The St. Louis Admirals R/C Model Boat Club

UU http://stlouisadmirals.comUU BROADSIDE 25 February 2021

Commodore – Jane Benefield (636) 447-4016 Secretary – Bob Keeler (314) 434-8640 HH Vice-Commodore – Kent Morgan (314) 892-8669 Asst. Secretary – John Ziemer (636) 566-8810 Asst. Vice-Commodore – John Ziemer (636) 566-8810 Editor – Jane Benefield (636) 447-4016 Treasurer – Lin Blaszkiewicz (314) 843-4995

NOW HEAR THIS YOUR COMMODORE FROM THE BRIDGE

It appears that everyone who could joined us via Zoom and is really enjoying it and starting 3 March 2021 I will open up Zoom 30 minutes early, so if you would like to do some socializing, please feel free to do so. The official meeting will start at 7 PM. I was able to have Lin join me for a test via telephone – no video – but it works, and she is looking forward to joining us at our March meeting.

For our March meeting, Bill Kammermeyer offered to do a presentation for us on the various kinds of wood, and I believe it should be an interesting subject as over the years I have learned that there are many types of wood, but I am not sure which ones are good for the various projects.

I would like to thank everyone who is stepping up to help with presentations and articles for the newsletter, and without your assistance, I would not be able to do it. So, thank you everyone, still looking for volunteers to do a presentation for the balance of this year.

Scheduled Events Wednesday, 3 March 2021 7 PM Zoom meeting Wednesday, 7 April 2021 7 PM Zoom meeting

Wednesday, 5 May 2021 7 PM Zoom meeting NOTES Wednesday, 2 June 2021 7 PM Zoom meeting

The following Gatherings are suspended until further notice: Prior to our 5PM monthly 1st Wednesday-of-the-month dinner-meeting, sailing is from 2-4 PM at our usual St. Ferdinand Pond, Florissant, MO – weather permitting. Dinner is set for 5:00 PM at our Hendel’s Restaurant, 599 St. Denis, Florissant, MO 63033m followed by our 7:00 PM meeting at our meeting place at the Old St. Ferdinand Shrine, the Old School House, 1 St. Francois Street, Florissant, MO.

The following Gatherings are suspended until further notice: 3rd Sunday every month (2-4 pm), March thru November: Sailing at St Ferdinand Pond -- weather permitting.

Gratefully, Jane Commodore

*******************************************************************

Thank you to everyone who paid their dues --- Dues are from 1 May – 30 April – please send your dues to:

Lin Blaszkiewicz and please make your check payable to Lin Blaszkiewicz and mail to:

Lin Blaszkiewicz 6413 Hagemann Pt Ct St. Louis, MO 63128 Thank you.

************************************************************************************

Secretary’s 3 February 2021 Meeting Minutes

Call to Order / Pledge of Allegiance:

Commodore Jane opened the ZOOM meeting at 7:00 P.M which was held online. There were nine members present, including Fr. Tom Keller, who had been unable to attend the last 3 or 4 years because of church duties. Happy he was able to join us. Guest was Bob Mains - Zoom Master, Shipwrights of Central Ohio.

Reports, Administration -- Segment

1. Commodore’s Opening Comments:

A. This was our second meeting on Zoom, and I hope that those of you who wanted to look at our presentation given by Michael Benefield at our 20 January 2021 meeting were able to do so.

B. Bill Kammermeyer has kindly agreed to do a presentation for our March meeting. Thank you ever so much, Bill.

C. Dave Amstutz from Tennessee also kindly agreed to provide us with a look at his workshop for our April meeting. Thank you, Dave, really appreciate your kind offer.

D. I am happy to report that our member, George Kirby, is doing fine, he had telephone issues but otherwise he and his family are doing as well as can be expected with Covid19.

E. Our Treasurer, Lin, has been doing an excellent job in paying our bills and providing me with a monthly treasurer’s report, and she updated our membership list. Thank you, Lin, we really appreciate your diligence.

