USS Constitution by Racer2000 - Revell - PLASTIC - unbashed build more or less

[Racer2000]

Started this kit today, some things I noticed about this kit:

- very very little flash

- instructions were printed in 2014.

- no twist in the hull halves

- shroud/rat lines are no longer prefabricated from thread, they are made from a soft plastic but look pretty good.

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I read somewhere to glue a couple of pieces of scrap wood in the bottom of the hull in case I want to use a different mounting method. Where would they Go? (see picture below)

 

edit note: I used a long piece of wood that extended to ether side of those two mount holes, but first I drilled a tiny hole through the  middle so I would know where they are located once the model is built. (see photo further down in this post)

 

I probably won't use the preformed plastic sails, but I have a couple of questions. Here in the instructions it shows the cannon is to be mounted in a preformed carriage:

 

Yet further in the instructions it shows that the carriages need to be assembled:

 

 

I don't have any of the parts to build these carriages.

 

Also the cannons and carriages are not labeled to be painted. The cannons are already black and the carriages are brown.

 

 

Should I leave them unpainted?

[Healey]

The gun carriages that need to be assembled are only for the bow chasers, two I believe.  The carriages for the other guns on the gun deck are one piece.

 

Paint the carriages (reddish brown).  Unpainted plastic looks like unpainted plastic. 

[husky1943]

Hey Racer,

 

I'm with Healey.  If you don't paint them, well....he said it best. Just spit-ballin' here, but wouldn't the wooden pieces be right about the holes in the hull, so that you can run screws up into them for metal pedestals instead of the cheapy plastic mounts that come with the kit?

 

Ciao for now

Rob

[Racer2000]

I believe those holes are for the masts.

 

I forgot about the bow chaser gun, I'll have a closer look

Edited February 14, 2017 by Racer2000

[husky1943]

Oh, I thought they looked like mounting points for pedestals. 

[Healey]

husky1943's right.  The masts don't go as far down as the keel.

 

Take a look at Model Expo for some proper brass pedestals.  You need about a 5mm wide notch for the keel.  They come with a drywall screw which would fasten to a block of wood in the bottom of the hull, which looks like what you want to do.  You might want to consider a good-sized block to give some mass (ballast!) to the hull.

 

I recommend that you read some of the Revell Connie build logs.  Some good info in them.

[Fright]

Racer - Definitely  reinforce that seam! I ran a bead of CA glue down the seam and, after that dried, I ran a thick bead of Testors tube glue. A couple of reasons why I did this:

1) I planned on drilling holes and run lighting wiring from my base through those two holes in hull. I also glued down metal washers over those support holes to have a good, solid base to tighten down my nuts on the bolt.

 

2) When you go to add your two decks into the hull, you have to put pressure by carefully bending the hull open to 'pop' the decks in. This puts pressure on the hull seam - mine slightly cracked (thank goodness, only the glue) when I had to reinstall my gun deck because I forgot to hook up a vital link in my lighting. Be safe - Make sure that seam is reinforced!!! 

 

Here's some other things to think about ahead of time. Many people, and I took their advice, recommend using metal eye pins instead of the plastic eye bolts that come with the ship. If the plastic part snaps (especially with rigging) due to the tension for lines, it will be a nightmare to correct. I found eye pins really inexpensive on Ebay and at HobbyLobby.

I wish you good experiences with this kit and I look forward to seeing your work along the path. If you need help/advice, there are a lot of very talented people in here that will help shine light on your work. They certainly have helped me get as far as I have with my build of this wonderful ship. Cheers!!!

Edited February 16, 2017 by Fright

[husky1943]

Fright, you are a flippin genius!  I had no idea that "eye pins" even existed.  I have been making myself, and this would be a great time-saver!  Oh, you just made my modeling day!

 

Ciao for now

Rob

[Fright]

Thanks Rob - no genius but good listener! LOL After reading a lot of tips and suggestions by other modelers on sites like this, it will help things along with modeling. I've come a long way because of some great advice by some very talented people. 

