A Surveying Lesson

So I've been clearing other projects off my workbench and I've been going to night school. This semester I am taking a surveying class, and I was amazed to find out how much surveying I already knew.
In Boy Scouts we teach how to measure height and distance through observations. That's part of surveying.In my living history job, we used to teach high school kids how to measure an acre with a six foot wide a-frame device. More surveying.
But the cool thing is the way we used to lay out the lot every day on the circus. This was a job I had the honor to perform for several seasons, and one I really enjoyed. I would first look over the grounds. I would try to ascertain the most likely direction for the public to be coming from. I would then decide where to put the midway, the big top, the back yard, etc. to best fit the situation.Then I would pace off the midway, placing layout pins at important points. Our layout pins were made from spring steel rods that were formerly car trunk torsion springs.
We would cut a point on one end, and bend the other end into a loop handle with the help of a welding torch or an old hand cranked forge. We would also tie a bit of colorful cloth to the loop handle for increased visibility.

After pacing off the midway, I would lay out the big top. This involved stretching out a piece of brass safety chain as long as the tent along the planned center line of the tent location. The chain had bits of colored wire tied through the links that marked the locations of the center poles.

More layout pins on the center pole marks, pick up the chain, and start guiding the trucks on to the lot.

Well, it turns out that all that pacing off, sticking pins in the ground, and stretching out chain was surveying. Surveyors historically used a special 66 foot long chain called a Gunter's chain and chaining pins for measuring land. Nowadays they mostly use electronics.

So anyway, that's what I've been busy with lately. I now have room on my work bench and I have started cleaning trucks. I promise to post some progress shots soon.

What's in a Name?

Many Circuses, many Model Circuses, not a few family businesses, and even a video game series use the naming convention of "Bros" or Brothers. There were actually five Ringling brothers, once upon a time, but most of the time there are no actual brothers.

It's just a time honored tradition, and a good one, too.

So what about Boas Bros? Well, as it turns out, Charles W. "Doc" Boas was blessed with a younger brother. Con F. Boas was not actively involved in the day-to-day operation of Circus Kirk or Boas Bros, and was geographically separate from Dad during the time he was building the model Boas Bros show. I am sure he was supportive of Dad's circus adventures. If he contributed any financial support I don't know, and don't intend to ask.

In the photo below, taken on Circus Kirk during our bail-ring years, Con is the one with the drink, "Charlo" (aka Doc) is the one with the cigarette. Looks like a pair of big-time operators to me.


Next time, we will see how the cleaning of the model is going.

A Tale of Two Paint Charts

Once upon a time, on the 1:1 scale, full-size, model circus known as Circus Kirk, all the original trucks were base painted red. Later on, when we added semis, they were all base painted white. This was probably because the semi cabs, which were leased, were white.

Every seat plank or stringer, every quarter pole, side pole, or center pole, and practically every thing made of wood or metal was painted in either of two shades of blue, in red, or in white. A little bit of gilt here and there, and no black that I can recall. I personally spent many hours in winter quarters with a paint brush in my hands. I remember those colors well.

Yellow was used sparingly, as a decoration or a highlight only. Yellow is considered an unlucky color to paint circus equipment. Our stake driver (the machine, not the truck) started life as an agricultural post driver. It was trailer mounted. It was yellow.

Dad had it modified by a welder into a circus type stake-driver, but at first, it just didn't work right. He told someone to paint it red, and it started working fine. We towed it at first, then eventually had it mounted to the back of a truck, looking much like the model I presented in an earlier post to this blog.


Back to the paint. Not only do I remember the colors, I remember the cans the paint came in, with the distinctive "Cover the Earth' logo. Circus Kirk was painted with Sherwin-Williams Kem-Tone Bulletin Colors. Bulletin colors are used for painting signs and billboards. I would imagine he would have used a similar sign painting enamel when he built his model circus a decade earlier.

