popeye2sea

Popeye, (I get the strange feeling that I am talking to myself here. Perhaps your me long lost pappy? ) The shrouds are not plastic. I will be setting them up in the correct manner in pairs with eyes around the masthead. That is why I added the bolsters, also.

In between rigging 2mm blocks for all the cannon I decided to take breaks by doing some other small tasks. For some strange reason the masts have a molded gap just above the hounds. Nothing goes in here and it looks out of place with the trestle trees in place so I filled in with strip styrene. I changed the angle of the groove for the toprope to a better lead for the top block under the mast cap. I added coamings to the companionways on the gun deck and quarter deck. I added bolsters to the trestle trees. Next up is adding eyebolts to the main and fore halliard knight heads. Of course I found out these were needed after the knights were installed in the decks and there is no room to get a drill bit in to make the holes. But, I'm sure I'll figure out a way. Once I finish the cannons and the various parts on the decks I will run into the next big hurdle...deadeyes. The ones supplied with the kit are horrible. They are completely flat and the plastic strops are out of scale. I have been searching online for sources of deadeyes and most are disappointing and not the correct sizes. It seems that I am going to need 5 sizes of deadeyes from 5.5mm down to 2mm. I may try to make my own. I'm bringing the build in on Tuesday for showing at the next Constitution Model Shipwright Guild meeting for critique and advise. The guild members, like the members here, always have great advise. Thanks for watching.

Steve, Sorry for the long wait on this reply. Here is what I understand is a history of the ships configurations. As built Constitution had open rails ( no enclosed gunwales) from abreast of the foremast to the taffrail with stanchions defining the gun ports on the quarterdeck aft of the main mast. The line of the cap rail did not follow the sheer line, it had a flatter appearance. Her bowsprit was steeved higher than it is currently. She had open head rails and ornately carved trailboards with a figurehead representing Hercules. She was pierced for and carried 30 guns on the gun deck and carried 14 carronades on the quarter deck (rated as a 44). The carronades on the fore deck were added later bringing her war of 1812 armament to 50 - 54 guns (including bow chasers). The transom was ornately decorated and had 5 windows I believe that the first Corne painting that you posted depicts this configuration. Sometime around 1802-1803 Captain Preble was fitting out for her Mediterranean cruise and it is at this time that the section of rail aft of the mainmast was closed in by a solid gunwale. After a collision with President in the Mediterranean on Sep 12, 1804 Constitution lost her jib boom, flying jib boom and part of her bowsprit. Also lost were her figurehead and parts of her cutwater and head rails.. Repairs in Malta were functional only and her bow has never looked the same since. She received a billet head in place of her figurehead and the trailboards and head rails were not restored to her original appearance. The head rails were still open during the war with Britain. Subsequent overhauls and repairs would gradually alter her bow appearance to what it is today. During 1812 Captain Hull opened three gunports in the upper transom (above the windows) in order to fire stern chasers at the British squadron. The second Corne painting you posted shows this configuration. During a refit in the 1830's the sheer line of the gun and spar decks was lowered aft of the main mast. 2 1/2 feet in height was added to the bulwarks from the main gangways aft to the transom. The fore mast was shifted 2 feet aft and its rake was increased 2 1/2 degrees. The main mast was shifted 2 feet forward. The mizzen was shifted 13 inches aft. The rudder port was lowered and the rudder head moved forward. A dog leg was added to the tiller to clear the deck beams of the lowered gun deck. The transom was moved slightly aft. During her conversion to a school ship for the US Naval Aceademy in 1858 two of the windows of the stern were filled in

The process of putting a seizing on a hook to keep it from coming free is call 'mousing the hook'

On Naval vessels (modern) the bitter end of the anchor chain is shackled to a pad eye in the chain locker. I can't imagine that it would be left loose on any vessel. If it was ever to let loose and run free it would be too easy to lose the entire thing overboard. The last fathoms are painted red so that you know to set the chain brake soon or you are going to lose it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7pRfix_sNg

Spyglass, the web straps are gripes for the boats. They hold the boats in.

