rwiederrich

Finished painting the port side....I still have lots of detailing but this is the Port bow

I wanted a base that sat nicely on a regular shelf...with no extra ordinary dimensions. But spoke volumes. Thanks.

Sweet.

Thanks Captain Grant. I build a bit different then the average pedestal on a plaque look. I like to display my models doing what they were known for doing. It is one thing to look at a model on a stand...but when it is placed within a media it was either known to be at or in...makes the viewer a bit more connected...and brings in some history along with the model itself...it almost draws the viewer in..when otherwise they may have been otherwise uninterested. Inspiring an interest in ships is as much fun as building them. Again...thanks. Rob

Yes.....the models design calls for a *BIG* ocean...not a typical light breeze diorama...but a *Hang on mates..we're in for a woopin* kinda representation diorama. This was inspired by reading logs of clipper captains who described some of the worst waves and weather they ever had to sail in...... Montogue Dawson painted this magnificent painting of the Thermopylae in extreme weather.

And one of the other side...still in raw plaster. Once painted the borders will be trimmed off and painted black.

And a bit of a closeup. Once finished a clear coat will be added.

Here is a midships view.....

Yes I have Michael..thanks for the great link. I spent time plastering and painting the water....I only have half done..because it is very crucial that the color is right...well as closely as one can interpret it. Painting begins top down...and foam is added in color stages. Here are some first images of the near finished one side. Here is an overall view.

Thanks everyone. The first hurdle to tackle is creating the realistic water she will be sitting in. I will carve that today..and hopefully have the top coat of thin plaster trawled in place. I chose to use a medium I am well acquainted with...plus it paints well with watercolor.....so I can achieve great depth of realism. Wave crests and foam will be added with acrylics...then it will all be covered in clear coat. The foam core will greatly reduce the weight. I will then remove the hull and finalize its detail..prior to reinstalling and finishing up the water/hull interface. I Too am looking forward to this build. I'm sure the sequence of production may vary or be altered..but I think the final results will be fun. Rob(Pics will follow as production continues)

That is right Augie. They are my favorite form...and I will continue to build them and display them actively. After my Cutty Sark build: I began my American clipper project...starting with the Glory of the Seas...The Ferreira(AKA CS)...Donald McKay(Currently)....and I have in the planning stages the Great Republic and the Dreadnaught. These pages will be filled with Clipper builds in the future....... Rob

I love the clipper form...and yes the rigging and sails are magnificent I love building clippers set in realistic fashion.....not just quietly displayed on their pedistalled .bases. This build will present the McKay in open green water under shortened sail......pressing against a high sea. Fun Rob

Among my many builds I have been planning a diorama build of the magnificent medium clipper, Donald McKay..the final ship of the quartet of Boston Built ships ordered by James Baines for his Black Ball line. She was a wonderful combination of beauty and strength. She was designed to be a heavy cargo and passenger carrier...unlike most extreme clippers that only had space for broken stowage..the McKay was slightly concaved below, she was also decidedly convex above and thus her great capacity. Her figurehead was a representation of a Highlander, painted in the his Tartan array of the ancient McKay clan. She employed the recently devised Howes double topsails..a improvement over the the common rig of the day. The lower topsail yard was trussed to the topmast cap and instead of slings, was supported from below by a crane upon the head of the topmast. the lower topsail was set entirely by the sheets. The upper topsail set upon the mast above the cap and had it;s foot laced to the jackstay upon the yard below. The ship could be reduced to close-reefed topsails at any time by lowering the upper topsails which would then lay calmly before the topsails...and if required, could be reefed without the use of reef tackle. A modern application that require far less men then the old system. It was an inovation that worked at sea extremely well. Unlike most clippers of the period, her masts were not raked, but straight up...this prevented the sails from chafing during calms and reduced the backstay stress. She was 2594 tons and was considered the second largest ship to sail next to the Great Republic. Her best days sailing is recorded as 421 miles in a 24 hour period and she regularly sped along at 18 knots. I chose her because of her unique deck layout and that she was designed a passenger carrier by James Baines rather then for speed......and that she was proudly named of her builder...and that she was the last of a famous quartet..during the height of American production. She will be set in an open ocean scene during a Cape Horn crossing. Today I took a modified 1/96 Revell Cutty Sark hull and set it into its initial foam base. Once the foam is set, I will remove the hull and begin modeling the water. Rob