I toddled down to my local Sherwin-Williams store, and spoke with the charming and helpful clerk who had previously helped me with some paint for my remodel. She put forth a mighty search, only to find out that the Kem-Tone Bulletin Colors had been discontinued some years previous. She did give me some suggestions for similar products. One of the two websites listed local resellers. I was able to locate several near my domicile in Austin.

I swung by my local art store, one of the dealers so listed, to check out the paint. They did indeed have it in stock, but no paint color charts, not even in "the back". I returned home and called all the other nearby retailers. Not one of them had the color charts, some of them didn't even actually carry the paint.

I returned to the computer. I emailed the company using the technical questions link on their website. I requested that they snail-mail me some hard copy color charts. In due course I got a reply that I really should get them from my local dealer, but they would forward my request to Chicago.


About a month later I had not heard anything, so i emailed them back, told them they were not too good at customer service, that their local dealers were not cooperating with them, and that they needed to get with the online age of expectations. I almost immediately got several email replies, and the color charts came in the mail a few days later.

In the meantime, I had emailed the other company I had located online. They sent me color charts by return post.


The upshot is that I will be able to match paint colors, in the same type of paint Dad originally used. Which company I end up using will depend on availability, package size, and convenience.

Next time, more about the Boas Brothers.

The Big Top

The Big Top is a one ring tent with two 54 scale foot rounds, and one 45 scale foot middle, making the whole thing about six feet wide and around nine feet long.

It uses 2 center poles, 14 quarter poles, and 40 side poles. The centers are 28 inches tall, or 42 scale feet. It is erected by the push-pole method.

The canvas is a it stained where it was exposed while being stored on the spool truck in the barn. The side pole grommets are beautifully stiched to the tie-off ropes, and the center pole rings feature a larger ring stiched to the canvas and connected by miniature chains to a smaller ring for the poles to stab through. In contrast, the quarter poles are just stabbed through the cloth with no reinforcement. I would like to upgrade that.

There is not, at this point any sidewall, another possible upgrade. There is minor repair needed to the centerpole rings. I will let the pictures do any further talking.





Now we start prepping for repair . . .

Number 9 - the Spool Truck

One of the most iconic of the special purpose vehicles used by circuses, no other industry used anything quite like the spool truck. It is used to roll up the entire big top for efficient loading and unloading. Having worked the system where the sections are unlaced from each other, folded into bundles and hoisted onto a truck by main muscle power (a real treat when the canvas is wet and triple heavy), I have great admiration for this unit.


This particular version is unusual in that the entire big top fits on one spool. Most spool trucks mounted two spools, with the top unlaced at one place and rolled up in two parts. The spool is operated by means of a power-take-off with a chain drive.


This model is missing a cross bar from the top corners of the side walls, you can see the nail where it was attached. It is also missing the chain that runs between the two gear wheels on the side. Other than that, a little cleaning and some detail painting on the left side will fix it right up.

For the upcoming post, we will unspool that big top and put it up.

Number 8 - the Generator Truck

The purpose of the generator truck is to supply power to the show. This isa fine example of Dad's interest in the logistics of the circus. The generator is a far cry from the showier parade wagons, yet is critical to the daily operations of a truck show like this one.

The generator truck is assigned to tow the Gilly Wagon. The truck features a rear fold-out platform and roof, which design carried over to the real life Circus Kirk generator semi truck. The generator is a simple metal shell which I suspect is uncompleted, however notice the excellent detail on the roof exhaust penetration.


The truck needs a general cleaning, the platform is detached, and the right rear cornerpost is damaged. The cab is only detail painted on the right side. I also hope to install a more complete looking generator engine.

The last vehicle in the inventory is number 9, the spool truck. Coming soon, coming sure!

Number 7 - the Cage Wagon Trailer

As previously mentioned, the cage wagon is towed behind the Calliope truck as a mobile ad for the show, kind of a mini-parade.

The wagon has a wall across the center dividing it into forward and rear cages. Each cage is accessed by a small working door in the front and rear exterior walls of the wagon. There is a slot below the cage bars for sliding food into the cages to the waiting animals. For the exhibitor's convenience, the roof lifts off.

