Hi ya there
the method I am using now, after many trials and errors
is - for complicated shapes of railings - draw them out to size (plan view - looking down on the rails) on a piece of paper first. Don't try and do a full rail run in one go - if it has several (shall we say) kinks in the rail shape - say over 6 inches long - do it in 2 sections - it makes life a lot easier. Bend your rail wires to your plan, making sure they all match, then feed the stanchions onto the rails. Then, feed your stanchions into pre-drilled holes at the correct spacing onto your model. Do this carefully one at a time, but, it is one of the best ways I have found of doing it. Make a plywood gauge up to set your heights and ensure all the stanchions are at the same height and a drop of superglue on a pin; then superglue your stanchions in place. When you are happy with the positioning of the rails you can either solder them or superglue them.
I am trying a new method out new for painting them. I have cut a piece of brown paper so it slips under and lies flat on the deck between the rail stanchions - so any splashing of MY PAINTING
which there is plenty of
doesn't go onto surrounding areas, e.g. the deck and spoil the affect,
just as a side note - when I last spoke with retired Mr James Lane - who used to produced stanchions - he said when he was professionally model making for the shipyards - they used to build them up on a mock up baseboard, transfer them to the actual model - I have tried this several times and I must admit it must be an art as it doesn't work for me - as I have found on many an occasion, that even though I have tried my best to copy the shape of the railings from model to the mock up board - there was always a deviation and they would never fit back onto the model.
Food for thought for you.