Force9

Ahoy Popeye!
 
I will also elbow my way thru the crowd to watch...
 
I have the Commemerative edition of this kit that includes Pontos PE and decking.  I don't think it is the most accurate version of the Titanic, but it is certainly representative  of the great ship.  I'm not a Titanic fanatic so I'm not counting missing port holes and worrying about much minutiae, but I did take the trouble to add the openings on the forecastle and stern decks.  I also put some edging around the stern to help support the PE railings
 

 
I didn't like the fit of the deck towards the bow so I scraped off the kit's molded ledge and replaced it with my own styrene version to help the deck sit even.
 

 
Otherwise, I really like the fit and finish and have found it to be a terrific kit.
 
Unfortunately, this is about as far as I've gotten, so I'll look to you for guidance going forward.
 
Good stuff!
Evan

Ahoy Popeye!
 
I will also elbow my way thru the crowd to watch...
 
I have the Commemerative edition of this kit that includes Pontos PE and decking.  I don't think it is the most accurate version of the Titanic, but it is certainly representative  of the great ship.  I'm not a Titanic fanatic so I'm not counting missing port holes and worrying about much minutiae, but I did take the trouble to add the openings on the forecastle and stern decks.  I also put some edging around the stern to help support the PE railings
 

 
I didn't like the fit of the deck towards the bow so I scraped off the kit's molded ledge and replaced it with my own styrene version to help the deck sit even.
 

 
Otherwise, I really like the fit and finish and have found it to be a terrific kit.
 
Unfortunately, this is about as far as I've gotten, so I'll look to you for guidance going forward.
 
Good stuff!
Evan

Ahoy Popeye!
 
I will also elbow my way thru the crowd to watch...
 
I have the Commemerative edition of this kit that includes Pontos PE and decking.  I don't think it is the most accurate version of the Titanic, but it is certainly representative  of the great ship.  I'm not a Titanic fanatic so I'm not counting missing port holes and worrying about much minutiae, but I did take the trouble to add the openings on the forecastle and stern decks.  I also put some edging around the stern to help support the PE railings
 

 
I didn't like the fit of the deck towards the bow so I scraped off the kit's molded ledge and replaced it with my own styrene version to help the deck sit even.
 

 
Otherwise, I really like the fit and finish and have found it to be a terrific kit.
 
Unfortunately, this is about as far as I've gotten, so I'll look to you for guidance going forward.
 
Good stuff!
Evan

Ahoy Popeye!
 
I will also elbow my way thru the crowd to watch...
 
I have the Commemerative edition of this kit that includes Pontos PE and decking.  I don't think it is the most accurate version of the Titanic, but it is certainly representative  of the great ship.  I'm not a Titanic fanatic so I'm not counting missing port holes and worrying about much minutiae, but I did take the trouble to add the openings on the forecastle and stern decks.  I also put some edging around the stern to help support the PE railings
 

 
I didn't like the fit of the deck towards the bow so I scraped off the kit's molded ledge and replaced it with my own styrene version to help the deck sit even.
 

 
Otherwise, I really like the fit and finish and have found it to be a terrific kit.
 
Unfortunately, this is about as far as I've gotten, so I'll look to you for guidance going forward.
 
Good stuff!
Evan

Folks -
 
I'll make one last pitch for the absence of the gun lids... 
 
Here are some credible sources all piled up:
 
Michel Felice Corné 1803 - commissioned by Commodore Preble:
 

 
Thomas Birch 1813 Constitution vs Guerriere - Based on interviews with participants:
 

 
"Hull" model 1812 - built by the crew and presented to Isaac Hull:
 

 
 
Michel Felice Corné 1812 Constitution vs Guerriere - commissioned by captain Hull and supervised by his purser Thomas Chew:

 
Nicholas Pocock Constitution vs Java - based on sketches by Lt Buchanan of HMS Java
 

 
Thomas Birch United States vs Macedonian - based on interviews with participants:
 

 
Now we can probably dig through each of these representations and find various flaws and discrepancies, but we can't dispute that ALL of these have something in common - no gun port lids.  Constitution, United States, Guerriere, Java, Macedonian... All shown without lids by different artists after consultation with crew and battle veterans.  We have log entries and journal accounts of water pouring in through the gun ports in heavy weather... But how can we modern folk reconcile the idea that these ships would sail without gun port lids and be so endangered on a voyage?
 
