King Of Mississippi 1:80 AL [COMPLETED BUILD]

[carlosys]

Hi guys.
Taking advantage of these closing days, I am going to collect all the step by step of my Mississippi from Artesania Latina.
Forgive the translation but for more comfort I will use Google translate

The characteristics of the model are well known by all. Its scale is 1:80 and according to the plans its length is 660 mm and its height is 290 mm, data that does not match what the box says (it says that the height is 192mm:?::?

Right now I am calculating consumption, areas to be illuminated and possible location of the batteries. I have the idea (we'll see if it is feasible later) to do it with rechargeable batteries inside the helmet by placing a "camouflaged" charging connector somewhere. This way, you don't need to have cables in sight to make it look on. But hey, that's under study.

One of the peculiarities that this model will have is interior lighting.

The issue of LEDs is already clear to me. I have "assembled" the boat to see where I can pass the cables and what it will mean to me in the different phases of the assembly. In the end, 30 leds will go and I will feed it externally with a 12V FA through a connector.
This way there will be no visible cables or problems with the batteries.

The distribution of LEDs has been made in order that in the event that any one dies, the greatest number of circuits available remain, never putting more than 4 in series.

This is the wiring that will be hidden between the different levels

Now it remains to be seen where and how I camouflage the power connector.

Regards

 

[carlosys]

Hi
So here we are with the progress of the week that basically have consisted of preparing the Missi's hull, lining it, staining it and preparing the issue of feeding the LEDs.
Let's go in parts ..

Preparation of the hull, placement of false keel, frames and bulkheads.

Reinforcement of the bulkheads.

Now it's time to ink and prepare the lighting theme.

Regards

 

[carlosys]

Hi
We will continue with the tinting.
The first thing is to decide the color and after testing, win the WALNUT color for everything that is helmet and covers.

So we get down to business ...

Finally, the installation of the "electric" theme, which must be left planned before covering covers.

According to the scheme published in the first posts, I have made a small printed circuit board that contains the resistors and the power distribution. From this one, the pairs of cables go out that will go to each "room".

The connector will be camouflaged behind the turbine wheel.

Sorry for the quality of the photos ... I have not used the "good" camera ...

So far the task of the week. Now it's time to prepare the first cover and the helmet supports to the base to have it already fixed during the rest of the assembly.

Regards

 

[carlosys]

Hello friends
Let's go with the progress of the week.
The first tinting of the main deck once the strakes have been placed and assembled from it in the hull.

Presentation of the boiler room before dyeing

We proceed to stick it on the cover once it is tinted and aged.

We proceed similarly with the other roof structure.

We reinforce with white glue on the inside and wait for everything to dry well ... while we are preparing the turbine supports.

Regards

 

[carlosys]

Hello
We are preparing the turbine supports. Cut, glue, stain and place.

Installation of handrails and general appearance of the Missi before starting to install the electrical part of the first deck.

I have already done the first lighting test. I have used two ways to locate the LEDs to see which is the best at the level of execution and light distribution, but the truth is that being such a small space, whatever you put it on, the effect is good and there are no great variations.

What it does do is seal the interior joints well so that the light does not filter through areas that it should not: mrgreen:.

Now I am clear on the subject and we can continue without fear upwards !!!

OPTION 1. Placement of the aligned LEDs on the doors and the upper trusses.

OPTION 2. Placement of a single support with the door leds facing down (not seen in the photo) and those of the blinds on the side.

In the end the light looks good, so I keep the two tests since there is no difference between them.

At this point, it's time to fight with the turbine !!!

Regards

 

[carlosys]

Hello friends

Here we are with the turbine. I have looked at different finishing options ... lining in wood, the one in the kit manual painted in red, the others in black colors ... and in the end I have chosen to paint and try to imitate the wood.

The result will see that it is not 100% expected but it does not turn out bad at all. At least it is not as garish as the red colors indicated in the manual.
Let's see the process.

First we file and remove any imperfections from the metal to apply a coat of primer.

Now with paint we proceed to make the base of what will be the wood of the turbine shafts.

Next step, with metallic gray paint, make the metal rings.

At this point, it is time to simulate the wood grain. For this I have used an acrylic tube paint and the typical Vallejo paint in a dropper bottle. The advantage of mixing a "dense" with a "liquid" is that it simulates the wood grain quite well.

Finally, all that remains is to stain and age the turbine blades and assemble the entire assembly.

Now it's time to prepare the base, finish some details of the first cover and make the upper cover to start with its elements.
Regards

 

[carlosys]

Hello friends

The work of these days has consisted of preparing the second deck and the access stairs to it.

I am skipping a little the "order" of assembly that indicates the manual to go a little to my air, based on what I think is more appropriate, which surely is not always the best.
First preparation of the strakes and their placement. For these, since the figure to be made is a bit delicate, I use white glue that allows for correcting placement corrections without problems.

