Paul answers to smoe of your questions. No I do not have glass/plexi
cases for my models can't afford them. The hand rail stantions are
made from Japanese bamboo toothpicks I picked up at a large Japanese
market in Chicago. One end of the toothpicks is a nice turning. I
will tell you the ornate gold filigree came with the fitting kit. It
was cast in the hardest metal I have ever worked with. I found it
harder to grind than an exhaust manifold on a car. The parts were
3/16 thick far too thick for any usage and I would not have wanted to
try to inset them. Had to grind off the back side to get them to a
realistic thickness. Don't have a clue what the model companys
intentions were. There is NOTHING any where in the funny plans
pictures that show what the stern looked like.
A book I used as a little bit of reference was "TRANSATLANTIC PADDLE
STEAMERS" by H.Philip Spratt. On plate V inbetween pages 32/33 is a
photo of a model of SIRIUS but no clue as to who,what,where the model
is/was. The side decorations are different than the Steingraeber
model, so not having more pics of that model I stuck with Stein's
fittings kit parts. Greg & Grimm (more to come)