I think the absence of gun port lids is a vestige of the era when this class of ship had open gun decks - at least very open space along the waist - which were generally treated as "weather" decks.  It was common to not have lids on ports along the open waist and many of these ships would only have them  mounted on the most forward ports to minimize wetness from a plunging bow.  Sometimes the sternmost would also have protection against following seas, but all others would be without lids.  It was no big deal for the water to slosh in one side, across the deck, and out the other side and/or out the scuppers.  There are certainly examples of frigates being fitted with lids, but likely at the discretion of the captain.  We know from log entries that Preble had carpenters add lids during his tenure (which implies, of course, that none were there before).  The American spar deck frigates represented a transition away from the open waist and the utilization of the top deck for more guns and ship handling space.  The great success they had in the War of 1812 spurred the other naval powers to evolve their frigates away from the smaller open waisted types and into the big frigate era.  As the gun decks became more commonly enclosed, the gun port lids became more standard.
 
I certainly understand that most of my fellow modelers will not follow me down this path, but I would think that most would at least appreciate my reasoning and respect the fact that I'm basing my own representation on credible contemporary sources - specifically the Michel Felice Corné paintings and the Hull model - however illogical that may seem!
 
I'm glad that my build has inspired some deeper explorations of some elements of the great ship that defy conventional thinking... Stay tuned for the yellow stripe!
 
Thanks to all for the engaging discussion.
 
Evan

Hello all...
 
 
I have the basic painting and most of the details done on the spar deck - just a bit of touch ups and fine tuning remain.   Here are some sample views:       The spar deck was given a base coat of aged white (no tinting like the gun deck) and individual planks were picked out with Vallejo Wood mixed with Vallejo aged white, Vallejo Aged White mixed with Microlux Reefer White, and straight up Vallejo gray wash.  After 24 hours everything then got a quick smear with Vallejo Sepia wash that was immediately wiped down with a soft clean cloth leaving a nice wood tone and coloring the seams between the planks.   Nothing is glued down and the brass is yet to be blackened, but I can now move on to painting the half hulls.   Hope folks are still following along - I'm sure the World Cup is more interesting!   Evan

Lads -
 
Thanks all for the compliments on my little smoke stack!
 
Blue Ensign - you may have a point about the height being too tall.  I might bring it down a notch to scale a bit better.  I had made it about half again as tall as the kit provided piece without really thinking it thru...
 
Now for another deviation:
 
The Revell kit makes no provision for a ship's bell.  This is likely because the historic Hull model does not show a bell - one of many elements that were omitted as the crew scrambled to complete the model in time to present it to Capt Hull before he quit the ship.  I would think that a ship's bell would be an integral part of maintaining the shipboard routine in 1812 and needs to be included.
 
The restored ship in Boston has the bell mounted to the forward face of the mainmast amidships via a small tripod bracket - this is the same solution offered by Larry Arnot in the Bluejacket kit instructions.:
 

 
The restored ship had a belfry on the foredeck at one time.  It seems like it was removed within the last decade or so and replaced with this version.  There may be something official in the historical record to support this, but I can't find any references.  Perhaps the c1820 Charles Ware drawing of the United States spar deck is the source:
 

 
With the boats positioned in this manner, there is no room for a belfry in the traditional location.  Perhaps the mainmast solution made the most sense.  (BTW - this would seem to be the reference for the boat layout in the Revell kit).
 
