Flying Fish by Rick310 - Model Shipways - 1/96

[Rick310]

ClipperFan, I’ll do my best, probably next week as I have to go out of town.

 

Rob, nobody can criticize your decision as no knows for certain.  I have doubts about my own solution although I believe it’s reasonable.  To add to my uncertainty is the beautiful model of the Flying Cloud 1:48 scale at the Boston Museum of Art.  I took pictures but was unable to discern the mizzen pin rail.  It appears that there is one pin between stanchions fore and aft of the shrouds and 2 pins between stanchions in the way of the mizzen shrouds.  Can’t tell if the rail is expanded and there are more pins.  If not, then there are still not enough pins and this model has full sails.

 

 

[ClipperFan]

Rick310 Michael Mjelde sent us detailed images of the Samuel Walters "Glory of the Seas" oil. In this quarterdeck scene, it's evident there are no belaying pins in either railings. I noticed there's some block and tackle rigging inside her bulkhead, just ahead of the mizzen shrouds. How that's mounted isn't visible and by the angle of the lines, they appear to go to the main mast.

Based on this evidence, it looks like Rob's approach is correct, at least as Glory's concerned. 

[rwiederrich]

You are correct Rich....not in one image do I see evidence of rail pins.  Is it possible and most likely probable.....possibly.  but since Glory's running rigging in all her contemporary images is devoid and only the remnant of her buntline fairleads are left.....I'm going with the shroud pinrails myself.

The painting you provided only shows the bunt lines coming down to the fairleads....but not to where they belay.  Personally I'm not sure putting that much stress on a stanchioned rail makes good sense.  On smaller coastal rigs that might have been the case, where the rail was closed....much like a bulkhead.

 

Those blocks you mention could be for stay sails...because the main, topsail and topgallant yards all find their braces and their purchases rigged back at the bumpkin

A similar triad of large blocks can be seen in this image of Glory...and these most likely were her foremast main, topsail, topgallant yard brace points.

 

Rob

[Rick310]

Rob, ClipperFan.

What a beautiful painting of Glory by Samuel Walters.  Walters, as you may well know, was considered the pre-eminent Liverpool artist back in the 1800’s.

I have additional pictures of the Flying Cloud at the Boston Museum of art which clearly shows the belaying pins for the mizzenmast in the taffrail rail. I just can’t discern accurately the spacing in way of the shrouds.  These pictures are available on line plus I took my own photos.  

I believe that this model was donated to the museum in 1929 and was built by H E Boucher in 1915, who I think was a professional model maker.  It was overseen by Capt. Arthur H. Clark, who captained clipper ships and wrote the book The Clipper Ship Era with nice things to say about the FF.

One interesting detail of this model is that the inside edge of the plank sheer has a double bead molding, as does the outside edge.  This is also seen in photos of the Benjamin. Packard.  I choose to model this molding, although it is not supported by the plans or Carothers American Built Clipper Ship.

Rob, 

I certainly don’t disagree with your decision to mount the pin rail to the shrouds.  Going by the Walters painting, it looks like the closed bulwark would be to low for the pin rail.

[rwiederrich]

Beautiful model...what scale was it in?

 

Also he chose a unique method to display the fairleads as one large fairlead, instead of individual fairleads mounted on each shroud.

From this example is is clear the rail could have been the belay point for the pins.  I'm probably sticking to the shroud rails myself.

 

Rob

[Rick310]

Before I moved on to the channels,chain plates and deadeyes, I attempted to come up with a solution to making the stern carving.  This, of course was to avoid attempting to making the chain plates and straps for the deadeyes which terrified me.  The stern board was described by McLean as a beautiful arch but no other details.  The Buttersworth’s painting shows a small portion of the end of the arch but all else is speculation. I originally thought I would attempt to bend very small strips of wood but my utter failure in producing those strips was discouraging to say the least.  I had no success with a draw plate reducing the strips to approximately 1/32 diameter, which I thought was the maximum size I could use without it being too bulky.  There must be a secret to using a draw plate that I just haven’t found.  That, combined with the trouble I had bending wood strips made me think that this was going to be very difficult and not practical.

