Line of Z Scale Ships Coming

I've been building, on commission, a model of the Edna G., a 108' tug that plied the Great Lakes for many years, and is still open (although I do not know if it still steams or diesels). Due to my brain fart, I drew and built it in Z before realizing that it was meant to be N, so it will be available in both scales. Excuse the tape on the stern--this is an in-progress shot. These will be available as built-ups or kits that, unlike some of my larger ships, require only a modicum of kit building experience. I have this and three larger ships to finish before looking at how to produce this, but it is a definite.

Very nice boats Pete! Do you have the equipment to make solid cast models.. ?? Z boats are small enough to make this a good option. Many Zer's would probobly use a boat, secondary to the trains and would not require museum class models. With a cast version, the modeler could crash and bash the basic boat and detail the model to fit his/her specs. You might consider an entry level to Z boats.
Just as an example:



Adrian- you must have some ties to the U of Mass??
Here is Sam the Minuteman.. Didn't want to use the Mascot image

Hi Fred,

I've been casting entire N scale hulls that would measure 288' long in Z scale (210' Reliance-class cutter in N scale), so smaller hulls are no problem. Some of the bow castings for large N scale freighters run about 40 oz a pour, or twice the Reliance. And all that is with a hollow hull. Here are some ships that might make it over to Z scale.

This is a 142' tug used by both the ATSF and PRR after WWII, when they picked them up from the Army. Cast hull and superstructure, although four separate pieces. Rather handsome boats, I think:



The 263' car float that goes with the ATSF is also cast:



Then there is a 125' Active-class cutter, also with cast hull and superstucture:



And there's the 173' Bluffton-class subchaser:



And many, many smaller items, like these RIB rescue boats:



I'm not too fond of cast superstructures, as it's hard to portray any depth with the windows and doors. That's enough for now. I have a large inventory of ships and ship details that I have not announced yet, because I'm still learning to produce them in quantity. That includes kits, which are NOT simple to package.

Pete, Have you got any updates to the fleet??
Fred

I will have some in a few weeks. All of March was spent producing N scale ships for folks who ordered early. Besides the 108' tug Edna G., I should have a 610' Laker(60' beam) ready, and perhaps the 125' Active class. I'm still pondering whether to include camber (side to side curvature of the deck) and sweep (end to end curvature) on the main deck of the Lakers. The two make the many hatches and hatch openings much harder to build for anyone interested in kits. I just don't know how essential they are to the character of the Lakers. Fitting curved hatches onto curved openings is very exacting work, and casting these pieces would be very tricky. Laminating 14-20 hatch covers to the same curve can be done, but takes a lot of patience and skill. But, then again, getting them to stay flat can be just as trying.

I've been at this venture for about 18 months now, and am just beginning to understand the work involved in various offerings.

Since I'm a Retired USN Boatswain Mate. I've served on various different types of ships and you do very fine detailed work. I've tried to design a shrimp boat when I was doing "N" scale. The First scratch built boat I have ever done. I used only pictures I took when I was in Florida. These shrimp boat were on the St. John's river near Mayport, Florida. I made the Hull of wood and the rest in Strips, and sheets of Styrene Made by Evergreen. I even installed running lights. It's a shrimp boat but it has a shark hanging off the rigging. So I know how hard it is to design these ships at a small scale. I was going to build one in "Z" but the rigging and the booms would be a bit small. I would have to go with metal and fine wire. I'm still thinking about it. So keep up the good work!!!

Walt

Walt,

Thanks for the compliment! I don't know much about shrimpers. There are just so many different types of ships for specific purposes that I'll probably never gain an appreciation for even a small minority. I love the rigging on that shrimper and admire anyone who can string those blocks. There are some things I just haven't mastered, like rigging blocks, or mounting grab irons to stacks and superstructures, or installing running lights.

Just a quick update:

I'm a little behind in product development as I have had two rounds of hand surgery since February, and the last, two weeks ago, was a little more extensive than anticipated. I also admit--gulp--that I have been preparing for some N Scale shows, and the surgeries have put me weeks behind schedule. At this time:

The built-up Z scale 375' and 614' container ships are available, but will take 3-4 weeks to complete. Kits are not available yet, as I haven't received all the various bits and pieces. These are being produced in very small quantities so, if you would like to jump the gun, please contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or private message here, and I'll see what I can do for you.