F. BlueSky Apparel t-shirts: Commodore Jane received a prototype of an embroidered patch for approval. T-shirts can be ordered. The cost is with only the front logo up to size L $10.00 plus tax, and with logo on back and front up to size L and XL is $15.00 plus tax. Sizes 2XL and larger and long sleeve are an additional cost. Patches hat size and shirt patch are $10.00 each.

2. Secretary’s Meeting Minutes Report – Bob Keeler: Presented the minutes of the January 2021 meeting which were published/printed in the January 2021 Broadside newsletter. Motion to accept minutes as printed was made by John Ziemer, seconded by Russ Wick. Motion passed.

3. Treasurer’s Report – Lin Blaszkiewicz: Lin was unable to join

4. Vice Commodore -- Comments/Actions – Kent Morgan: None

5. Asst. Vice-Commodore Comments – John Ziemer – None

6. Secretary Comments – Bob Keeler – None at this time.

7. Membership – Lin Blaszkiewicz – None

8. Commodore -- Comments/Actions: A. Amendment of By-Laws: Amendment of Constitution and By-Laws: Ready for discussion and approval possibly by our April meeting.

Boat Club Items and Notices of Interest -- Segment:

1. No events planned at this time due to Covid-19 pandemic.

2. Dues: Commodore Jane requests all to please keep dues current. Dues are $30 per year if you receive newsletter by email; $40 if you receive newsletter by mail. Please make payable to Lin Blaszkiewicz. Check made out to St. Louis Admirals Club will be returned.

3. SSMA Individual Membership Renewal Information: Bob Keeler has received the Club Charter for 2021 from Mr. Heinz Ricken and the insurance forms for St. Ferdinand Shrine and St. Ferdinand Park for sailing. Also, the St. Ferdinand Park insurance covers us with the City of Florissant. A copy will be sent to the Parks and Recreation Department, City of Florissant. Membership Director: Heinz Ricken, SSMA Clubs/Membership Director, 514 Cranford Avenue, Cranford, NJ 07016.

Articles/Presentations/Show-and-Tell/ Meeting Segments:

Note: As our Admirals club CONSTITUTION reads:

SECTION 1

The objectives and purposes of the Club shall be:

1. To promote and foster interest in model R/C boating.

2. To stimulate through social and technical meetings an understanding of model R/C boat design, construction, and operation.

3. To advance education and technical understanding of R/C model boating.

1. Articles Meeting Segment: Admiral’s Club Newsletter Voluntary Articles (as of 3 February 2021, updated monthly): Completed and submitted voluntary articles to be published in an appropriate month of the Admiral’s Club Newsletter. Please contact Commodore Jane if you have any ideas, thoughts or wishes for future presentations or article topics.

Museum Quality criteria for model ship building – December 2019 newsletter article: Michael Benefield. USS Constellation updates – May 2020, Aug 2020, Dec 2020 newsletter article: Russ Wick ’s Clermont – June 2020 newsletter article: Bob Keeler HMS Victory, HMS Warrior, Mary Rose – July 2020 newsletter article: Jane Benefield The Birth of Radio Control – September 2020 newsletter article: John Ziemer A Few Extended Thoughts About the Two Earlier Interesting Articles in This Newsletter – September 2020 newsletter article: Michael Benefield USS Thresher – November 2020 newsletter article: Emil Wolfshoefer