I don't like the main mast solution.  I am thinking of adding a belfry and historical proof be d - m'd!  This would also require me to reposition the storage of the boats, but that is easily managed.
 
Have a look:
 



 
Here also is a view down to the gun deck capstan:

 
Thoughts from other modelers?

Folks
 
I've got the port side bulwarks mostly complete - I'll add a ledge/shelf strip across the top and a few touch ups with a file are needed, but otherwise I'm pleased with the progress:
 

 

 

 

 
The candle in the background is not to set the mood... The dog managed to find a dead fish on the shoreline tonight and reeked to high heaven...  x20x    After a thorough bath in the garage washtub (the DOG, not me!), I needed to light the scented candle (orange flavored, I think) to overlay on the stench before proceeding to my project.
 
Thanks for looking

There are still some details to be placed as rails ropes wires but mainly the secondary weaponry.
But that will be done when I come back from UK and my granddaughter's christening...
Thanks
 

 

 
 
 
 

Hi all, Merry Christmas and happy New Year.
Here I’m again back to the Kilkis model and thanks for have been waiting ….
One of the challenges of the model are those cagemasts of the real ship.


 
I was wondering how this could be possibly built but as most of the times, the help came again through the web.
I found that some other mates have also been challenged and they had found a solution through the pages of an old book, titled as “BUILDING WARSHIP MODELS by P C Coker III” and to my joy, they had published the following picture in a forum…

 
I started experimenting with different materials (plastic-wooden rods-strips) but I was led in a failure. Consider also the time, when an almost ready cagemast, was dropped down by a mistake of mine... and the time when I had built a cage mast forgetting to build internal structures (floors-ladders) …
Here are some of my tries…

Ahoy...

Apologies for the long interlude... Had some computer issues and had to upgrade my system to get back on track.

I have made some progress on cleats, dead eyes and such and will post some pictures soon. In the meantime, I had a nice visit last week to the US Naval Academy museum... They have the other set of the Michel Felice Corne paintings of the Constitution vs Guerriere battle that were commissioned by Captain Hull. These are exquisite and I think I stared at them for at least 30 minutes:

The series is hung in a bit of a jumble, but very visible.








Here are some details of the stern. The ventilation ports under the counter are clearly visible - I'm glad I added those to my version.




Rigging detail:



Here is a detailed view from the Corne painting of the Tripoli campaign:


The basement of the museum contains the gift store and the model maintenance workshop. It turns out that if you stare through the viewing window long enough (it helps to have a forlorn puppy dog expression as well) someone in the workshop will take pity and invite you inside for a tour. Jack was extremely generous with his time and showed me all the projects and some of the terrific tools - including a very nice rope serving set up and a clever/inexpensive micro-torch he built for detailed solder work.

At some point I mentioned my own "learner's" project on the Revell Constitution and I was invited into the Curator's office to have a look at a "small Constitution" model kept on top of a file cabinet.





It should be readily apparent that this is no ordinary model. In fact, this is a Donald McNarry masterpiece showing Constitution's early appearance. The pictures don't give a true perception of the small scale... I'd think it is 1/192 or thereabouts (less than half the length of my project) and each element is executed with unfathomable detail. The guns, boats, wire rigging, etc. are all incredible. I urged The curator to find a way to get it on the display floor, but he explained that there is not much room in the current display area for all of the incredible models in the museum collection. Gawd only knows what the thing is worth - especially after the passing of Mr. McNarry.

The museum is a true treasure trove of American history. The collections include the original "Don't Give Up The Ship" flag, the actual table (and tablecloth) used for the Japanese surrender on board the USS Missouri (it was a mess table quickly adapted for use after the beautiful wooden table provided by the British turned out to be too small for the surrender documents), and the spur that snapped off the boot of John Wilkes Booth when he leaped off the balcony and got caught on the flag bunting - breaking his ankle on the landing.

Folks should make the effort to visit Annapolis if at all possible - well worth the side trip from DC!

