Member Paul Reck has officially declared his model of the American Revolutionary War gunboat Philadelphia complete. Paul has been working on this scratch built model for about 2 years. The model is built at 1/2″ scale (1:24) and is based on a very detailed 16-sheet set of plans he purchased from the Smithsonian.

The cannon and swivel gun barrels were turned from wood.

Furled sails and awning were make from silkspan.

Philadelphia was one of the boats built by Benedict Arnold on Lake Chaplain, New York. In October of 1776, the Philadelphia and a collection of other newly built boats faced an advancing line of British ships. While the Philadelphia was sunk and the Americans were forced to retreat, the British advance was stopped.

A photo of the early stages of construction taken at the September 2017 club meeting. Paul’s is a plank-on-frame model, but all his framing work is hidden by the hull planking.

Paul points out some of the fine details given in the Smithsonian plans.

For more information about the gunboat Philadelphia, visit the following link to the Smithsonian’s web site: https://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/gunboat-philadelphia Ω