2. Presentations Meeting Segment: This month’s presentation by Commodore Jane was a biography of James B. Eads, a famous St. Louis Engineer, who accomplished many things in his lifetime, including designing a snag boat for retrieving cargo from sunken river boats which made him a rich man; building iron clad civil war river-gun boats, which helped make the controlled by the Union and split the Confederacy in two. He also built the first bridge across the Mississippi river and invented the caissons to allow workers to operate down to bedrock without operating under water. The presentation was one of the livelier ones as several people were able to embellish certain parts with more information. For instance, Bob Keeler pointed out that the ironclad Barron DeKalb and St. Louis were one and the same. The gunboats were originally part of the Army, but when the Navy finally accepted them, it already had a boat named St. Louis, so the name was changed to Baron DeKalb, a general in the American Revolution. Fr. Tom pointed out that the reason the Ead’s bridge went bankrupt was that the Wiggins boat company had the sole monopoly for crossing the Mississippi river in the St. Louis area. The question came up about the use of Masonic signs which adorned the riverboats, including the gunboats. Again, Fr. Tom informed us that the Masons controlled all the riverboats and warehouses along the riverfront and boat captains needed to belong to the Masons. Fr. Tom also mentioned that the Wiggins boat company morphed into present day Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) railroad.

A. Past Presentations

Phase 1:

R/C Components:

Propellers – October 2017 – Kent Morgan Electric Motors -- February 2018 meeting: Bob Keeler Batteries – March 2018 meeting: Michael Benefield Servos- April 2018: Bob Keeler

Phase 3:

Ship/Boat Structures:

Sailing/Sail Boats -- January 2018 meeting: Michael Benefield

Phase 7:

The Practical/Attainable Workshop:

Making our model boat-building hobby easier, faster, safer, or just more fun – November 2018 meeting: Bill Kammermeyer.

Phase 8:

James Eads Biography:

Biography of James B. Eads, a famous St. Louis Engineer, who accomplished many things in his lifetime, including: designing a snag boat for retrieving cargo from sunken river boats; building iron clad civil war river-gun boats; and , St Louis: Jane Benefield.

B. Future Presentation Topic Schedule/Sequence (as of 3 February 2021): All topic presentations are temporarily held in abeyance, and in the interim, they will be individually conducted on an ad hoc basis. In addition, during this temporary period, topic presentations and presenters will be announced whenever practical (refer to the April 2018 Newsletter for Phase details).

Phase 1: R/C Components (continued), Electronic Speed Control, etc. Phase 2: R/C Systems: Transmitters, Receivers, Components, etc. Phase 3: Ship/Boat Structures (continued), hulls, superstructures, etc. Phase 4: Ship/Boat Kit- and Scratch-Building Common Areas Phase 5: Ship/Boat Kit Unique Building Techniques Phase 6: Ship/Boat Scratch Unique Building Techniques Phase 7: The Practical/Attainable Workshop (continued) Phase 8: General Maritime Interest

C. Presentation Ideas List (as of 3 February 2021): Suggested ideas for future Admiral’s club-meeting presentations and related published articles (including non-presentation articles) for the Admiral’s Club monthly newsletters. Please feel free to suggest to Commodore Jane additional ideas that a club member may want to have added to this list:

History of SS Admiral History of the USS St Louis Special Mississippi and Missouri River boats Unusual barge loads and boats (i.e., aircraft and ) Barge Designs Lock and dam operations.

D. Show and Tell Meeting Segment:

A. Jim Tuxbury had a large background picture of one of the destroyers from his Steel Navy (approximately 9 feet long).

B. Fr. Tom Keller showed his ferry boat he built and a small boat he powered with Smarty Box kit, including motors, gearing and controller. It is powered by a couple of AA batteries.

C. Fr. Tom Keller also brought up that the club has a Facebook page, which has not seen much attention. He would like to reactivate it. He would like members to send him pictures of videos of their boats which he would then add to Facebook.

D. Bob Keeler received a box of boat parts, motors, and sundry parts from Darren at Hobby Center which used to belong to Norm Kalaskie. He will bring the items to the next in person meeting for members to peruse or otherwise dispose of unwanted items.

E. Bob Keeler mentioned that in the Winter 2020 issue of Nautical Research Journal was an article on rope factories in France. These were established to support the French Navy. Sailing ships required ropes to rig the sails, as much as 225 miles for large ships. These rope factories were anywhere from 1000 to 1600 feet long and 40 to 100 feet wide. Then within a week, he received a newsletter from the Trolley Group at the National Museum of Transportation, which had an article about a rope factory here in St. Louis in the 1800’s to service riverboats. The article was passed on to Commodore Jane for use in the Broadside.

