I'm going to need another boat for my upcoming Jungle Cruise inspired mini exhibition layout.
Like Walt Disney's Jungle Cruise ride, I'm taking inspiration from the movie, The African Queen, staring Humphrey Bogart, of whom I am also a big fan.
The prototype is 30' long (actually mentioned in the movie) so I've scaled mine to be the same. And I've roughly worked out it's about 8' wide. So quite a bit smaller than my other boats.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-250926191409-580722227.webp)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-250926191409-580732212.webp)
This boat sits very low in the water, so this time, instead of a foam core, I've just laminated two pieces of 2.5mm mat board together, and then added a 1mm balsa deck.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-250926190719-580681456.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-250926190719-58067307.jpeg)
I then scribed in the deck boards with a mechanical pencil
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-250926190719-580692049.jpeg)
I'm hoping to use this boat to circle the lower, river portion of the layout. The previous La Quila boat I made to do this function is a bit hit & miss. Sometimes comes off the magnets.
So I have added the magnets underneath, and also four tiny 7mm ball rollers to smooth out the ride.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-250926190719-580701853.jpeg)
These little rollers let the boat sit about 1mm above the water surface, and roll in all directions.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-250926190719-580712413.jpeg)
Rob, that's a neat prototype to model.
I'll be sure to follow along.
BTW, Africa Queen is a great movie.
Rob a very interesting build coming up.
Count me in to follow along.
Jerry
Rob,
Man overboard! You can count on me to follow along.
Will this boat be used to harvest gators? ;D
Rich
Thanks Rick. Yep a great film. Surprisingly, the only film that Bogart won an Academy award for.
Thanks for your continued interest Jerry.
Thanks Rich. Not sure about harvesting as I have so many Crocs.
I ordered 12 toy ones that were a suitable size for O scale. But then also found another 20 suitable ones in a local trash & treasure store. So plenty of crocs for several layouts. Most will need repainting.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-270926205300-58075436.jpeg)
I have now added the sides to the boat. As is my usual practice these days, I'm just using stiff card.
I attached one layer of card to the sides of the mat board hull.
Then laminated a 2nd card layer to the inside from the deck upwards. This produces a very rigid finish.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-280926003612-580771499.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-280926003610-58076942.jpeg)
Great Start and a worthy movie!
8)
Thanks Philip
I've now added the gunwale around the upper edge of the hull. Used two laminated layers of basswood strip for this. And have enclosed the front portion of the hull using balsa sheet.
Then added the ribs. Used 1.5mm x 0.75mm styrene strip.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-290926025152-58079905.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-290926025152-580801205.jpeg)
Next up I will start painting.
Rob, it's coming together nicely.
Will you be using an O scale boiler?
Kit or scratch built?
Thanks Rick.
I'll be scratchbuilding the boiler. Just need to sort through my stash to find a suitable size core.
I have now got the hull painted white, and have outlined for the lower red section.
I forgot to take more photos after I had added the red.
The inside has been painted & weathered too.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-011026001840-580821612.jpeg)
For the rear canopy of the boat, the real one has metal tubing for the frame (refer back to prototype pics above).
I decided for my model, using wire would be too flimsy, so instead used 2mm styrene tube for the posts and painted to look like bamboo. Then used paperclip wire for the supporting frame.
I have also added the wooden seats.
You may ask why I have rusted the inside panels. The real African Queen may look like a wooden hull, but was actually riveted metal sheets.
I still need to weather the outside of the hull.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-011026001840-58084222.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-011026001841-58085465.jpeg)
It's looking very good.
Interesting that you went with the canopy from the Disney ride.
I does add more interest.
Rob,
I see that you do very well with the construction of boats. It's fun to watch you go from nothing to a splendid
design. And you work quickly as well. Nice job!
Rich
Thanks Rick.
Thank Rich. This will be boat number 11 for me.
I've certainly modified how I do them now, from when I first started.
Rob you're off to a great start and the original photos look interesting.
I'll be following the master on this one.
Thanks Larry. Not a lot of photo's of the prototype from the movie.
For the movie they used two boats, in two different filming locations.
One is still in Uganda, but the other one is now a tourist boat in Florida.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Queen_(boat) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Queen_(boat))
So I got the boiler made, using some scrap box parts. Just made up something that looks mechanical.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-041026183856-58088417.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-041026183856-58090399.jpeg)
For the lagging wrapped around one of the pipes I just used a strip of newspaper.
