Does anyone have any photos of the African Queen? Apparently, the boat used in the film is preserved near the Holiday Inn in Kay Largo, Florida.
You've got a small problem there Jonty, you're going to have to decide whether you want to make a model of AQ as the boat appeared in the famous film, or as what is almost certainly the same vessel, appears today. The Florida boat has been altered over the years, to the extent that it isn't a very accurate representation of the film boat. The only usable pics that I know of appear in an autobiography by Katharine Hepburn, all of which appear to have been taken during filming. The Florida boat's main problems are that the foredeck has been extended, the mast moved, and also possibly the steam engine, which doesn't look like the film one to me. The Billings kit is a replica of the Florida boat, so they've copied all the inaccuracies, and they also seem to have got the scale wrong. How do I know all this? Well, funny you should ask, but I'm currently making pitifully slow progress on an AQ hull, and fibreglass versions will be available if I ever finish it. Just about all I have to go on is the African Queen DVD, and I've watched the film so often that I know all Humph's lines. One of the reasons for the slow progress is that I had to do some accurate drawings for the hull 36" one tenth scale, translate this into a plank on frame hull, and then do all the hull strakes etc, and it isn't easy, it's all very different from kit assembly, and Brian Young for one will appreciate the amount of thought and work involved. The pic shows how far I've got. The basic hull is done, extended about 15mm at the top for moulding purposes, and I'm hoping to have it finished some time around the end of this year, as long as too many other things don't get in the way.