Round Table Discussion – Meeting Segment: None

Meeting adjourned: 8:24P.M. Next Meeting: Wednesday, 3 March 2021 at 7:00 PM by Zoom. Commander Jane will set up Zoom meeting and email information to join the meeting.

Respectfully submitted, Bob Keeler, Secretary *********************************************************************** Captain Eads Life Stages, Profession, and Accomplishments River Ship Salvage; Civil War Mississippi River Gun Boats/Monitors; Eads Bridge.

This is a compilation by Commodore Jane from the following sources: Missouri History Museum, Wikipedia, Britannica, and Waterways Journal.

Captain (May 23, 1820 – March 8, 1887 (aged 66) Nassau, Bahamas) was a world- renowned American civil engineer and inventor, holding more than 50 patents. Eads’ funeral took place in St. Louis and he was buried in in St. Louis, Missouri in the family vault.

Early Life

James Buchanan Eads was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, on May 23, 1820. He came to St. Louis when he was 13 years old. The boat trip to St. Louis ended in disaster when the boat caught fire. The family was left with only the clothes on their back.

Captain James Buchanan Eads

The financial needs of his family required young Eads to work, but he studied mechanics and other scientific books at night. In 1842, Eads developed a partnership with Case & Nelson boatbuilders. Their business involved rescuing wrecked boats and cargo from the Mississippi River. This was quite profitable as insurance companies would often pay a large portion of what was recovered to Eads and his company. In addition, freight that had been wrecked for five years belonged to whoever found it. At 18 he became purser on a Mississippi riverboat. Not long after, he began to consider means to recover by salvage the heavy losses from the frequent riverboat disasters. When he was 22, he invented a salvage boat, which he called a ; actually it was a surface vessel from which he could descend in a diving bell he had also designed and walk the river bottom. He recovered lead and iron pigs and other valuable freight; on one occasion he retrieved a cargo that included a large crock of butter in a good state of preservation. He built three new submarines, the third of which was capable of pumping out and raising a sunken hull from the bottom. Within a few years he had 10 boats in his fleet.

At the age of 26, Eads married Martha Dillon, the daughter of a wealthy St. Louisan. After a brief run at establishing a glass factory, Eads continued and expanded his wreck recovery business, making him very wealthy. So successful was his equipment that in 12 years of operations on the Mississippi and its tributaries he made his fortune. In 1857, he retired from the wreck recovery business because of his poor health. His wife passed away about the same time. Two years later he married the widow of his first cousin.

Civil War Years

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Eads foresaw the struggle that would take place for control of the Mississippi system, and he advanced a radical idea. He proposed that ironclad steam-powered warships of shallow be built to operate on the rivers. The U.S. government was slow to take up his offer to build such a flotilla; when it did, he built the ships in record time, working 4,000 men on day and night shifts seven days a week. The novel craft he set afloat spearheaded Grant’s offensive against Forts Henry and Donelson, the first important Union victories of the war. They continued to play a conspicuous role under Andrew Foote and at Memphis, Island No. 10, Vicksburg, and Mobile Bay. The vessels were the first ironclads to fight in North America and the first in the world to engage enemy warships. (The Monitor and Merrimack (correctly, the Virginia), both ironclads that battled in the , were the first such vessels to close against each other in combat.) James Eads oversaw the construction of ironclad gunboats for the War Department from the spring of 1861 to the spring of 1864 from his boatyard in Carondelet, Missouri and Mound City, Illinois. He constructed boats at an incredibly fast pace that put pressure on the city’s carpenters and ironworkers. This included the Excelsior Stove Works owned by the Filley brothers, who switched their production from stoves to cannons and iron plating in support of the war effort. Eads received his first contract from the War Department in August 1861 thanks to a letter from General Frank Blair to his brother-in-law army quartermaster general, Montgomery C. Meigs. The contract asked for seven boats. While his original timetable stipulated that the boats would be ready for crews in 65 days, they were not sent until late November 1862, and were not accepted into service until January 15, 1863.

