Fig. 107 shows a good method of producing stairs. It must be remembered that stairs are often used in model-boat construction. First a strip of tin is bent as shown. Then two more strips, which act as side pieces, are cut. One of these strips is soldered to each side of the stairs. Then six stanchions, which can be made from heavy copper wire, are soldered to the side pieces, as shown. The railing can be made from copper wire or black thread.
Fig. 108 shows a small skylight placed on the deck. This is easily made from cigar-box-wood glued together. The holes in the top pieces for the windows are cut with a very sharp knife. It will be necessary to use a little patience in this, to prevent the piece from splitting and to prevent cracks. A piece of celluloid is glued underneath the top pieces before they are finally glued in place.
A small quick-firing deck-gun is shown in [Fig. 109]. This is a very simple fitting and can be made with very little difficulty. The base of the gun is formed by cutting a thread-spool in half. A piece of small brass tubing is used to form the barrel. A little piece of sheet tin is looped over the back of the gun to represent the breech. A tiny piece of wire is held to the side of the breech with a drop of solder, to represent a handle. The shield of the gun is cut from a piece of tin, as shown. A hole is made in the bottom of this, so that the nail that passes through the barrel of the gun will also pass through this hole and into the spool. The center of the spool should be plugged to hold the nail. After the gun is painted gray or black it will appear very businesslike, considering the small amount of labor spent in producing it.
Anchors are more or less difficult to make (Fig. 110), and unless the builder is endowed with a great amount of patience he will not be able to file them out of solid metal. A dummy anchor can be easily cut out of wood, however, and when painted black it will answer instead of a metal one. The anchor shown at A is a very simple type made out of a solid piece of wood. The one at B, however, is made out of two pieces of wood fastened together with a pin, as shown. The bottom piece of the anchor shown at B should be rather thick to get the proper effect, and the two points should be tapered nicely. The center of the bottom piece should be hollowed out to accommodate the vertical piece.
A common hatch is shown at [Fig. 111]. This can be made in the form of an open box from cigar-box wood, and glued to the deck. It is not necessary to cut a hole in the deck for this purpose.
A cargo-hoist for use on model freight-boats is shown in [Fig. 112]. This is a very simple piece of work and will need little description. Several stay-wires should be fastened to the main-mast and held to the deck with small screw-eyes. The boom should be made a trifle smaller in diameter than the mast. The pulleys are dummy, like those on the life-boat. A little hook bent to shape from copper wire is placed on the end of the thread, as shown.