Marcus.K.

Hello Evans, if its encouragement you need I can help : please keep on going with the build - its a fantastic work! Hope you soon get rid of the virus. We had in January a bad time in which all of the family (we are five) had been struck - probably by several different kind of virus´s (plural of virus is??) one after another .. I had to stay 3 weeks at home .. any time I was thinking "now its getting better" the strike back hit me for 2 - 3 more days .. until .. That was a horrible time. Hope yours is not that strong.

Hello Evans, I found something interesting which might help improving your deck configuration - please check this site - it describes the positions of the pumps (or did you already??) .. there is a picture of the 1816 Waldo Orlop deck drawing. Were the pumps seated on the Orlop or/and on Gun Deck? In any case the deck would need the openings for the waterways. http://usscm.blogspot.de/2013/02/patent-pumps-for-constitution.html To my eye it seems that these are 6 openings for 3 chain pumps .. or are these 6 openings for the pumps as you did scatch-build? Edit 1: I just re-read the artikel and wondered .. which sort of pump are now used in Constitution? The new Bourke Patent ones? .. Or the Chain Pumps which are so similar to your presented beautiful models? Or are the "new" pumps the mentioned Elm Tree pumps? If I understood correct chain pumps have been used very long ... and additional there have been the not often used and not well working ... other ones. Or are the round one 6 openings for 3 chain pumps - and the squared ones following the keel-line are the additional new Patent-Pumps? ??

A beauty - that´s what you are creating!

Another great Consti to follow .. As I said: one day I will too build this fine ship .. Have fun and be sure - we will watch and learn!

Oh wow - a United States! I will follow very interested - looks very impressive so far. When - one day - I will have done one or two versions of my Consti .. I want to create a President or / and United States out of that cool kit! But until then I will admire your intersting work!

Another question: I recently stepped over a great digital picture of the 1803 Corne-sideview - which we all can see in Force9´s avatar: source: http://blog-stampofapproval.com/tag/uss-constitution/ I never saw the painting in that size - and what I recognized in the first view: the colour of the coppered hull! It´s green! Quick comparison with the Isaac-Hull-Model: you will see that this too is green. Until yesterday I imagined that the sailors doing the model did just use the only colours available on board: white, black - and the green for the bulkward. But how to represent the coppered hull? Well, in my believe they probably used one of the available colours... That was until I saw that Felice Corné also used green for the coppered hull. My idea right now: the ship was back in Boston for refit in summer 1803 (as far as I remember?!?) .. It might have stayed for a while in the sweet water of Charles River - because the refit was maybe done close to the navy yard - or maybe to get rid of saltwater-species as sea slugs and / or algea which might have died in fresh water. And therefore the copper just above the waterline might have got the green rust which copper usually get in fresh water. Could it be that this is the reason for using green as colour? I compared with later paintings done by Corne - in the battle-paintings the lower hull seems to be brown - or a very dark red? What do you guys think? Which colour will you use?

Arg .. now I lost my post!!! .. o.k. again: Looks great - a huge improvement!!! No question! But: you pointed on the hull-model and Corné Paintings - in which the windows do NOT look quadratic - but vertical rectangular. Would it be an idea to create rectangular window panes - with wider frames right and left side of each window?? Of course the PE parts look great - it would be difficult to create something so regular as the PE-parts!! Did you compare the deck planking pattern with Tyrone Martins and Lords layout? Does not T. Martin show something in his "building a legend"? I think he referred to it concerning the longitudinal enforcement of the decks. I did some years ago discuss with a very literate modelist saying he had evidence that the early Constitution did have a fishbone-pattern for the decks planking. Asking for his sources he turned out to be very thin-skinned and said more or less "if you do not trust me, I stop my conversation with you!" .. Well, I did not trust ... and he did not understand my questions. Is the Hull-model representing planking? Does anyone know that? Do you have Will Bass´s beautiful book "USS Constitution - superfrigate with many faces - second phase"? Did you read about the "squared thing" mistery? Some here in Germany believe these squared things to be air port openings - just as in a side view of USS President by A. Roux visible in the stern area of the ship. Tyrone Martin does not agree and point on log entries saying "added Air Vents" .. which of course leaves room for interpretation ;-) Will you add something onto the hull? Added this eveing: What´s funny is: I too got the Blue Jacket Building Instructions with the drawings - bought them years ago as reference. But I was so much attracted by the drawings and the booklet that I did not look for the Parts List (which - thank the lord! - is still there. .. That list is quite impressive! There is - expect the wood - a lot more: They have a complete set of Blocks - as I learned in casted britannia metal - said to be in very good shape and coloured even nicer than wooden ones. I did not find any picture / photo in internet,.. And there are Eyebolds and Eyepins .. cleats , belaying pins ... and and and.. May I ask what you did chose? I´d like to see the quality - which is worth spending money for it - which would be good to do by yourself? I am really struggeling because my efforts to create for example my own eyebolds are up to now .. well .. not worth the time! But then there is - of course - too the question concerning the costs... what fortune might that cost???

