HARRIET LANE 1/96

[Llaut Mallorquin]

Harriet Lane, 1:96 scale from Model Shipways
A seemingly simple model, yet riddled with flaws.
The plans are worse than those for the 3/32" scale version.
The hull planking is extremely thin; you can see light through it. The bulkheads come in two halves that are difficult to align and contain errors.
The hull needs to be reinforced with a different type of wood to assemble them correctly and avoid wearing them down during sanding.
Billing Boats uses this system, but with two halves—each the same thickness as the false keel—that align perfectly once the bulkheads are assembled.
The paddle wheels consist only of halves that must be glued to the housing; consequently, they do not rotate and, in fact, crumble between your fingers—they are incredibly fragile due to the way the wood was cut.
Paper is used to clad the smokestack, which would otherwise be a crude-looking solid wood cylinder.
The yardarms are flat and must be shaped with a file—something I had never seen before.
There is no deck planking—at least not in the plans—but there is a hideous line running along the centerline.
The underwater hull section should be clad in copper plating; in the kit, it comes painted maroon.
It also lacks metal deck guides for rotating the cannons.
Finally, the instructions are abysmal: a booklet with very small, unclear photos.
The display stand is dreadful.
Very expensive for what you get.
I fabricated these wheels out of resin.
Sketch measurements in meters.
You will need at least 4 of these.

 

[Rob444]

Harriet Lane, 1:96 scale from Model Shipways
A seemingly simple model, yet riddled with flaws.
The plans are worse than those for the 3/32" scale version.
The hull planking is extremely thin; you can see light through it. The bulkheads come in two halves that are difficult to align and contain errors.
The hull needs to be reinforced with a different type of wood to assemble them correctly and avoid wearing them down during sanding.
Billing Boats uses this system, but with two halves—each the same thickness as the false keel—that align perfectly once the bulkheads are assembled.
The paddle wheels consist only of halves that must be glued to the housing; consequently, they do not rotate and, in fact, crumble between your fingers—they are incredibly fragile due to the way the wood was cut.
Paper is used to clad the smokestack, which would otherwise be a crude-looking solid wood cylinder.
The yardarms are flat and must be shaped with a file—something I had never seen before.
There is no deck planking—at least not in the plans—but there is a hideous line running along the centerline.
The underwater hull section should be clad in copper plating; in the kit, it comes painted maroon.
It also lacks metal deck guides for rotating the cannons.
Finally, the instructions are abysmal: a booklet with very small, unclear photos.
The display stand is dreadful.
Very expensive for what you get.
I fabricated these wheels out of resin.
Sketch measurements in meters.
You will need at least 4 of these.

View attachment 640938

Other than that, any problems?

 

[Llaut Mallorquin]

I’m not sure if this is clear:
There are no cylindrical masts, yards, or booms.
They are cut from a flat board, so you have to shape them into cylinders.

 

[marter1229]

I am sure glad you posted this. A kit I wanted to try.
Not anymoe.

 

[HenryC]

I agree with much you are saying but I am still enjoying building the kit. I'm at the point of attaching sails to the yards, book and gaff and then have the standing and running rigging to do. You can see my build log as well as ones from DocTom and Omega, who are also building the kit at this time.

 

[DocTom]

I am sure glad you posted this. A kit I wanted to try.
Not anymoe.

I am currently building this kit, and I am enjoying it immensely. I previously built the three Model shipways kits in their Shipwright of Old series. There are some issues, as with all Model Shipways kits. See my build log USCG Harriet Lane - Model Shipways 1:96 by DocTom. There was one bulkhead that needed fixing (#3). I don't understand the complaint about the planking - you're painting or coppering it. Only 1/2 of the paddle wheels are visible, so I don't see the need to create complete ones.

I can't comment on the smoke stack as I haven't gotten there yet. As to the spars, some experienced modelers feel that 8-siding the pieces from square stock is the preferred method (I am not very experienced, but I agree) rather than tapering round dowels. Using a plane, not a file, to do this makes it easy.

I agree about the lack of deck planking - I will plank mine. I experimented with copper plating the hull, but at this scale the plates are very small, and I decided that David Antscherl, who designed the model, was right - paint looks better. I used copper paint (rather than the maroon suggested - which I also agree is weird).

I completely agree about the stand. But all these things are relatively easy fixes that don't distract from my enjoyment of the kit. In fact, they give me problems to overcome.

The guns are a tricky issue. Her armament changed over time. Her initial armament was rather small, and was significantly beefed up, including 32 pounder pivot guns, when she was inducted into the Navy during the Civil War. I am building her as she was when commissioned in 1858. It is not at all clear froom the sketchy historical record that she had a pivot gun at that time. The plans that her designer, William Webb, published many years after she was built have no space for a pivot gun, although they unfortunately don't indicate her armament.


That said, @The Gavel built this model with a pivot gun on a newly made forecastle deck, and copper plated her.

The biggest issue with the kit is that the bulwarks, if built according to the instructions, are too low for the guns to sit properly in the gun ports. If you are aware of this, it is simple to fix when you install the outer bulwarks (raise them by 3/32"). I detail this in Post 9 of my build log.

All of which is a long-winded way of saying don't hold off on building this kit if she interests you. It is a challenging but fun build for a semi-experienced modeler. The kit is almost always on sale at Model Expo. It may be more expensive in Europe, which may have triggered some of @Llaut Mallorquin's complaints.

Tom

 

[Llaut Mallorquin]

Hi Doc. The red lead paint used back then was likely orange rather than maroon—which is how it's shown in the 1/96 scale kit—though I believe the hull below the waterline was actually copper-sheathed. As for the funnel, it’s better painted black than wrapped in paper first; I don't quite get that step. The paddle wheels are very fragile; the wood grain causes them to practically fall apart when you remove them from the sheet. In my post, there’s an STL file for printing them in resin as solid, complete units. If they break after you’ve glued and fixed them in place, repairing them would be a real hassle. If you do use the kit parts, I recommend coating them with CA glue before removing them from the board; that adds some strength. The hull planking is made of very thin wood—excessively so. I plan to use the traditional method, or perhaps fill the spaces between the frames with balsa wood to create a solid hull first. The instructions are terrible, with tiny photos. The plans are very basic; the instruction to turn a square strip into a round one is essentially the reverse of "squaring the circle." In Spain, the kit originally sold for €400; now it’s €239, which is still very expensive for such a simple ship. The cast metal parts need touching up and filing; resin would have been better. Regarding the bulwarks, I don't understand why the kit requires them to be modified to fit the cannons—something isn't right there. Either the bulwarks are wrong, or the cannons are too big. The fact remains that the ship was built the way it was; I doubt they added extra height just to accommodate the cannons. I'm glad you're enjoying the build, and I look forward to seeing that beautiful ship finished. Best regards.

 

[WilliamM]

Concerning the copper plating . . . I prefer to use the plating by Mantua. It comes in printed sheets, printed individually and in rows. They are also in several different scales. I used them to copper a very small scale HMS Victory by a defunct Aeropiccola, and they look much more authentic than paint. But, please research whether or not the ship in question was plated of painted. It really makes a difference!