I'll post some more project pictures later this week to catch everyone up on my progress.

Thanks
Evan

Ahoy...

Apologies for the long interlude... Had some computer issues and had to upgrade my system to get back on track.

I have made some progress on cleats, dead eyes and such and will post some pictures soon. In the meantime, I had a nice visit last week to the US Naval Academy museum... They have the other set of the Michel Felice Corne paintings of the Constitution vs Guerriere battle that were commissioned by Captain Hull. These are exquisite and I think I stared at them for at least 30 minutes:

The series is hung in a bit of a jumble, but very visible.








Here are some details of the stern. The ventilation ports under the counter are clearly visible - I'm glad I added those to my version.




Rigging detail:



Here is a detailed view from the Corne painting of the Tripoli campaign:


The basement of the museum contains the gift store and the model maintenance workshop. It turns out that if you stare through the viewing window long enough (it helps to have a forlorn puppy dog expression as well) someone in the workshop will take pity and invite you inside for a tour. Jack was extremely generous with his time and showed me all the projects and some of the terrific tools - including a very nice rope serving set up and a clever/inexpensive micro-torch he built for detailed solder work.

At some point I mentioned my own "learner's" project on the Revell Constitution and I was invited into the Curator's office to have a look at a "small Constitution" model kept on top of a file cabinet.





It should be readily apparent that this is no ordinary model. In fact, this is a Donald McNarry masterpiece showing Constitution's early appearance. The pictures don't give a true perception of the small scale... I'd think it is 1/192 or thereabouts (less than half the length of my project) and each element is executed with unfathomable detail. The guns, boats, wire rigging, etc. are all incredible. I urged The curator to find a way to get it on the display floor, but he explained that there is not much room in the current display area for all of the incredible models in the museum collection. Gawd only knows what the thing is worth - especially after the passing of Mr. McNarry.

The museum is a true treasure trove of American history. The collections include the original "Don't Give Up The Ship" flag, the actual table (and tablecloth) used for the Japanese surrender on board the USS Missouri (it was a mess table quickly adapted for use after the beautiful wooden table provided by the British turned out to be too small for the surrender documents), and the spur that snapped off the boot of John Wilkes Booth when he leaped off the balcony and got caught on the flag bunting - breaking his ankle on the landing.

Folks should make the effort to visit Annapolis if at all possible - well worth the side trip from DC!

I'll post some more project pictures later this week to catch everyone up on my progress.

Thanks
Evan

Ahoy...

Apologies for the long interlude... Had some computer issues and had to upgrade my system to get back on track.

I have made some progress on cleats, dead eyes and such and will post some pictures soon. In the meantime, I had a nice visit last week to the US Naval Academy museum... They have the other set of the Michel Felice Corne paintings of the Constitution vs Guerriere battle that were commissioned by Captain Hull. These are exquisite and I think I stared at them for at least 30 minutes:

The series is hung in a bit of a jumble, but very visible.








Here are some details of the stern. The ventilation ports under the counter are clearly visible - I'm glad I added those to my version.




Rigging detail:



Here is a detailed view from the Corne painting of the Tripoli campaign:


The basement of the museum contains the gift store and the model maintenance workshop. It turns out that if you stare through the viewing window long enough (it helps to have a forlorn puppy dog expression as well) someone in the workshop will take pity and invite you inside for a tour. Jack was extremely generous with his time and showed me all the projects and some of the terrific tools - including a very nice rope serving set up and a clever/inexpensive micro-torch he built for detailed solder work.

At some point I mentioned my own "learner's" project on the Revell Constitution and I was invited into the Curator's office to have a look at a "small Constitution" model kept on top of a file cabinet.





