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Many years ago, a good friend in Maryland gave me this 1:350 Trumpeter USS Essex along with a ton of photo etch and a reference book. I intended to build the model long before now but life has its way of changing our plans. Well, now seems to be the time, so I will give this baby a start and see what I can do. I have added a Pontos detail set to augment the photo etch I already have and have the Anatomy of a Ship, The Aircraft Carrier Intrepid, on its way from Amazon. Here are some photos of what I'm starting with.
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Hello friends. After a long Summer break I have started building the US Frigate Essex. I used Aeropiccola's kit plan (which is already on the internet) to cut the bulkheads and the bulkhead former. I modified stern section of the bulkhead former according to Model Shipways' Essex kit plan and I added stern frames. I do not have a detailed plan so I will mostly make use Bob's (Rafine) Essex build log on MSW. Many thanks to Bob in advance. He did a great job on her and detailed build log. Here are the first pictures.
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Welcome to my log for the Model Shipways MS2041 US Frigate Essex, Hull Model. I've had my eye on this kit since I started not very long ago in wood kits. I liked the looks of it, and since I'd already known I wasn't going to be big on fully rigged models, the "Admiralty Style" had a lot of appeal to me. This one and the Confederacy immediately went on my wish list. Then I started looking for build logs and realized that there were a number of bad rumblings about the kit. It seems that there was a snafu with MS getting the correct digital files used in the production of the kit in 2013, its first release. The kit was re-released in 2015, but I think by then folks were wary. The designer made a comment herein that they never did incorporate all his changes, though the kit definitely did undergo some changes in 2015, as can be seen in the manual. So not sure what the exact story is. A while back MS put all their kits on sale 47% off and I could not resist so went ahead and got it, so here we are. How bad can it be right? I'll do my best to work around anything I find. I do know that one of the main issues with the initial build being the shape of some frames not matching the contemporary drawings or AOTS exactly, but there were a number of drawings with no way to reconcile them all. If I'm getting the details a bit off I apologize. I have a feeling some of these conversations were occurring offline. My main concerns at my level of experience is that the thing is buildable for an intermediate builder and will create a pleasing model. At this point if a frame shape is a bit off 100% of the historic accuracy, I'm not sweating it. Hopefully by the end of this, if it builds OK it will encourage others, who like myself were a bit wary, to take the plunge. I don't really intend for this to be a very detailed log, mostly a milestones and exceptions kind of thing. If I have trouble that ought to be known, I'll show that and what I come up with to work around it. Thanks all for looking!
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Well, little did I think a year ago when I started my first wooden ship build that I'd ever be posting in the scratchbuild forum, but here I am. I've been contemplating a scratch build since mid-summer 2013, from looking at all the wonderful scratch builds on MSW and from the amount of scratching I've been doing on my Conny build. I wanted to try a scratch build. I think I have the woodworking skill as I've been building in wood my entire life. The thing I still lack is detailed shipwright knowledge, but I'm learning... The one thing I know for a fact though is a fully detailed POF build is not for me, I don't have the knowledge or time to do so. I bought several books that everyone seems to quote as bibles for wooden shipbuilding, including Goodwin’s "Constructing an English Man of War". Next was selecting a subject to model. I first thought of the HMS Surprise, and bought “The Frigate Surprise” book to do some research. I also thought of buying the Latina 1/48 Surprise kit and scratch-bashing that. I then thought about the Essex. I had been in contact with Sam Cassano about his MSW kit earlier and decided to ask his advice. Not only did he offer any help he could, but also sent me a set of his drawings which I could use as a basis for my build drawings. Sam’s kit is of Essex in her 1799 launch configuration, my attempt at Essex will be as close as I can come to her 1814 configuration at Valparaiso. I bought Portia's AOTS Essex book and "The Frigate Essex Papers" which contain William Baker's wonderful drawings and Josiah Fox's detailed measurements of her from her 1807-09 rebuild. I'd like to thank Sam Cassano and Steve, (Frolick on MSW) for giving me invaluable help on acquiring info and dwgs. My build will be a POB, but with a different twist. One side will be fully planked, but the other side will show her frames from somewhere near the bow to near the stern, and from a point several strakes above the garboard (I haven't determined where yet). The reason I chose this method was to show her frames, but to not have to build all the intricate framing of the keel, floor timbers, deadwood, all cant frames (both bow and stern) etc. There also won’t be any internal details below the gundeck. This may seem to be cheating, or an "easy way out" solution, and I guess it is but for me it's the way to go. I'm achieving this by placing plywood bulkheads at each frame location, but