“Cleopatra”

1878 British Obelisk Transport Barge

Kartonbau.de Exclusive Edition

Copyright © 2006 Oliver Weiss / The Walden Font Co.

P. O. Box 871, Winchester, MA 01890
www.waldenfont.com
 Historical Notes

The “Cleopatra” was designed and built in 1877 to der and mast where fitted and the little ship was
transport an obelisk from Alexandria to London. dubbed Cleopatra. On September 21, 1877 the tug
This obelisk had been presented to the English na- Olga towed Cleopatra out into the Mediterranean.
tion in 1819 by Mehmet Ali, the viceroy of Egypt, in All went well until disaster struck on October 14,
commemoration of the victories of Lord Nelson in 1877. The ships were caught in a storm in the Bay of
the Battle of the Nile and Sir Ralph Abercromby in Biscay. Cleopatra rolled wildly and became utterly
the Battle of Alexandria. The English government, untenable. Six volunteers from the Olga manned
while appreciating the gesture, declined to finance a boat to rescue Cleopatra’s crew of five and her
the transport of the gift. captain, but the boat capsized and all six were lost.
Over the years, several schemes were devised Olga sent another boat which at length succeeded
to get the obelisk to London, none of which came to in taking off her crew. The barge was cut loose and
fruition. However, in 1877 the necessary elements quickly disappeared from sight. The Cleopatra was
to undertake the project, namely brains and money, believed lost until the Glasgow steamer Fitzmaurice
came together in the shape of the engineer John spotted her floating upright and apparently undam-
Dixon and the distinguished and very wealthy Sir aged. Taken into the Spanish harbor of El Ferrol,
Erasmus Wilson. John Dixon devised a plan for a 92 Cleopatra underwent repairs. The tug Anglia was
foot long, cylindrical barge that would completely sent to retrieve her, and she left El Ferrol on January
encase the obelisk, to be towed to England by a tug 15, 1878. She arrived at Gravesend, at the mouth of
boat. Sir Erasmus, who was a devoted freemason the River Thames, on January 21, 1878.
and so had a certain fondness for obelisks, agreed to Amid great fanfare the obelisk, now known
put up 15,000 pounds (about 2 million U.S. Dollars as “Cleopatra’s Needle” was erected on the Thames
in today’s money) to finance the project. embankment on September 12, 1878, almost a year
The barge was built and shipped in sections after the voyage had begun. To extract the obelisk,
to Alexandria, where the obelisk lay buried in sand the ugly, little barge that had attracted so much pub-
on the beach. As the monument was unearthed, the lic attention was, of course, dismantled and uncer-
barge was assembled around it. The giant cylinder emoniously sold for scrap.
was then rolled into the sea. A deck house, rud-

Assembly Instructions
Note: The parts page should be printed on heavy paper rather than traditional model card. (28-32
lbs.)

The Hull
• Separate parts 1a and 1b at the cut marks near the stern.

• Cut glue tabs of a suitable length from the grey field on page 6 Round 1a and 1b lengthwise to form the
main hull and the stern sections. Close the seams with the glue tabs, colored side inwards.

• Fold parts 2 at the center line. To attach these parts to the hull section, I recommend you fix first one side
and let it dry, then the other, then the top and bottom. After these glue points have dried, apply glue from the
inside to seal the seams. Use the small marks on the edges of 2 and parts 1a and 1b to line parts 2 up cor-
rectly. You may wish to use small glue tabs to help in positioning.

• Cut out bulkhead 1d and glue ring 1c. You may wish to double 1d for extra stability. Carefully sand the
edges of 1d so that it fits snugly into 1a. Push 1d all the way into 1a, but do not yet apply glue. Next, fit glue
ring 1c into 1a. Dry-fit first, then apply glue to 1a and insert the glue ring up to the center line. Let dry. Next,
apply glue to the inner edge of 1c and pull 1d forward against it. Let dry thoroughly.
• Incise the small black marks on parts 4a and 4b, then fit 4b squarely into 4a. Mount the rudder to the stern
section of the hull with glue.

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• Attach bilge keels 5 to the markings on 1b. The bilge keels should slant downward by about 30 degrees.

Girders and Bulkheads

• Cut out bulkheads 6a – 6j. For those using circle cutters, center marks have been supplied. Cut out the
white square centers. Make sure to cut on the line, so that no white remains in the center. This will ensure
a proper fit for the obelisk. Doubling of these parts is not recommended, however, you may wish to stiffen
them with acrylic floor wax (“Future”) or CA glue. The bulkheads should fit snugly into the hull, but should
have enough play to be removed easily.

• Double parts 7 to 1mm. Cut out the small slits. Color the sides of parts 7 to match the surface. These will
fit into the grooves in the bulkheads. You may wish to stiffen the doubled parts 7 as well. Let everything dry
thoroughly, then assemble. Take care to keep the proper order of the bulkheads, else the obelisk will not fit!
Note that parts 7 are extending longer at the stern end. Make sure the structure is square and the outer edges
of parts 7 are flush with the edges of the bulkheads. After the structure has dried, glue the extensions of parts
7 at the stern end of the structure into the stern hull assembly, butting against bulkhead 1d. You may need to
sand the outer edges slightly to accommodate the thickness of glue ring 1c.

