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JSGerson

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Everything posted by JSGerson

  1. I knew that back and forth business was the culprit, but I could make such nice tight seizings with my seizing machine. Yeah, I've got a number of various size needle tweezers, forceps, and what nots, but what I really need is a third or possible forth hand (preferably tiny ones) and my feet and toes just don't cut it! My only excuse (and it's not a good one) is this is my first crack at rigging one of these models where I think I know what I doing (debatable) so I have some slack?
  2. The way I have been doing the deadeyes was with a paperclip as you described. I'd wrap the shroud around the deadeye and grab the line tight to the deadeye with a strong clip so the deadeye couldn't move. Then I'd remove the shroud from the model making sure not to disturb the clip and attach shroud line to my seizing machine and seize the line in three places above the deadeye. Then shroud would then be returned to the mast and I do the other end. Trying to seize the line while on the model proved to be messy. I couldn't make a nice clean seizures wrapping the line by hand. I was wondering about how a working ship could keep the deadeyes lined up straight and basically you inferred they can't, so I feel better.
  3. The Main Mast shrouds were next. Getting the deadeyes to line up proved to be troublesome. This may have been the result of my seizing the lines off the model using the sizing machine. Once the deadeye was sized, any adjustments to it were impossible. There was one other hiccup: if you ever drop a tiny part onto the model deck, finding and retrieving it is just a matter of pure luck. If it falls into one of the stairwells, it’s gone. That part will find a nook or cranny to wedge itself in. You will not get it back; period. This happened with a deadeye. I saw it drop onto the deck and then it vanished. That was it, poof! Because the kit had a finite amount of deadeyes, losing one and getting a replacement part wasn't an option with Mamoli who is now out of business. I had to make one. Luckily I had a leftover piece of a dowel that was the same diameter as the deadeye. I slice off a piece the same thickness as the deadeye and then drilled the three holes. The first time I tried it, I drilled the holes with a hand drill. That didn’t go so well as one hole angled into another. On my second attempt I was successful when I used my Dremel drill press rig. The piece was then hand filed to its final shape and then stained with Early American Min-wax. It worked. In the picture of the deadeyes below, the original one is on the right and my replacement on the left side.
  4. Don't get me started on merry, Mary, marry! I'm an old Bostonian now living in South Carolina so I stick out like a sore thumb here.
  5. I don't know why you were so worried about the clutter. It looks essentially like my work bench!
  6. Actually it is shown on the Model Shipways plans, you just may not have recognized what it was. The instruction booklet does mention the billboard once (that I have found) on Page 23 figure 34. They just didn't give you much to go on. That's one of the reasons that I'm going so slow in my build. I do a lot of reading and comparing what others have done and then I do some wrong and do it over again, once if I'm lucky. 8-). Even though my model is made by Mamoli, I have the Model Shipway plans and instruction booklet, Harold Hahn's plans, and even the plans for the model that resides at the Smithsonian. No two are alike. Jonathan G
  7. The billboard is at the bow of the ship. It protects the hull were the anchor rubs against it. It's called the billboard because the triangular points on the anchor are called "bills." As for the side hull stern window decoration, I followed Harold Hahn's plans which were based on the Royal Admiralty original rendering of the ship when they captured her. Those plans don't show any decorations at all, so I didn't put any on. You will find that a lot of Rattler modelers didn't ether. The choice is yours.
  8. You've made a very nice clean looking model. Got any close-up images on those deck details? I also noticed that you added the hull ladder. Don't forget to add the billboard. It's easier now than later.
  9. Found this for those spools: https://www.etsy.com/listing/212286136/10-large-wood-thread-spools-wooden?ref=market
  10. 7 Provinces - I'm thinking about a new work bench/table and your idea sounds interesting. Any chance of some pictures to illustrate what you did?
