rwiederrich

Ed,,,,,may I ask what your second model is?

Rob

Amazing Bruce....just amazing!

I have an antique mounted half model of the Lighting.........Your hull looks just like it.

Rob

I for one will be getting that book for my collection.

Rob

Magnificent Ed.......splendid workmanship.  I built a lot with steamed wood myself and it works very well.....you make it look easy. I personally use CA and a catalyst when securing my planks...since all my models are painted.

Great work!

Rob

I'l probably have finished my reduction ray gun about the time you're finished as well...........sailing this magnificent model will my my pleasure........

Wait......those access holes will need to be filled and balast added...first.

AMAZING!

Beautiful.

Great progress Ed.........Quite enthrauling.

Rob

Marvelous......

I am currently reading the Snow Squall story...and in it the recovery process of the hulk is amazing...finding the number of bolts used was astonishing for the archeologusts who did the recovery.  No glue..no screws....just treanails and iron/copper bolts....amazing.

You're doing a fantastic job sir.

Rob

Right Ed......Duh.......

I must have missed that.

Great job

I work at a shipyard and in the wood shop they have center cuts of hard pine and oak that are 16~20" square and 10~15 ft long. THAT is huge lumber and to think much of the keel and floor beams of these magnificent ships were made from such(or close to it) is a wonderment to say the least. I'm currently reading the fantastic book *Greyhounds Of the Sea*...and it chronologs some construction of these ships......impressive.

Fantastic job.

Rob

Ed in part 72 image 5 it looks like some pencil *X*'s remaining on your ribs. I'm probably wrong, but it appears so.

FANTASTIC work.......Webb would be proud.

Rob

I appreciate it very much........very much.

The Great Republic is still in design stage and I won't begin her till the Glory and McKay are finished......I'm still moving..so that will be later this summer. Still getting my model shop organized and put together...I have a ton of WW2 tank models to get rid of to make some room as well.......

I've dedicated my future builds to only clipper ships...so all other modeling will have to go. I love clippers and so now that I have a nice large (NEW) house to display them in.....I'm dedicated full bore to it(Along with my wife's concurrence)

Again...thanks for remembering me and my desire to model the GR.

Rob

Thanks everyone for their fine comments and likes.......As I do..I prefer to place my ships in dioramas...to emphasise their history and enhance the action they were involved in.  I think this makes the viewing experience more exciting.

Again...thanks.

Moving along.

Rob

Hello Greg.....Not as of yet. I am currently moving and have not set up my shop area...though I am close(Well).(I'm exhausted).

I keep getting ideas for new builds and getting side tracked. I will soon pick up the Glory of the Seas and begin her yards...I did finish the yards for the foremast for the Ferriera(The only ones she carried).

My fleet will also consist of the 1/96 Sea Witch and the 1/96 Webb built Swordfish. But I digress......

The fabrication of the hulls and major characteristics of each ship, and their locations is fast and easy for me.......so I build many...then I sit down and get to the real task of getting to the meat of the masts/yards, and rigging of each.

Thanks for asking and thanks for noticing.

Rob

And the finished mast set in the hull and the hull in the water....

Rob

Getting back to the masts.....I added more details to the mast and painted and weathered the mast top.

So as I began...keeping the dimensions correct was a real concern..... but I think I got it pretty darn close..a bit of paint and mounting.....and there you go.

One thing that can be difficult, when scratch building is the figurehead. I undertook this task with great enthusiasm, since the Donald McKay had a clansman from the McKay clan dressed in traditional garb and saber.

As with many McKay clippers, the figurehead is all that remains and as is this example....a great model to sculpt from.

My figurehead is less then an inch long and required many hours to carve.

Here is an image of the original.

I then stained the masts before building the tops and adding the chain lifts and futtock bands.

Rob

Then the blocking to support the banding was made and the bands installed..

Unlike many..here on these pages...I begin by first re-engineering an existing 1/96 hull, then add all the appropriate rework and detail...out of wood. I find this form of modeling most exciting and since the general hull is preformed...I have a great foundation to begin the scratch building from.

Like most of McKay's builds he preferred composite masts to straight single *stick* masts....so I too devised a means to cut and band my composite masts in similar fashion. First I made a jig for my table saw to cut out the notches to form the 4 outer portions of the mast framing. See here the cuts.

Building the composite masts was fun to......

I'll post that a bit later.

Rob

And when some deck work and painting were done to finish the look.

Lots left to do.

The bulwarks and details for the gunwalls and forcastle front walls......I used maple for this.