on the frame side I will cut off the ply and glue on hardwood frames, probably Pear. This should give the look of individual frames and their futtocks from the outside, which is what I'm going for. I chose 1/48 as the scale as I wanted to build in a larger scale. It will be a big one, maybe bigger than I want, but 1/48 is what I’m going with. I hope to fully mast and rig her, if I have the years and patience to do so…. I'm drawing my own build drawings, still a lot of work to do, and will post some images when they are far enough along. I am cutting the center bulkhead and bulkhead blanks right now and will post pics when they're done. It’s as much a proof of concept as it is a chance to get started! Some may wonder how I can start building without completed drawings, but I pretty much have the design finished in my mind, I just have to create the dwgs so I can build her. This may be a bumpy ride but we'll see where this goes! Here is William Baker's dwg from 1808 or 9. This is the overall configuration I'm going for. Here is Baker's redrawn lines based on William Hackett's original draughts. This is the dwg I used as the basis of my layout, along with Sam Casanno's dwgs. I used Portia's framing dwg as a guide only. (These are a gif and jpg, resized down from original size so I don't think I'm violating any copyrights by posting them) Edit 4/15. I decided to add a pic here at the very beginning of this log so future readers will know what the heck I'm doing. Here are Essex's frames before I cut them down and sanded them. I now call this method either the "alligator skin" or "Godzilla" method. Looking at the frames before they're trimmed will show you why. Reading through the beginning of the log where I'm just making frames and bulkheads I'm sure had a lot of you stumped as the what the heck I was making. Hopefully this :before and after (frames) will give an idea. Here's the hull after initial fairing. Better, huh? Edit 12/31/15 Here's after cant frames have been added and more fairing done.
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The Essex was an American whaling sailing ship that was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale in 1820. Her demise is the most famous incident of its kind and served as the historical template for Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick. Length: 27 m Start: 1799 Weight: 238 tons Width: 7.32 m² Draft: 3.96 m² Shipyard: Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA
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After a long hiatus, I am back at my bench working on the Occre model Essex. Life has taken me away from ship modelling for the last few years. I don't have any pictures yet, but must say so far am impressed with the quality of the Occre kit. The bulkheads fit together very well with the false keel and there was virtually no alterations that had to be made. I am taking my time with this model (have a tendency to rush ahead). Will post some pics later. Feels good to be back.
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Finally got around to starting this old "yellow box" solid hull of USS Essex. Was boxed in 1957! and the contents were 99% there. Got it on Ebay for $15 and put it on the back shelf where it remained for a while. I intend on making it into a "half hull" with the masts and yards in half also. Gonna mount it to an interesting board of some sort (maybe driftwood). I'll probably also start another project at the same time and fiddle with this one here and there. Began cutting gun ports and shaping quarter gallery for a start. The cast parts are remarkably detailed and clean. Like on the gun port lids (that are only about 1/8" square), hinges are evident! The gun carriages and guns are also clean and detailed. The direction manual though is bad. If this was someone's first build, they would be lost! Oh well, should be fun to experiment with. I'll try to keep it in the spirit of the real Essex anyways.
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INTRO As I open this log I find myself a bit conflicted as to what I could possibly add to curious or future builders of this admiralty model from Model Shipways. The kit was delivered in January of 2015 and as I understand it, this vintage addressed many of the early kit anomalies from the 2013 introduction. I had seen the designer's prototype version and had an opportunity to be mentored by him on his research sources and the construction. As further impetus for the project I used Essex as a research subject for a group presentation. At the outset I thought I had ample sources of reference for it's build, however as I delved deeper the dissonance I discovered over a number of sources almost caused me to rethink a build. The topic and my findings are covered on our web site www.modelshipwrightguildwny.org under Topics Of Interest. I opened this kit recently as I needed a subject for a January 2018 display/demo for the Strong Museum here in Rochester, N.Y. On January 12th and 13th they are engaging families with a pirate theme and one of our members, with publicity in mind, approached them to determine interest. They responded with an invite. I chose this subject for the event as Essex in some ways was a "pirate" in her last days marauding English whalers and merchant men in the southern Pacific before meeting her capture. I plan to display/demo the build from the former on up on my rendition of Ed Tosti's building jig. THE BUILD I will not spend time in reviewing the kit contents as others have done a very good job on that score but I will comment on certain aspects of the kit as I journey down this build.