It should be readily apparent that this is no ordinary model. In fact, this is a Donald McNarry masterpiece showing Constitution's early appearance. The pictures don't give a true perception of the small scale... I'd think it is 1/192 or thereabouts (less than half the length of my project) and each element is executed with unfathomable detail. The guns, boats, wire rigging, etc. are all incredible. I urged The curator to find a way to get it on the display floor, but he explained that there is not much room in the current display area for all of the incredible models in the museum collection. Gawd only knows what the thing is worth - especially after the passing of Mr. McNarry.

The museum is a true treasure trove of American history. The collections include the original "Don't Give Up The Ship" flag, the actual table (and tablecloth) used for the Japanese surrender on board the USS Missouri (it was a mess table quickly adapted for use after the beautiful wooden table provided by the British turned out to be too small for the surrender documents), and the spur that snapped off the boot of John Wilkes Booth when he leaped off the balcony and got caught on the flag bunting - breaking his ankle on the landing.

Folks should make the effort to visit Annapolis if at all possible - well worth the side trip from DC!

I'll post some more project pictures later this week to catch everyone up on my progress.

Thanks
Evan

Ahoy...

Apologies for the long interlude... Had some computer issues and had to upgrade my system to get back on track.

I have made some progress on cleats, dead eyes and such and will post some pictures soon. In the meantime, I had a nice visit last week to the US Naval Academy museum... They have the other set of the Michel Felice Corne paintings of the Constitution vs Guerriere battle that were commissioned by Captain Hull. These are exquisite and I think I stared at them for at least 30 minutes:

The series is hung in a bit of a jumble, but very visible.








Here are some details of the stern. The ventilation ports under the counter are clearly visible - I'm glad I added those to my version.




Rigging detail:



Here is a detailed view from the Corne painting of the Tripoli campaign:


The basement of the museum contains the gift store and the model maintenance workshop. It turns out that if you stare through the viewing window long enough (it helps to have a forlorn puppy dog expression as well) someone in the workshop will take pity and invite you inside for a tour. Jack was extremely generous with his time and showed me all the projects and some of the terrific tools - including a very nice rope serving set up and a clever/inexpensive micro-torch he built for detailed solder work.

At some point I mentioned my own "learner's" project on the Revell Constitution and I was invited into the Curator's office to have a look at a "small Constitution" model kept on top of a file cabinet.





It should be readily apparent that this is no ordinary model. In fact, this is a Donald McNarry masterpiece showing Constitution's early appearance. The pictures don't give a true perception of the small scale... I'd think it is 1/192 or thereabouts (less than half the length of my project) and each element is executed with unfathomable detail. The guns, boats, wire rigging, etc. are all incredible. I urged The curator to find a way to get it on the display floor, but he explained that there is not much room in the current display area for all of the incredible models in the museum collection. Gawd only knows what the thing is worth - especially after the passing of Mr. McNarry.

The museum is a true treasure trove of American history. The collections include the original "Don't Give Up The Ship" flag, the actual table (and tablecloth) used for the Japanese surrender on board the USS Missouri (it was a mess table quickly adapted for use after the beautiful wooden table provided by the British turned out to be too small for the surrender documents), and the spur that snapped off the boot of John Wilkes Booth when he leaped off the balcony and got caught on the flag bunting - breaking his ankle on the landing.

Folks should make the effort to visit Annapolis if at all possible - well worth the side trip from DC!

I'll post some more project pictures later this week to catch everyone up on my progress.

Thanks
Evan

Hello James
 
A very good observation on your part!
 
The shot garlands/racks pose an interesting dilemma.  The Revell 1/96 Constitution makes no allowance for shot storage so we are left to our own inclinations...  The Hull model in the PEM does not show them at all and that probably led to the absence on the Revell kit.  As you point out, Larry Arnot and Cdr. Tyrone Martin apparently invested much research into the Bluejacket kit and they suggest shot racks between all the guns but not around the hatches.  

I would think, however, that shot storage around the hatches would be a standard approach in 1812.  Certainly many period models would show these included.  But is there more justification?