The animals consist of two full-maned lions and a sleek black panther. They are made of a material called "composition", sort of a sawdust and glue casting material that was popular before the modern age of plastics. I recall that Dad also had a chest full of toy soldiers, which included both metal figures and composition ones.

The astute reader will have noticed that the wheels on both this trailer and the Gilly trailer are mis-matched. The rear wheels on both of these trailers are from an older series of Tonka truck, while the front wheels on the cage wagon are from a Buddy "L" truck, a Tonka competitor. This is a fine reflection of what really happens on the full-size shows, as parts are mixed and matched to suit the needs of the equipment being built.


The cage wagon is coming apart at the corners, has some broken and missing parts on the roof piece, has a couple of the cage bars that need to be soldered back on, needs cleaning, and is only detail painted on the back and right sides. In addition, the composition animals are aged and cracked.

Truck number 8, up next, carries the power plant, watch for it.

Number 6 - the Utility Trailer/Gilly Wagon

Okay, to be honest, I don't remember what this unit is for. It's a trailer which gets hauled behind the generator truck. It is open on the top and at the rear. There are holes in the sides as if there used to be two rods forming a sort of rack.

It may have held the canvas and poles for the marquee, possibly other tents as well. Hence, I am calling it the "gilly wagon", which translates from Circusese as "utility wagon".

A trailer like this could also be used to haul ringcurb, large props and rigging.

One of the side ribs has come off this wagon, the aforementioned racks/rods are missing, and one side is not lettered. It will need a bit of touch-up paint.

Next on the list is the cage wagon (and the only life forms currently on the show).

Number 5 - the Seat Truck

The Seat Truck, or perhaps the Seat Wagon, would drive inside the big top after the tent was set up. The truck would park along the side of the tent across from the back door, and right up against the side poles.

Stringers would then be attached to the lip along the right side of the trailer. These stringers would angle down to the ground.

Next, the steel retaining poles on the right side of the trailer would be removed and the seating platforms unloaded and placed on the stringers with the top several rows of seats mounted on the trailer.

Typically, a show would have several of these trucks parked around the tent. I don't know if Dad's vision had more seat trucks in it, or just freestanding bleachers, or if one seat wagon was enough for proof of concept, since he seems to have been designing a full scale circus, although, at that time he had no inkling that he would end up doing just that.

This unit really needs some TLC. It is terribly dirty, the stringers have all gone missing, and many of the glue joints holding the seating benches in place have given up. The platform for the aisle between the lower seating platforms is missing, and there are only two of the retaining poles left, and they are rusty.

This is gonna be fun!

Coming up, the Utility Trailer/Gilly Wagon. Hope you can drop by.

Number 4 - the Ticket Office Truck

The front office, aka the ticket wagon would be backed up to the midway. During the morning, the local sponsors would be escorted inside to settle up the advance sales. Other day-to-day fiscal business of the show would be enacted, such as reimbursements, draws, and deposits. Once a week, the whole show might line up for payday.

At midway call (1:00 and 7:00 for shows at 2 and 8) the windows at the rear of the truck would be unlatched, the window panels would be pulled up with the chains from inside the office, and day of show tickets would go on sale. The prices were $1.00 for adults, and $0.50 for children.

This unit features a possum belly under the trailer, and an equipment box behind the cab. This truck also features one of the nicer paint jobs.

The office might not take up the whole trailer. It is possible that the office manager had living quarters in the front end of the trailer, or that there would be some space for front end/midway equipment there.

Besides the usual need for cleaning and paint touch-up, the aforementioned equipment box is bent, the side door to the trailer is off it's hinges, and the rear wall with the ticket windows is kind of pushed in.

The other thing missing would be the rest of the midway. Dad never got around to a Side Show, Pit Show, Concessions, or the other stuff that makes up a midway.

Next post will be # 5, the Seat Wagon Truck.

