"Flying Cloud " by Mamoli - kit bash

[Peter Gutterman]

After hours n' hours of three steps forward, two steps back, I thought I'd catch up on my "Flying Cloud" build log.
A word: If you want to build this ship, start from scratch with BlueJacket plans (or kit from Ebay) or A. J. Fisher plans. The Mamoli bulkheads are too few and far between as well as misshapen. The design is full of booby traps, even for the most ardent of kit bashers. I have spent an inordinate number of hours correcting and compensating for poorly executed product design. It's endless. I have had an old Bluejacket hull in my stash for years. I wish I had started with that.

 

[Peter Gutterman]

Flying cloud kit bash cont'd.
The paint is prior to planking with ebony planks to avoid any embarrassing white gaps from peeking between the edges of the planks. The color of the insides of the bulwarks was described as "pearl" from contemporary sources. Not knowing what the color "pearl' looked like in 1851, I opted for a "porcelain" white which I will use for the deck houses and hatches as well. The decking material is pine, which I will finish clear shellac. It is entirely possible that yellow pine was used as deck material, as it was very hard, hardened with age and exposure and was commonly used for decks and flooring at the time.
I am using "P.C." water based acrylic wood hardener to seal the balsa hull blocks.

 

[WilliamM]

I would like to see Bluejacket bring back their old Flying Cloud solid hull kit. It was magnificent! I used to have this model but it disappeared when my wife and I transferred to Italy in a Navy move. By then, Bluejacket had quit producing the kit.

Oh well. I have seen many attempts at the Mamoli kit, most without much success. All had many of the issues that you are experiencing.

Bill

 

[WilliamM]

Flying cloud kit bashView attachment 423894View attachment 423895View attachment 423896View attachment 423898View attachment 423899View attachment 423900View attachment 423901View attachment 423902View attachment 423903View attachment 423904View attachment 423905View attachment 423906View attachment 423907View attachment 423908View attachment 423909View attachment 423910View attachment 423911 cont'd.
The paint is prior to planking with ebony planks to avoid any embarrassing white gaps from peeking between the edges of the planks. The color of the insides of the bulwarks was described as "pearl" from contemporary sources. Not knowing what the color "pearl' looked like in 1851, I opted for a "porcelain" white which I will use for the deck houses and hatches as well. The decking material is pine, which I will finish clear shellac. It is entirely possible that yellow pine was used as deck material, as it was very hard, hardened with age and exposure and was commonly used for decks and flooring at the time.
I am using "P.C." water based acrylic wood hardener to seal the balsa hull blocks.

View attachment 423893

Commendable effort!

Bill

 

[Peter Gutterman]

Commendable effort!

Bill

Thanks! I'm determined!
There is a complete BlueJacket "Flying Cloud" kit currently available on Ebay listed at $475 (which is ridiculous.) But it IS Ebay, so, I assume, open to negotiation. The "pre-carved " hull I have is very good quality soft hardwood (not Basswood) very dense and salmon colored, well carved (better than the BJ hulls of the last 10-15 years).
The plans are first rate and assuming it still has all the original fittings, those should be pretty good quality as well. Undoubtedly better than the original Mamoli crap.
There's a lot of work I didn't cover on my log, including a LOT of do-overs and compensations. eg.The counter as designed by Mamoli was too narrow in width to have the planksheer knuckle come out level with the line of the planksheer itself. I had to re-do the whole thing after having made it exactly accordingly to their plans, instructions and with their supplied parts.
At least now (I hope!) I'm past the point where I am stuck with any reliance on the Mamoli plans and engineering.

PS I also have a set of the A.J. Fisher plans, which are really nice, as is the quality of their fittings. They're not interested in re-introducing the kit. They stress the Great Lakes craft. I'm getting some of the clipper ship fittings from them in the same scale. Nice folks, a mom and pop (Bill and Rita Partridge) outfit out of their home in MA. catalog on line or call 978-462 2555

Pete

 

[WilliamM]

Thanks! I'm determined!
There is a complete BlueJacket "Flying Cloud" kit currently available on Ebay listed at $475 (which is ridiculous.) But it IS Ebay, so, I assume, open to negotiation. The "pre-carved " hull I have is very good quality soft hardwood (not Basswood) very dense and salmon colored, well carved (better than the BJ hulls of the last 10-15 years).
The plans are first rate and assuming it still has all the original fittings, those should be pretty good quality as well. Undoubtedly better than the original Mamoli crap.
There's a lot of work I didn't cover on my log, including a LOT of do-overs and compensations. eg.The counter as designed by Mamoli was too narrow in width to have the planksheer knuckle come out level with the line of the planksheer itself. I had to re-do the whole thing after having made it exactly accordingly to their plans, instructions and with their supplied parts.
At least now (I hope!) I'm past the point where I am stuck with any reliance on the Mamoli plans and engineering.

PS I also have a set of the A.J. Fisher plans, which are really nice, as is the quality of their fittings. They're not interested in re-introducing the kit. They stress the Great Lakes craft. I'm getting some of the clipper ship fittings from them in the same scale. Nice folks, a mom and pop (Bill and Rita Partridge) outfit out of their home in MA. catalog on line or call 978-462 2555

Pete

They once had a store in MA that I visited years ago. Are they still open? It took over two hours each way. But. the trip was worth it.

Bill

 

[Magic Mike]

Peter, I love your dedication and determination! Way to go, Magic Mike

 

[Peter Gutterman]

They now work out of their home in MA. Try calling the Ph.# I listed and talk to Rita. If need be leave your # and she'll call you back. They are just now re-releasing "Bluenose's" nemesis the "Gertrude L. Thebaud" which always lost out to Bluenose by, well...a nose!
It will be a solid hull kit of modest size, carved hull. They are waiting for the printers to deliver the instruction books for the kits. I have the plans.I plan to do her small scale. Otherwise, I'd buy the kit. I purchased fittings for "Flying Cloud" The Quality is good. They have a nice catalog which you can order or download for free.
Dealing with them is slow, but like most things Down East Mom n' Pop, worth the wait.