  11. Jay, I recently visited the Constitution last Thanksgiving just as she was being taken apart for her move to dry dock for her next 3 yr renovation. All of her deck guns were removed and well as the yards. However, I just happen to take some close up images of the hammock netting and thought you might need/want another look/see. Just realized the last image (from the dock) is not mine, I got from the internet somewhere
  12. The Main Mast and its mast wedge were set into position and then another ring assembly made of stropped heart, a small ring, and a larger ring were lashed on. This ring assembly guides the Mizzen Stay where it is lashed to the deck rings. NOTE: Do Not Make This Mistake See Post 727
  13. The mouse was built up into cone shape on the sizing machine and held in shape with some CA glue.
  14. Mizzen Stay Working from inside to outside, the Mizzen Stay was next and it required a mouse. I saw a number of ways to construct this item. One was making a wooden cone, a pseudo mouse, and staining it black, another was going a step further and sizing the black cone, another method was building up the line with sizing to create the mouse, and final actually weaving a mouse on a jig. Since the stay had to be sized from the mouse all the way to the end loop, and due to the relatively small diameter of the stay and subsequently its mouse, I chose to build up the sizing to create the mouse. A measurement was taken to determine the location of the mouse and marked on the line with a light piece of thread tied to the appropriate mouse position.
  15. It was brought to my attention that the single shroud (cut-splice) should have been placed in the most aft position. This mistake was not corrected. It would have meant dismantling and re-installing all of the rigging for something that was almost impossible to see. If you looked closely you may have noticed that the lashings of the shrouds were made with a dark brown thread. This was done for two reasons. First when I tried using black thread on the black shroud, I couldn’t see what I was doing and therefore was doing a lousy job. My eyes are not the greatest. I’ve been wearing glasses since I was seven and now I need tri-focals and a clip-on eye loupe. The second reason was even if I did a good job, nobody would be able to see it. If that was the case why bother? Hence, a slight lighter thread but still dark enough solved both problems. Also, if you have microscopic vision, you may notice that I painted the bitter ends chocolate brown to simulate leather protective caps.
  16. My skills in photography are a little more sharper than my modeling skills. so I have a knack for hiding a lot of flaws that are a bit more obvious if you were to see the model in person. (In the distant past I've won a few photo contests and have a couple of magazine covers.) That being said, I figure by the time I'm ready to start the Connie, I should be worthy of the task.
  17. Blue Ensign - Thank you very much! Coming from you is quite a complement. I've been following your Pegasus build with great interest and have learned a lot stuff from you.
  18. Thanks for the complements, flattery will get you everything. Yeah, I figure those horizontal bars plus the ratlines will straighten everything out once they are installed later on. It just seems that no matter what I want to do, I have to do something else first (one of Murphy's Laws).
  19. I'll be initially following Robert Hunt's practicum, and supplement it with Modeler12's build log plus another dozen or so build logs I'll also be checking. I've got them all copied so I'll always have access to them even if the unthinkable happens...again and the stuff is wiped out. As for kit bashing or even what time period the model will represent is still undetermined as I want to finish my first POB build, Rattlesnake. Even though the Connie is a smaller scale at 1:76 compared to the Rattlesnake 1:64, it's physically twice as big and has a whole lot more detail. I need to get my skills worthy of the task. At the rate I'm going, paint drys faster so it will be a few years yet.
  20. I've been quietly following your build (among others) almost from your first post last March (2014) because I plan to start building my own Connie in the next few years. Today I looked back at your opening statements because I forgot what era your model was to be built to. It was then I realized that I knew of a link to a site where model builder Mark Antczak had built a 1797 version of the Constitution. Not knowing if you know this site I present it now just in cause you didn't: ShipModel.com Specifically: http://www.shipmodel.com/models/constitution-old-ironsid Jon
  21. Texxn5: Are these what you are looking for? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGu2cIu8lSE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb-FA3P6PBk Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV4WA2vCqD8 Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7V_uJjoJEo Part 3
  22. Is this what you are looking for? https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Alexey+Domanoff
  23. The Bearding Line is the curved dotted line on the hull which curves up the stern in the above scan of the plans (Plate 4). I had a whole lot of trepidation when I cut the stem off. There was no going back once it was done. It looks like you did a neat job on its replacement. I had a devil of time making the piece fit tight. Jon
  24. Thanks for the praise. It must be like watching paint dry at the pace that I'm going so I really appreciate it. Rigging is totally new to me. I have to understand the whys and hows before I do anything. I can sit and research or contemplate my naval for hours before I do anything; and that just might be tying a knot. 8-) Jon
  25. The was a little twisting from the lashing but hopefully, that will get straightened out when the ratlines get installed later on.
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