I considered having a decal made, but that would look flat and besides, what design? I would probably try to duplicate what is shown on the plans and I decided to go that route as a last resort.

About that time, while reading KeithAug’s amazing blog on the schooner Germania, he described using brass wire to model some ship’s carving at the bow of the model, which was beautifully done (as everything else on the model).

I decided to try this using 24 and 28 ga. Brass wire.  I made no attempt to duplicate the plans, aiming to produce a stern arch that looked decorative.  

After several attempts , this is what I came up with.  I intend to use decals for the name and port.

[Rick310]

Rob, 

the scale of the Flying Cloud model is 1:48, or a 1/4 inches =1 foot

[rwiederrich]

8 hours ago, Rick310 said:

Rob, 

the scale of the Flying Cloud model is 1:48, or a 1/4 inches =1 foot

That is why the detail is so good 

 

Rob

[Jared]

On 4/3/2022 at 8:00 AM, ClipperFan said:

Rick310 thanks for sharing this ultra rare contemporary depiction of "Flying Fish". Before you mentioned it, I had no idea such an impressive piece even existed. In the 2nd image, the left side has a beautiful blue sky. The rest of the painting has more of a golden hue. I was wondering if the true colors of the piece are that blue area?

Thanks for this

[ClipperFan]

On 4/5/2022 at 4:57 PM, Rick310 said:

Before I moved on to the channels,chain plates and deadeyes, I attempted to come up with a solution to making the stern carving.  This, of course was to avoid attempting to making the chain plates and straps for the deadeyes which terrified me.  The stern board was described by McLean as a beautiful arch but no other details.  The Buttersworth’s painting shows a small portion of the end of the arch but all else is speculation. I originally thought I would attempt to bend very small strips of wood but my utter failure in producing those strips was discouraging to say the least.  I had no success with a draw plate reducing the strips to approximately 1/32 diameter, which I thought was the maximum size I could use without it being too bulky.  There must be a secret to using a draw plate that I just haven’t found.  That, combined with the trouble I had bending wood strips made me think that this was going to be very difficult and not practical.

I considered having a decal made, but that would look flat and besides, what design? I would probably try to duplicate what is shown on the plans and I decided to go that route as a last resort.

About that time, while reading KeithAug’s amazing blog on the schooner Germania, he described using brass wire to model some ship’s carving at the bow of the model, which was beautifully done (as everything else on the model).

I decided to try this using 24 and 28 ga. Brass wire.  I made no attempt to duplicate the plans, aiming to produce a stern arch that looked decorative.  

After several attempts , this is what I came up with.  I intend to use decals for the name and port.

Rick310 approximating carved Stern work on your "Flying Fish" is just beautiful. You've managed to create it to scale too. A feat even more impressive, considering the scale you're working in.

[Rick310]

Thanks again ClipperFan for your kind words.  I think that if I continued to remake the arch, I might be able to come up with something better but I didn’t want to get bogged down and it probably wouldn’t be that much better.

[ClipperFan]

4 hours ago, Rick310 said:

Thanks again ClipperFan for your kind words.  I think that if I continued to remake the arch, I might be able to come up with something better but I didn’t want to get bogged down and it probably wouldn’t be that much better.

Rick310 I have a feeling you'd appreciate this. Mike Mjelde shared this lovely painting with me. He wanted me to see the elaborate stern carving on a large American Clipper Ship on left. It's an excerpt from the book "Antonio Jacobsen, Painted Ships on Painted Oceans"  retrospective on the artist's works. 

As part of my ongoing efforts to reconstruct the beautiful, elaborate carvings on Glory's stern, I did this preliminary pen & ink sketch. When I get a chance, I'll revisit this with pencil to make it more workable. 