Here is my reasoning... Old Ironsides pounded HMS Guerriere to kindling in only 30 minutes.  Evidence very strongly suggests that part of the reason was that the American gun crews fired TWO round shot on EVERY discharge during the battle.  The data suggests that each gun shot @10 times in 30 minutes. That is a lot of cannon balls to have to haul up the companionways. Common sense would suggest that the crew pre-positioned most of that in shot racks before the shooting began - and they'd need plenty of storage.  I suspect that there was storage around the hatches AND in between each gun - at least on the main gun deck.  This would seem to be supported by the c1820 gun deck plan of USS United States made by Charles Ware which shows both storage options in place:



 
Using this deck plan as guidance, I intend to include shot racks in between the 24 pdr guns on my model in addition to what you already see around the hatches.

The spar deck is another matter... I will include shot storage around the hatches on that deck as well, but NOT include shot racks between the carronades.  Despite the guidance from the Bluejacket manual and other representations (Gilkerson’s painting in the Gillmer “Old Ironsides...” book), I just don’t think that was a practical solution.  Many of those guns have pin rails in between them and the necessary cordage dangling down would likely be in the way... The same deck plans of USS United States offer a solution.  Here is the spar deck:


 
This clearly shows that the carronades would have a tray of round shot close at hand for battle as well as shot stored around the hatches.  There is also another clue that helps me justify my approach.  If you were a famous personage back in that era, the most flattering compliment would be to have your portrait painted by an accomplished artist.  This was a very expensive thing to do back in those days - often many thousands of dollars in an age when a good sailor made 10 bucks a month.  The important businessmen in the City of New York commonly took up a subscription to pay for a commissioned work of military heroes after a great victory.  They gradually built up a significant "Hall of Fame" collection in city hall.  Here is the one done for Commodore William Bainbridge following his victory over HMS Java (still in the collection of the city of New York http://www.nyc.gov/html/artcom/html/portrait/portrait.shtml):



We see the talented artist captured the Commodore’s famous arrogance and pomposity.  He has also captured something else - look at the shot tray under Bainbridge’s boot.  This is the approach I’ll take for the spar deck.  (We’ll come back to this painting when it comes time for the carronades).

I don’t mean to overly sway everyone in my direction. Unlike Cdr Tyrone Martin and others, I’m not an historian or professional researcher... Folks have to go with what works for them and this approach just feels right to me.

Thanks for enduring a brain dump.

So... A couple of comedians!    Don't people remember that she was called "Old Ironsides"???!! - She never absorbed any damage!  Everything bounced off!!!  Well, at least it all bounced off for my model.
 
 
Here is the latest...
 
It is amazing how many holes need to be drilled into a sailing ship model!  I've been busy with the mini spiral drill and #76 bit for the past few weekends.
 
It is also amazing to uncover the various nuances that go into these builds.  I've been drilling the many small holes for the Jotika eyelets that will be installed around the interior of the gun ports.  
 
Most references indicate the breeching terminating on a ring bolt positioned near the trucks in line with the bottom of the gun port.  The outhaul tackle, however, is often shown leading at an angle to an eyelet positioned about midway between the two guns.  It would seem to me to be more efficient if this tackle ran more parallel to the gun barrel - no waste in lateral effort when hauling on the tackle.  That would seem to be the arrangement on most of the contemporary ship models... An eyebolt for the outhaul tackle positioned about midway up on the gun port and near the opening.  The ring bolt for the breeching rope positioned directly below in line with the bottom of the port.
 
We can also see this type of set up on the remarkable War of 1812 wrecks of the Hamilton and Scourge that lie preserved at the bottom of Lake Ontario. Both were swamped by a sudden squall and lost at the same time.  (Actually the wrecks were once remarkably well preserved but have now become encrusted with an invasive species of mussel):
 

The boarding cutlasses are very cool.
 
