Calypso by Fuji - FINISHED - Billing Boats - 1:45

[Fuji]

Got a little bit done on the Calypso over the weekend.

 

I created the double doors in the new passageway between the fore and aft cabins as well as created the doors in the forward bulkhead.

 

I started priming the cabin walls and will attempt creating and placing hinges for the doors before painting the cabins. Hopefully by then the temperatures will be warm enough to paint (I'm using rattle cans of Rust-Oleum paint).

 

I also started building the transom and boy that was a chore! Instead of using the 1.8mm x 6mm wooden strips to build the transom I used .080" x .250" styrene strips. I had to glue the first styrene strip in phases by clamping the styrene strip from the rounded end of the hull to the opening of the aft hatch structure. It took 5 phases using superglue but in the end the styrene closely followed the curve of the hull's stern. The second styrene strip acts like a doubler  so it was a lot easier to glue down in place using 6 mini clamps to form the curve against first styrene strip. After the glue dried overnight I came back with an x-acto miter saw and trimmed the ends to match the inside edge of the styrene hull. This is when realization hit!

 

I noticed that the starboard railing (part 14) is actually too short! Based on photos this railing is supposed to go all the way to the curve of the stern. The part outline out of the box is about 1/4" too short, so I used scrap styrene sheet to build the additional 1/4" for the railing. So if you build this kit remember to leave the stern end of part 14 longer than the markings show! Tomorrow I plan on sanding the transom and the hull to (hopefully) have the stern's curve blend together using plastic putty (if required).

 

I also started building the little Hughes 300 helicopter to keep myself entertained. I originally wanted to scratch build the cockpit but after a couple of attempts decided to just tint the windows clear blue and be done with it (the thin plastic coupled with a poor fit wore down my patience). Needless to say the fuselage is difficult to glue together and when it was finally glued together after 3 attempts it required a LOT of putty to fill in the gaps! I assembled the helicopter's pontoons and painted both the fuselage and pontoons that famous yellow color. Be warned that I had to put down 5-6 coats of yellow over a light gray primer before the yellow paint looked decent. I'm still not happy with how the paint laid down so I'll probably lay down another coat before beginning to assemble the whole thing together. No photos of the helicopter this time.. too embarrassed on the paint job so maybe next time!

 

I also started building the helipad and boy that also was a chore! The plastic pieces for the helipad frame was warped and broken in a few places. I ended up using a hair dryer to straighten the pieces then gently glued the broken pieces back together. The frame came out "ok" but hey it doesn't need to be perfect as it'll be hidden (for the most part) by the helipad planking (I hope!).

 

I also ordered a right and left hand brass prop from Dumas. I didn't like the plastic prop and so just I had to go with brass props! But after I ordered the props I realized the Calypso probably used 4 bladed props and not 3 bladed props like the one that came in the kit. SIGH! Oh well... I won't tell if you won't!

 

Well that's enough rambling for now. Will post progress photos again hopefully this weekend.

 

More to come!

 

Fuji

[lmagna]

7 hours ago, Fuji said:

Calypso probably used 4 bladed props and not 3 bladed props like the one that came in the kit.

I have not done a large amount of research on the YMS minesweepers, but what little information I do have shows three bladed props. Your build is coming along very nicely. Too bad about the helicopter. That has always been a shortcoming on this kit. 

Edited February 24, 2021 by lmagna

[Balclutha75]

I happened to see this build and think you have a beauty shaping up. Cousteau was a high-school hero of mine (mid-1960's) and I owned copies of both The Silent World and The Living Sea by the time I was 15, kind of weird for a kid.

 

14 hours ago, Fuji said:

the Calypso probably used 4 bladed props and not 3 bladed props

 

In 1971 I spent a year working on a boat called the RV Fathom II, that we outfitted for salvage work in the Caribbean. It was a YMS minesweeper and at the time we thought it might have come from the same shipyard as the Calypso, though I'm not sure of that now.