I think you did an excellent job, far better than rather hoky, awkward attachments provided with some kits.

[Rick310]

Wonderful painting and I really like your sketches of the stern board, stem and figureheads.  Your talent is amazing and I believe, very accurate.

[Rick310]

I was finally faced with the fact that I could no longer avoid working on the channels, chain plates and deadeyes.

I have been dreading this moment ever since I first saw the plans for FF. I literally had decades to consider how to make the chain plates and no idea how to go about it with a reasonable expectation that I could do this.  The recommended technique described in the plans looked difficult to make and be consistent especially since I had little to no experience with soldering.  

Fortunately and timely, EdT published the 2nd of his 3 volume series on building the Young America.  These books have been an absolute Godsend not only for making the chain plates but all aspects of modeling a clipper ship.  His wonderful description of how he tackled this issue and his clear photos and concise method convinced me to try it myself. 

First, was making, fitting and marking the channels which was fairly straight forward given the hull’s asymmetry.

I made the 3 brackets for each of the lower channels out of brass that I cut with a paper cutter.  I had previously made bands for the bowsprit and struggled to get consistent widths cutting the brass sheet this way.

Making the brackets was a preview of making the chain plates and I was very concerned with consistency given to that there are 62 of them.

EdT used copper which I had not used before.  So, with some trepidation, I purchased some .02 copper sheets and 24 and 26 ga. copper wire.  I cut the copper sheets on the Byrnes table saw with poor results until I remembered reading that some one suggested sandwiching the sheet between 2 layers of 1/16 basswood sheets, This works like a charm.  I had the opportunity to purchase 1/16 wide brass strips from Bluejacket but it just looked too wide and out of scale. I made mine 3/64 wide.

The next challenge was to drill holes in the end of the chain plate, given that I did not have a drill press and would have to do it by hand. 

I started by using a center punch and a #75 drill bit held in pin vice.  With some practice, this worked fine, later to be enlarged to a #71 drill bit.

The chains were bent and pinned to the hull.  I had measured the hull were the chains would be bolted and placed painters tape on the hull to locate that position and insure all chains terminated at the same level.

 

[Rick310]

Determining the number and size of the deadeyes took some time as I decided to use 4 different sizes.  This proved to be nearly impossible as I had to purchase the deadeyes and the sizes were not consistent as advertised.  The largest were 16 in. (Real) which equals 4 mm (scale).  The actual sizes ranged from 3.8 to 4.2 mm.  I purchased them through Model Expo and I was very pleased with the quality of the deadeyes, even if there were variations in the size.  I ordered them during the pandemic and bought both boxwood and walnut deadeyes, depending on what was available.  The nicest deadeyes where the Falconet deadeyes but only the 3.5 mm ones where available.  Model Expo now has the 2.5 mm  ones.

I ended up using only 4 different sizes for both the fore and main masts, and 3 for the mizzenmast mast.  These were stained with a walnut stain from Minwax with variable results as boxwood doesn’t take stain well. This is especially apparent on the 3 smallest deadeyes which are boxwood.

Rings were made of 24 ga. copper wire as the 28 ga. was too small.  These were wrapped around an appropriate sized drill bit and pinched at the ends to flatten them along with the end of the chain plates.  They were then cleaned with acetone and soldered with a butane torch and copper phosphorus solder per EdT.  I am pleased with the results although they don’t compare to EdT’s Y A.  several had to be redone as they either sat too high or low on the channel.

The next challenge was to make  all 62 of the backing links.  I made mine 6/32 long with holes at both ends.  Again, consistency was the challenge. I actually enjoyed making the chain plates and backing links one I got comfortable with the technique.  The backing links were by far the hardest to make and so probably made over 100 to get 62 that were fairly consistent. 

All these were chemically blackened with a solution from Bluejacket. These were pinned to the hull again for a final check, removed and the deadeyes snapped in the rings.  I thought the chain plates looked too wide on the last 3 smallest deadeyes so I reducrd the widths of the chains to 1/32 wide, which looks more appropriate. These were pinned to the hull with bolts made of straight pins and the molding strip glued in place.