Here is the approach I took:

 
None of these eyelets are glued in... Just a sample of positioning.  I'll blacken them and glue the upper eyelets, but I'll attach the lower ring bolts to the breeching rope when I rig the cannon off the ship before attaching these to the bulwarks.
 
Evan

Ahoy...

Apologies for the long interlude... Had some computer issues and had to upgrade my system to get back on track.

I have made some progress on cleats, dead eyes and such and will post some pictures soon. In the meantime, I had a nice visit last week to the US Naval Academy museum... They have the other set of the Michel Felice Corne paintings of the Constitution vs Guerriere battle that were commissioned by Captain Hull. These are exquisite and I think I stared at them for at least 30 minutes:

The series is hung in a bit of a jumble, but very visible.








Here are some details of the stern. The ventilation ports under the counter are clearly visible - I'm glad I added those to my version.




Rigging detail:



Here is a detailed view from the Corne painting of the Tripoli campaign:


The basement of the museum contains the gift store and the model maintenance workshop. It turns out that if you stare through the viewing window long enough (it helps to have a forlorn puppy dog expression as well) someone in the workshop will take pity and invite you inside for a tour. Jack was extremely generous with his time and showed me all the projects and some of the terrific tools - including a very nice rope serving set up and a clever/inexpensive micro-torch he built for detailed solder work.

At some point I mentioned my own "learner's" project on the Revell Constitution and I was invited into the Curator's office to have a look at a "small Constitution" model kept on top of a file cabinet.





It should be readily apparent that this is no ordinary model. In fact, this is a Donald McNarry masterpiece showing Constitution's early appearance. The pictures don't give a true perception of the small scale... I'd think it is 1/192 or thereabouts (less than half the length of my project) and each element is executed with unfathomable detail. The guns, boats, wire rigging, etc. are all incredible. I urged The curator to find a way to get it on the display floor, but he explained that there is not much room in the current display area for all of the incredible models in the museum collection. Gawd only knows what the thing is worth - especially after the passing of Mr. McNarry.

The museum is a true treasure trove of American history. The collections include the original "Don't Give Up The Ship" flag, the actual table (and tablecloth) used for the Japanese surrender on board the USS Missouri (it was a mess table quickly adapted for use after the beautiful wooden table provided by the British turned out to be too small for the surrender documents), and the spur that snapped off the boot of John Wilkes Booth when he leaped off the balcony and got caught on the flag bunting - breaking his ankle on the landing.

Folks should make the effort to visit Annapolis if at all possible - well worth the side trip from DC!

I'll post some more project pictures later this week to catch everyone up on my progress.

Thanks
Evan

Ahoy...

Apologies for the long interlude... Had some computer issues and had to upgrade my system to get back on track.

I have made some progress on cleats, dead eyes and such and will post some pictures soon. In the meantime, I had a nice visit last week to the US Naval Academy museum... They have the other set of the Michel Felice Corne paintings of the Constitution vs Guerriere battle that were commissioned by Captain Hull. These are exquisite and I think I stared at them for at least 30 minutes:

The series is hung in a bit of a jumble, but very visible.








Here are some details of the stern. The ventilation ports under the counter are clearly visible - I'm glad I added those to my version.




Rigging detail:



Here is a detailed view from the Corne painting of the Tripoli campaign:


The basement of the museum contains the gift store and the model maintenance workshop. It turns out that if you stare through the viewing window long enough (it helps to have a forlorn puppy dog expression as well) someone in the workshop will take pity and invite you inside for a tour. Jack was extremely generous with his time and showed me all the projects and some of the terrific tools - including a very nice rope serving set up and a clever/inexpensive micro-torch he built for detailed solder work.

At some point I mentioned my own "learner's" project on the Revell Constitution and I was invited into the Curator's office to have a look at a "small Constitution" model kept on top of a file cabinet.