 

[Peter Gutterman]

Peter, I love your dedication and determination! Way to go, Magic Mike

Thanks Mike!

 

[Heinrich]

Dear Peter. Finally, I made it to "what you are up to". The flying Cloud is a beautiful ship and I have looked online at the Mamoli kit many times. I am sorry to hear that you have found the build frustrating up to this point because of quality issues and incorrect plans/drawings. I believe that model building per se offers enough challenges as it is; there is no need to complicate matters with bad plans and/or instructions.

I like how you have boxed the complete hull with balsa - I did the same with my WB2 which made the planking so much easier, neater and more accurate. I trust that you are now out of the woods and will follow your future progress closely.

 

[Peter Gutterman]

Dear Peter. Finally, I made it to "what you are up to". The flying Cloud is a beautiful ship and I have looked online at the Mamoli kit many times. I am sorry to hear that you have found the build frustrating up to this point because of quality issues and incorrect plans/drawings. I believe that model building per se offers enough challenges as it is; there is no need to complicate matters with bad plans and/or instructions.

I like how you have boxed the complete hull with balsa - I did the same with my WB2 which made the planking so much easier, neater and more accurate. I trust that you are now out of the woods and will follow your future progress closely.

Thank you so much for following along and your words of understanding and encouragement. I just finished laying the main and quarter decks. Enough whining about the boobytraps of kits and their vagaries. There's enough good information out there to take what they supplied., add a couple of sets of better plans, a couple of good books on the subject and some sources for some good fittings and I'm off to the races. Now that I'm past compensating for the pitfalls, I'm having fun! Out of the weeds and into the woods!
I'm far enough along into geezerhood that I remain a fan of solid hulls. I like the carving and shaping. POB and POF are fine but a whole different discipline.
Thanks for your interest. I look forward to your (and everyone else's) valuable input.

Pete

 

[Peter Gutterman]

Laid the deck. Milled my own clear White Pine, as per the actual ship's weather deck. Planks "joggled". Necessary tools pictured. The deck cleat "plugs" faked with a tiny nailset, pictured.The Deck planking layout is as per the Mamoli pans, The only one I had picturing the supposed "Flying Cloud " pattern. Guess it'll have to do. If you click on the quarter deck photo and enlarge it you can see the deck cleat "plugs" in the cross light. Under normal viewing they are pretty subtle, which is what I want.

 

[The Gavel]

After hours n' hours of three steps forward, two steps back, I thought I'd catch up on my "Flying Cloud" build log.
A word: If you want to build this ship, start from scratch with BlueJacket plans (or kit from Ebay) or A. J. Fisher plans. The Mamoli bulkheads are too few and far between as well as misshapen. The design is full of booby traps, even for the most ardent of kit bashers. I have spent an inordinate number of hours correcting and compensating for poorly executed product design. It's endless. I have had an old Bluejacket hull in my stash for years. I wish I had started with that. View attachment 423865View attachment 423866View attachment 423867View attachment 423868View attachment 423869View attachment 423877View attachment 423878View attachment 423879View attachment 423880View attachment 423881View attachment 423882View attachment 423883View attachment 423884View attachment 423885View attachment 423886

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Pete! It seem like every time I look at one of your logs I learn some cool new stuff. I have often wondered how to make the filler blocks between the bulkheads. Now I know. Thank you for the demonstration!

 

[The Gavel]

Laid the deck. Milled my own clear White Pine, as per the actual ship's weather deck. Planks "joggled". Necessary tools pictured. The deck cleat "plugs" faked with a tiny nailset, pictured.View attachment 425179View attachment 425180View attachment 425181View attachment 425183View attachment 425184View attachment 425186View attachment 425187View attachment 425188View attachment 425188View attachment 425189View attachment 425190View attachment 425191View attachment 425192The Deck planking layout is as per the Mamoli pans, The only one I had picturing the supposed "Flying Cloud " pattern. Guess it'll have to do. If you click on the quarter deck photo and enlarge it you can see the deck cleat "plugs" in the cross light. Under normal viewing they are pretty subtle, which is what I want.

Really nice, Pete! Love the variations in the wood !!!! Another one of your masterpieces on the way!

 

[Magic Mike]

Looking great Peter! Magic Mike

 

[Peter Gutterman]

Really nice, Pete! Love the variations in the wood !!!! Another one of your masterpieces on the way!

Many thanks! I'm learning a lot from your Harriet Lane build! I'm honored to have provided some inspiration. Makes it all worthwhile!

Pete

Looking great Peter! Magic Mike

Thanks Mike!

 

[Peter Gutterman]

It occurs to me that I left out the " how-to" process for "joggling' deck planks. So, I made the following procedural as follows: Fast Grab Aileen's Tacky glue. Fast grab, quick dry, gives a little time to adjust, reversable with rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol, water cleanup.

 

[Peter Gutterman]

I hope it's mostly self-explanatory. Open for questions.

 

[BMT]

Peter,

Your work is just amazing. Thank you for sharing!

 

[Peter Gutterman]

Thanks! I hope Y'all realize it isn't necessary to have the great glob of glue as pictured. I grabbed the wrong bottle and got the thinner quick dry stuff and it came glorping out in a rush. A nice thin bead of the more viscous quick grab stuff works best, with a lot less waste and greater precision as well as holding the piece in place firmly until it dries in a minute or two.
The last couple of pictures are, of course, out of sequence. Par for my course.