Flying Cloud - Aloft

After what seems like at least half my life spent building the hull, I now must look "aloft"

to start building the masts... but where to start?

Since each mast has a "top" (which is not really the top, but a platform at the top of the

lower mast section) I decided to build those first.

Many of the same techniques apply here, like using a "holder" stick to work with

parts too small to handle.

The "holder" stick helps with shaping small parts.

Here are the three tops ready for paint.

Holder sticks to the rescue again.

Now the upper surface of each top is planked like the deck.

A sharp blade to cut off the excess...

and it's ready for the wrap-around edge.

Using 1x2mm walnut strips, soaked overnight, the edges are easily formed and left to dry.

Holder sticks facilitate painting the pre-formed edges.

Glued in place and trimmed out.  These look like cute little platforms on the model.
But in "real" space, they are huge!  The middle one is about the size of a 1-car garage.
Imagine that hanging out 50 feet above the deck.

The tops are ready to go.

The Shipyard

I call it my "Shipyard" but it's only a small workshop.  I ran out of wall space, and had to improvise with an old bulletin board.  It's a little crowded, but it's cozy.

Flying Cloud - The Rudder Roach

I took a few days off from the shipyard and when I returned,

What did I FIND?

The dreaded Rudder Roach crawling across the bench

Now, you can't have a Rudder Roach running around randomly roaming,

So I found a place for it on Flying Cloud

I think he looks right at home there, don't you.

In fact, it's time to pull the tape and set off the hull on a temporary cradle.

Flying Cloud - Railings

One of the last major "hull" projects before moving on to the spars and rigging.

Construct and install the railings.

The aft section even has tiny little spindles.

You've gotta love CA (Super Glue) for jobs like this.

Did I mention that the spindles were TINY?

After several attempts to bend the wood to make the stern rail,

including making it out of 1mm strips lamenated together,

I gave up and cut the pieces from basswood sheet stock.

Looks pretty nautical huh?

The long side rails are easily bent using the water soaking and clothes iron method.

My universal wood bending jig works great for this.

So I constructed the railing is sections and pre-painted it before installing.

Looks like I found another use for my favorite shop tool - the clothes pin.

Hey... why not just temporarily glue the object right to the clothes pin!

The aft section in place.

Then the aft side sections.

And finally the sides and bow.

Now I'm ready to take my turn at the helm.

Flying Cloud - more deck detail

Now that all the deck parts are finished, they must be attached to the deck.

I'm using 1x2mm walnut strips to make moldings around each part.

I use my Dremel sander/shaper to make the 45 degree mitre joints.

There are a few blocks that need to be installed at this point.

I found some great 22AWG tinned copper wire that works good for stropping.

Looks like galvanized metal.

Here's the aft deck ready for completion.

And the foredeck.

Flying Cloud - Making Pin Rails

Pin Rails are part of the ship's rigging, which I won't be getting to for quite a while.

But, they needed to be fabricated and installed as part of the deck gear.

The kit contained tiny cast metal belayng pins, but I had to build the rails.

Ever try drilling 88 holes in 1.5 x 4mm walnut strip stock?

You need either a very steady hand, or a drill press for your Dremel tool.

My metric straight edge serves as a guide and guage.

The drilled strip material is then cut into the proper lengths.

Side braces are shaped and cut from 2 x 4mm walnut.

Did I mention that the belaying pins were tiny?

A drop of CA glue for each pin.

Before you know it, there's eight pin rails ready to go.

Here they are glued to the bullworks.

The deck is progressing nicely.