The African Queen full hull version

zathros

*****SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR*****
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Apr 5, 2013
13,499
9,551
228
Thanks for the reference pictures zathros, but mine is based on the wooden model you can buy if your willing to spend $150-$200. The engine will look close to this one.
View attachment 159410


The actual engine is located under the curved piece of metal on that Wooden model, towards the stern, under that curved section is a two cylinder steam engine (which was a dummy engine , in the movie, but accurate nevertheless). I was showing you the engine how it looks exposed. They covered them as they got very hot, and it was bad enough to touch the cover by accident, than boiling a hole into you leg! I don't know the overall length of your model but a small minimalist representation of the engine would be a nice touch. Using thick gauge copper wires, you could simulate the piping.

Lofting Hulls is something I learned many decades ago. The African Queen had a wide entry into the water, then narrowed slightly towards the stern. Yours is close enough, and if you ever saw that movie, "The Four Feathers" I have a paper model of the Steamship they dragged up the river to shell the fortress! P.M. me. It's similar to the B&W picture below. :)

bb588_african_queen_2_lg.jpg


HMS Gunboat Heron (They used Army artillery on the decks on these ships which could then be off loaded for land use):

hrn.jpg


You can download these movie for FREE on YouTube, it is an incredible movie all shot on location.

 
  • Like
Reactions: blake7

blake7

Well-Known Member
Apr 19, 2012
719
949
78
Mannington wv.
Thank you zathros! I was trying to make it as close as I could to the wooden version. I had to redo the hull 2 times before I liked it .As you can see in the picture below I got creative with the hull. It kept pulling the front up in the air. As for the pipes I have some only as a 2D. When I finish with the model and put it in the downloads, whoever builds it can use the 2D as patterns for the method you said. You may have noticed two pages with the same parts. They have different size parts, and will delete the parts not used. I loved "The Four Feathers", but have never seen this version. My model is 9 inches long, 2 inches wide at the back, 2 1/2 inches at widest place near the mast, and 2 inches high.
 
Last edited:

zathros

*****SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR*****
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Apr 5, 2013
13,499
9,551
228
The 1939 version is the "real" version of the movie. It is not Politically Correct", and to tell that story, you can't be. It is an incredible river and watching those many 100's of men really pull that steam ship up stream through rapids with just rope and brawn is incredible. The bad guys play their role so well, you really hate them, then realize how well these Sudanese actors were.

At 9" inches long, detailing like I mention isn't so crucial. I got to see the real boat hen it was moored on the Connecticut river. It was definitely the "African Queen".

You can actually download that movie from you Tube and watch it at your leisure. It blows away the crappy remake. The Technicolor gives it a more real than life feel. they can't make movies like that anymore, hiring 1000 or so local people to make a movie. The battle scenes show how an organized force can blow away a mounted cavalry just by maintaining a active line of fire. An incredible movie. Rotten Tomatoes rates the original one at 100%, for it's "Freshness"!! The one I embedded is the original one. ;)
 

zathros

*****SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR*****
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Apr 5, 2013
13,499
9,551
228
Looks great, scaleable too! :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: blake7

zathros

*****SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR*****
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Apr 5, 2013
13,499
9,551
228
Test: Yay, Image uploading works!!! :)USS Monterey.png
 

blake7

Well-Known Member
Apr 19, 2012
719
949
78
Mannington wv.
Thanks zathros! When I started designing it I wasn't sure if it would look good. I didn't use a 3D program like I see some designers using.
 

Revell-Fan

Co-Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Aug 1, 2009
11,595
12,338
228
Vreden
Don't be too shy! :) Remember, Rocketman Tan works the same way (only ruler, "pencil" and vectors). ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: blake7

blake7

Well-Known Member
Apr 19, 2012
719
949
78
Mannington wv.
Thank you for the compliment zathros. Revell Fan showed me that using PNG instead of JPEG stops the blurring of edges, and the smudging effect I got after saving multiple times in MS Paint. Him and pdmccool encouraged me to design. pdmccool told me that all he uses to design his models is MS Paint.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Revell-Fan

blake7

Well-Known Member
Apr 19, 2012
719
949
78
Mannington wv.
I said that pictures of the wooden version's engine is what my engine is based on, but I also used this schematic to help me figure out how to make the engine.

BB588AfricanQueen16.png
 

zathros

*****SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR*****
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Apr 5, 2013
13,499
9,551
228
I said that pictures of the wooden version's engine is what my engine is based on, but I also used this schematic to help me figure out how to make the engine.

View attachment 159431


That's how they did it in the movie. The steam engine actually did not work, Lord knows Audrey Hepburn would not tolerate the heat and danger of a riveted steam boiler, but that is a great schematic, and has all the components for an accurate model. If you ever want me to loft a Hull, can we can find a lot drawing of it, let me know. I can bang them out pretty quick. The drawing below is the kind of drawing you need. One can use string, and graph paper to change the size of the a schematic/loft. It does not have to be on CAD, as this is how they have done it for 100's of years. Note that the picture below contains all the elements, an ideal situation. As long as you have the right and left formers, usually facing, the bow on the right or left, and the stern or vice versa, and the profile line, the rest can be interpolated. These drawings do not show how to plank it, that's something completely different. The African Queen was a steel boat, in reality. ;)

Loft drawing:

Idaho2.jpg
 

SCEtoAux

Member
Jul 28, 2004
175
22
18
USA
First off the African Queen model is coming along quite nicely. It has been an iconic vessel throughout the years.:)

Secondly, I second Zathros in recommending the 1939 version of The Four Feathers. So much better than the 1978 or 2002 version.
Also, the 1939 version of Goodbye Mr. Chips with Robert Donat and Greer Garson is a much better version of that film.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zathros

zathros

*****SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR*****
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Apr 5, 2013
13,499
9,551
228
With all the movie remakes, I don't think that the concept is understood. All the Batman movies being are a prime example. :)
 

paper hollywood

Active Member
Yes, I'd imagine they wouldn't have used a clunky old steam engine for the film shoot in 1951 when more reliable power was available. BTW, that would be Katherine Hepburn rather than Audrey. Hollywood has always and will always knock out remakes as long they seem to have the potential for profit. Even the Maltese Falcon was a remake, but, of course, remakes are almost always inferior to the original. In spite of the fact they usually fail in the box office, it's easier to get funding for a project for which the investors are familiar.