Ian McQue's Floating World
Tug (black), barge (red), and one engine (white) shown in approximate positions relative to each other as envisioned for the finished model. Figure included to show scale will ultimately be the tug pilot. The tug hull (actually a pusher) is the body of the Austin, the barge hull is the lower half of the Shell tanker, and the engines are from Anikins pod racer. I'll build a pilothouse on the tug, and tethering gear will be added in the area of the wheel wells. I am also thinking about adding a small deck aft of the pilothouse. I want to incorporate a crane on the barge, but I think it will take up too much space, so I'm considering building a small crane "module" that will tether to the front of the "train" of barges (in this case, just the one).
Fuel station fuel storage tank shown with figure for scale. The tank is made from the upper half of the Shell tanker, as well as styrene shapes, and parts from the spares box. The tank will be vertical in orientation, and I plan to build a platform on top with fueling equipment and an attendant's shack.
A redesign resulted in my decision to use only one engine instead of the two I had originally planned.
Engine is detailed and ready for paint.
Hull with some detailing done, and main deck plate shown in position, with figure for scale.
Hull shown with engine in its mounted position.
Basic structure of barge is finished. I opted to use wooden planking for the cargo deck.
Tug and barge shown in relative position.
Tug hull with engine and seated pilot. Pilot house not yet constructed.
Tug hull and engine
Tug hull and engine
Barge
Barge
I made the barge deck from wood, with a diamond-plate access-hatch cover
Bottom of the barge showing detailing.
This is the hull of the yet-to-be-constructed crane. The crane will be built on the turntable.
Hull of crane, with turntable.
Hull of crane, showing "rudder".
Bottom of the crane hull, showing detailing.
Barge and crane hull.
Crane mocked up, ready for paint.
Crane mocked up, ready for paint.
Crane mocked up, ready for paint.
Comentarii
11 17 June 2021, 19:32
Stephan H.Popcorn ready. Keep it coming 🙂 I am already sure this will be awesome in the end. good luck!
24 June 2021, 13:24
Mike SzwarcThanks for looking, guys! Progress is slow, but steady, and I've already redesigned a few things along the way. The structural building goes quickly, but then progress slows way down as I add details. When I get stuck on Ideas for one component, I move on to another, and eventually a solution presents itself.
24 June 2021, 14:11
ErikI love his work too. Unfortunately, Industria Mechanika has discontinued production. Maybe in the future someone else will produce his grandiose ideas.
25 June 2021, 05:49
Mike SzwarcYes, Industria Mechanika is moving to an all digital format, where he (Michael Fichtenmayer) sells 3D printer files of his model designs (there's a pretty decent collection already available, if you have a 3D printer, though nothing based on Ian McQue's artwork). I just visited the site yesterday, and discovered that he is selling surplus PE frets from some of his OOP kits, including the Waldo, Remora, and SkyMark at very reasonable prices. The PE parts can be used for detailing scratch builds.
25 June 2021, 16:35
Mike SzwarcThanks for looking! Still got quite a bit of work ahead of me, but I am making progress.
14 July 2021, 02:00
Album info
Scratchbuilt fuel station, tug, and barge, inspired by Ian McQue's "floating world" artwork.