Yes.....I did put that idea into the planning stages.....since then I chose to tackle the Donald McKay first. I am tackling the logistics of such a modified build...... It will require 3 Cutty Sark hulls and ample hull modifications. The McKay will(Like my ferreira build) be an open water diorama ...where the hull below the waterline will be unseen...there for no mods will be needed. Rob(thanks for asking)

I had inadvertently left my last posting without finishing my thoughts and what I was posting next.....I got abruptly called away to the Hospital and unfortunately gave the impression I was Bumping this thread. Sorry for that oversight. I was looking for this image I wanted to post of the Ferreira in a particularly posed stance..that I wanted to model......besides modeling her in her unkept state. This image shows her top-gallant set and drying...this is the posture I will model.

Here she is in Tacoma freshly back from Alaska...and shortly before she was stripped of any value on her then burned. She still retains her beautiful figurehead...and her stunning lines. These images have been priceless sources of information for my build. Rob

Yes..that is a very famous image...kinda weird that her beginning image and her end are not that different in perspective. You can clearly see the fullness of her hull compared to more extreme versions of the clipper design.

Happy Thanksgiving Ed. Excellent progress.

A bit more history of the Glory of the Seas: She was built in 1869 and had a successful and varied career..which extended over 53 years..far beyond many of her contemporaries. She did not end up wrecked, or set afire by accident , or lost do to foundering. She lived to an old age and as many old sailing ships, was passed from one profit making toiling job to the next...and each less honorable and dignified then the previous. Nope...an old salty girl who ran her life's course to where she had no more profit to give. Once nearly saved from the wreckers hand by a preservation society that turned out to be nothing more then a sham. Parts of her found themselves in private collections...a ship model was even fashioned from her state room door. Her Figurehead was saved by a wealthy passerby and is now saved and on display in the India House club in NY. She was driven ashore on a marbley beach at Endolyne, South of Seattle...and in 1923 was burned for the metal in her hull. As of 4 years ago at low tide you could still see remains of her if you have a keen eye(I personally plan a trip there soon to attempt to recover a souvenir, if at all possible to be honorably displayed next to her model. I have found(in my collection) another quite rare image of her on that beach south of Seattle.....taken the day before she was burned...as you can see her beautiful figurehead has already been removed and saved for posterity. Rob.

OH my.......I checked the website you gave and it is unreadable for me........Your model is awesome. Rob

Outstanding Ed Skillfully executed. Rob

Foremast yards finished.

Thanks Ed for the polite redirection. It is my nature to question...I build and machine precision refractor telescopes so I tend to be overly observant and when I haven't gotten my head around something entirely......I can become a pest. I'll defer to your wise move to head-er back on course. Forgive my incessant.skylarking. Rob

Outstanding...Ed..No I never assumed you were not clear....on the contrary..you were. I had originally intended to show these images during the original conversation. I recently found them. I do have Crothers book..and that drawing was a perfect example of McKay's application. The deck plan gives it away as the Lightning...with the gang ways. Again..as was discussed...you were working out the exact(Or close to it) lateral cross members for YA...and without adequate drawings...trying to determine if iron external lattice or internal was applied to the Webb build. You also earlier noted that Webb was fond(Or simply did), of using less wood then McKay(Not sure of your source for this). If that notion is accurate, then iron straps would/could be your logical choice. With that, then do you have accurate information to permit you to make the correct alterations to your framing to accommodate them? Or are you gonna make your best educated guess? I ask, only to settle my opinion, because up to this point..you have been acutely attentive to every detail that accompanied such a hull construction.......down to the last detail. But if inadequate information allows for artistic license.....then purity of representation takes a back seat to license. What will you be using for the strapping/banding. Copper,brass? Soldered or riveted? I apologize if I seem critical..I worked with Navy model makers and if every aspect of a model was not represented as authentic as the original...it did not fly. Personally from what I have seen here on these pages, I think your skill and attention to detail is second to none. Feel free to blow me off. I'm not that good of a modeler anyway. Rob

I Located another rare image of the between decks of the Glory of the Seas 1869. Image was taken in 1911 during preparations for a *captains* ball. Note the cross diagonal bracing....this was done internally and from wood. Image is of poor quality. Photographic evidence the practice of internal wood bracing was practiced by the very famous Clipper builder Donald McKay. Now if Webb...repeated the practice on his clippers...no one may truly know..however since both builders learned under Webb's father...the idea that they did is not unreasonable. Factually..who knows really? Enjoy