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So, with the Harriet Lane nearing completion and the Emma C. Berry moving along, I figured it was time to start a whole new adventure. This Aeropiccola kit dates to 1974 (according to the drawings, at least). It is a very solid POB kit, plans are in Italian but a brief translation provided for the labels into English. No instructions, just the plans. My intent is to work through the plans, referencing the Model Shipways instructions for ideas. I will also be using the Hackett plans and the redrawn version by William Baker provided in The Frigate Essex Papers (1974). I also have The Anatomy of the Ship The 32-Gun Frigate Essex by Portia Takakjian, as well as several articles from The Nautical Research Journal and Model Ship Builder Magazine (Seaways Publishing). I have ordered a copy of Portia's plans for the Essex and the Model Shipways plans as well. My goal, over the time I am building this beastie, is to take it slowly and try to combine the best from all sources available to me. We'll see how that works out! This is quite a change from the Harriet Lane - 1:70 scale as opposed to the 1:144 for the Harriet (and 1:32 for the ECB). This one measures about 27" stem to stern for the framer - total length when finished will be 43 inches long, 13 3/4 inches wide and 29 inches tall with the rigging. The kit includes all the rigging, including material for sails. That decision is a long time off, so no idea yet whether to include the sails or not. Here, then, is the obligatory photo of the box (note this is one of the kits Maryann was selling last June). Some of the contents The Bulkhead framer and bulkheads laid out for inspection And, the bulkheads dry fit - all slid in slick as could be. I did have to file the fitting between the central portion of the framer and the bow and stern pieces. No glue has been harmed as of yet, but the first bits of saw dust have been made. So, welcome, pull up a chair, and look forward to seeing how this goes!
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Now that my Triton cross-section has been completed, I finally opened the Essex box, which I have had for a few weeks, for a serious look, after a couple of quick peeks. Since it is my intention to alter the kit in various ways, as I did with Fair American and Syren, I won't get involved with a detailed review or critique of the various kit parts. I understand that MS is changing some of the kit items already. I don't know whether those changes will be given to those, like me, who already have the kit. My overall impression is that the kit contains good plans, detailed instructions and a lot of laser cut wood and photo etched parts, as well as metal castings whose utility is unknown to me at this point. I've made some preliminary decisions as to how I will proceed, but a lot remains to be decided as I spend more time with the project. I have the AOTS book on Essex by Portia Takakjian, which I expect to use in conjunction with the kit plans, but I have no idea yet as to how or how much. The one thing that I know for certain is that I will replace the kit basswood with boxwood for the hull planking not covered by copper and with holly for the deck planking. I also expect to carry out the quarterdeck and forecastle deck framing to a more detailed level and to do that with boxwood. It is likely that I will also replace much, if not all, of the kit deck furniture with scratch built boxwood parts. Finally, it is my intention to fully mast and rig the model, whether or not MS issues a second kit for that purpose. I've been looking forward to this build for over a year now and I'm really eager to get started. I hope my old friends on MSW, and new ones as well, will want to look in as I go forward. Bob
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I got this second hand quite cheaply in the suburb next to mine via an online seller. I’ve yet to purchase the Pontos upgrade set which I’ll order this week. The reason I’ve nominated Feb 1944 is that it was just before it’s only WW2 upgrade where it recieved it’s dazzle camo and a few other alterations, such as catapults which I can’t replicate and I want to weather her heavily (Sorry). it’s going to be quite the build as I want to do the interior hangar deck.
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I have three books for sale, all by the late Portia Takakjian. All are in good to very good condition, from a smoke-free home. One hardback, two soft covers. Looking online, it seems these books are rather expensive on the used book market. They all seem to go for $35 or more each! I’m offering all three as a bundle for $60, plus shipping from New Hampshire. I estimate that US shipping will be $12-$15 via Priority Mail, or $3 - $5 via Media Mail. I’ll compute an actual cost once I have a buyer. PayPal is preferred, other options can be discussed. I would prefer to sell them as a bundle... if that doesn’t sell, I’ll price them individually later... Questions? -Bill
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This is a older kit picked up from a estate - someone with a large stash of model ship kits. I bought 2 of the last 3 available - I didn’t need the wood for a scratch build Essex so I only purchased the 2 kits. I gather Aeropiccola has been out of the model ship kit business for many years but I can't be sure of the date of the kit. The plans indicate they were published in 1984. Since this an old kit I'll show the contents. I am quite satisfied with the quality of the parts. The plans consist of 2 sheets of detail images and construction expansions. The instructions are very brief but I think the plans are going to guide the build quite well.