 

 

By this time the hull was looking pretty dinged up so I filled in the dings, sanded and repainted it.

[Rick310]

After what seemed like a long time, appropriate 1 year, it was time to move onto the forecastle.  I was glad to be done with the metal work although I found that I really enjoyed soldering. 

 

The first thing I did was to cut and shape the carrick bits, Samson post, knees and the mooring bits.  I then proceeded to make the pump brake (?) for the anchor windlass.  By this time I bit the bullet and purchased a Sherline lathe and milling machine.  I have absolutely no experience with either but seeing what EdT and KeithAug and Rob do, I hope to learn how to use them. 

First up was making the bells and whelping drums.  Made these by soldering telescoping brass tube and rod, then mounting them in the lathe and turning them with files which worked pretty good .  

The bell gallows frame I made according to EdT, out of rectangular brass tube that I drilled on the milling machine, mounted in a vice and filled to shape.  This bells mounts on the binnacle at the stern and the Samson post on the forecastle.  The frame took 4 try’s to get one right. The cap for the bell I turned with the parting tool.  It came out well by accident.

[Rick310]

 

Next up was the anchor windlass.  I didn’t like the one supplied with the model, so I purchased one from Bluejacket.  After cleaning it up, I blackened the pewter and painted the barrels white.  I made the whelps from copper wire, blackened them and cemented them on with super glue.  What a mess!!  I also made the travelers(?) for the windlass, the forecastle deck beams and the beam knees.  I made the pawl from copper strips, blackened it and super glued it to the Samson post although it’s hard to see.

 

 am copying the windlass color scheme of the beautiful models of the clippers Snow Squall at the Maine Maritime Museum and Challenge, at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. 

[Rick310]

I made the anchor windlass pump break(?)  from brass round and rectangular tube.  The round tube was filed square for the arms and the rectangular tube was cut and drilled for the pivot.  The links were made from brass eye bolts supplied with the kit.  

The 2 handles were made and soldered from brass rod and boxwood.  Again, I had much trouble reducing the diameter of the boxwood using a draw plate.  I would like to have gotten them thinner but this was the best I could do.  The brass was blackened and the boxwood stained with Minwax Ipswich pine.

[ClipperFan]

Rick310

it always amazes me that great modeling talents like you are so critical of their own superlative work. From what I can tell, the anchor windlass handles you entirely scratch built and even soldered... are each a mere 1/2" long! Then again, your very realistic pump break device is much smaller then that! Take it from a person who can only dream of having such miniature building skills. Your work is consistently quite impressive.

I have a question about the beautifully done Clipper forecastle pictured above. It's just below the one of your Flying Fish deck scene. Is that Snow Squall or Challenge depicted? Either way, can you share the link to pictures of these models?

[Rick310]

ClipperFAn,

 

Thank you for your very generous praise.  When I compare my model to true artists like EdT, KeithAug and Rob, just to mention a few, they are at a whole different level.  They have set the bar that the rest of us strive for.

The first picture of the forecastle is the clipper Snow Squall at the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, Me.  I have  about a hundred pictures of her, most on film, but I don’t know if there are any on their website.  What could be of great interest to Rob is that the model has a full set of furled sails.  I will post a few, but can do more if interested.

[Rick310]

I’ve been continuing to work on the extension of the main rail over the forecastle.  The edge plank over the aft end of the forecastle fairs into the main rail and is joined with a fitted knee.  The edge plank also has 2 pin rails for the head sail sheets.  This is a prominent feature and I wanted to get it right.  Initially made the main rail out of basswood but found it unsuitable for joinery work so I switched to boxwood for both the main rail and the edge plank.   This is very fiddly work.  I am constantly amazed at EDT’s joinery work and how difficult it is to do well.  Thank God for Bondo.  I found it easier to fit the knee to the edge plank and then the combination to the main rail.  I will fill in all the gaps when it is cemented in place.  Right now I am waiting to get new paint that I ordered from Model Expo.  Both the main rail and the edge plank will be painted pearl gray with the deck beam painted white.

