Iron Shipwright 1/350 scale Tug Russell 9 (pulling a scratch-built coal barge) by Felix Bustelo
Background: the model is part of a harbor set
that Iron Shipwright released about a year ago or so. This tug is actually a 74'
US Army ST (Small Tug). After the war, many of these were sold to private firms.
I did some research and came across a couple of photos on the Russell 9,
which was one of these 74' STs. The Russell 9 was owned by the Newtown
Creek Towing Corp, which operated in New York City. One of the photos showed her
pulling a large barge, hence the inspiration for this diorama.
The tug is basically out of the box - the brown trim is decal stripes I cut out a piece of Microscale Brown Trimfilm. The nameplate on the pilothouse and the white lettering are custom-made decals. I used sewing thread for the bumpers on the side and frayed thread for the bumper on the bow. In 1/350 scale, this model measures a little more than 2.5 inches.
The barge is styrene sheet and strips over a wood block, photoetch chocks, brass rod for the bollards and model railroad coal for the cargo.
FB ~ 04/04