Eventually Eads would produce 14 of the 22 ironclad gunboats used during the Civil War. These boats would be integral in securing Union control of the Mississippi and opening the river to commerce by July of 1863.

Building “CITY” class ironclads at St Louis, MO, 1861

U.S. Mississippi Gunboats Being Built at Carondelet, Near St. Louis, MO

USS Baron DeKalb in 1862

U.S.S. Essex

Patent Model for Turret

Furthermore, Eads designed a gigantic railway system intended for construction at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (It represents the shortest distance between the and the Pacific Ocean), which would carry ocean-going ships across the isthmus from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean; this attracted some interest but was never constructed.

Later Life

Eads made his first fortune as a marine salvor. He went into business with two partners to whom he showed his design for the first diving bell, a modified wine-barrel, paired with a special salvage vessel. Eads dubbed it a “submarine” and did most of the dangerous diving himself, recovering valuable cargoes from steamboat wrecks up and down the Mississippi. The knowledge of the river he gained from his underwater salvage activities, which equaled that of any river pilot, earned him the honorific title “captain.”

Immediately after the war, Eads was chosen to direct a construction project of extraordinary difficulty, the bridging of the Mississippi at St. Louis. In 1867, James Eads formed an organization dedicated to building a bridge across the Mississippi River in St. Louis. This bridge would be the largest arch bridge ever built. Seven years later that goal had been achieved.

The Eads Bridge was undercapitalized during construction and burdened with debt. Because of its historic focus on the Mississippi and river trade, St. Louis lacked adequate rail terminal facilities, and the bridge was poorly planned to coordinate rail access. Although an engineering and aesthetic success, the bridge operations became bankrupt within a year of opening. The railroads boycotted the bridge, resulting in a loss of tolls. The bridge was later sold at auction for 20 cents on the dollar. This sale caused the National Bank of the State of Missouri to fold, which was the largest bank failure in the United States at that time. Eads did not suffer financial consequences. Many involved with financing the bridge were indicted, but Eads was not.

The cost of building the bridge was nearly $10 million ($230 million with inflation.)

In 1884 Eads became the first U.S. citizen awarded the Albert Medal of the Royal Society of the Arts, London, England.

Poster showing the construction of the bridge in different phases, ca. 1874

Eads Bridge, St Louis, Missouri

When James Eads died on March 8, 1887, and the headline in the Augusta Chronicle read “The Greatest Engineer in the World Is Dead.” In the 1930s a group of deans from prominent engineering schools selected the five best engineers of all time. They were Leonardo da Vinci, , , , and James B. Eads.

Eads is recognized with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

APPENDIX:

USS Baron DeKalb (USS St Louis) in 1862

City-class ironclad Class overview Name: City class gunboat Builders: James B. Eads, St. Louis, Missouri Operators: U.S. Army, until October 1, 1862; thereafter U.S. Navy Cost: $191,000, approximate average Lost: 2 Retired: 5 General characteristics Type: Gunboat : 512 tons, Length: 175 ft (53 m), Beam: 51 ft 2 in (15.60 m), Draft: 6 ft (1.8 m) Installed power: two non-condensing reciprocating steam engines Propulsion: 22 ft (6.7 m) diameter paddle wheel Speed: 8 knots (15 km/h) Complement: 251 Armament: 3 8-in (203 mm), 4 43-pounder (19 kg), 6 32-pounder (14.5 kg) (January 1862) Armor: 2.5 in (64 mm) on casemate, 1.5 in (38 mm) on pilot house; hull, deck, and unprotected

