Calypso by mandolinut - Billing Boats - 1:45

[mandolinut]

Removed all of the peripherals off of Calypso today in preparation to working on the upper and lower safety rails.

Nothing is finished yet, but all is getting closer to being finished.  

[mandolinut]

Installed the lower safety rails today.  Began by dry fitting running the wire through the stanchions to line the stanchions up. Once dry fit, I began gluing the stanchion bases in place. 

Then added a small dab of thin super glue to all of the joints. Next, the safety rails over the pilot house and upper deck. 

 

[Knocklouder]

Very nice looking ship,  

Bob  M.

[mandolinut]

I came back this afternoon and started the wheelhouse safety rails and the upper deck safety rails. The rails above the wheelhouse are set in natural wood decking so I placed the stanchions in predrilled holes and painted the bases careful not to get paint in the holes. This will help when it comes time to paint the rails. 

 

 

[mandolinut]

Back at it today.

For whatever reason, I was not looking forward to the safety rail installation. I thought of it as threading a number of small needles but in this case, threading multiple thin wire strands through stanchions. It turned out to be tedious but not too bad.  Patience required :0)

 

I was careful to try and get the downward sloping rails at the same angle as the stairs so temporarily had the stairs in place. 

Now to add safety rails to the bow pulpit and to paint these safety rails.

 

[king derelict]

Nice work on the railings, especially the ones for the ladders, it’s easy to get the angle wrong and then it looks very wrong.

alan

[mandolinut]

Thanks Alan. If I had not had the ladder temporarily in place and guessed the angle, I would have been way off and as you said, it would look very wrong.  I appreciate you following my build. 

[Nirvana]

That railing looks fantastic!

[mandolinut]

Thanks Nirvana. As you point out, 'Taint a hobby if you gotta hurry. 

I put some white enamel on the railings previously installed which makes the safety rails fit in with the ship. 

Since I was in the railing mood, I began the safety rails for the upper mast observation platform. It was a bit challenging to make two identical matching wire shapes.

I ended up using a pencil to form the outer curves and a larger ball point pen to form the two forward curves. 

Then slid all of the rails in place onto the two wires and began gluing down the bases.  Finally straightened the post vertical and added a dab of Ca glue to all of the joints.

[mandolinut]

To begin with, thanks to you that are following this thread. We may never meet, but I feel some level of support as I plow ahead on Calypso.

Today, worked on more detail of the observation platform above the masts. There is a four-legged taller radar platform and some forward supports for another satellite communication. 

Happy with the progress. There is a lot of detail in this small section. More antennas and wind indicators etc. to come. 

This structure will be atop the two forward masts.

 

[robert952]

Coming in late to this party.  Read through the log tonight. 

Thanks for all the photos.  They really show the methods for building all the smaller pieces. 

[mandolinut]

Thanks Robert. My purpose for this build log was to help others building Calypso navigate through the build. When I first opened this kit in December, I was overwhelmed with the lack of printed instructions.

 

Edited Tuesday at 10:36 PM by mandolinut

[mandolinut]

Today I connected the two masts to the observation platform and added the satellite and radar features. Also added the outer antennas.  This is a special build for me.

[Veszett Roka]

I think the radars on the mast are not correct.  The upper one is a very early 50's (probably K-band), and the lower is probably from 80's. 

The model depicts Calypso in 80's era (see the satcom antenna cover, the big 'egg' behind the bridge), therefore i'd change the radars for more sleek nautical models like those on below pictures:

 

 

Also i'd model the iconic circular storm-visor on the middle window of the bridge:

Edited Wednesday at 12:43 PM by Veszett Roka
typo elimination

[mandolinut]

Thanks for those wonderful photos Veszett.  They will join my collection of Calypso photos. I will be adding "the big  egg"  satellite dome later.   Interesting to see the narrower thinner radar. 

I spent a little time today painting some thin veneer strips from my lumberyard gray (grey) to use to mold around the base of the upper cabins and wheelhouse as seen in Calypso photos. 

 

 

 

 

[Nirvana]

Calypso had Decca radar in her days.

[mandolinut]

Thanks for the radar information, Nirvana. Good eye.  I will check my photos and see if Calypso had the type of radar at one time that is included in the kit. If not, I will change it out.

[Veszett Roka]

7 hours ago, mandolinut said:

Thanks for the radar information, Nirvana. Good eye.  I will check my photos and see if Calypso had the type of radar at one time that is included in the kit. If not, I will change it out.

She had it, in the early 50's, with the old, round window wheelhouse. Note the different (shorter) side under the foredeck:

Then i found a picture with a new radar, but yet missing the big egg antenna and the helipad (still picture from 'Undersea World Of Jacques Cousteau' from 1968) but with the new bridge and shortened stack::
 

[mandolinut]

And then there is this. An early photo of Calypso with satellite communication that is round like a golf ball and Decca radar.  I guess we have to choose what era we want to represent.

[Veszett Roka]

14 hours ago, mandolinut said:

I guess we have to choose what era we want to represent.

Absolutely my friend! Although the wheelhouse and the long focsle limit the possibilities somehow. In the below picture she had golf-ball satellite antenna, and an ecapsulated auxilary radar, the upper one is still Decca. The picture taken in 1984 when Calypso moored in Davenport during the Missisippi research.