending on the boat. The tug and fireboat were about 1:160 (N scale); the towboat and fishing boat were scaled a little smaller.
The Lindberg “Diesel Tug” is a reissue of an extremely old, but basically sound, Pyro kit. That one, in turn, was a copy of a Model Shipways solid-hull wood kit. The kit in fact represents the tug Dispatch No. 9. MS recently re-released it; it’s available through the Model Expo website (www.modelexpoonline.com).
Pyro, in the very early fifties, ripped off several kit designs from Model Shipways (Roger B. Taney, Harriet Lane, Dispatch No. 9, and a couple of fishing boats) and Marine Models (Gertrude L. Thebaud). Twenty-five years later the two gentlemen who ran Model Shipways were still referring to Pyro as “Pirate Plastics.”
Progress on tugboat number 2
Make sure you post your completed centerpiece and dio.
even the tugboats make me salivating. Gorgeous. Wanna see some heavy rust on the tugs [yeah]
Here’s a picture of the waterfront four.
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Thanks Bob. I’ll have to look out for that one. I’m almost finished my second tug. Probably by the time I get finished with the third one I won’t want to build anymore for a while.
Here’s about where I am so far.
These first two look great.
How about you do a “how to weather” tutorial when you start the third tug boat.
[swg]
Maybe this will help.
Rust and dirt:
http://journals.fotki.com/DaveInTheHat/
Pictures while I took while I was building:
http://public.fotki.com/DaveInTheHat/davetown/project-tugboat/
http://public.fotki.com/DaveInTheHat/davetown/tugboat-project-no-2/