 

But I can say with certainty that it had 4-bladed props. Here's a couple pictures if you are interested. Of course, Calypso may be different.

 

 

R/V Fathom II in the harbor at Puerto Cortez, Honduras.

 

Good luck on your build.

 

 

[lmagna]

Can't get much more definitive than that! those certainly are four blade and that is a YMS! If it was me, I would personally take that over the meager sources I have available.

[robdurant]

Hi! Looks like you're doing a great job of this iconic vessel. Hope you don't mind if I follow along.

[Fuji]

Had some great weather this weekend but was still able to dedicate some time on the Calypso between being outside enjoying the warmer temps and sunshine!

 

I started building the crane at the stern of the ship. Got the pulleys and hydraulic cylinders temporarily installed for now. Need to file down the wire used to hold these items in place then add a drop of superglue and eventually paint over the ends of the wires. Ordered some thin and flexible wire online for the crane and will install that when it arrives.

 

Built up the handrailing using Evergreen styrene rather than the wood strips provided with the kit. The results are in my opinion much cleaner so I'd highly recommend doing this! I also added some small pieces of along the door edges to simulate the door hinges. Fun! Paint seems to be coming out too think. Probably because it was in the mid-50's the day I painted so I'm going to sand it all down and try another coat when the temps get into the 60's.

 

Finally I worked a bit on the Hughes 300 helicopter that comes with the kit. Not real happy with how the yellow paint came out but I got tired of fighting with it! Painted the canopy clear blue and after a couple of attempts at masking the canopy windscreen frames decided to hand brush the frames instead (the plastic doesn't hold paint well so every time I pulled off the making tape the underlying paint would come off with it!). Helicopter still needs to have the wire for the tail boom struts bent and installed and the tail rotor attached but I'm saving that for next week.

 

More to come!!

 

Fuji

Edited March 8, 2021 by Fuji

[Veszett Roka]

Calypso had four blade props here:

 

 

this is a still picture from 1977 short film "Calypso's search for Britannic"

 

Cheers,

Miki

[Fuji]

Got a little more done on the Calypso build the past few weeks!

 

Completed the helipad! I originally only assembled the very thin and flimsy truss for the helipad but when I started assembling the surface of the helipad the misalignments and warped truss framework started to work out with the help of styrene strips and the wooden planks! Then built the columns for the helipad and dry fit everything together. Will permanently attach the helipad to the support structure then the entire helipad to the deck once the upper deck has been installed to make sure everything is squared. Pretty happy how it came out so far.

 

I next completed the Hughes 300 helicopter by adding the decals... err... stickers. Was disappointed in how poor the decals were as they are quite old and lost some of the adhesive due to the decal backing sheet warping. I discovered that if I was really careful and applied styrene liquid cement along the edge of the decal, the decal would adhere along the edges to the surface! So far so good!

 

I finally started building the submersible saucer! To add realism to the display I added a couple of metal washers inside the body to add some weight. After assembling the two halves it was a quick add of the maneuvering jets using insulated wire and a quick paint job. Had to hand paint the rubber bumper all around the body, but overall I think my hand was steady enough. A few blotches but it was easily covered up with another coat of yellow. "Stole" a handwheel from the wench assembly below the helipad (hey you wouldn't be able to see it anyway!) and added it to the submersible hatch (this you WOULD see!) for realism.

 

The last step was to add cable to the crane. I used waxed thread normally used to make bracelets from the hobby store even though the hook attached to the cable isn't what's used to launch or retrieve the submersible. BTW - The kit didn't come with any hooks for the crane (or at least I couldn't find any) so I scratch built them using spare brass eyelets and glass beads from the Virginia wooden ship model. I think it came out pretty good!

 

Finally I scratch built and added lifting lugs to the submersible instead of just adding the metal eyelets which came with the model. They are a tad too big per scale but honestly I couldn't make them any smaller if I tried! Then it was adding slings to the submersible and attaching them to a lifting ring. I was pretty happy on how the submersible hangs below the crane and will only now need to trim away the excess thread from the slings to complete. But wait! shouldn't I add the lights etc. to the submersible? Hmm.. maybe not quite complete yet! LOL!

