Verity

[Edward Matthews]

--- In Paddleducks@yahoogroups.com, "Joe E. Brown" <jbrown@d...>
wrote:
> I've added some more photos of the George M Verity.

A truely magnificent model Joe, and a real credit to you. The night-
time photos are eerie, if you didn't know better you'd swear it was
the real boat!

I'm sure it will be admired by many in the museum. It's only a shame
that museum exhibits never see the water, which lets face it, is
where the model really belongs...

Regards
Eddy

[Paulrjordan]

WOW..TeeJay..she looks fantastic...the level of detailing you've done
on the model is astounding. Just look at the furniture, fittings and
people..the whole thing is a work of art!

Could you PLEASE tell us how you made those little people which
really bring the model to life. Making convincing figures is one of
the great challenges in ship modeling (right up there with railings!)
and I'd love to find out if you have any tricks or tips in doing them
painlessly!

Once again, congratulations on a truly fine piece of work. What's
next?

PJ
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

[Joe E Brown]

The figures was not my doing, though i wish I could take the credit.
They are metal figures from oakridgehobbies.com. I did paint them.
Oakridge has several scales of figures, mostly H-O and O scale. I
built the Verity in 1:48 scale so O scale figures work nicely. You
ought to see my crew on the Janet Carol. The pilot is a female and
there's a girl in daisy dukes putting gas in the tank for the skiff.

[Paulrjordan]

Now there's a picture I'd like to see, TJ!

Thanks for the information on the figures..makes eminent sense to
make models at or close to MRR scale to make use of the many figures
that can be store bought. Being an ex Model Rail enthusiast too, I
should have worked that one out myself! Probably 1:35 is also a good
scale to model for figures, since that's the scale many Military
modelers use.

I was fascinated by your comment:
>The big plus is the whole hull is styrofoam and wouldn't sink even
>if I dunked her under.

I am VERY interested in the use of styrofoam for electric powered
model paddler building, as it makes loads of sense when you consider
how inexpensive and easily worked this material is...and it's
UNSINKABLE. What makes it very useful in model paddlers is its
extremely light weight where low C of G and correct waterlines is
critical...in fact it could even be TOO light in some models with
high superstructures! Unfortunately its probably a material that
could not be used in the proximity of heat, so this rules out steam
powered paddlers..or does it?

Can you explain exactly how you used styro in "Verity's" construction
and particularly the method you used for building her hull? What
was your process for achieving the final hull form, the adhesives,
and covering you used to waterproof/seal the foam? Did you allow
for "engine room" and control cavities in the hull before
construction or were they carved out later? Did you encounter
any "stability issues"?

I know the wood hull purists amongst you will choke on this, but I
believe styrofoam holds lots of potential for inexpensive, quick and
leak free hull building and I was able to build an accurate scale 30"
foam hull in less than an evening! We should explore this further and
any thoughts on this subject would be be much appreciated.

Best regards

PJ
Victoria, BC, Canada

[Joe E Brown]

Well I'll try to answer everything....

fact it could even be TOO light in some models with
> high superstructures!
...it's suitable for sternwheelers, but I don't think it will work
for sidewheelers because of their narrow beam.

Unfortunately its probably a material that
> could not be used in the proximity of heat, so this rules out
steam powered paddlers..or does it?

i think it would work just fine. For one thing you need a wood base
to mount the equipment so it wouldn't be in direct contact with the
foam.
>
> Can you explain exactly how you used styro in "Verity's"
construction and particularly the method you used for building her
hull? What was your process for achieving the final hull form,

I use a framing method to lay up my hull. At the time I used 1/8" x
3" x 48" balsa wood

the adhesives, and covering you used to waterproof/seal the foam?

I used Testor's glue for plastic models. I tried the wood glue and
the non-toxic kind in the blue tube and neither would hold good and
both smelled terrible. I perfer the regular in the red tube. It
holds tight and is waterproof and dries faster than regular wood
glues. After I laid up the hull I use the thin 3/4oz fiberglass mat
and resin to fiberglass the hull. Then I cut sheets of home
insulation styrofoam and glued down in the hull with silicone
adhesive. There are two types of styrofoam. Use the extruded type.
It has no grain and carves well. The other is little bubbles pressed
together and when you start to sand it, it comes apart. I

Did you allow for "engine room" and control cavities in the hull
before construction or were they carved out later?

That's the blessing of a sternwheeler. everything is mounted on the
main deck in the engineroom so I could build a solid hull sheeted
with wood and build from there. On the prototype the hull voids were
used mostly for storage.

Did you encounter any "stability issues"?

The Verity has a wide beam so she is very stable in the water.

Bill Zumwalt likes to carve his hulls from styrofoam, then sheet it
with balsa wood glued on with a craft glue gun and then carve out
his compartment for electronics. I have details for both building
methods on my web site at http://www.dragg.net/jbrown

[wsnowdon]

A hearty welcome back to both of you Eddy and Paul - a ship without o
rudder tends to wander a bit ! I agree with you, the pictures of
VERITY are a credit to the builder But the lack of freeboard
frightens me (thats why I only ever built one stern wheeler many many
years ago)! I dont think one would survive very well on our windswept
northern water! Keep up the good work, and Eddy, GET THAT STERN WHEEL
TUG BUILT. A happy new year to all paddlers and see you in the new
year. Walter.

[Joe E Brown]

Even though the Verity only has about 3/8" freeboard, I don't worry
about taking on water. The cabins are glued to the deck and makes a
water tight area for electronics. The rest of the structure removes
from the boiler deck up. The big plus is the whole hull is styrofoam
and wouldn't sink even if I dunked her under.
Hope everyone has a good New Year.
Joe