I just showed some N scale ships publicly over the weekend at an N scale show, and the results and remarks were phenomenal.

Whatz happening with Z boats Pete??
Fred

Hi Fred,

I've been buildings ships for customers. That's a good thing, as it keeps me in business. And I've been going to shows. I had a great reception at the Columbus N-scale weekend, and am going to the Milwaukee N-scale convention later this month. I'm thinking of going to the Bedford, PA show in August.

I've finished development of two ships for N scale--the 210' Reliance cutter and the 375' container ship, along with some cranes and a new superstructure. The cutter, which I have been working on for two years, is still an absolute bear to build.

The hand surgeries have taken much longer to heal than I expected, with a few unexpected complications, like severe arthritis, which may recede over the next two months. I've almost cleared my backlog, so I can get back to the Z scale ships in mid-July or so.

Pete- Any news to report??
Fred

I'm on vacation until July 19th or so. I'll get started on the Z scale kits when I return. I'll have two lakers (735' & 610'); two container ships (614' & 375'); and then three smaller ships (125' Active class cutter, the Port Welcome, and the 108' tug Edna G.) I'm slowly working on my website. It should be up by July 19 or so. I think the kits will leave much of the detailing to the modeler in order to get them out more quickly--I'll see how much I get done during this break.

Pete

Well it's long past the 19th of July did you take and extention on your vacation. Let's get out of drydock and make them float!

The faster I go, the behinder I get! I got a number of orders from the N Scale Convention in Milwaukee that had to be built/packaged, and that's the business flow that is keeping this venture going.

I'm still having troubles with my big production cutter. It's essential that I get it cutting properly in order to offer Z Scale kits. My small cutter works perfectly for prototyping--I myself can build ships off of it, but not offer kits.

I'm trying different techniques to make these kits possible.So far, I haven't hit upon the right combination of blade depth, cutting pressure, speed, cutting mat, and blade offset.

I'm building a website at www.nscaleships.com. I haven't gotten around to the Z Scale part of it yet, nor the on-line ordering part. I will get there, but this is still a one man band, at least until I go down and rescue Kay from Alabama.

I should also mention that I have masters for the hulls of the smaller ships, and will make the molds in September (or so). Right now I'm trying to get a number of masters together, so I can determine how much mold materials to buy. I've been buying 2 gallon kits, but that will be too much right now, and the stuff does go bad in only a few months. I still figuring out how to scale down from N scale. The mold and casting volumes go down by 0.7273^3--a Z scale model requires about 38% of the material of an N scale model.

I'm still figuring this all out, BTW.

And my hands are still messed up from the early May surgery. I can't believe how stiff they are, and how much they hurt. When you have to start thinking about how to grab a knife and what angle to cut so that you don't get a searing pain, things do get slower. They are getting better, with constant rehab, but it is very slow going.

Sorry to Hear this!!! Didn't know! I hope things get better for you I know I'm having trouble with my left eye! and I can't even think of what would happen if I lost my sight! Take care and God be with you and hope things go better soon. You Work is very important. and you have great craftsmanship in Model building.

Thanks!

I'm also having serious, multiple troubles with my vision. I haven't discussed it here. I hope it is correctable, but won't know for about six months. Beyond cataracts, I'm facing a vitrectomy in my dominant eye. If that succeeds, then the same thing in my other eye.

Getting old is not fun but, since we have no choice, we might as well have some fun.

Pete Nolan wrote: Thanks!

I'm also having serious, multiple troubles with my vision. I haven't discussed it here. I hope it is correctable, but won't know for about six months. Beyond cataracts, I'm facing a vitrectomy in my dominant eye. If that succeeds, then the same thing in my other eye.

Getting old is not fun but, since we have no choice, we might as well have some fun.

Amen Pete!!

I wish you Green signals and push it to notch 8!!!

Hoped to announce the Port Welcome this afternoon, but still have problems with the big digital cutter that is essential to production.