Paddleducks
Paddler Modelling => Construction => Topic started by: Bob Golder on January 22, 2007, 03:04:53 AM
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Hi all. At last I’ve mastered image resizing so, as promised, here are some photos of Walter's paddle launch MELISSA together with his comments on the model.
"The Paddle launch Melissa is made from an etching in an 1890s copy of London Illustrated news on Missionaries in India! (The figure in the brown coat is a Missionary on his way to ply his trade on the River Hoogly in India). The model is semi scale and powered by a Wilesco steam engine driving the paddle shaft by chain, Walter."
By the way, the chair was NOT built by Walter.
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Nice work Bob/Walter.
What an excellent model. The figures really bring it life.
Any pictures of it underway?
Any more like this out there?
Regards
David A
Hi all. At last I�ve mastered image resizing so, as promised, here are
some photos of Walter's paddle launch MELISSA together with his comments
on the model.
"The Paddle launch Melissa is made from an etching in an 1890s copy of
London Illustrated news on Missionaries in India! (The figure in the brown
coat is a Missionary on his way to ply his trade on the River Hoogly in
India). The model is semi scale and powered by a Wilesco steam engine
driving the paddle shaft by chain, Walter."
By the way, the chair was NOT built by Walter.
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Cheers from Bob Golder>
Attachments:
http://www.paddleducks.co.uk//forum/files/melissa_1_333.jpg
http://www.paddleducks.co.uk//forum/files/melissa_2_186.jpg
http://www.paddleducks.co.uk//forum/files/melissa_3_108.jpg
http://www.paddleducks.co.uk//forum/files/melissa_4_169.jpg
http://www.paddleducks.co.uk//forum/files/melissa_5_178.jpg
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Nice work Bob/Walter.
What an excellent model. The figures really bring it life.
Any pictures of it underway?
Any more like this out there?
Regards
David A
There is one photo of it on the water here David: http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2298
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There's also a video of MELISSA giving grief to Walter by refusing to steam freely. It's too large for me to upload but I'll ask Eddy to post it.
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Eddy.
Very many thanks for that link.
Good lot of pictures of paddlers on the water, which is always nice to see.
Best regards
David
David Allinson wrote:
> Nice work Bob/Walter.
> What an excellent model. The figures really bring it life.
> Any pictures of it underway?
> Any more like this out there?
> Regards
> David A
>
>
There is one photo of it on the water here David:
http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2298
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Regards
Eddy>
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Walter,
Where do you get the chain and sprockets? I can only find plastic chain.
Barrie
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Hi Barrie, the chain and sprockets are good old Mecanno- I tend to find lots of it for a few pence at toy collectors fairs. Most collectors shun it if its not "the right colour" or in pristine condition, hence I only pay about 50pence each for sprockets and about £1 for half a metre of chain!. the older it is thr more authentic it looks. Regards, walter.
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Maplins also stock this type of chain, made by MFA - The downside is that the sprockets are plastic though....
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=11943&criteria=chain&doy=21m1
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Thanks Walter and Eddy. At least the chain isn't as bulky as the plastic - I could live with the plastic sprockets I think, but I'll have to watch out for a toy fair.
Barrie
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Eddy
Lots of nice things on the same page. The bearing blocks look neat.
Interesting site.
David
Maplins also stock this type of chain, made by MFA - The downside is that
the sprockets are plastic though....
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=11943&criteria=chain&doy=21m1
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Regards
Eddy>
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Yes, Maplins are a very useful supplier - Not just for the electronic stuff that everyone knows them for...
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"The Paddle launch Melissa is made from an etching in an 1890s copy of London Illustrated news on Missionaries in India! (The figure in the brown coat is a Missionary on his way to ply his trade on the River Hoogly in India). The model is semi scale and powered by a Wilesco steam engine driving the paddle shaft by chain, Walter."
The River Hooghly flows from the Indian ocean to Calcutta and not much further north. Calcutta is served by ocean-going ships, so I think it would be a bit small for the Hooghly
Â
Alistair
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My only boating on Hooghly River was on a cross-river ferry in Kolkata: small (and not steam and not paddle). A lot of rivers which have the depth for ocean-going ships don't have the reach for wind to whip up wild waves. Shallow lakes are far worse for sudden roughness.