Number 3 - the Stake Driver/Water Truck

Another dual-purpose truck (just like most show folks have at least two jobs on the show), the #3 Stake Driver/Water Truck spends the first part of the day driving stakes with the machine mounted on the back, then goes on to deliver water to the cookhouse, the animals, and wherever else needed. This truck also carries the wooden stakes and the sidepoles for the big top.

The stakedriver machine handle has come loose, the motor has gone missing and the rollers have gotten deteriorated.

The truck its self has damage to the finish and will need a general clean-up.

The water tank seems to be in pretty good shape.

Next up, the Ticket Office Truck. See you then!

Number 2 - the Band Stand/Calliope Truck

The Band Stand/Calliope Truck has a dual purpose. Firstly, it is designed as a parade wagon. With the extensions in the up position it could be driven through town, calliope playing to attract the locals to the show. To further sweeten the deal, it would be pulling the cage wagon, aka #7.

Once on the lot, the truck would be backed partly into the Big Top. Then the extensions would be folded down to form the bandstand for the show.

The included calliope appears to be modeled on the Tangley Calliaphone.

The condition of this unit includes: the rear extensions are missing, the truck is only painted on one side, and again, there is a fair amount of grime.

The calliope has some corrosion on the brass pipes.

In my next post, you will meet #3, the Stake Driver/Water Truck.

Number 1 - the Pole Truck

The Pole Truck carries the center and the quarter poles for the big top (the side poles ride on the stakedriver truck).

It is a semi-truck with a custom rack on the trailer. While packed away in storage part of the rack has become disassembled, (parts laying next to truck in picture) and part of the rack is missing. Additionally, the cab was never painted. As with all the trucks, there is a considerable amount of grime present. Dad appears to have used packing lumber for much of his wooden apparatus, so part of the challenge will be obtaining matching wood reduced to the correct sizes.

This picture shows a wooden stake, a side pole, a quarter pole, an eighteen inch ruler, and a center pole. For the uninitiated, center poles go in the center of the tent, side poles go at the edges of the tent, and quarter poles go about halfway between.

Next post, we will meet the bandstand/calliope truck.

Just the facts

Boas Bros Circus is an approximately 1:18 scale model, aka 2/3" = 1 foot. This is because BBC is a truck based show, and Dad used Tonka Trucks to build it.

Dad's vision for BBC was all about the logistics. Other model circuses highlight the performance aspects and the parade wagons, that sort of thing. Dad was much more interested in how the thing functioned. There were no performers, no audience, no roustabouts, no seat butchers, no barkers. The only concession to mammalian life forms were two lions and a panther. The model is all about the trucks.

The rolling stock inventory is as follows:
#1 Pole Truck
#2 Band Stand/Calliope Truck
#3 Stake Driver/Water Truck
#4 Ticket Office Truck
#5 Seat Truck
#6 Utility Trailer/Gilly Wagon
#7 Cage Wagon Trailer
#8 Generator Truck
#9 Spool Truck

There is a Big Top, and some extra poles that, to my recollection, went to a marquee tent that seems to have blown the show.

In the next posts, we will take a look at each of these items of inventory. Please visit again.

An introduction to the subject.

My father, Charles W. "Doc" Boas, (d. 2002) was best known for being the college professor who ran away with the circus, and for creating and running Circus Kirk (1969-1978). The year before opening Circus Kirk, we took a two week dry run with a show under the name of Boas Bros. Previously, back when I was in elementary school, he tried out a show that played the drive-in movie theater between features that was called Toby Bros. All this was preceded by his walking away from a promising career as a young college professor to be a clown/electrician on a mud show.

But, before any of that, there was another circus in his life. Between the time he completed his PhD and the time he got his first actual circus job, roughly 1955 to 1960, he was a Circus Model Builder. His model circus was called Boas Bros Circus, and it has come down to me.

I have recently uncrated the equipment of Boas Bros (Miniature) Circus and now intend to clean, repair, and restore it.

The purpose of this blog is to chronicle this process. I do have other demands on my life, so postings may be sporadic, however, whenever I make any progress, I will post. My next several posts will be an introduction to the existing equipment, complete with photos.

Thanks for stopping by.