Colors

Most parts of clipper ships were painted but there was no standard set of colors that were used.

The only contemporary document I have found that mentions anything about the colors of the Flying Cloud is the McLean Boston Daily Atlas report on the launching of the ship and all that says is “Outside she is black -- inside, pearl color.” Thus, I needed to base my color choices for the other parts of the ship on other material, some of which were contradictory.

Hall [1884] includes a detailed description of the McKay clipper Champion of the Seas (page 88-89) that includes the following – the colors may be indictive of how McKay painted his ships in general:

“Mast-heads and yards painted black; lower masts, white; studding-sail booms unpainted, but with black ends; hemp rigging; chains and iron work for bobstays, bowsprit shrouds, martingale stays and guys, topsail sheets and ties, patent trusses, iron futtock rigging, caps, etc.; three backstays on each side to fore and main topmasts; double top-gallant backstays; 12,500 yards of canvas in the sails. This ship was painted black outside and white inside, with blue waterways.”

Lower masts

[Magoun 1928] says that the lower masts were natural (refers to a model and [Hall 1884] to justify, but I do not see any reference in Hall about mast color specific to the Flying Cloud)

[Gleason's] seems to show white lower masts.

[Buttersworth] and [Currier] show white lower masts.

[Lankford] says that the Flying Cloud masts were bright (unpainted) - page 8 but does not provide a source, maybe he was using Magoun as the source.

Looking at other paintings of clipper ships it seems that it was common to paint the lower masts white but not universal.

The colors used on various McKay ships as described in McLean’s articles:
Flying Fish – black outside, pearl bulwarks, blue waterways

Commodore Perry – black hull, inside buff-color

Blanche Moore – black hull, black yards – black ends studding sail booms, bright studding sail booms, white forward cabin

Westward Ho -black hull, inside buff-color, blue waterways, yards black, booms bright

Stag Hound – black hull, pearl inside

Sovereign of the Seas – black hull, black yards, bright booms, white lower masts

Romance of the Seas – black hull, pearl inside.

Lightning – black hull, pearl inside, lead waterways, black yards, bright booms with black ends, white lower masts, white doublings

James Barines – black hull, white houses & bulwarks, blue waterways, black mastheads & yards, lower mats bright with white bands, white tops

Flying Cloud – black outside, pearl inside

Empress of the Sea – black outside, black yards, booms bright, white lower masts & mast heads

Donald McKay – black hull, inside buff-color, blue waterways, white poop railings, black yards & bowsprit, bright lower masts, black bowsprit

Champion of the seas – black hull, white inside, blue waterways, black yards, bright booms with black ends, white lower masts, black mast heads

Bald Eagle – black hull, white masts, black yards, booms bright w black ends

Staffordshire – black hull, white inside, black yards, white lower masts

Santa Clause – black outside, light inside, bright lower yards

Star of Empire – black outside, pearl inside, forward cabin white

Based on these sources here is what I decided for my Flying Cloud model:

Hull bottom: copper plates

Hull top: black

Main rail, splash guard, and poop rails: white

Bulwarks inside: pearl

Waterways: blue

Fore & main pads & rails: oak

Deck structures: white sides, blue tops

Lower masts & tops: white

Upper masts: bright (unpainted)

Yards: black with white ends

Booms: bright with black ends

Comings: mahogany

[Ronnberg] is a good discussion of color on American merchant vessels such as the Flying Cloud and how model makers should interpret color names when painting their models.