Once finished, we edged, stained and glued against the partition of the first deck.

The next step is the manufacture of the stairs. The truth is that due to the arrangement of the pre-cut pieces, it gave the impression that it was something easy, but this has not been the case.

Probably the old wood from the kit, or my confidence ... I don't know, but they have given me enough war and they have not left me very well.

It remains to retouch and stain some parts and start to place the pillars of the 1st desk.

Saludos

 

[carlosys]

Hello friends
One more step. In this phase the pillars of the first deck and the batting have been placed.

The batting in basswood or ramín before being stained in walnut.

The next step is to make all the rails of the 1st deck, which in theory go straight with 1.5 x 3 slats and I was not convinced.

In this phase I have started with the starboard railings. I did not like the solution provided by the kit for laying slats in a straight line, so I opted for the "toothpick" method.

The first step is to have turned toothpicks with measures similar to those desired. We cut with the cutter where we are interested, sand the ends, equalize and glue.
Then we round the edges of the handrail and tint to taste.

Given the test, we proceed in the same way with the rest of the starboard points, cut, dye, age and paste.

So far the progress of these last days. Now tap turn to port and repeat the whole process.

Regards

 

[carlosys]

Hi
We are going with the progress of the last weeks
The first thing I had to do was finish the railings on the port side, so we got to it, stick in hand. The history of the previous process ... cutting, sanding, gluing, staining and mounting: D Of course, before we left the two barrels of some known liquor in the stairwell

We continue with the winch and aft ends of the railings.

At this point, we add the corners of the pillars of the first deck.

So far this phase, we continue below with the structure of the dependencies of the second deck.

Regards

 

[carlosys]

We are already on the second deck .....

Here the process is identical to the first, lining the walls and staining.

As a novelty, since the model is illuminated, the metal windows are replaced by homemade ones made with wire and white glue as glass. The frame is also made.

Now in detail the "manufacture" of the windows and doors (these if they remain blind)

For the exterior blinds shelves, I have simulated (or at least I have tried), the wood aspect with some reflection of use ... It is made with an airbrush.

Arrived here, it's time to assemble the "module" in the cover, glue and seal.

Let's see how the progress of the assembly is going ... some views of the current state are shown below.

Now it's time to prepare the lighting for the rooms and seal with the base of the future third deck.

Regards

 

[carlosys]

Hi
So it is nice to present the progress ...

First we add deck lighting 2

We prepare the third and fourth cover in the same way as the previous ones.

Starting to prepare the structures of the third deck. Here the difficulty lies in having to illuminate the ends, since the structure is closed. So I had to "preform" the wood to be able to leave it lined and with windows, so that later it fit perfectly into the structure without effort.

At this point it is time to prepare the vent of the second cover before gluing ...

We prepare the vent of the second deck with slats. To simulate the bars and windows I use remnants of "mosquito"

The tricky part is sticking it to the deck, getting it to take the shape of the deck, since the sergeants don't take me long anymore , so I have to improvise a bit.

We put lights on as usual ...

And we prepare to cover and start with the elements of the covered room ...

Regards

 

[carlosys]

Hi
Let's look at the process of building the Mississippi command post. Again the particularity of having to put light implies some change in the construction process ... in addition to the fact that I realized at the end that one of the pieces I have assembled backwards and on the door is on the opposite side: oops: Anyway, we'll fix itssss

General view

This next week I will prepare the photos illuminated with the other camera ...

We continue while with stairs and elements of decks 3 and 4.

Regards

 

[carlosys]

Hi
We are going with the advances of these last days consisting of placement of chimneys, preparation of columns of second and third cover and installation work of railings.

It is time to continue with the railings and handrails. I have also started to put the chimney tensioners. The end is getting closer and closer .....

Regards

 

[carlosys]

Hi
This is the last step by step entry. I hope you liked it and serve as a guide for other colleagues who are making the same model.

Here I leave you a video where you can see the entire assembly step by step.

Regards

 

[Bob Parker]

Thank you very much for your log. I am just beginning to build this boat, but have tried to understand the process first. Your log will be a tremendous help. Thanks again and some more.
Bob

 

[carlosys]

Thank you Bob.
I'm glad that my work is helpful.

Regards

 

[Virtakuono]

Thanks for this! I've been planning to build this kit with interior lights (and to go for extremities, some flickering exterior lantern lights) too, and making a small diorama of this ship passing a lonely fishing hut. Maybe i will someday get up to it!

 

[carlosys]

Thanks for the visit and comments. You sure do a great job.
Regards

 

[Bob Parker]

Where did you get the little human figures? The Mississippi King kit is 1:80, and I have not found any scale model people yet.
Bob

 

[Peter Voogt]

Hi, nice to see another builded paddle steamer. In april I was not aboard of this forum, so my reaction is a little late. Nice to see the whole building proces.
regards, Peter