Model Train Journal

This past weekend I had dinner with my sister and her family. She gave me a box with two of my old toy boats. These were made by my grandfather Constantine - the same man that built those large (8' and 5') wooden ships. He carved these for me to play. I must confess that I had a blessed childhood.








George

Are you going to "restore" them or leave them in "as-played-with" condition? It is great that you were able to have them this late.

J. S. Bach wrote:Are you going to "restore" them or leave them in "as-played-with" condition? It is great that you were able to have them this late.

Every time I look at them I see the love it took to make them.

I won't "restore" them, but I will:

• Repair the rigging as best as I can.
• Remove the bars of lead that serve as ballast. I'll have to replace that weight. These floated and I played with them as such.

I dearly hope that the grand-kids will enjoy playing with them as much as I did.

George

Sweet, on many levels. You may be able to find bar stock at a big box store to replace the lead. I use bb's for weighing down model plane noses as a replacement for lead shot fishing weights. You could just encapsulate the lead with that flex seal stuff or dip able vinyl (if you can find it).

Nice home made boats. It's funny how quickly a train table gets cluttered. You could put the lead in a zip-lock bag. Then glue the whole shebang back in.

If the paint has lead in it, it may be a more serious issue of concern than the elemental lead weights used for ballast.

If you don't want to mess with the paint too much (including issues with removal), touch up the paint and/or overcoat and then seal with an exterior urethane clear coat. Unless they start gnawing on the wood they should be ok.

George, why are you replacing the lead ballast?

I would do absolutely nothing to them except (maybe) re-rigging the boats.

Wow, a bunch of good suggestions! Thank you!!

I absolutely love the high signal to noise ratio I see on MTJ.

Thanks again. I will give these some thought.

George

Interesting that he square-rigged them. Definitely an attempt at a certain "look".

I wouldn't sweat the lead paint and ballast...just give them a good coat of marine varnish or polyurethane to seal everything. Presumably the risk is extremely low (unless the kids are allowed to gnaw on them).

Paul

Sealing them in some way should preserve their historic value better than repainting or something.

rogruth wrote:Sealing them in some way should preserve their historic value better than repainting or something.

I don't want to pry, but what historic value would these boats have? Also, George's grandkids will be playing with them, so they better be seaworthy.

Roy wrote:

rogruth wrote:Sealing them in some way should preserve their historic value better than repainting or something.

I don't want to pry, but what historic value would these boats have? Also, George's grandkids will be playing with them, so they better be seaworthy.

He's handing them off to the 4th generation. How much stuff from your great-grandfather do you have that you can lay your hands on and have a real connection through to all that family? Seriously, how many people today even knew or met their great-grandparents other then in a photograph?

Maybe that's all the historical value that's really needed.

Roy wrote:

rogruth wrote:Sealing them in some way should preserve their historic value better than repainting or something.

I don't want to pry, but what historic value would these boats have? Also, George's grandkids will be playing with them, so they better be seaworthy.

Roy,

I don't think these have any significant historical value. At best, they are examples of "primitive" or "folk" art. My grandfather was, at various times during his life, a truck gardener, a carpenter, a cabinet-maker, a steel worker, and a sailor (he sailed wooden lateen-rigged ships, caiques). He used the ship to transport his vegetables to market in Smyrna. Making these ships and the larger ones were simply his hobby and part of his legacy. I would expect that our layouts, if done well and if they survive past the next generation, may form our own legacies. But they will only be important to our families.

George

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:

Roy wrote:

rogruth wrote:Sealing them in some way should preserve their historic value better than repainting or something.

I don't want to pry, but what historic value would these boats have? Also, George's grandkids will be playing with them, so they better be seaworthy.

He's handing them off to the 4th generation. How much stuff from your great-grandfather do you have that you can lay your hands on and have a real connection through to all that family? Seriously, how many people today even knew or met their great-grandparents other then in a photograph?

Maybe that's all the historical value that's really needed.

I saw this after my own post. I think this captures the thought quite well.

George