My new paddle steamer

[olicana]

Last week I scratch built this Nile paddle steamer. It's mainly cardboard (including the paddle wheel and boiler) and some MDF decking. There are also a couple of plastic teaspoon handles, some Perry plastic figure bases and some tacks involved.

As a real steamer I don't think the design makes much sense (for a start, there is no access to the upper deck and I have no idea how the boiler would connect to the engine room) but, for a wargame model, it works and looks the part. I hope you like it.




note tack and card railings. The boiler is card / paper (fin and skin affair), buttons and the funnel is a pen.


Another shot of the paper boiler


I'm very happy with the cardboard paddle wheel - for one thing, it's much stronger than it looks. However, if I make another I will use match sticks rather than card for the spokes. The arms are plastic teaspoon handles (are they made by PDT or is that PDT = Plastic Disposable Teaspoon?). The drive shafts are Warbases Gribeauval limber shafts left over from a conversion job. The froth and foam is cheap sponge.


The adhoc 'boiler plate armour' is pastic Perry bases drilled along the edges. Barrels are not scratch (Renedra) but the crates are - MDF and card.

[OSHIROmodels]

Looks great 

[Sgt_T]

Made from cardboard

Amazing!

T

[FifteensAway]

Very nice.

Boiler îs to generate steam - just need a pipe below deck to transit the steam to one or more pistons that turn some sort of shaft(s) that will turn the wheel.  Steam locomotion is both fairly simple - and somewhat complex.  Only challenge might be if the steam has to travel so far it starts to cool so much it loses its force to drive the pistons.  So, maybe the steam pipe needs to be well clad in some sort of insulating material.  But since it is below deck you can just assure us you did just that and we won't be able to question your veracity!

The real key is the ability of the vessel to carry miniatures and your first photo clearly shows it can do so.

PDT = "Powered Direct Transmission" (though I have no idea really but it sounds good for the application) 

[olicana]

One thing not shown is the name (name added later than photos). She's called the "Heru-Pa-Kaut".

That's a random Egyptian female fertility god with a fish on her head.

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Excellent work! Love it. 

[Yankeepedlar01]

That is a splendid model! Perfect for gaming!

[Hitman]

Wow!! Great job!! Very creative and I bet a lot of fun to build. I imagine you will get lots of table top time with it too...well done!!
Regards
Hitman
😎

[marianas_gamer]

Beautiful build and very nice painting 

[Diablo Jon]

Looks like it's straight out of the movie Khartoum good job.   

[Grumpy Gnome]

Loving it! 👍

[Sunjester]

A superb job Sir!

[Malamute]

That looks great, a lovely build. Is it based on the Gary Chalk plan?

[olicana]

It is based on photos of that boat. I liked the use of the main deck to house a visible boiler - as I wasn't doing a lift off second deck.

My next steamer will probably be a three deck stern wheeler with a full length 'palisaded' open plan third deck with striped 'lift off' awning - giving about 8" of troop space. The bridge will be at the front of the third deck. The two lower decks will have a walkway with railings running along on each side of its 'cabins'. It will be twin funnel. It will be the pretty much the same length as this one (13" approx) but slightly wider. Overall it will look pretty high out of the water - possibly more the Thomas Cook Cairo steamer than the smaller Khartoum steamer end of the spectrum.

After that I'll do a fairly large twin masted dhow. As I'm only doing the early campaigns that will, except for three or four 'towed whale boats', probably cover the riverine stuff.

[frd]

If you didn't tell us that it was scratch built with cardboard, I would have thought it was a kit! Amazing work! Now I really want to make a paddle steamer (even though I don't currently have troops to go with it )

If you're really bothered by the lack of access to the top deck, you can always add a little (removable) staircase on the front - I've seen a few paddle steamers where the only top deck access is on the very front... or we can always imagine its there.

Didn't know you can get mdf decking - that would be a game changer for me so I don't need to make and glue my own planks on decks! Do you know any places that sell it in 15mm?