Very impressive - these are very good obervations and its great that you include such originally sources like paintings of the old heros. THAT I very much like - and this is fun on investigating. I very much like your approach!!!

Hello Evans, oh - you have been the one I saw the photo etched camboose weeks ago!! Back then I did not really read the posts - just noticed the photos .. I have a lot of questions: you wrote that you "simulated" the planking according to Longridge? Which book is it? Did I miss the describtion? I very much like your way of "correcting" the Revell deck. I was thinking about using wood for the deck and either scraping in the planking - or really adding wooden planks on it. Your way seems to be more efficient since you can use the gratings and more. On the other hand: you did not try to represent the decks .. what´s the english expression - the deck is usually bended so that water is pouring down to the sides of the deck? Therefore the middle of the deck is a bit "higher" than the sides were the bulkwards do have the openings for the water ... Will you present the model in a diorama - in action? Probably you think about a model presented just like an old admirality model?! Will you add sails? Great work - to show the beams of the hull and the decks - that will look marvelous! I am looking forward to see the next steps ... as far as I understood you recollect what you presented somewere else - after the breakdown here at MSW?? How far is the model in reallity?? Oh I can´t wait to see more of it!

Wow ... I haven´t been here for a long time - but here are so beautiful Constitution building logs .. GREAT! This sentence is for all of them! Thank you all for sharing it! One question someone of you guys here might know: I believe I saw a building log here weeks ago - and there were etched parts used to optimize the kit. Does anyone know what I am talking about. Is there an etched parts kit for USS Constitution 1/96?

Hello Force9 .. we meet and discussed on a British forum months ago .. but I lost contact a bit! Wow you began with your Constitution - and its amazing!!! You are doing all those things (and far more) I was dreaming about. THATs what I wanna do too .. .. bad thing about it: now I have to change my plans ... (but I do have some ideas) .. good thing about it: Constitution gives a wide field of different layouts to avoid "a copy" of your beautiful work .. maybe I will try a Bainbridge oder a Steward-configuration? .. Or even better - a 1803-version with the beautiful stern decoration ...We´ll see For now I am really happy to follow your impressive work and to be inspired and warned for my future steps (which will still need much more time and practice on my whaler and maybe another sailer before I try such a beautiful kit) You did chose the Arnold-plans for the rigging? .. a good source! But there is a even better one (as I think). Did you hear about "All sails up and flying" by Olof Eriksen? http://books.google.de/books?id=XYUWBpxFZN8C&pg=PA97&lpg=PA97&dq=all+sails+up+and+flying&source=bl&ots=uWUP_QXhNJ&sig=Z26G471dMXS_NXZssLcK51ul6Dk&hl=de&sa=X&ei=8okkUbOtL8LBhAeEiID4AQ&sqi=2&ved=0CE4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=all%20sails%20up%20and%20flying&f=false Look at it - its a great work which only has three cons: 1. the author is VERY sure about his work .. no room for doubts and professional distance .. 2. it represents Stewards rigging in 1815 - so not exactly what you are looking for. 3. the publisher did not want to spend too much money - while on other side he wanted earn as much as possible. So the book is very expensive - and offers not enough room for the hundreds of drawings which Olof Eriksen did create to build is model But there are many plus: 1. Olof Ericsen compared the british and american way of rigging (Steel and ..?? What was the other ones name?) .. 2. and he consulted the Isaac Hull Modell as reference - and was allowed to do some investigations on the model - which is very interesting. 3. he got a copy of the logbook of a midshipman by T. Martin. This describes the rerigging in the 1830s. ordered by the navyboard to be done "according to the usage in the War 1812-1815" .. so there will - of course - be some differences ... but at least they tried to do it in the "old" way. 4. Erksen did investigations how the rigging would have worked - he tried each "method" (British, American, Hull-Modell, Midshipmans describtion) and tried to "work" with the results ..choosing the most likely version. I think this work would deserve a much better (more valuable) book and of course much more and much wider drawings than the publisher wanted to risk. But nevertheless: the book is a great inspiration!!! I am really happy I stepped over your building log! Thank you for showing this!! Marcus