Great Lakes Freighters 1/350

[Dax]

Every so often I get a hankering to build the Edmund Fitzgerald (which I would assume even amongst us winged thingies freaks needs to no introduction). This time around I'm starting to do some research and shopping around and, wow, am I disappointed so far.

Very limited subjects to choose from, resin or vacuum form for the most part and... EXPENSIVE. Even worse if you want a model of the actual Fitz (I understand to be significantly longer and with more cargo hatches- 21).

So, even though I would imagine that this would be such an easy conversion from a standard Great Lakes Freighter (that is the correct designation? maybe I'm searching the wrong key word... lol), the pickings for this subject are just so slim.

I really prefer 1/350 for this subject, maybe a hair smaller, but 1/700 is just too small I think for me on this one. Has anybody got any suggestions on at least a good base to start on? I would have thought RoG would have something like this (don't they tend to have all sorts of civilian type stuff?) I'm up for a conversion as I would think its a simple extension of the hull, mostly.

I'm going to keep looking,hit some ship modelling forums as well (even the few I've looked at seem to confirm that this is simply a very rare subject), but I was hoping some of you may have some ideas.

Thanks in advance!

Edited February 2, 2012 by Dax

[Trevor]

As far as I know the only model that fits your bill is the Iron Shipwright 1/350th resin kit.

Iron Shipwright

Remember, if it doesn't drop bombs or wear a coat of camouflage, it doesn't sell...

[Jennings]

There's no such thing as a "standard" lake boat (please don't call them ships... those are salties). There are as many types of boats as there are boats. There are a few cases where boats were very similar due to having been built to a similar design at around the same time, but even then they're not identical twins like, say, a pair of Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates. That's one of the joys of lake boats - they have personality and individuality.

The ISW 1/700 and 1/350 scale kits are, AFAIK, the only true hobby type kits of lake boats. Somebody was supposed to be doing a whaleback a few years ago, but I lost track of it. I sold off my ISW 1/350 Fitz recently. It's just too much work for me. The hull was twisted and warped, and a lot of the detail bits were broken.

Instead, I bought this print and have it framed on the wall. One of my favorite Fitz prints (of which I have several). It's by Donald Esse. He has an Etsy site as well as selling on eBay.

http://www.etsy.com/people/ArtbyDon

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Edmund-Fitzgerald-Limited-Editon-Print-/120853418856?pt=Art_Prints&hash=item1c236cd368#ht_500wt_1413

[K2Pete]

About 10 years ago, I moved to about 1/2 mile from the Welland Canal and I've been looking for ship models too, to no avail. Here's a website linked from BoatNerd.com.

http://www.mhsd.org/model/

It may give you a handle on the availability of kits or the realization that you may ... just .. have ... to ... build one from scratch.

And when I attend local model shows, I have yet to see a Freighter model on display. I woulda thought this area would be teeming with model Lakers!

Pete

[Mark S.]

You need to search under: ore boat models. They are usually in 1/87th, HO or 1/60th, N scale. They are often part of model railroad layouts.

Mark S.

[rightwinger26]

There's no such thing as a "standard" lake boat (please don't call them ships... those are salties). There are as many types of boats as there are boats. There are a few cases where boats were very similar due to having been built to a similar design at around the same time, but even then they're not identical twins like, say, a pair of Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates. That's one of the joys of lake boats - they have personality and individuality.

The ISW 1/700 and 1/350 scale kits are, AFAIK, the only true hobby type kits of lake boats. Somebody was supposed to be doing a whaleback a few years ago, but I lost track of it. I sold off my ISW 1/350 Fitz recently. It's just too much work for me. The hull was twisted and warped, and a lot of the detail bits were broken.

Instead, I bought this print and have it framed on the wall. One of my favorite Fitz prints (of which I have several). It's by Donald Esse. He has an Etsy site as well as selling on eBay.

http://www.etsy.com/people/ArtbyDon

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Edmund-Fitzgerald-Limited-Editon-Print-/120853418856?pt=Art_Prints&hash=item1c236cd368#ht_500wt_1413

Huh, odd. I was born and raised in Michigan and we always refered to the Lakers as ships, and in the Navy we refer to Aircraft Carriers as boats. :)

[Jennings]

Great lakes carriers are, and have always been "boats". Ask anyone who works on or around them. :)

[rightwinger26]

Anyways, I can't remember what the title of the video was, but I saw it on Youtube, some guy scratch built a huge R/C Fitz, can't remember the scale, but it was at least 6 feet, and it was AWESOME. He put in ballast pumps to control the draft to make her look empty or loaded, he added in the bow and stern thrusters like the real thing had. It made the pond it was in look just like the Lakes. What a great ship. I remember as a kid every November all the radio stations played the Gordon Lightfoot song.

[Steve N]

I remember as a kid every November all the radio stations played the Gordon Lightfoot song.

Here in Michigan many still do.

If you ever get to the Upper Peninsula, I heartily recommend a stop at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. It's located at the lighthouse..the one that wasn't working the night the Fitz went down. They now have her original ship's bell on display..it was recovered from the wreck in 1995 and replaced with a replica inscribed with the names of the crew. I believe they have a ceremony for the families every November 10, during which the original bell is tolled 29 times.

Two of the Fitz's lifeboats, which were torn free as she sank, are on display aboard the museum ship S.S. Valley Camp in Sault Ste. Marie. When you see how mangled the aluminum boats are, it gives you an idea of the incredible power of the Lake, and the violence of the sinking.

SN

[rightwinger26]

I've been to both places many times, I was born and raised in Ypsi, but we spent every summer up north. I took my old lady up there on vacation last October, really great time. The only thing we didn't get to do was go through the Locks, I've done it but she naver has, oh well, maybe another time.

There was a rerun of a show on the History channel a month ago about the wreck, and they showed footage of the bell recovery, I thought it was kind of interesting that when they brought the bell up a butterfly showed up on the recovery ship, and the bell clanged when it broke the water.

[bdt13]

Having grown up in Erie (PA), and lived along the lakes for over half my life (Buffalo and Cleveland as well) you would have thought that I would notice the absence of lakeboat model kits. I guess I never did as there are so many scrathcbuilt ones in museums. The quality ranges (as all scratch building does) from the terrible to the sublime.

The Edmund Fitzgerald wouldn't be much of a draw for me to build personally. I'd prefer something like the Stewart J. Cort link here, which has some connection to my hometown. Even the lake fishing boats were rather unique, maybe there is a kit of one out there.

Dax, best of luck in your endeavor, and remeber to post photos if you are sucessful.

[bdt13]

OK, did a quick search and came up with this. Granted that the medium is unorthodox, but someone did it. The hosting site may be of interest to this group. The RC Fitz model is on here as well. Enjoy!