[Rick310]

I have spent the last month working on the forecastle.  This included the deck beams,main rail, stanchions, the nibbling strake and the deck planks.  The nibbling strake and deck planks are holly.  Again, because of the asymmetry of the bow, it took a lot of finagling to get everything lined up.  I nibbled the deck planks where appropriate (to me).  Holly is very flexible but I had trouble trimming it with a chisel especially around the mooring bits and the nibs.

The planks on the forecastle are much lighter than the main deck although the same holly. The main deck was planked over 10 years ago,

[Rick310]

Just a quick picture with the mooring posts in place but not yet cut to size and shaped.  Working on the cat heads now.

[ClipperFan]

Rick,

Thanks for sharing your beautiful construction techniques. I really appreciate seeing the steps illustrated so methodically. I'm actually using pictures of your completed forecastle as a visual aid in revising our Glory of the Seas deck arrangement. 

Meanwhile I've shared a rare stern image of her so that you can see how the rear coach house section actually curves matching the outer contours of her hull. This allows her catwalks on both sides to remain consistent from bow to sterncm for the working of the ship. 

[Rick310]

ClipperFan,

thank you for your kind words. I keep plodding along anxious to get to the deck houses and deck furniture. Really looking forward to the masting and rigging. Thank you again for the beautiful photo of glory of the seas and how the aft deck cabin Curves to match the bulwarks. It is my intention to attempt to replicate this on the flying fish.

[ClipperFan]

1 hour ago, Rick310 said:

ClipperFan,

thank you for your kind words. I keep plodding along anxious to get to the deck houses and deck furniture. Really looking forward to the masting and rigging. Thank you again for the beautiful photo of glory of the seas and how the aft deck cabin Curves to match the bulwarks. It is my intention to attempt to replicate this on the flying fish.

Rick, you're welcome. I'm constantly in awe of the talent, vision and persistency you ship modelers display in these builds. Having such rare images of an actual McKay Clipper as a reference is a big help in clarifying issues like the configuration of rear coach houses. Since there's no specific mention for dimensions of that particular structure, I would leave 4' on both sides as catwalks. Being a larger ship, Glory of the Seas had 5' catwalks. Also, her rear companion was offset to her port side, not centered like the Flying Fish plans depict, which is also entirely conjectural. There's another photo of the McKay vessel Sovereign of the Seas. Her rear coach house companion is also offset to her port side.

[Rick310]

ClipperFan. That is the kind of detail I really want to incorporate in the model.  Only a few of us would notice it but it gives the model a much more accurate feeling. It makes the model look more ship shape.

[ClipperFan]

Rick, 

Believe it or not, I'm actually relieved to hear you say that. I often feel like it's a thin line to walk between offering historically accurate discoveries and insulting the work of others. My consistent goal is to be an aid in reproducing Clipper Ships, especially those of Donald McKay's as closely to the original as possible. Thanks for the compliment.

[Rick310]

Thanks for your help.  Greatly appreciated 

[rwiederrich]

2 hours ago, ClipperFan said:

Rick, 

Believe it or not, I'm actually relieved to hear you say that. I often feel like it's a thin line to walk between offering historically accurate discoveries and insulting the work of others. My consistent goal is to be an aid in reproducing Clipper Ships, especially those of Donald McKay's as closely to the original as possible. Thanks for the compliment.

I would surely like to now where these model makers get their data from to make such decisions?  What body of photographs or first hand accounts do they draw from?

As far as I know...I and my *team* have put in several years of precise research, thanks in great part to Michael Mjelde's own life time work.

The reason I ask...is so many kit drawings depict structures that do not follow the historical pattern of the Builder.  Trade marks shall we say.

 

Rob