As I mentioned before, the stern of this kit is a series of difficult fitting jobs. The stern balconies were fitted in the order of lowest to highest. The balconies were aligned as well as possible using the side profiles as a guide so that they match up to the quarter galleries. Then the brackets were added to the undersides. Any filling that was necessary was then done followed by touch up painting. The carved pillars were added last followed by more touch up paint. I had to add some height to the carved pillars between the second and top balcony by using some strip styrene shaped to form a continuation of their pedestals. The large figures on the sides have no real attachment points so finding out where they actually come in contact with the various surfaces to prepare them for glue was interesting. Those contact points are rather small, hopefully they will adhere well enough. There remains to be added two reclining figures on the taffrail and the stern lanterns in order to complete the stern. I have to wait until the poop deck is in before I can finish. Overall, I am quite pleased with the result. Thanks for looking Regards,

Although it is a hazard to the crew there is nothing I can do about that loose cannon. And I am not about to go jiggling the model upside down on the hope that it falls out through a ladder well. But now people can actually call me a loose cannon

Interesting development last night..... I noticed that one of the cannons of the second battery had been knocked loose in the fall. It is now rattling around inside the ship - inaccessible. The only way to remount the gun is through the gun port. I had a few spare cannon assembled and painted from when I was working on that deck, but obviously it would not fit through the port. I dismounted the gun and took off the wheels. That gave me the clearance through the port. Then I made up the height difference by making a platform out of sheet styrene, inserted through the port and glued to the deck. Next came the gun carriage through the port and glued to the platform. Finally the gun was remounted through the port. The whole procedure reminded me of playing the game 'Operation' when I was a kid. Thanks for looking in on the build.

So...I was filling and painting the transom last night and the ship decided to slide down the ways on it's own and fell to the floor. (insert appropriate language here) The stem and figurehead broke off and the bowsprit was loosened, but intact. After re-entering the yards for repairs the stem and figurehead were repaired with no ill effects. I found, however, that the bowsprit had sheared off its step and would not re-seat. The beakhead bulkhead had to be removed to provide access to the step and a new one was fashioned to hold the foot of the bowsprit. I am happy to report that after a few hours of repair work everything is back to shipshape.

The stern on this kit does not go together very well. The alignments are off and very difficult. Once the quarter galleries and the lower stern balcony are affixed and lined up as well as possible there are still large gaps at the top of the transom and around the edges of the quarter galleries. Contour putty filled the gaps.

Daniel, yes the carriages are all made. I can still move the trunnions back a bit on the barrels. The eyebolt on the sides is for the gun tackle (it looks big in the picture). I have a hole drilled into the carriages for the breeching.

The quarter galleries have been fitted to the hull with their inset decorative motifs affixed to the inside.

The upper sides have been fitted to the hull. Still have to set and bend over some eyebolts for the chains to fasten to. The bent over ends will fall into the gap at the bottom of the upper sides. Then I will fill in the gap with contour putty. My thanks to HistoryGuySteve for the suggestion on fixing the dullcote dissapointment. Your solution worked well.

Gun Carriages. Before.....and after. Ready to be rigged. Not sure if I want to make trunnion covers.

The Description reads that the deck plan is of the vessel Sir Lancelot. Also vessels Norman Court, Cutty Sark, Eliza Shaw, and Belle of Lagos

Good to see all of you together. I hope I can get the chance to meet you again sometime.

Here is the product of all the hard work of the smith. All are made from 28 gauge steel wire blackened with Blacken-it. The small rivets/nails are not blackened yet. I am waiting till I get a pile of them made. They will be used to represent the bolts that hold the gun carriages together. I may be going a little overboard with these bolts. Each one is peened by hand and I am putting 8 on each gun carriage. The hooks and eyebolts were easy by comparison. I must be crazy....that's what the Admiral says

What about spars? I will be replacing the plastic ones for my Soleil Royal kit.

Your cannons look superb. I know what you mean about a lot of love and determination. I figure it's all part of the learning curve. If I can make 2mm blocks and rigging look good It will be easy for the larger sized rigging. My cannons should be completed in a few days. Then I can close up the decks and move on to the stern galleries and transom.

Thanks for the compliments. The putty for the molds is from Castin' Craft. It's called Easy Mold (item # 33700). The casting resin is from the same company, called Easy Cast (item #33008). Both are very easy to use.

The blacksmith forge at the shipyard is working overtime making hooks, eyebolts, and ringbolts for rigging the cannons. The riggers (unfortunately they are all neophytes and apprentices) are working out the proper ways to rig everything in ship shape fashion. Here is the latest: Breeching Rope with ring bolt Thanks for looking in.

Happy Birthday my friend. Your blocks look great.

I think I am going to go with a short piece of thread (not scale rope, too expensive to use for this purpose) with an overhand knot. The knot to be hidden at the base of the block between it and the strop. The tension of the strop against the block should hold the knot closed. That will allow me to use a becket bend to properly fasten the standing part of the tackle to the block. Perhaps with the larger blocks I'll try a proper grommet for the becket, but for the 2mm blocks it's just too much effort.

Still working on my gun tackles also. Currently working out methods for making beckets.