Most of the river exits in Bengal have complicated deltas with multiple branches.
Perhaps this was only one of many linked watercourses visited by the missionary?
Or was the boat built there for use elsewhere? My memory of the paddleboats in Bangladesh is that they were built at Calcutta (in an era before the partitioning of India).
My Macquarie atlas is not very detailed in this area. It indicates that navigation down to Diamond Head should have been alright for a boat this size. I then saw a fascinating waterway, quite long: Orissa Coast Canal. In which era was that constructed?
In a different forum there has been news of a canal in Kolkata being reactivated for commercial ferry services; some dredging was required.
Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor
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Thanks for posting the photos, She looks great, I could not figure out how Walter had clad the boiler from the shot in the magazine, now that I see how he did it I will retry my D48 Boiler.
Thanks,
Gerald
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Hi PD's - the Stock Drive Products people marker 3.746mm pitch roller chain & a huge range of pinions sets - all in Grade 303 or 304 stainless steel.....but expensive.... - Derek
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ARE YOU ALL SITTING COMFORTABLY? THEN I WILL BEGIN.
Some 58 years ago I moved into the country to live on a farm. I have allways had a passion for the sea ( my father was an officer in the merchant navy, his four brothers all went to sea and his only sister married a ships engineer- hows that for credentials) and even though I lived some distance from the sea I fed that passion on reading and magazine cuttings. The old farmer had enormous piles of old Victorian magazines which he let me read and take cuttings from. In an 1890s London Illustrated News there was an article on Bible Bashers and how they were spreading the word? in India., but that is only incidental. There was a superb etching (far better than photographs) of a launch used by the local state governor on which they used to hitch a ride. The Governor had a vast territory to cover and he wasnt keen on horses so he passed a copy of a London launch builders catalogue to the local sappers and engineers regiment with the request could they build a launch like one in the illustrations for his use to go upstate. The engineers and sepoys duly built the launch using local timber which they powered by a small 2 cylinder pumping steam engine driving the fixed paddles by chain. The article went on to say that the launch navigated over 500 miles of Hooghli tributaries during the wet seasons and carried dignitaries to many state functions. What happened to it I dont know!
This story stuck in my mind for many years and I did numerous sketches from memory until I built Melissa when My first granddaughter was born 9 years ago.
So, you have a model built from the memories of an etching of a full-size launch which was built from an etching in a catalogue by a bunch of soldiers! They dont make heros like our Victorian forbeers- could you see any of our present day luvvies and footballers having the balls to tackle something like that? Regards, Walter.
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WE had this discussion on the Hooghly a couple of weeks ago, and I have just received a brochure from Andrew Brock Travel ABROCK.365@aol.com (ABROCK.365@aol.com) offering cruise son the River Hooghly. These run from Farakka down to Calcutta and are operates by CHARAIDEW of Assam Bengal Navigation, which normally operates in Assam on the Brahmaputra. They will only operate for a couple of months in June and July, as the vessel needs to make a 4-week light voyage through Bangladesh to reach the river from her normal area of operation. . This is a modern motor vessel built in 1973, and converted for cruise use in 2001
Â
Alistair
----- Original Message -----
From: Roderick Smith (construction@paddleducks.co.uk)
To: construction@paddleducks.co.uk (construction@paddleducks.co.uk)
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 1:00 AM
Subject: RE: Paddle launch "MELISSA"
My only boating on Hooghly River was on a cross-river ferry in Kolkata: small (and not steam and not paddle). A lot of rivers which have the depth for ocean-going ships don't have the reach for wind to whip up wild waves. Shallow lakes are far worse for sudden roughness.
Most of the river exits in Bengal have complicated deltas with multiple branches.
Perhaps this was only one of many linked watercourses visited by the missionary?
Or was the boat built there for use elsewhere? My memory of the paddleboats in Bangladesh is that they were built at Kolkata (in an era before the partitioning of India).
My Times atlas is not very detailed in this area. It indicates that navigation down to Diamond Head should have been alright for a boat this size. I then saw a fascinating waterway, quite long: Orissa Coast Canal. In which era was that constructed?
In a different forum there has been news of a canal in Kolkata being reactivated for commerial ferry services; some dredging was required.
Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor
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