Kits that are no longer with us

[mjt60a]

did anyone ever build one of these?



I used to see them advertised in model magazines about 15 years ago but they seem to have all disappeared now. I was tempted to buy the 'Loreley' but thought it looked a bit 'plasticy' and not well detailed compared to the PBM kit (which I don't have a picture of but theres a couple of completed ones in my photo gallery) so didn't get it.
I've seen a completed 'Southern Belle' in the harrow model shop for sale recently but no kits at all...

[towboatjoe]

I've built the Southern Belle. It can be motorized. I've toyed with the idea of maybe someday turning it into a little r/c model. The one I've got is a small plastic model hardly 12" long.

[Walter Snowdon]

On the subject of past kits, heres some for you from britain.
 SCOMOD MOODELs, Glasgow did an excellent series of kits in the late forties early fifties. They included PS WAVERLEY approx. 34 inches long . 36 inches long PS JEANNIE DEANS, and I think 2 others ( I have to dig out copies of MODEL SHIPS AND POWERBOATS to check their ads on the back cover. I have seen kit plans for a cargo liner and Clyde puffer and they were of very high quality. I havnt seen their paddler plans yet but I am living in hope.!!!
    About the same date a firm called SM models produced a range of 250th scale waterline models with several paddlers included. Two that come to mind are PS GLENDOWER and PS CARDIFF QUEEN.
   About 1952 HOBBIES OF DEREHAM produced a very basic all wood kit of the london paddler ROYAL SOVEREIGN at 200th scale as a static model.     The plan was pretty good ( I have a copy).

[mjt60a]

...actually, what I meant to say was I haven't seen any kits EXCEPT Graupner's Glasgow (and I haven't seen it advertised anywhere) and some static models by Revell  
The Sco-mod (scottish models?) models sound interesting, I hadn't heard of them. I used to have a (toy) Scalecraft Medway Queen in the 1960's when I was young but as I remember it looked nothing like the real thing!

[Eddy Matthews]

...actually, what I meant to say was I haven't seen any kits EXCEPT Graupner's Glasgow (and I haven't seen it advertised anywhere) and some static models by Revell  

Dumas still do a couple of paddlers Mick. The Creole Queen sternwheeler, and the Mount Washington sidewheeler..... You can see them on the Dumas website at:  http://www.dumasproducts.com/cgi-bin/dumas.storefront

Regards

[mjt60a]

I like the Mount Washington  

[Waverley]

Hobby World of Montreal advertise 4 paddle steamer kits:

http://www.hobbyworldinc.com/intro.html

Edited - above link does not bring up their complete home screen for me -(it might for others) - you can get there from the link below.

Click on "wooden ships kits" the "steam paddle wheeler kits".

One of them purports to be "Mount Washington":

http://www.hobbyworldinc.com/woodship38.html

This page (from their website) describes the history of the vessel accurately, but the model illustrated is clearly of a much larger and probably newer ship.


Mount Washington was launched in 1872 for service on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire and remained in service till burnt out while in winter lay up at the end of 1939. For much of her career she was railroad owned (latterly the Boston & Maine) and provided a ferry service -in her later years (from the mid 1920's) she was privately owned on excursion service.    She was the largest and fastest paddler on the Lake and seems to have become something of a local institution.


This website from the Lake Winnipesaukee Historical Society gives quite a good history of Mount Washington and other paddlers on the Lake, providing you ignore the saccharine style in which it is written ("Old Jeb chewed his tobacco" ..... ugh) and its propensity to exaggerate:

http://www.lwhs.us/his-steamers.htm

It is surprisingly light on illustrations but includes 2 photographs of "Mount Washington" which match the Dumas model.

Regards

David,   ex Clyde

[mjt60a]

I see what you mean, Hobbyworlds' version actually has the name 'Portland' on it (I thought it looks more like Fall River Lines' Pilgrim - though not exactly the same...)
still looks like a nice model though  

[Waverley]

More looking on the net (its amazing what you can find) shows that the kit in the Hobby World ad is indeed "Portland", despite being described as the much smaller "Mount Whington". "Portland"  was owned by the Portland SPC of Portland (Maine) and used on their overnight Portland - Boston service.  One site gave a launch date of, I think, 1890.

She was lost on the night of 26th November 1898 on her normal run from Boston to Portland, in a severe gale. It seems to have been a notable wreck in its time - none of th 175 crew/passengers survived and the storm was severe.  Recently, the wreck has been discovered - hence this web page, which includes a photograph and description of her loss:

http://www.l-3klein.com/image_gallery/3000_images/portland/portland.html

I also found a page from a forum (dated 1999 - vintage computer stuff, this) from the Ship Modeller's List which includes the infomation that a kit for "Portland"  had been produced by a company (almost definitetly American) named "Bluejacket".

This is the Bluejacket site:

http://www.bluejacketinc.com/kits/portland.htm

The illustration of the Bluejacket kit of "Portland" looks to be the same as the Hobby World kit of "Mount Washington".

Looks like you have to be very careful when buying via the internet.

Regards

David

[Khephre]

Many thanks for the link to the L3 Klein site David.

Those sonar images of the sunken Portland are just fantastic - I never appreciated just how much detail could be obtained using the technology. Superb.

Cheers
Tony
Auckland,
NZ

[Walter Snowdon]

An advert for ScoMod taken from the August 1953 edition of "Model Ships and Power Boats".

Walter

[scotfriend]

Hello,

I keep a kit of the Loreley, this kit is complet moulded plastic, once i saw a buildt model of her she looks more like a toy then a real R/C model. Does any of you know the Billing Boat kit HJEJLEN? this is a kit out of sale from the little Danske lake steamer who run's every summer at the silkeborg lake. If there is interrest on this kit I'm going to sell it, the kit is komplete only the hull is buildt, please ask for the price.

Regards Hans

[ajg141]

Very interesting to see that old advert. Can't remember paying that price for mine though. I am sure it was less - but then it was so long ago I can't remember. Still sail her today though. She now has a geared drive rather than the rubber driveband originally supplied and seems all the better for it. The rudder was enlarged slightly too.

Andrew

[Eddy Matthews]

Nice to see a photo of your sternwheeler Andy.... She actually looks fairly similar in many respects to my model of the Suter.

I've been playing around with smoke effects for my model since it will be electrically powered, so it will either churn out huge amounts of black smoke (the effect I'm looking for) or it will go up in flames if I get it wrong! :-)

[ajg141]

Eddy - I'm using Graupner 6v smoke units suspended inside the funnels. Have to admit the volume of smoke is not what I would like - a bit thin and wispy. I'll be interested to hear the results of your experiments.

Andrew