[Fright]

Here's a pic of my eye pins that I purchased. I spray them flat black and have to touch up sometimes - the pro's use a blackening agent. You can find the 'eye' in a several mm sizes. The length runs about 1"-2". Just snip where you need to and SAVE the pins! They can come in handy. I used them to fabricate my baffle on the stove's smoke funnel. Also, check out the book, "Anatomy of the Ship: The 44-Gun Frigate USS Constitution" by Karl Heinz Marquardt.  It's not a 100% accurate, but darn close with some excellent clear diagrams that one can follow.

 

 

[husky1943]

Thanks Fright!  Again, I really appreciate the tip AND I do agree that I am standing on the shoulders of giants around here.  I have learned a lot.  Indeed, I went onto the Hobby Lobby website, and they had a pack of 70 eyepins for $1.50!!!  I think they were already black, too.  And thanks for the illustration.  I actually use a sharpie!   

 

Ciao for now

Rob

[Racer2000]

An update on how I'm progressing. Been painting everything I can.

 

 

 

 

I put a long piece of wood across the mounting holes in the bottom. (you can just make it out in the picture below) Used pencils and paint brushes to support the gun doors (read that somewhere in here) but I used disassembled wooden clothes pins as a wedge, just had to shave the edge a little bit to get them to slide through the gun ports to hold the pencils/paint brushes up against the top. Cut, tied and threaded the gun door ropes.

 

 

Is there a trick to tieing the 2 strings together on the inside of the boat so that the strings are taught? (I've left the bottom deck out until I get these door strings tied - more room to work.)

 

I painted and then started to remove the rigging blocks from their sprues. While cleaning up the blocks with a pin vise I noticed a bunch of small plastic rings also on the sprues and was wondering why they went out of their way to create these. Well I didn't have to remove many of the smallest blocks to realize these rings are for repairing/replacing the eyelets that broke.

I held the small rings in a pair of pliers with a rubber band around the handles to apply pressure. I left just enough of the ring exposed above the jaws to file off flat and even with the jaws, than glued the block to the ring. The block is larger than the width of the ring so the block was sitting on the pliers jaws giving it a flat surface to rest upon.

 

 

 

 

[husky1943]

Howdy Race,

 

Looking good!  I had no idea that the rings were for repairing the blocks.  I would have never figured on that one.  Question:  is this the Revell or Revell of Germany version?  Or is there even a difference?  Keep it up.  You will have a museum quality model when you're done!!

 

Ciao for now

Rob

[Racer2000]

6 hours ago, husky1943 said:

Howdy Race,

 

Looking good!  I had no idea that the rings were for repairing the blocks.  I would have never figured on that one.  Question:  is this the Revell or Revell of Germany version?  Or is there even a difference?  Keep it up.  You will have a museum quality model when you're done!!

 

Ciao for now

Rob

It's the only explanation I could come up with. I don't think they would go out of their way to carve them out in a mold unless there was a use for them. They're the same size  as the small eyelets on the smallest blocks so that's what I'm using them for. I used clothes pins as weights to hold the door ropes knots flush to the doors wile the glue dried.

 

Still can't find a description or procedure on how to tie the two ropes taughtly together on the inside of the gunnels.

[Fright]

Your build is coming along nicely! Your decks look pretty straight and the seams are barely noticeable. If you haven't done so already, you may want to reinforce the seams from the underneath side of the deck with either some styrene plastic sheet strips or some thin wood strips. I used 1/16" thick basswood strips for reinforcement - I have since purchased a pack of assorted styrene sheets and strips from Evergreen. There is some pressure that is needed when you go to install the decks into the hull. I'd hate to see anything break apart on you. 

[Racer2000]

Yes I did Robert, used styrene I got from the model railroad store.

 

 

On the decks I drew in the board lines on the lower deck but haven't done the top deck. Looking for an opinion if drawing the board lines in is worth the Effort?

[Fright]

I think your lines adds  some dimension and realism to the decks. It's coming alone nicely! 

[husky1943]

Howdy Race,

 

I agree wholeheartedly with Fright.  The lines add a great dimension to the deck.  Good idea about reinforcing the deck, too.  Could you imagine all that effort, and "pop" the deck separates leaving a distinct line.  In fact, I saw somewhere else where someone was building the Revell Constitution.....it took some force to put it into the hull and he got a gap in the decks AND between the hull and deck.  Ugh!!

