Flying Cloud, American Clipper Ship 1851 - Scale 1:96, by Mamoli

P

Peter Gutterman

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I question the advisability of starting to post a build log so early in this project. Most of what I've done so far is research. From what I can gather the real Flying Cloud profile and in many other respects looked nothing remotely like what you see on the box. I am using Bluejacket (Horace Boucher) as well as Scott Bradner's plans which I found online. He has drawn and published a treasure trove of extensive detailed plans and drawings of the ship.
So far I have spent my time putting things together, taking them apart, modifying them, especially the bulkheads and reassembling them without glue. I think it will still be a while before I make anything permanent. The only parts that are, are the center frame, keel, stem and sternpost. When I do start gluing I will use liquid hide glue (Titebond). It has a very slow set time, allowing for lots of adjustment. Once dry it can be easily undone with a little warm water.20230802_124459.jpg20230803_123437 (1).jpg20230803_123829 (1).jpg20230803_123510.jpg20230810_171418.jpg20230808_144631.jpg20230810_171537.jpg20230810_171508.jpg20230814_121043.jpg20230814_121106.jpg20230815_161716.jpg20230816_172611.jpg20230816_175456.jpg20230818_131702.jpg20230816_172851.jpg20230818_131632.jpg
 
I needed to re-glue the bridge on my 65 Gibson nylon string, and my guitar buddy used hide glue. He used it because of the vibration... If you go on Jeopardy, this is good information...
 
The Flying Cloud is a very interesting vessel - and I am sure this kit on your working desk will result in a very good model.
I am looking forward to see your progress
Have fun
 
Peter Gutterman said:
I question the advisability of starting to post a build log so early in this project. Most of what I've done so far is research. From what I can gather the real Flying Cloud profile and in many other respects looked nothing remotely like what you see on the box. I am using Bluejacket (Horace Boucher) as well as Scott Bradner's plans which I found online. He has drawn and published a treasure trove of extensive detailed plans and drawings of the ship.
So far I have spent my time putting things together, taking them apart, modifying them, especially the bulkheads and reassembling them without glue. I think it will still be a while before I make anything permanent. The only parts that are, are the center frame, keel, stem and sternpost. When I do start gluing I will use liquid hide glue (Titebond). It has a very slow set time, allowing for lots of adjustment. Once dry it can be easily undone with a little warm water.View attachment 390226View attachment 390227View attachment 390228View attachment 390229View attachment 390230View attachment 390231View attachment 390232View attachment 390233View attachment 390234View attachment 390235View attachment 390237View attachment 390238View attachment 390239View attachment 390241View attachment 390243View attachment 390242
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good luck with this new project, I will keep following with great curiosity Thumbsup :)
 
Thanks everyone!
I'm working on a new figurehead now to replace the nasty one provided. I'm just not gonna put that on my model, especially after seeing the exceptional work by others on this forum. I'm keeping a log, but I won't post anything until I get it right. I've already discarded my first try. It doesn't take long to whittle away too much wood. But it's not very big and I have a nice big board of what I believe to be box wood. VERY dense and smooth, and a nice buttery color. I can go through a lot of false starts before I run out. With each try I learn a little more about what and what not to do. So eventually I'll have something to be proud of. (I hope.);)

Pete
 
Get a rocker. With a cushion. And a beer.
Still plugging, Mainly carving. Saw A "Flying Cloud" model today into a friend's shop in for restoration. Probably BlueJacket in the same scale as Mamoli. Nice figure head!
My figure head needs to lose some weight and some length. (Still, she's gonna be a lanky Lass.) Too many hrs. to start over and I've left a lot of meat on the bone so far. Necessarily slow going. :rolleyes:
Thanks for the kind words and the interest.

Pete
 
Following is my effort to carve a new Clarion Angel figurehead for the model. the one supplied in the kit was, in a word, dreadful.
So, I used it as a model for scale and a rough outline. This may or may not have been advisable. Along with everything else wrong with the figurehead supplied in the kit, scale may have been another of its' drawbacks. I'll know better once I get the hull finished (or by critical analysis :rolleyes:) if it's back to the drawing board.
I used a Dremel and burrs at first then opted for chisels. I got three sets of tiny ones at relatively little cost. They may look cheap,20230819_131609.jpg20230818_133334.jpg20230819_134234 (1).jpg20230820_191335.jpg20230822_175827.jpg20230822_175846.jpg20230822_180139.jpg20230823_163233.jpg20230823_113728.jpg20230828_142838.jpg20230829_114658.jpg20230829_130239.jpg20230829_143431.jpg20230829_143620.jpg20230830_112334.jpg20230830_111756.jpg20230830_112347.jpg but they hold an edge and came out of the cheesy plastic sleeves nice and sharp.Thumbsup
The wood I believe to be boxwood. If not, it's close enough, very dense, carves well and has the right color. Plus I have a nice sized board of it.
The pictures I will try to put into some sort of self-evident order of process. I included pictures of the benches to give a sense of what was involved over the last couple of weeks just to get to this modest effort! The "Leda and the Swan" carving is a Bel-Epoch meerschaum cigar holder that I collected years ago. A masterpiece of miniature carving, I used it for a model for the wings. Well, there it is. The floor is open.;)

Pete

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Thanks.
I too collected meerschaum pipes and cigar holders for the miraculous carving. They were more available fifty years ago. Somehow this masterpiece (an iteration of Michelangelo's "Leda and the Swan", a painting, no less) miraculously managed to make it down through the decades intact, save for the cast clay cigar holder tip. I'll send you more pictures of it privately. These old Germans had a tradition of exceptional carving passed down through the ages. This is perhaps the finest example I've seen!

Pete
 
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