1/700 SS Fraser Paddle Steamer and Terminal/Depot #223

[Rhino]

Good luck finding new supplier. What's the problem with Reynolds?

Beats me. Maybe I'm too big a pain in the ass with not enough revenue to justify it. I tried several different products/volumes with the same result. SOOooooo.............
I went to Smooth-On's parent site and bought what I needed from their on-line store. Pricing and shipping was exactly the same from Pennsylvania as it is from Chicago. I don't like to wait.

Here's what 414ml of RTV looks like in the bombastic Base mold box, less the Lego brick bleed-through. I lined the box with tape this time, to better seal the gaps. This was every morsel of Mold Max 10 I had on hand.
Only 240 ml to go!

COME ON, UPS!!

 

[Rhino]

Must be brilliant in your world... Certainly looks like it from out here,,,,

"Madness and Brilliance. It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide." Captain Jack Sparrow
Thanks Paddy!

 

[Rhino]

MUHHU HAHA Hahaha! Material order arrived today!

The vertical base took total of 770 grams of Mold Max 10. This is the most ridiculous mold I ever have made. There is 1030 grams of Mold Max 10 in the trial size plastic jar. If it works like it should, I will be casting bases with finished tops and bottoms (maybe a tiny seam line) in another 24 hours.

The original horizonal mold base casting has taken 4 days of filling and manicuring, so far, to get the river/water/ocean/road flat. There is NO way on God's good green Earth I would ever sell one of these to you! Nor would I cut and sand anything I in such a fashion to get it ready to sell. Too time consuming!

I was working on 2 early bases for box art purposes. They measure 3.5 X 4.25 inches.

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Das ist a LOT of rubber!

 

[Rhino]

The huge, new (?!?) mold fills easily. The production base measures 3.5 X 4 inches. The first casting looks dandy, save a divot in the river, where the RTV pulled out a bit of filler. Not a commonplace occurrence! 60ml of liquid fills the mold.

Model supplies can be found almost everywhere, if you look. My Fraser river steamboat diorama will have evergreen trees. Making these from dental brushes is a quick, easy way to do it. The can be cut and shaved to different heights without much fuss. The box-art version won't feature trees of rocks along the riverbank.

Maybe you prefer a battery of cannon, guarding the Fraser? The barracks/boarding house, outhouse/latrine and earthen berm can be sited on your base wherever you decide.
Here's the catch, in my got-carried-away-ness, I made too many accessories for the set to fit them all on the riverbank together.
You must choose. But, choose wisely.

 

[moon puppy]

Adding a stock pen would be a nice touch to the finished model. Looks great Chris!

 

[Rhino]

A ring of P/E railing would do it! This kit doesn't include any railings.

The base mold is churning out bases. It casts the way I hope it would.

Painted birchbark canoes, Evergreen forest and finished dock. The trees are for my own build.

I left out the gun battery on purpose. I think this looks too much like civilization. Too busy! The boarding house is owned by a man named Howard. He emigrated from Sweden. If memory serves, his last name was Johnson.

Thanks again for looking in!

 

[moon puppy]

Olson Johnson lives just over the hill.
Van is around the corner.

 

[Rhino]

Olson Johnson lives just over the hill.
Van is around the corner.

RARMAGE!!

 

[jknaus]

Well look at what showed up on my FB page lol
Miles Canyon, Yukon in 1898 & 1900.

James

 

[moon puppy]

Looks like a rather unforgiving place for a boat of any kind. Nice one James!

 

[Rhino]

Kuska Pahtew Oosi! The stern wheelers of that era had a freight deck on the main deck, passengers on the second deck and crew quarters and pilot house on the 02 level. I've been puzzling out how to master a 1/700 stern paddle wheel. The boats themselves are easy meat.
Decal paper will be here Saturday from Florida. A miracle to be sure! Instructions are almost done. Box art will be done as soon as my models are.
The base in the most recent TLAR Blog is available separately for interested parties.

TLAR Models Multipurpose Resin Display Base 1/350-1/700-1/72 # 322 Base

Haven't you always wished for an easy way to show off your small scale model? Well, Good ol' Chris at TLAR Models has been busy thinking up innovative ways to help show off all your model making talents! He's come up with the handiest and dandiest solid resin multipurpose base, and don't ya...

tlarmodels.com

 

[Rhino]

For your perusal. A couple of box art pictures.

Steamboat Whitehorse, named for the Yukon town she was built in, shoots the Miles Canyon, 5 finger rapids of the Yukon River.

If these new parts give you any idea about the next TLAR Canadian steamboat project, keep it under your hat.

 

[moon puppy]

That's pretty cool. What did you use for the flowing creek?

 

[Rhino]

I painted the whole base OD green, and streaked the river with different tan/green tones. Using Tamiya X-22 a big brush and long strokes made the current. It took 3 applications. little dabs of X-22 clear on the surfaces facing the current, and letting it cure on a 45 degree angle, gives the upstream effect.

With box art finished and kit boxes on order, the "Work" is almost done.
Now the fun begins!

 

[Rhino]

This is enough rocks. They are actually rocks. 15 trees still look less than Canadian forest-like. I found a way to chuck the dental brushes in a drill and shave them with a razor into a conical shape. Painting them is a snap, but they all have to be flatted. Evergreen trees are not shiny.

Other uses for the new river base:

The Nancy schooner on the Nottawasaga river.

Georgia shrimp boats on the Darien river.

FV Bakur departs Halifax, NS.

Jamaican Self-Defense Force Submarine Abe sails from Montego Bay, Yah Mon!

Thanks again, for looking in, eh!

 

[Rhino]

SS Whitehorse.
167 feet Length Over All
34.5 Beam

Steamboats SS Casca (the third one) and SS Whitehorse laid up in, ironically, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and the fire that consumed both storied, old Yukon river workhorses in 1974. Casca was under restoration when an unscheduled thermal event occurred, involving painting supplies.

Now, if you want to tread the storied decks of a proper steamboat museum, SS Klondike is preserved in all her historic grandeur! She's at Whitehorse. 250-some riverboats plied the rivers of Canada as recently (?!) as the 1950's. Few remain.

The weak link in a sternwheeler model is the paddlewheel.

My idea is to mold and cast the 1/700 paddlewheel in sections, with a separate hub for the modeler to assemble.
THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT.
The intention is to do so without making the axle of the wheel solid, oversized and obviously crude. (ME?!)
Without a plausible, scale, paddlewheel, TLAR's 1/700 SS Whitehorse Gold Rush riverboat kit crashes to a halt.

As an aside, during my studies, I have learned my Fraser paddle steamer exhibits WAY too much freeboard. The main deck should ride much closer to the surface of the river. Kit instructions will reflect this recent revelation.

Anyway, that's all for now. Thanks for looking in!

 

[moon puppy]

Having the paddles in place will be a great benefit for us mere modelers.

 

[Rhino]

Having the paddles in place will be a great benefit for us mere modelers.

You "Mere Modelers" are my best customers!

The most important thing in any RTV mold is to let the air out of it. The Experiment" is looking promising indeed! Mold RTV pours tomorrow!

 

[Rhino]

Dullcoted widdle twees. Conifers are NOT shiny.

Box art and packaging. Yes, the base fits in the friggin' box!!
Boxed, limited edition model kits get numbered and autographed by the whole TLAR crew!