I am a fisherman and I live on Lake Erie, and I and my family have always been into boating and the lakes. I love the story of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, I mean it is sad, but I love how there are so many questions and theories surrounding it. Those men were brave and the story is so compeling. The final words “We’re holding our own” and then the lights disappear only 15 miles from the safe haven of Whitefish Point. I give my repects to that great crew of 29. But I am a HO modeler, and I am in the final planning stages of my large 22x12 HO layout of the PRR. But money is a consern and I can’t build the room at the moment in my basement for it so I want to do something constructive until after summer when I can start building. Even if I can’t use the model I can sell it for money for the layout. I havnt ever scratch built something but it is large and the lines are easy on it. Now I know it will cost a little bit of green. But what material will be best? I have a idea but what are you opinions? Also I know all the measurements and I have a copy of the blueprints, but what is the formula the convert Feet and Inches to HO scale lengths? I plan on puting windows in like used on locos, and maybe puting lights on it. What works good for handrails? I will have many more questions but thats it for now. Thanks Mike
It’s a gripping story of the Great Lakes – a very dangerous place for boats, as even many ocean going captains have learned to their sorrow – and an accurate HO scale model would be a huge undertaking.
But there are resin or plastic kits as indicated above
The Fitz has always facinated me too, the loss happened on my first birthday and my Mom tells me that whenever Gordon Lightfoot’s song came on the radio I would get real quiet and listen.
To figure the size of the HO scale Fitz:
Multiply the length in feet of the real one by 12 to get the actual inches. 729*12= 8748
Divide the actual inches by the scale you want your model to be (HO=87.1, N=160, etc) 8748/87.1= 100.436
Your answer is the size of your model in real inches, over 8 feet in HO.
It would be easier to model Gordon Lightfoot in HO Scale then the SS Edmund Fitzgerald!
That vessel was 729 feet long; in case you haven’t done the math that translates to just a hair short of 100½ inches in HO Scale - 54 11/16 inches in N Scale which is still enormous. In HO Scale if you tried to lay this vessel along the 12 foot dimension of your room it would almost completely dominate the length leaving only 22 inches squeeze through space to the walls; it would fit a little better on the 22 foot dimension.
Were I you I would build this as a living room display model and use a considerably smaller scale and leave it off of the layout. You indicated that you thought you could build one in the slack period of the summer and then sell it to scratch your budget; you have to be an A-1 model builder to recuperate any monies you might expend in this effort. Building and marketing a 100.5 inch long model of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald might be a more daunting task, particularly in the marketing department, than a 140 inch long model of the USS Chester W. Nimitz. In the 1970s the city of Phoenix commissioned a model of the USS Phoenix for display at one of the terminals at their local airport; the model was absolutely meticulous but the price, I was told, came in at a whoppin’ twelve grand.
I’m really not trying to discourage you; if you want it go for it but I would be cautious if I thought that there are enough SS Edmund Fitzgerald fans out there willing to part with their iron men and start you on the road to becoming a rival of Bill Gates.
A company called Resin Unlimited had a HO scale waterline model of the “Fitz” available about 6 years ago. It was carried in the Walthers Catalog at that time also. Wether it is still available new or on E-Bay you’ll have to check.
Good to see there’s other Great Lakes ship wreck fans out there! So many people don’t realize how dangerous the lakes are. I once had a woman from Arizona ask me “Do they get waves?” Uh, yeah!
I’ve always been fasinated by the story of the “Big Fitz” as well. An HO scale model would be HUGE, to be sure. Good luck in your undertaking. Post some pics when finished!
A couple of companies make Fitz models (or close to it). I think most HO modellers interested in ore boats (like myself, planning a layout with an ore dock from a couple of the Walthers kits) would go for one of those rather than a full 8’ long model of it. I think the only people who might want to buy a full length Fitz would be a maritime museum or something like that. Could be wrong, but I don’t think you’d find much market for it.
However, building kits like these (below) on a custom basis for other HO fans might be worth looking into. I know there are/were a few hobbyists who made money assembling Bowser kits for people back when there was very few good RTR engines like there are now.
…don’t sound very realistic. Collectors of ship models expect excellence for their dollar. It’s tough to see how you won’t lose money on this proposition.
Why not spend the time and money on structures you can use later on your layout?
Well, all those factors, are true. And I dont play on doing it for a while yet, pretty much on my spare time, but right now I am consentrating on my layout. Thanks for the help ya’ll. Mike
Steer clear of Mr. Jason Davis and his Resin Unlimited!
I sent him $550.00 for a waterline resin kit of the Big Fitz and he took the money, three years ago, and I haven’t heard anything since!
Yes, this kit was listed in the Walther’s catalog for a few years (TBD??? was their availability) so I’m out the money. Walther’s still does business with this guy but they said they have no recourse to help me get my money back!
Your state’s Attorney General would likely be very interested in this situation. There’s NO legal reason whatever that you shouldn’t be able to get your money back, and if you’re being told there is, that’s where the AG’s staff’s ears perk up. Give them a call.
I have filed all the necessary complaints with the Criminal Investigation Service Center of the Postal Service, The Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and they both told me that they got no response from Resin Unlimited either. Basically they said they have no resources to persue this matter, we will keep your complaint on file, get a lawyer.
I contacted Walther’s and they said that they would forward my complaint to Jason Davis since their buyer is in contact with him on a monthly basis… still nothing! I let the advertising staff at MR know about this since they were running ads at the time for Resin Unlimited.
Mind you this began back in 2002 when I first sent the money… Five years later… nada.
I have since purchased a Sylvan Models resin ore boat. Nice kit!
One more try: Your local TV news “consumer/investiagtive/I-team/OnYourSide” guy may want to give it a shot, esp. when told the gov’t says no resources to pursue it.
The Attorney Generals Office here in the sunny state of Arizona is always more interested in the results of the next election and the next election can best be secured by laying one’s hands on the Bill Gates’ in life. No profit can be made from the Mr Jason Davis’.
I can be accused, I suppose, of lacking finesse but, being a born and bred westerner, I do believe that Mr Jason Davis of Resin Unlimited needs to have his intransigence rewarded by having his kneecaps blown off with a shotgun; believe me, he will remember that five hundred and fifty dollars every time he takes a step for the rest of his life.
Now, I certainly hope that no one believes that I cater to and advocate violence in any way, shape, or form; I am an extremely peaceful man. I would aim at the wall behind Mr Davis’ legs and hope that he was still standing in the way when the gun discharged. This is called negligence.
Did you pay by check or money order or credit card, or ?? Checks can sometimes be ‘reversed’ even long after being cashed/deposited. My wife had that happen to her, wrote a check for some repair shop and six months later, they hadn’t done a thing. She went to her bank and had them reverse the check - took the money back from the bank the repair guy deposited to.
If it was a credit card, I assume you let the CC company know about it??