Obelisk
• To check proper assembly of the inner structure, you may wish to assemble the obelisk at this point rather
than at the end. Part 26 is scored from the front at all fold lines, then gathered at the seams. You may employ
glue tabs if you wish.

Deck House and Superstructure

• Score and fold 9a at the score lines. Apply parts 9b, 9c, and 9d to the back of part 9a to form the interior of
the railing. Glue the vertical seam of 9a to form a box. You may wish to use glue tabs or reinforce the inside
of the deck house with cardboard if you wish.

• Cut or punch the hole for the mast in deck 10. Gently round part 10 lengthwise, then glue in place to butt
against the inside railings.

• Score and fold companionway 12 into a box. Glue it to the deck, doors facing towards the stern. Glue the
finished deck house to the hull. Making sure it is straight.

• Double parts 13 onto the colored section, then cut out. Attach the ends of parts 13 with the steeper angle to
the hull at their position markers. The other ends are fixed against the deck house.

• The assembly of parts 14a - 14c into stairs is evident from the diagram A. The stairs are fixed to the back of
the deck house.

• Parts 8a and 8b are shaped into cylinders. Slide 8a over the bottom of 8b so that the bottom edges are flush
with each other. Cap 8b with 8c. Make sure the handle on the manhole cover faces the seam of 8b. Glue this
assembly onto the larger circular marking at the bow end of the hull, seams facing toward the deck house.

• Double parts 15 onto the colored area, then cut out. You may wish to stiffen these parts as described above.
Double spar deck 11 onto 11b and fix parts 15 to 11b at the white markings. Make sure parts 15 are at right
angles with the spar deck.
• Glue the spar deck into place as follows: The front edge rests on the edge of cylinder 8b. The rear dovetail
fits against the front edge of the deck house. Note that there is a step between the deck house deck and the
spar deck. Glue the bottom ends of supports 15 on their markings on the hull.

Page 3
Railings
• To model realistic railings, you can either use the paper railings 20 and 21 as they are, or use them as tem-
plates to make wire or string railings, or replace them altogether with photo etched parts. Railing 20 is fitted
to the spar deck, railing 21 to the hull behind the deck house.

Equipment
• Form part 16 into a cylinder and cap it on both ends with parts 16b. Glue stands 16c to each end and mount
the finished cable drum as shown in the diagram A.

• Anchor 17 is fitted on the hull with the stock end resting against the front left support 15.

• Shape part 18b into a boat hull by gathering the part at the seams. Fit 18c into the stern end and cap with
deck 18a. The Boat is attached to the deck house with a dab of glue, as seen on the cover page. You may
wish to do this after the rigging is complete.

• Shape 19a into a short cylinder and cap top and bottom with 19b. Glue this bollard on the small circular
mark at the bow.

• Life preservers 22 are fitted as follows: 2 on the outside railings at the rear of the deck house, on either side
of the opening. 2 on the outside railings at the front of the deck house on either side of the opening. 2 on the
outside railing on each side of the spar deck, at equal intervals.

• Wheel 23a is cut out, colored on the back side and fitted with a stand 23b on each side. It is mounted on the
deck house as shown in diagram A.

• Position lights 24a and 25b are folded upwards at the lines to form a pan that is colored on the inside and
white on the outside. You can color the outsides grayish if you wish. Position lamps 24b and 25b are doubled
to 1mm and painted gold. They are glued to the inside corners of the parts 24a and 25a, respectively. Alter-
natively, a 1mm high section of toothpick or other suitable material can be colored and used. The position
lights are fitted to the deck house on supports made from thin wire, according to the template.

Mast, Sails and Rigging

• The mast and gaff can be made from toothpicks or kebob skewers cut to length and sanded into shape ac-
cording to the template. Note that the mast goes through the hole in the main deck and is footed on the hull.

• The sails 30 and 31 are folded at the center lines indicated by score marks. Insert a thin thread into the fold
before gluing the sails together. Attach the thread to the mast with small glue points. The same goes for the
flags 27, 28 and 29.

• A basic rigging plan is shown in diagram C

Stand
• Score the beam at the fold lines and glue at the seams. Double each stand support to the colored backs. As-
semble as shown in diagram D. If you wish to make a stand from real wood, you can use the parts as tem-
plates.

Page 4
 11 20 12 9b 14b 14c 21

8c
8b

8a

19a
19b

19a 1c 1d 2 1a 4a 4b

2 1b 15 9a 13 5 23 24a

Diagram A

Page 5
 ���

6j 6i 6h 6g 6f 6e 6d 6c 6b 6a

Diagram B

Additional Parts - Print this Sheet on Thin Paper

27

28

29
30 31

Use this field to cut glue tabs

Page 6
 Pin

29

Pins 27
Mast Template
30

31

28

Diagram C

Diagram D

Diagram E

Page 7
 1a 1b

2 6a 6b 6c 6d 6e

4b
4a

2
6f 6g 6h 6i 6j

1c 1d 7

9b 9c 9d 12 18a
22 13 18b

10 23a 23b
18c
9a 14a 14c 14b 19a
19b
8a
11a 11b 8c 16b
8b 16c
16a 17
24a 25a
24b 25b
15
20 Support x 2, use 0.3 - 0.5mm wire
21 Stand

26

“Cleopatra” © 2006 Oliver Weiss / Walden Classic Paper Models, a Division of the Walden Font Co.