Riverboat John W Cannon

[Peter Gutterman]

Riverboat John W. Cannon, Kit bashed with components of an old Scientific Models Robert E. Lee kit, as well as many custom parts CAD designed and laser cut (thanks to friends with the equipment and expertise) and the research librarians of the Floyd county Indiana Library and the curator of the Steamboat Museum near by in the same county.
Thus the John W. Cannon model came about. Who knows? Maybe the only example.
I had built the Revell Robt. E. Lee Kit as a kid and got nostalgic when the old Scientific kit came available. But when I decided to start it , the t kerfuffel in Charlottesville, 2017,reared its ugly head, so I decided that there were probably enough Robt. E. Lee models in the world collecting dust already and decided to see if I could use what I had to build something else.
Google University unearthed the John W. Cannon. Captain Cannon was the builder of the Lee (three of that name, actually). He piloted her to Victory over the "Natchez" in the famous New Orleans to St. Lewis race. He also Built the bigger, more elegant purpose built passenger cruise ship. Note the promenade fore castle extension of the saloon deck as well as the two tiered "Texas House" of state rooms on top, with the skylight above that, not beneath it as on the Lee. One of the old photos of the Cannon that I used for reference appears below. Aside from the afore mentioned differences, the two ships shared a great deal in common, making the project possible. Once again..."Better to be lucky than good."

 

[Andromeda]

She’s a beauty! What the build lacked in rigging it sure made up for with the railings! Geez! My compliments on an extraordinary build!

 

[Toolman]

Absolutely beautiful. Fantastic work to be proud of.

 

[Peter Gutterman]

She's 24" long. As said, kit bashed from with components of the old Scientific Models kit at 1/8" scale for the R.E. Lee ,of pre laser cutting days. The scale for the Cannon may be slightly different as the Cannon may have been a somewhat bigger boat. The original black and white card stock windows, doors and of course the name graphics were re-done by a computer wizard friend of mine who added the blue to white gradations of color to the windows to simulate light reflected on glass, as well as the flags. There was plenty of scratch building for the added skylights ,decks and "Texas" stateroom cabin house , the Pilot house, along with a bunch of other stuff like the boiler room weather curtains, promenade extension to the Saloon Deck, head lamp and all the companion way hand railings.
Another computer wizard friend helped virtually reproduce the fancy gingerbread railings from the kit adjusted (by an involved, day long, process) to conform to the sheer of the ship, put on a thumb drive and cut out of 1/32" thick birch ply by another laser operator wizard friend at the USNA museum model workshop. The originals may have worked (just) for the R.E. Lee model, but the Cannon, required longer continuous sections that required a curve across the width of the railings to conform to the sheer of the ship. these were cut in lengths Aft to center 3rd, center 3rd, center to bow 3rd overlapping lengths that provided ample choice of lengths to cut to conform with the sheer bridging these sections Other details were extrapolated from period photos by the same process. If any of you out there are building the old Scientific models kit, I believe I still have some left over sections of railing for free to the first bidder. Let me know here and we can trade contact info through the proper channels on this forum. ( However that works.)
Another invaluable resource is the "Western Rivers Steamboat Cyclopoedium" (yes , that's spelled correctly) by Alan L. Bates, Hustle press Leonia, N.J.

The hardest parts were making the stack spreaders. Then gluing all three to one stack first. Followed by gluing the whole assembly to the ship and together, getting everything to match up and properly placed in the set up time allowed by 5 minute Epoxy. I now know I can stay under water for five minutes. There are a lot of repurposed bits and trinkets from Michael's in the bashing process. "Tacky Glue" in its various forms and viscosities proved very useful, as did thin and thick versions of C.A. and of course, good old Elmer's white. The paint is mostly cheap acrylic.
Making a steamboat did not entirely free me from the tortures of rigging. There's more of it required than one might assume, and no more easy than on a sailing vessel.
There is a tiny pot bellied stove in the Plot House. A point of nearly invisible pride.
My most sincere apologies to anyone I may have inadvertently insulted in expressing my stated purpose for abandoning the R. E. Lee project and bashing the kit into the John W. Cannon. The R.E. Lee remains a noble and worthy subject for modelling. And thanks for all the good words and appreciation. Hope that covers it.

Pete

 

[Peter Voogt]

Riverboat John W. Cannon, Kit bashed with components of an old Scientific Models Robert E. Lee kit, as well as many custom parts CAD designed and laser cut (thanks to friends with the equipment and expertise) and the research librarians of the Floyd county Indiana Library and the curator of the Steamboat Museum near by in the same county.
Thus the John W. Cannon model came about. Who knows? Maybe the only example.
I had built the Revell Robt. E. Lee Kit as a kid and got nostalgic when the old Scientific kit came available. But when I decided to start it , the t kerfuffel in Charlottesville, 2017,reared its ugly head, so I decided that there were probably enough Robt. E. Lee models in the world collecting dust already and decided to see if I could use what I had to build something else.
Google University unearthed the John W. Cannon. Captain Cannon was the builder of the Lee (three of that name, actually). He piloted her to Victory over the "Natchez" in the famous New Orleans to St. Lewis race. He also Built the bigger, more elegant purpose built passenger cruise ship. Note the promenade fore castle extension of the saloon deck as well as the two tiered "Texas House" of state rooms on top, with the skylight above that, not beneath it as on the Lee. One of the old photos of the Cannon that I used for reference appears below. Aside from the afore mentioned differences, the two ships shared a great deal in common, making the project possible. Once again..."Better to be lucky than good."

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Hi Pete. Thanks for sharing these pictures of your model and the old photo of the John W. Cannon.
Nice to see the differences and some similarities with the Robt. E. Lee.
I recognize the 'problems' you experienced with the construction. For example, the 3 stack spreaders, the long railing with there long sheer etc etc.
Regards, Peter

 

[Peter Gutterman]

Thanks for taking a look. I don't have either the skills or equipment to turn out a model as sophisticated as yours. But. with the help of some friends ( who have since moved away) I was ,as mentioned in my accompanying post, able to address some of the problems we had in common with the two ships. I don't expect I'll build another, so I hope my future models won't require the application of such sophisticated solutions. I am in awe of your very sophisticated and professionally realized models. Thanks for being so complementary of mine, it means a great deal. I think I'm pretty good at the aesthetic aspects and the work is pretty clean. They've been pretty happy with it at the USNA workshop this last 15 years, or so. only that is winding down for me due to the combined health challenges of my wife's and mine. This forum has added a new dimension to my modelling interests. I sent you a post at 0 darky thirty in response to your comments/questions concerning the Miniature BC model and, in particular the " Chasseur" Hope you got it and that it answers your questions. Thanks again so very much for your interest!
Pete
PS, there was a LOT of scratch building involved on the "Cannon".