 

Ciao for now

Rob

[Racer2000]

I do have some of a gap between the deck and the hull on the sides. The deck is still sitting on its supports, barely. I'm going to wait till I put the top deck in before I make a decision if something needs to be done.

[husky1943]

Howdy Race,

 

That is the one really big design flaw that I found in the Revell Constitution.  I have read and heard many talk about accuracy of the stern, and how the guns could have been better, etc.  But, the real cosmetic distraction is the joints and gaps in the deck.  Good luck with it.  I wish I had a good answer for you....I bet someone on here has a solution.  

 

Ciao for now

Rob

[Racer2000]

If it is a visible issue once I get the top deck in then I'll squeeze the sides inward and go in through one of the gun ports on each side with a paint brush and thick gap filling CA gluing the bottom deck to the sides.

[husky1943]

Sounds like a winner, Race.  I bet it will be dang near invisible when you are done.  Keep it up, I look forward to seeing the progress!

 

Ciao for now

 

[Racer2000]

Sorry for the delay in posting. Went to put the top deck in and it wouldn't sit on all of it's supports, so I took out the top deck and used gap filling CA on all the gun deck supports, I then clamped it in my workmate bench to squeeze the sides together. Unfortunately I had already lashed in all the cannons to the bulkheads and squeezing the sides in made all the lashings go very limp, so I sat there with a pair of tweezers pulling each lashing taught and gluing using a CA kicker for quick set. Putting the top deck back in there was some gaps between the deck and the bulkhead sides so I again glued it to the sides but had to use about 6 pieces of cord to wrap around the ship to squeeze the bulkheads into the top deck. I also had about a quarter inch gap at the stern which I filled in with model putty. I ended up snapping some of the tiny handles on the ships wheel with one of these cords. Anyone have an idea of how to repair this? If not I'll just set the wheel with that portion of missing handles facing downward. (I'll add some pictures later when I'm on my tablet)

[Fright]

That wheel is so tiny and my knowledge on fabricating is pretty thin. Not sure if you could substitute the tips of a toothpick for a handle or not.? Or cut a small piece off of the straight stem from an eye pin, then place that towards the deck as you mentioned. I think a lot of people have had issues with the gap between hull and decks. I have a small gap - I may try and run a small piece of styrene strip along gap to cover over. You've now got a head start on me at this point. I'm trying to add small styrene strips between each gun port with eyebolts for my gun tackle. I needed a break and turned my attention to an old Scientific wooden kit of the Bluenose. Can't wait to see some pictures on where you are at on this build. Cheers!

[Racer2000]

Good idea Fright. I'll look into if toothpicks are the right size.

 

 

Fright this is how I squeezed the sides in in order to glue the deck in place to remove the gaps.

 

 

If you're going to glue a piece of wood inside in order to have something to screw a pedestal mount to, make sure you drill a couple of tiny tiny holes in the hull in order to know where to place the mounts.

 

I know there is no waterway at the stern, but I thought trying to extend the coloration of the deck would be too hard.

 

 

[husky1943]

Hey Race and Fright,

 

Good job on the boat.  She is really coming along.  I have an idea; I make the belaying pin racks by cutting them off, drilling holes, and then super-gluing wire into the holes, and cut them to length.  I use the wire that people use for floral arranging.  It's thicker, but still bends easy.  Maybe you could do that....The decks look really great. 

 

Ciao for now

[Racer2000]

Thank you for the idea. If I find something close to the size of those handles on the steering wheel I may have to replace them all in order for them to match is something I hadn't considered. That may do the trick.

[Fright]

Racer2000 - it's coming along nicely. Someone mentioned to me about that little square tab that's located near the keel's center line. Just a thought: I was told it's not part of the ship's design but an injection tab of some sort. I removed mine and used putty to fill in cracks or seams along the keel and touched up with my paint. yYou might want to look into this. Keep up the great work - Cheers!

[husky1943]

Howdy Race and Fright,

 

Fright, are you talking about the tab located between the two supports that keep the ship upright?  I do believe that one is for a center support that also holds the nameplate (I think). 

 

Ciao for now

[Racer2000]

Yes that center tab is for the name plate.  I haven'the installed it yet as I haven't decided which side I'm going to face outward as I plan on putting it on a shelf. I also haven't decided if I'm going to use the mounts supplied or get some brass pedestals and mount it on a board.