Livesteam Paddlewheelers

Monday, April 8, 2019
Cold and Sleet (Rain with Ice)
-1 C  30 F

Livesteam Paddlewheelers

Please click here to visit Peter's fine website

Please click here to see one of Peter's Steamboats in action

     I've had a cold or the flu last week, so I wasn't felling well. I always take a flu shot in November, but I guess this year, I got the wrong strain of the flu vaccine. Interestingly, I heard from several readers last week. One of them is Peter G.

In Peter's own words:

I "accidentally" found your blog packed with very interesting toy subjects, bravo ! 

I build large RC metal steamboats from scratch, and also (when time permits) restore antique steam boat toys for customers. I always loved steamboats, maybe partly thanks to a cruise, when I was, aboard famous "France". We lived not far from Lake Geneva (Switzerland); this clearly sealed my passion for the paddle steamers. In 1975, I was a 10 year old kid, and we used to build and fly RC planes with my father. The transition to building RC (Radio Controlled) steamboats was obvious to me.

    Peter also answered some questions that I asked of him. Building and restoring model paddlewheelers is his hobby.  He also builds models "from scratch" , meaning mostly everything is made with his own hands! Each model painstakingly takes between 2500 - 4000 hours of work - WOW!

    The model below is from a collector who asked Peter to restore it. , and "allowing him to do it the way Peter wanted"! " A collectorI know had bought this Carette and then realized it was in such a poor state, he realized that he  wanted the toy to be restored.

  "Of course, if a toy has a few scratches and is in decent shape, a collector will keep it as is, and eventually get the missing parts replaced (very hard to find) or rebuild. I had to get this old greasy toy to bare metal, disassemble, repair, and straighten it all up, then start rebuilding. I didn't go to the "like new" level, as I thought this toy would tell a better story the way I went"

Below are some photos of  before and after the restoration.

Peter certainly has his hands full to restore this model! The "Unterwalden" is a ship that Peter built, and you can see later in a YouTube video below.

    For myself, writing this post was a pleasure, as well as learning a little bit about radio-controlled RC) steamboats, paddle boats, and their restoration.  It was also a great introduction to this fascinating world of restoring model ships!