I also made a metal plate for the deck under the boiler / motor from card and embossed rivets on it using a pounce wheel
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-041026183856-580921450.jpeg)
And have now added the tarp over the canopy.
I used stiff card for this, but sanded the edges so I could give a drooping look.
And have also added the rope bumper around the outside of the hull, and weathered the sides.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-041026183856-580931580.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-041026184007-58094306.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-041026184008-58095648.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-041026184008-580961107.jpeg)
Not much to go now. Just the mast, some crates etc.
WOW Rob, the boiler looks fantastic.
As does the weathering on the boat.
Rob great job imangineering the boiler assembly. The boat certainly looks well used with a nice amount of grunge.
It's fun seeing Larry and Rob do "competing" small boat builds.
dave
Ron really nice work on the boat.
But really an excellent job on that boiler.
Jerry
Thanks Rick, Larry, Dave and Jerry.
I'm very happy with how the boiler turned out. Took me a while to find a suitable size core to use.
And the weathering came up good too. If you go back to page 1 prototype pictures you can see how grungy the boat looked in the film.
History lesson: In the film the boats were actually powered using hidden diesel engines, for filming reliability.
The boiler & motor were just working props, but didn't power the boat.
OK, onto the final stage.
I added the name on the sides of the boat. Just used Excel for this and sanded the back of paper down so it would sit smoothly.
I added a mast, made from a bamboo skewer, and the rigging. I've included the British Union Jack flag as per the film. In the book the Charlie Allnut character is English, but in the film he is Canadian due to Bogart's American accent
And have put some crates and sacks, and an oil drum at the front of the boat. And also made a box full of coal (N scale ballast) to fuel the boiler.
One figure added for now. Will add another couple when I can find some suitable ones.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-061026173104-580971737.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-061026173105-580991333.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-061026173105-58100842.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-061026173105-581011941.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-061026173105-58102409.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-061026173157-58103439.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/1641-061026173157-581042441.jpeg)
Rob, you -have to get- a Katherine Hepburn figure, too! That's what this needs to be perfect.
dave
Thanks Dave. Scott Eastburn from Character Count Miniatures has offered to do me the figures of Bogart & Hepburn from the film. He previously offered to do some of the characters from the the Jungle Cruise movie for my La Quila boat.
I will also need some other characters from the Jungle cruise ride, so I may take up his offer.
His figures are normally only about $6 US each, so if I order enough I can probably justify it.
With exchange rate & postage to Australia it will be expensive for me, but hey, it's only money.
Rob that boat is looking amazing and love all the added details; it's really coming alive.
Rob, congratulations on yet another exquisite model.
Great looking boat. Cool how you made the boiler.
Jeff
Thanks Larry. It is alive now. Got it running on the New Jungle Cruise layout.
Thanks Rick. Very happy with the results.
Thanks Jeff.
Here is a video of the new African Queen boat going around the future Jungle Cruise layout. This boat is running much smoother that my other larger La Quila boat. And it's staying on the magnets, whereas the other one would loose the magnets in a couple of spots.
Maybe because the Queen is smaller & lighter.
Howdy Rob,
That's simply amazing. What a fun build. Congratulations!
Have fun,
mike
No rough seas, just smooth sailing.
Rob, your African Queen looks wonderful!
Great work on the boiler, and she does run much smoother than your other ship.
She literally appears to be moving under her own power, so very nice work on figuring out how to do that!
Greg
Rob,
Great work on the boiler and the whole boat. I watched your video on You Tube earlier today.
What an amazing diorama this will be when completed. Good for you!
Rich
Thanks Mike. Yep was fun to finally have a model of the African Queen.
Lots more fun to come with the start of the new Jungle Cruise layout.
Thanks Rick and Greg. Very happy that this one is running smoothly. I'd about given up on the idea.
Thanks Rich. Will be a bit more than a diorama. A mini exhibition layout. About 25" x 6'.
Will have the boat running around on the bottom river level, and a train circling round the cliffs on a higher level, with lots of dramatic scenery, and some signature Jungle Cruise scenes.
Rob actually watched your video on FB last night. Fantastic job!!! I was amazed on how smoothly the boat moved around the harbor....kudos for coming up with a very believable attraction. Looking forward to seeing how this progresses.
Thanks Larry. It's been a fun build and I'm very happy with it's movement around the layout.