Final Drawing 200-pound Parrot

 I finished the drawing of the 200-pound Parrot Rifle. Now to see if I can get it to print. I am successful, then I can proceed with the base.

This drawing shows how my existing 18 by 11 inch base has barely enough room to house the 15-Rodman and the 200-pound Parrot.  The dark tan rectangle is the size of the diorama base. The circle is the base of the 15-Rodman gun position. The 200-pound Parrot had a semicircular gun base. it would take abut 8 feet to show the whole battery in 1/32nd scale. I will just show the northern portion (north is to the left in the drawing.)

Bring out the big guns

The portion of Battery Rodgers I will build a 8-inch Parrot in the front and a 15-inch Rodman in the rear. 

I am working on a diorama of Battery Rodgers in Alexandria in 1/32nd scale. This is a project I've been thinking about for a long time.  There are several photos of the Battery Rodgers and some plans  available. At least one of the guns survived and is now at Fort Foote, but on a different mount than what it had in Alexandria. 

I built the Verlinden 15-inch Rodman, a kit that has been in my stash for at least 10 years. It was a tricky kit with no locating pins and a rudimentary drawing for instructions. Some of the parts were broken as I purchased the kit used.  It took a bit of scratch building and lot of fitting and trial and error to get it to come out square.  It is impressive.

Next, I need the 8-inch Parrott on a front pintle carriage. No one makes a kit of this in 1/32 (Cottage Industries made the Swamp Angle Parrott but it has a different carriage) or 1/48 (for use onto Aquia Line). So I decided to draw it in Fusion and try printing them on my 3D printer.  It will fit on the printer in 1/32nd scale. I will probably print the barrel as a separate part, but the elevation screw will be tricky. I still need to add some details, but it's about 80 percent done. . 

Aquia Line Engine House in NMRA Magazine.

 From Sept 2026 NMRA Magazine. Photos by Cynthia Priest

Modeling Civil War Railroads - The book

My latest book, Modeling Civil War Railroads is now available for pre-order  from Artisan Rail Media's Web site here.   

The book isn't out yet, it is in final production. However, I had ChaptGTP review the final draft. Here is what it "said."

Review of Modeling Civil War Railroads

Modeling Civil War Railroads is an unusually ambitious book that combines Civil War history, railroad history, and practical model-building into a single work. Bernard Kempinski does more than explain how to build accurate models; he shows why the railroads mattered and places the modeling in its historical context. The book covers everything from locomotives, rolling stock, track and structures to railroad operations, military logistics, destruction and repair, and the men who made the system work. Extensive historical research gives the modeling projects a purpose, allowing readers to understand not simply what they are building, but what the real railroad looked like and how it functioned during the Civil War.

One of the book's strengths is that it is not solely a showcase of Kempinski's own work. Approximately one-third of the book features projects and modeling techniques from other accomplished modelers, demonstrating a range of approaches, skills, and interpretations. Their contributions broaden the book and reinforce its central idea: there is no single way to bring Civil War railroad history to life in miniature. The result is both a practical modeling reference and an engaging introduction to an often-overlooked aspect of the Civil War. Whether the reader is an experienced modeler, a Civil War enthusiast, or someone simply fascinated by how railroads transformed warfare and logistics, Modeling Civil War Railroads offers something valuable—and provides plenty of inspiration for creating historically informed models of their own.

Here are sample pages. Click for full size. 

Road Trip Part 3 IPMS National Convention

The road trip continued with a visit to Charlie Taylor's O Scale Memphis and Charleston RR in Memphis, Tennessee.  On my way there,  I stopped in Corinth, MS at the National Park Visitor's Center to refresh my memory as it had been several years since I was there. Not much of the battlefield was spared from development, but the visitor's center is very good. 

I bought an interesting book that focusing on the Union Ironclads battling the rebel fortifications. 

Will and Charlie at the start of the session

Several members of the ACWRRHS convened at Charlie's house for a day of operations.  This was my fourth trip to Charlie's wonderful layout. He had completed a few more scenes since that visit and refined his operating scheme. So this was a good test. We had a lot of fun. 

Charlie has been experimenting with rare earth magnets instead of links to coulple cars. He built several adapters that allow magnets to grab track nails to couple cars. I may have to experiment with this idea. Charlie traded some of those magnets with me for figures. 

Charlie's grandchildren play with the layout and they set up a huge battle in Chattanooga. Fortunately, the battle did not affect the op session.

Next stop was a quick visit to my son and his family. Then it was off to Fort Wayne, IN for the IPMS National Convention. I stayed with several friends in a large rental house about a half mile from the convention center. Zack Becker from the NCMSS, joined Dan Pierce, Rob Kempinski, and  Dave Nowinski from Space Coast IPMS,  plus  Phil Perry, Carlos and Edward from other Florida IPMS chapters in the large 120 year old house. The tradition of haunted old houses continued as Carlos swore he saw a ghost.  

We set up our models own Wednesday. Then Zack, Dan, Rob and I had dinner at a nice place on the Maumee River in sight of the old fort. After dinner, we visited Alan Bell's model railroad and machine shop. Alan's layout models the NYC in the Albany area. He has a lot of signals and other cool electronics.  He selected that area for the wide variety of operations in a compact area.

I honestly did not know about his layout, but I did know about his machine shop. It is very well equipped. The most amazing thing is that he taught himself how to run the various machines including a chucker lathe, which is an early type of CNC lathe designed for high-volume production of small, precision parts, often used in industries like aerospace and medical. It features an automatic turret for efficient machining operations with different tools. I think he said his machine is an analog model, i.e. not digital controllers. Too bad we did n't get a demo of this cool machine.

The IPMS Convention was a lot of fun.  On Thursday night, Zack and I did some painting, trying to give Dan some tips.

Friday was busy. I presented a talk on the making of the D-Day Diorama, then a painting class with Jim Rice and then judging. I was part of the Miscellaneous Judges team. We worked well together and got through about 400 models in an expeditious manner.

On Saturday I attended two talks and did some shopping at the vendors. Then we had our traditional group dinner with Dan cooking and Rob helping. That evening was the awards ceremony. Tailgate modelers got several awards.

Zachariah Becker received 1st for Val Kilmer bust and third for the IH Tractor

Rob Kempinski received 1st for his automotive diorama, and four thirds, for the warlord Sherman, Wonder Dread truck, dino rider and the female scratchbuild.

I received two second places, one for John Hancock bust and one for Fast Rope ship and helicopter diorama. I received thirds for the fantasy figure Acinad  riding Koda, and one  for the Declaration of Independence shadowbox diorama. The latter also received the special Happy 250th Anniversary American award. 

All three of us received dozens of peer awards. We each had models selected by Fine Scale Modeler to be photographed for their magazine. 

Several other members of the Spacecoast IPMS received awards including Andy Caldwell who received the special indy car award.

There were 3110 entries in approximately 50 categories. Overall quality was quite high.  Lots of amazing work on display.