1:275 Robert E. Lee Steamboat Wooden Deck for Revell kit #85-0328

The Robert E. Lee paddle steamer, a 1:275 deck accessory

An Artwox Model set intended for a model of the river steamer. It replaces the deck surfaces cast in plastic with a surface that has a grain of its own. On a steamer with several open levels one above the other that is a change visible from every angle, because the decks here are not hidden under a superstructure but make up the whole silhouette of the ship. The set is intended for the Revell 85-0328 kit.

The king of the Mississippi races

The steamer Robert E. Lee was launched in 1866 and June 1870 made her famous, when she won the celebrated race against the steamer Natchez from New Orleans to Saint Louis. She covered the route of over a thousand miles in just under four days and held the record for decades. Boats of this type had a light wooden structure, a pair of tall funnels and large side wheels that drove them against the current. The name was later carried by several further vessels, but the fame stayed with the one from 1866.

Building recommendation

Let the light deck surfaces speak and do not overload them with weathering; river steamers tended to be kept scrubbed white. Before you seat the pieces, line them up against the edges of the plastic levels. Work carefully with the stanchions and the railings; there are a great many of them on a model of a river steamer and they tend to be thin. Fit the funnels and the fittings of the upper levels only once the deck surfaces are finished.

Who the accessory suits

• builders of a model of a river steamer
• collectors of civilian ships and of the history of the Mississippi
• modelers who want a surface with the grain of planks instead of smooth plastic
• display case builds, where the decks are visible from all sides