 

Planning on painting the hull this weekend as long as the weather stays sunny and warm!

 

More to come!

[yvesvidal]

The diving saucer was also equipped with a small arm. It is not provided in the kit but you could add it.

 

Yves

[BCN-Modeller]

 Really a very good work.

 

I always like the ship, but i know that the model it's somehow difficult to find

I love the Cousteu series i saw when i was young and the ship with the HeloPad and the miniSubmarine was beautiful.

I remember that they have also a Catalyna Airplane from 2WW with the calypso decoration or similar.

 

There was a plastic kit from Revell long time ago for this ship, not remember the Scale.

 

Enjoying your build and keep it as reference just in case i would be able to make the billing boats model sometime.

 

Best regards from Barcelona, Pascual.

[Balclutha75]

Looks superb!

 

As a kid I had a crazy fantasy to go down in Cousteau's saucer. Such a cool looking little craft. Your photo of it on the crane is iconic.

[Fuji]

Despite the weather turning nice and the draw to do more outside being very strong I got some work done on the Calypso the last two weekends!

 

I managed to paint the hull (had a LOT  of issues with over-spraying so there is literally 3 coats of paint on the hull!) but still need to go back and hit the areas where the painter's tape wasn't quite aligned.

 

I also cut the acetate for the circular portholes using the Thinnerline Circle Cutter I bought from Shadow Hobby. For those of you who are looking for an accurate way to cut circles in variable diameters on acetate sheets this is it!

 

I used a blue tinted acetate sheet for all the windows as I wanted to mask the fact that the cabins have no interior detail.

 

Overall I'm pretty happy how the windows all came out. If you look at the last photo you'll see the passageway that I created with windows representing 2 sets of double doors on each cabin. In that same photo you'll also see the "door handles" that I created using thin piano wire. I had to do this as what's a door complete with hinges without some kind of door handle?

 

I glued the 2 cabins to the main deck in preparation of adding the support columns and the lower half of the upper deck cranes before gluing the upper deck to the top of the main deck cabins. Not really looking forward to installing the upper deck as I can see there will be a lot of alignment issues since both halves of the deck appear to be longer than what is physically possible. Could mean a LOT of trimming and retrimming in order to get the deck the correct length and in the correct position. I'll probably get to those in a couple of weeks as the wife will be having surgery soon so my free time to work on the Calypso will be slim to none.

 

More to follow!

 

Edited May 3, 2021 by Fuji

[Fuji]

Worked a little on the Calypso over the week.

 

Glued down the upper deck! I was pretty nervous about doing this as the initial dry fit didn't seems as if it would go smoothly as I could never seem to get the centerline of the deck to line up with the centerline of the cabins on the main deck. Used a 15 minute epoxy and ta dah! It didn't come out as bad as I thought it would. Still off center but by only about 1/16" so I'm a happy builder!

 

The upper deck and the cabins on the upper deck are supposed to be removable if the ship is made as a RC model, but since this will be a static display I glued the upper deck down. It took eight cans of beer to glue down the upper deck! No not to drink... but to weigh down the upper deck to the tops of the main deck cabins!

 

I purposely left off the last two posts towards the stern of the main cabins as there is supposed to be a large diameter post right below the starboard and port davits on the upper deck. I'll probably install 1/8" or 3/16" diameter dowels to represent the posts after I mount the davits on the upper deck.

 

Next I'm going to glue 1/8" wide strips of styrene along the edge of the upper deck to mask any mismatches between the hull and the upper deck and all along the rear portion of the upper deck. It'll look much cleaner than just having the exposed plywood over the main deck.

 

More to come!

 

Fuji

[popeye the sailor]

I would say the celebration started as soon as the deck dried    very nice job....rare model   

 

Revell produced their 1:25 scale model of the Calypso,  as far back as 1975.........the last re-release was in 2010.