**********************************************************************

*****************************************************************

Article provided by Bob Keeler from the Transit Times and Gazette, Vol2 – No.2, February 2021

*********************************************************** Bill Kammermeyer, President Tim Jovick, Secretary 636-230-3921 314-761-5435

(N.B. Due to Coronavirus, there have been no meetings since March of 2020)

January 2021 (Part 2) The Workshop of Bill Kammermeyer 1533 Carmen Rd Ballwin, MO 63021 USS St. Louis Project Status (Continued):

(N.B. For the most part, Billl has been working on this on his own, with assistance from Bob Keeler, Dr. Mike Orgel and Vince Murphy. Unless otherwise noted, all pictures and captions are by Bill Kammeremeyer)

HURRICANE DECK LIGHTING

1/8" wide LED light strip in The amount of light This view of the LED strip is "beam trough " that hides generated from the LED completely blocked from normal the strip from view, yet strips makes a dramatic viewing by the trough built around focuses the light down difference on the detail in it. (BK/BobK/MO 12/26.20) onto the deck. the interior of the ship. (BK (BK/BobK/MO 12/26/20) 12/26/20)

CANNON TOOLS

Cannon tools that I previously View of cannon tools, View down the starboard made were attached to racks ammunition boxes, and tool gun deck showing the angle that Tim Jovick and l made boxes. Open padlock on at which the racks and tools last year. The tools were fit green chest while the yellow are attached. Also, how they and glued to the racks and chest is locked. Fused are attached and out of the then the racks glued and bombs are in the blue way. Scale man at right. (BK nailed to the 45ﾟ inside ammunition chest for the 8" 1/2/21) casement as a unit. Ready to smoothbore at the center use and out of the way. bow casement. (BK 1/2/21) (BK/TJ 12/27/20)

AMMUNITION CHESTS AND LOCK MANUFACTURE

Ammunition chests with 32- After painting chests with Padlocks were made by lb. cannon balls (green) and craft acrylic paints and a punching discs from 3/64-inch 8-inch fused bombs (blue) in period of drying time, they brass plate. By moving the racks. Bright and blackened were given a coat of walnut punch a bit into the last disc padlocks showing how I stain to darken them and hole, a clip was made in the current disc. The center made them. (BK 12/31/20). give shadow definition to dimple is part of the punch all recessed areas. (BK process. An added punch 12/28/20) point, with luck, makes the bottom part of the keyhole. Flattened ends of 18 Gauge brass wire were soldered to the back of the blanks to make the shackles. #45 drill bit formed the i.d. of the shackles. BK 12/30/20

These shots show how well the stain picks up the detail on the wood and hasps. The padlocks look relatively realistic considering the penny for scale next to them. (BK 12/31/20).

MAKING FIGURINES 1/24 SCALE

We have been using a couple of 1/24 modified figurines for reference over the course of this build (you’ve likely seen the guy with the shovel at various places around the boat). The plan is to make perhaps 25 uniformed figurines (both officers and seamen) at a number of places around the gunboat doing various functions (e.g., cannon crew).

As mentioned previously, we learned how to make figures from Bob Temper, by fashioning “skeletons” out of scrunched-up aluminum foil, with clothing and heads made from Sculpey.

More recently, we purchased a number of solid 1/24 male figurines from Schaefer’s, a local Hobby Shop, with the intention of cutting off the heads, arms and legs (in two parts) and then casting them with the intent of reassembling them in whatever position we wanted. Vince Murply has made a number of such heads, with the help of Fred Hecker.