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The remaining plans have been listed on eBay. Brand new, Model Shipways New Bedford Whaleboat. $19.99 from MSW. 3 large sheets with lines plan and templates. $10 SOLD Model Shipways Sultana. 2 large sheets. Good clean set of plans. $5 SOLD Model Shipways Clipper Ship Young America. Older plans on heavy paper. 4 sheets plus 3 sheets of instructions. Very good clean set of plans with some minor pencil marks. $5 Model Shipways Brig Fair American. Older plans on heavy paper. 3 large sheets plus 2 small sheets and instructions. $5 SOLD Model Shipways Frigate USS Essex. Older plans on heavy paper. 3 large sheets plus 3 small sheets and instructions. $5 SOLD Model Shipways Frigate USS Constitution. Lines plan, stern detail, large scale drawing of 24pdr and carriage, large scale drawing of 24pdr bow chaser and large scale drawing of bower anchor. $5 Mamoli Schooner USS Lexington. 6 large sheets of drawings, details, templates and instructions. $5 SOLD Mamoli Cross Section USS Constitution. Scale 1:93. 6 large sheets and one small sheet of drawings, templates, details and instructions. Good clean set of plans. $5 SOLD Bluejacket Bon Hom Richard. 1 very large sheet. Scale 1/8"=1'. Older plans that have yellowed and are creased but still clear and usable. $5 Bluejacket Pirate Brig. 3/16"=1'. Older plans that have yellowed and are creased but still clear and usable. 1 very large sheet. $5 MRB Landing Craft LCI. Scale 1:50. Text in French. 2 large sheets. Older plans that are age darkened but clean and completely usable. $5 Buy them all and I will pay the shipping.
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was thinking of building a ship for winter project haveing built airplanes by kit or scratch . This will be a scratch built USS Essex ... History as follows a thirty-two-gun frigate built in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1799, was not the most glorious vessel in the history of the American navy, yet she was unique. Sailors throughout the world remarked on her speed and beauty of line, and the list of men who commanded her—Edward Preble, William Bainbridge, James Barron, and David Porter—reads like a who's who of the early American navy. She was the first U.S. warship to round the Cape of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean. Thirteen years later, she became the first American man-of-war to round the Horn into the Pacific, where her crew fought and lost one of the bloodiest sea battles in U.S. history. I intend to use wood possibly some resin / casting . Epoxy home/made jigs the whole ball of wax . As i work my models i get ideas for tools . The plan's i found online a search of the title may just turn up the site! A pm for tip on plan resource ? question I suppose i will cut a few corners in order to speed results i will be making some comparisons to(relying) other models on forum but i am flexible with conventional methods/ as you will see" posting first pic will try to keep em comeing will be about 5 days for lite ply to get here see you soon.. by the way way too much rake(set) on my copeing saw blade for oak lol,spelling ? olde english' thanks
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USF Essex kit build – I spent a while reading on Model Ship World (MSW) to understand the status of this kit since it had a lot of issues when it first came out. When Model Expo offered their incentive in Sept 2015 (50% off and then if you finish the kit within one year and send them 4 pictures of the completed kit they will offer store credit for the complete cost of the kit, so essentially you get it for free) I decided to jump in. I had been eyeing an Admiralty model anyway and that tipped the scales. As I noted in my Introduction posting I have been building models for a long time. I never seriously tried a wooden ship model before so I am new to this specialty. I plan to use the kit materials, not replacing the wood with other types unless I run into a very good reason to do so. Since most of the Essex is painted and I do not want to spend the extra money it does not seem necessary to substitute. That said, if I have other material in my shop that can be used for some detail or extra feature I will use it. Please note that I will eventually post what I have been doing, but I may not always check this site as frequently as some of you appear to do. I will gladly answer questions and I am sure I will have lots myself. If I do not respond to your post right away, please do not take it as lack of interest or that I am ignoring you. I don’t do social media because it eats up a lot of time I would rather spend doing other things. I am not retired yet so when I have time to build I will be doing that versus posting. But I will be glad to share with this community since it is helping me so much. Sincerely, Engineer57
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Well with the corrections nearly complete I thought it might be a good idea to do produce a proto-type build log (of sorts). Obviously unlike other kits ESSEX has already been released but it and the members here on MSW didn’t have the benefit of seeing it come together. This will hopefully give everyone a chance to see the details in the kit, ask any questions they may have and hopefully clear up any misconceptions about the kit. How I’ll conduct this is to follow along with the manual, although I won’t be posting the actual pages but some of the photos and details. I’ll do this over a series of weeks (the manual is 15 chapters). It’s my intent to complete this in no more than half that time. One note, any updates regarding the corrections will continue to be posted in that thread. This thread is solely about the design and build of the proto-type.
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Having lost my build log in the catastrophic crash of 2012, I will try to resurrect an abbreviated version. I used Portia Takakjians plans and referred to both the AOTS book and the POF publication. There were significant differences in the deck framing between the two books. This was my first ship-model and I learnt a lot along the way, especially from MSW members later on. The build took 10 years and was done in american cherry for the structural elements. Hope you like it. Dick a representative midship frame the bow framing completestern module hull framing complete
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