mtdoramike

Well the Queen embarked on her maiden voyage to her new port in a storm last night. The new owner was ecstatic over the results and wasted no time in picking her up. I hated to see the Queen leave, but a deal is a deal even with my wife who at times will let me fudge a little. But I promised I would let current and future models go once they are completed and not hoard them (once I had as many as 15 ship models, 12 of them in a eight foot by eight foot storage cabinet the length of a wall that I built to house a few model hahahaha). mike

Thanks John, it was a pleasure and an honor to finish Tony's model. I just wish he were still around to see it. The display base was actually part of the building board. It was some what of a pain because there is an aluminum fin that is built into the center bottom of the hull that sticks down from the center of the hull a good two inches, so I had to cut out a slit in the center of the board to accommodate that fin. I believe the fin is supposed to give assistance in turning and makes the boat a bit more maneuverable with the paddle wheel and the three rear rudders. The white pickets between the railings were supposed to be placed on thin plastic sheeting and just wrapped around each deck on the boat. I hated that idea, so I bought some heavier plastic, transposed the pickets onto the thicker plastic and then took my trusty Dremel tool and grooves into some thin wood stock, glued in the plastic between the two railings and then installed them onto the model. To me, this gives it a more finished look. This was just one of the modifications I made to the model. I also caulked all around the bottom or boiler deck just in case water splashed up over the deck, water wouldn't be able to make it down to the hull interior and the electronics. Unlike the original model, I made each deck to be able with just a bit of effort to be removed separately with the removal of 4 small screws on each deck. mike

I have the Queen pretty much finished with just a few odds and ends to take care of, I had to modify and scratch some elements since the kit was quite incomplete when I received the half built kit. But I was able to take a pigs ear and make a nice purse out of it.

Yes, if you look at the 4th and 5th photo above, you can see where two of the planks have a small gap between them. You can clearly see the planking underneath, if it were stained a darker color, you wouldn't notice it. You did a fantastic job on the stealers and such. Very good planking job so far.

Do yourself a favor and STAIN those white first layer of planking before putting on the second layer. This way if you get a plank that might have a small gap between them once you lay it down, it won't stick out like a sore thumb. Try and stain it as dark or darker than the second layer of planking. Just a little tip.

Hey John, looking good so far. I didn't realize Modelspace offered a Constitution kit by installments. mike

I was able to get the railings fabricated and installed on the boiler deck as well as the second deck and promenade deck.

I got a little more work done on the Queen, I have installed most of the lights, but I have a few left that I will try and install in the two upper cabins.

Beautiful job on those Pandora's. I too built a Constructo HMS Pandora about 10-12 years ago, I sold it to a fellow living in Canada. I opted to change out those cheezy metal windows and stern plate and scratch built my own, which I thought looked a bit better.

This thread is spot on CC, I'm glad to see someone take the time to educate people on this issue. I did take note about the shag carpet and avocado appliances though, I like both hahahahaha. This reminds me of clients who would want me to build a ship model for them, they would start off wanting a museum quality piece until I explained to them the cost and time involved in such a request versus a very good display or décor piece. They would always opt for the display or décor piece, they will look basically the same, it's just one is built from a kit or kit bashed to cut down on time and cost versus a scratch built project.

CC is right, not much value there, these offhanded replicas were usually built over seas for the tourist trade, usually solid hull construction and lacking in detail. But the good news is, you can use the foundation of this model to possibly build on, if you were to have someone hold the model 100 feet from you while squint your eyes, looking through a piece of very thin linen, the model could resemble something like the Santa Maria or similar style ship. Now as far as re rigging the model, look for a set of plans for the Santa Maria and use those to give you a start on rigging her. You don't have to worry to much about accuracy, who ever built the model didn't seem to worry about it and furthermore, running rigging was usually tied down at the best spot at the moment, or if there were a free belaying spot open.

Due to not being able to get the batteries for my old cordless dremels, I owned three of them with different bits in them so I wouldn't have to stop and change out all the time. The newer ones with the Lion batteries concerned me so I phased out my old cordless dremels for corded models. It's a little bit more of a pain having the cords in the way quite often, but it works for me.