1/24 solid male figurines, purchased from Cut-apart (head torso, arms, legs) 1/24 figurine Schaffer’s Hobby Shop (VM 01/20/21) (used by Bill, for reference), along with Alumilite brand silicone mold kit, including high-strength mold material, mold-release solution, and measuring cup and scoops. (VM 01/20/21)

Early attempts to make molds. The clips on the 2-part mold box with holes in front and back device are to the heads in the mold (which panels. The head from the figurine is suspended is in two parts) so they won’t sink. The syringe by a wire passed through the holes to keep it in holds the casting solution. (VM 01/20/21) place. The insert with pegs is to align the two halves of the mold. The insert is put into the box, then the head is suspended, and the mold material is poured in, only half-way. This half is allowed to completely dry, then the red solution is brushed on before the second half of the mold solution is poured in, so the mold halves will not stick to each other. (VM 01/20/21)

Silicone molds for two-part “Smooth-Cast” two-part Silicone Casting forms for casting, along with two heads casting solution, provided by two-part heads, plus cut off the 1/24 scale figures Fred Hecker (VM 01/14/21) completed heads (VM (VM 01/14/21) 01/14/21)

Cast heads, formed from two One-piece heads Both one- and two-piece heads, pieces (front and back), (longer necks) (VM with their silicone molds. Penny separately cast from silicone 01/14/21) for scale. (VM 01/14/21) forms (VM 01/14/21)

Another method was to build armatures for the “skeleton” out of wire, and then fill out the body and clothing with Sculpey. The heads could either be provided by those cast from the 1/24 purchased figurines or made from Sculpey using a toothpick as a tool for details. Bill has done that work.

A simple wooden jig used Torso is 14 Gauge copper Yoke for neck hole shown, for maintaining scale wire bent into a "u" with the and head armature in a pin consistency for the wire ends and bend flattened. It is vise. (BK 1/6/21) armature used in my figure soldered to an arms-and- construction. (BK 1/6/21) shoulder wire with a yoke bent into the center for the neck hole. (BK 1/6/21)

Lower figure in the soldering jig, the upper The torso is first tinned at the soldering armature is ready for animation. Note the points and then soldered to the arms-and- recess holes beneath the solder joints. This shoulders wire with the yoke facing the allows the wire to heat to soldering figure back. That assembly is then removed temperature without the wood acting as a from the clamp and laid on the pre-bent heat sink. (BK 1/6/21) legs, and soldered at the tinned touch points. (BK 1/6/21)

Shallow notches are cut at the Let the animation begin! (BK 1/8/21) backs of the knees at the mark on the jig. Bent and filled head armatures are ready for faces. (BK 1/7/21)

USS St. Louis Project Status (Continued):

(N.B. For the most part, Bill has been working on this on his own, with assistance from Bob Keeler, Dr. Mike Orgel and Vince Murphy. Unless otherwise noted, all pictures and captions are by Bill Kammeremeyer)

(MAKING FIGURINES, CONTINUED)

(Making armatures for the figurines, cont.)

22-gauge bell wire was An L shaped 3/64" brass rod Protective aluminum heat wrapped around the 14- was soldered to a foot sink clips made from old gauge scrap copper wire with an aluminum clip heat hair-styling clips. Nothing armatures to give the clay sink in place to protect fancy, but they protect the more purchase surface. (BK previously soldered joints. previously soldered joints. 1/8/21) (BK 1/8/21) (BK 1/10/21)

The foot pegs in a hole make animating the armatures much easier. Bell wire extending beyond the flattened hand sections will be a support for a thumb when figure is gripping an object. I will now start bulking the bodies with clay as in the figure on the left. (BK 1/9/21)

SCULPTING CREW HEADS

Steps for sculpting crew heads, left to right. (view progress from right to left) Pupils are 16 Gauge wire is bent into a 1/4-inch eye and set with a toothpick end, in line with corners soldered. Sculpey clay is packed into eye of the mouth. All movement of clay at this and heat-hardened. That is then sanded into time is made by rolling the toothpick lightly a plug and wrapped with a thin layer of clay. on the surface of the clay. Excess clay is Using only a toothpick at this time, rolled down neck and cut off with an X-Acto horizontal eye dents are made, followed by knife. Rolling toothpick in a trial-and-error vertical nose dents. Horizontal dent is made fashion creates facial features. I have about below nose and rolled up creating basic 6 minutes of sculpting time invested in the nose and upper lip. (BK 1/22/21) head on the left at this time. (BK 1/21/21)

Ears are now added by rolling a 1/8-inch ball of clay, cutting it in half, balling it again and sticking each small ball to the side of the head about eye height.