[Fuji]

Making some good progress on the Calypso lately!

 

I started building the bridge and the upper cabins. Let me start by saying the stairs up to the bridge according to the kit instructions was supposed to be just a single piece of wood glued from the bottom of the stairs up to the landing. Boooo! I took that piece of wood and created two stair treads following the angle formed by the upper and lower formers. Wasn't too hard to make but I can tell I'll need to paint these black or a dark color to distract from the fact the stair tread is a tad too thick!

 

The forming of the stairway wall wasn't as hard as I thought it would be! What I did was steam the piece and bent it around a Tamiya paint bottle. Took about 3 steaming sessions before it created a good curve but patience is a virtue so they say!

 

I next super glued the part of the stairway wall where it attaches to the bridge and added more super glue on the formers. Clamped that portion down then added super glue to the remainder of the former and clamped the stairway wall from one side to the other. I think it came out great!

 

Now about the multi-faceted bridge windows...

 

I loosely tapped the edges where the panels line up to each other using paint masking tape. Then with the bridge assembly upside down I slowly tacked each piece to the styrene former making sure the top (now on the bottom) of each window frame was on the cutting matt and the edges lined up with the adjacent window frame. It took about 20 minutes to get the shape and look that I wanted... along with a few choice words thrown in there for effect!

 

I'll paint the upper structure tonight and pray that it comes out looking right.

 

More to come!

 

Fuji

Edited May 21, 2021 by Fuji

[Fuji]

Made more progress on the Calypso the past few weeks!

 

I've added the windows and portholes and also painted the upper cabins and the bridge. Didn't come out too bad I think!

 

I've also planked the upper deck, upper cabin roof and the bridge's roof. That was a challenge but also very fun!

 

Built and painted the funnel and the helipad is now glued to the helipad supports!

 

I am also pretty happy as to how the stairs to the bridge came out! I scratch built the stairs as the model instructions would have had me build a "slide" consisting of a angled piece of wood stock. NOPE! That would have looked tacky even though you would never see it behind the stairway "wall".

 

On the side I've built and painted the radar dome and support and have started building the Zodiac inflatable and skiff. Did I mention I don't like the vacuform parts of this kit??

 

OH! A co-worker asked my why am I hand painting most parts without using paint masking tape? Well besides the hull I want to hand paint as much as possible as what I am building will become a family heirloom of sorts. I think anybody can use masking tape, but to paint those line with aging shaky hands.. well that says this model is custom made by me!

 

Since the weather is somewhat nice progress will slow on this build, but I will post progress photos ASAP!

 

Cheers!

 

Fuji

Edited June 18, 2021 by Fuji

[mtdoramike]

I will be following along with interest as well. I have this kit and plan to build it R/C, but I have a few other projects in front of it waiting their turn on the table. 

[Fuji]

Made some progress on the Calypso the past few days. Not a whole lot but still some forward progression!

 

Started adding the furniture to the decks! Got the anchors and anchor chains to the winch and believe it or not the anchors are attached to the chain and the chain is looped from one anchor to the other! Thank goodness for thin wires and patience!

 

I also started adding the handrail posts and handrails! The handrails aren't as hard to add as I thought they would be. I learned to super glue the railings to the first and last post before trying to bend the railings. The think wire is super easy to bend when glued to the post... the glued handrail almost acts like an anchor so I can bend the handrails just using my fingers. The hardest handrails to bend was at the bow and atop the wheelhouse.

 

Sometime over the weekend I'm going to try and tackle the stairway and stairway railings. I think I have a plan but we all know how that goes!

 

More to come!

 

Happy Fourth of July y'all!

 

Fuji

[Russell jj]

Hi

Does anyone know where I can find out how to add electrics to the model, ie lights etc

Thanks

[Veszett Roka]

Hi Fuji,

 

you may want to add the iconic rotating storm-window onto the middle window of the bridge?