A rounded rod is touched to the center of the disc and worked out in an ear shape, the front of the ear flat with the face. All clay at this time is moved by rolling the toothpick or tapping with the rounded rod. (BK 1/21/21)

A pin on a stick is used to tease out The soft clay is hardened with a heat gun and the top the whiskers on his pork chops and is sanded flat to the top of the copper eye. hair. A thin strip of clay is added Penny for scale. (BK 1/21/21) under the nose and teased with a pin to make his mustache. (BK 1/21/21)

Oversized card stock is cut and glued to the A small ball of clay is packed on top of the flattened head. (BK 1/23/21) hardened head. With an "L" shaped, 1/8" wide tool, the band is pressed in, the top is rolled with my toothpick, and detail is stamped in. (BK 1/23/21)

After hardening head with the heat gun, These are the tools I used to make this part of the the cap bill is sanded to shape with a crew. (BK 1/26/22) moto tool and fine disc. Pin vise is a real aid in sculpting these small heads. (BK 1/23/21)

All heads are made with flat tops, to which I may build hats after the lower portion has been heated and hardened. This allows the facial features to stay intact when the hats are pushed around on the heads. (BK 1/17/21)

The five heads in the back row are actually a Keeping to a true 1/24 scale became much bit too large to use. While they are nice heads, easier when Vince Murphy provided plastic train I will have to find another project for them figures in that scale to me. I removed the heads where the scale is not so important. I had from several and drilled an appropriate counter- made them before I developed a constant sunk hole in the neck. While the clothing on the figures is not appropriate, it does give a great armature for the head (the small copper ring feeling for the scale. Thus, to maintain the at lower right). I covered this with clay and proper scale, I built the heads on small rings of hardened it as a face base (white object in 22-gauge copper wire covered with Sculpey center). Penny for scale. clay. Using mostly a round double-pointed (BK 1/16/21) wooden toothpick and a pin vise by which to hold the wire aperture, I pushed and poked the soft clay into face shapes and inserted them onto the neck of the figures (BK 1/10/21)

*******************************************

Compiled by Commodore Jane from the Waterways Journal, U.S. Life-Saving Service Heritage Association and Wikipedia.

Coast Guard Life Saving Station, Louisville, Kentucky

Photo: New Coast

Guard station or Life Saving Station on Ohio River with a steamboat and bridge visible as seen from Louisville, Kentucky, 1929.

The first Louisville Lifeboat Station was a wooden houseboat-built 22 October 1881 and located at the Falls of the Ohio. Long touted as the most dangerous place on the Ohio River due to the falls. The mission of the station was to provide aid and rescue service to river travelers who fell victims to the treacherous rapids. The station was manned by local riverman who kept constant vigil, and later by Coast Guard reservists during World War II to guard against possible acts perpetrated by saboteurs.

It was replaced with a second wooden houseboat in 1902 and then with a steel-hulled houseboat in 1928. The steel hull measured 98 feet by 38 feet, with a depth of 5 feet.

It is the only such federal installation on inland waterways, the unique stations stood guard against navigation disasters until 1973. Records reveal that between 1881 and 1915, 7,000 lives, and property worth $6 million, were saved by station crews. Station personnel also assisted in the enforcement of Prohibition by transporting federal agents to remote river islands in search of illegal alcohol operations.

This was the only inland life-saving station in the United States and the only permanently located floating lifeboat station in the world. Now on the National Register of Historic Places and used as the wharf boat for the excursion vessel .

***********************************************

Battle of Hampton Roads, Virginia, the Monitor and Merrimack

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS

Jane Benefield 25 Treebeard Circle Saint Charles, MO 63303