 

 

cheers,

Miki

[Hugo Garcia]

Hi there Fuji,

 

Have you done anything else to the Calypso? I will be building mine in 1/32 scale using a fiberglass hull I purchased years ago from Poland.  I am following your build and grateful on information you are giving us. I hope you continue with your project and hope you post more photos. 

[Nige1912]

Hi Fuji,

 

Id love to know if you finished off your Calypso, it was coming along nicely at your last post.

I am building one myself, a lot of the hard work has been done for me though, as I bought mine as an unfinished project, so all the main superstructure has been built. I need to finish off everything else.

Mine is also a R/C model, so will be on the water this winter hopefully.

[Fuji]

On 9/26/2022 at 10:22 AM, Nige1912 said:

Hi Fuji,

 

Id love to know if you finished off your Calypso, it was coming along nicely at your last post.

I am building one myself, a lot of the hard work has been done for me though, as I bought mine as an unfinished project, so all the main superstructure has been built. I need to finish off everything else.

Mine is also a R/C model, so will be on the water this winter hopefully.

On 9/9/2022 at 12:44 PM, Hugo Garcia said:

Hi there Fuji,

 

Have you done anything else to the Calypso? I will be building mine in 1/32 scale using a fiberglass hull I purchased years ago from Poland.  I am following your build and grateful on information you are giving us. I hope you continue with your project and hope you post more photos. 

Hello Hugo!

 

Yes, I've slowly been working on the Calypso. Work got crazy busy so not working on her as much as I'd like to.

 

Stay tuned for photo updates!

 

Fuji

[Fuji]

Hello!

 

Apologies! It's been a while since I've posted any progress pictures!!

 

I'm still working on the Calypso but not as fast as before. Got a little bored with the build so I built a "fast build" (QE2) on the side, but now I'm back on the Calypso build!

 

So, this is the current state of the Calypso build...

 

I've slowly built up the handrailing and placed some plastic strips along the deck and hull/cabins to hide the unfinished edge of the decks.

 

I've also built the superstructure which holds the antennas and radars. Still need to add the GPS housing and miscellaneous booms and braces 

 

I have also been doing some work on the stern. Built the diving platform and temporarily threaded on the props which came with the kit. I bought some brass props from Dumas which will be the ones which I'll use when the build is complete.

Planning to work on adding miscellaneous ladders and stairs and building the boom and mast at the bow next.

 

Stay tuned for more progress!

 

Fuji

 

Edited November 4, 2022 by Fuji

[Nunnehi (Don)]

Looking really good, Fuji!

 

Don

[Fuji]

On 11/4/2022 at 3:52 PM, Nunnehi (Don) said:

Looking really good, Fuji!

 

Don

Thanks Don!

[Fuji]

Hello!

 

Had a few hours this week to work on the Calypso with this being a Holiday week in the states.

 

Built the small crane at the bow. Drilling the holes for the brackets was pretty tough as the tubing is a very small diameter. Broke a couple of drill bits but eventually go the holes drilled.

 

Built the 3 long aerials that are installed around the main deck. Hopefully they'll survive me continually snagging my sweater on these as I work around the model!!

 

I also built the two cranes towards the aft of the cabins. These were a bit of a challenge to build especially since I was missing the block and tackle for them. I stole a couple of blocks from my Virginia model, and they look okay.

 

Next is to complete the crane at the bow and build and install the crane booms which can be used on the ship's superstructure.

 

Happy Thanksgiving to those living stateside!

 

More to come!

 

Fuji

[yvesvidal]

It is coming along nicely. Great work.

 

Yves

[Fuji]

On 11/23/2022 at 8:28 AM, yvesvidal said:

It is coming along nicely. Great work.

 

Yves

Thank you, Yves!

I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.... hopefully not a train coming the other way!

[Fuji]

Made some progress today!

 

I finally added the Calypso's brass props! I think they look way better than the plastic props that came with the kit!

Next, I worked on adding the crane booms which attach to the ship's superstructure and adding the rigging...

Next will be the small skiff and the zodiac inflatable boats.

 

More to come!

 

Fuji