It should be readily apparent that this is no ordinary model. In fact, this is a Donald McNarry masterpiece showing Constitution's early appearance. The pictures don't give a true perception of the small scale... I'd think it is 1/192 or thereabouts (less than half the length of my project) and each element is executed with unfathomable detail. The guns, boats, wire rigging, etc. are all incredible. I urged The curator to find a way to get it on the display floor, but he explained that there is not much room in the current display area for all of the incredible models in the museum collection. Gawd only knows what the thing is worth - especially after the passing of Mr. McNarry.

The museum is a true treasure trove of American history. The collections include the original "Don't Give Up The Ship" flag, the actual table (and tablecloth) used for the Japanese surrender on board the USS Missouri (it was a mess table quickly adapted for use after the beautiful wooden table provided by the British turned out to be too small for the surrender documents), and the spur that snapped off the boot of John Wilkes Booth when he leaped off the balcony and got caught on the flag bunting - breaking his ankle on the landing.

Folks should make the effort to visit Annapolis if at all possible - well worth the side trip from DC!

I'll post some more project pictures later this week to catch everyone up on my progress.

Thanks
Evan

Cheers Frank and Popeye!
 
Folks -
 
I've reached that point in the build where there is nothing more I can do to delay the inevitable... I have to start accounting for the rigging and making sure that I've incorporated the necessary end points into the half hulls before I start to glue it all together.  
 
I consulted the usual suspects:
 
1. The Revell rigging plans
2. The Bluejacket kit manual and rigging plans - Larry Arnot/Tyrone Martin
3. AOTS USS Constitution - Karl Heinz Marquardt
4. CONSTITUTION - All Sails Up and Flying - Olof Eriksen
5. The Charles Ware 1817 Sail plan (National Archives)
6. The "Hull" model in the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) collection.
 
I've been poring over these different representations of the rigging layout of Old Ironsides for many months and have started to form some sort of plan.  For the most part I will follow the guidance of Olof Eriksen, but fall back on the Bluejacket plans in some cases.  Eriksen's work is focused on her 1815 configuration, so I'll try to insert some 1812 era modifications wherever appropriate - mostly using the Hull model for corrections.  Ultimately this is all going to involve a fair bit of guesswork and intuition tempered by the realities imposed by the Revell model itself. In some cases the molding of the hull will impose limitations that are more than I'm willing to modify - I'll just roll with what is there.
 
Here is my first compromise:
 

 

 
Some may recall that I eliminated the chesstree included in the kit and filled in the holes at the gun deck level that originally allowed for the Fore Sheet and Main Tack to enter and get tied off within... I just feel that by 1812 these lines would've been led to the spar deck to allow for better control and coordination.  Eriksen shows the Fore Sheet entering thru a sheave in the spar deck bulwark just forward of the last carronade before the break in the bulwark at the waist.  The Revell kit does not have much of a bulwark at that point.  I couldn't widen it because the "entry port" is situated here with the cleats/steps leading up the side.  I was not willing to move that stuff over with all that scratch building... Marquardt offers a solution.  He shows a sheave added on the waist for the Fore Sheet to pass thru and tie off to a cleat mounted nearby on the deck.  Do I think this is historically accurate?  Nah... But it suits my purpose.
 
The first eyebolt near the sheave is the tie off for the Fore Sheet.  The eyebolt mounted forward on the waist near the fo'c's'le bulwark will eventually have a block mounted for the Main Tack to lead inboard. I still need to drill the hole just aft of the fore channel for the Main Tack tie off point.
 
Here is the sheave I cut into the spar deck bulwark for the Main Sheet:
 

 
I mounted a cleat on the inside to tie off the Main Sheet:

 
More to come shortly
 
Thanks for the interest
 
Evan

Ahoy...

Apologies for the long interlude... Had some computer issues and had to upgrade my system to get back on track.

I have made some progress on cleats, dead eyes and such and will post some pictures soon. In the meantime, I had a nice visit last week to the US Naval Academy museum... They have the other set of the Michel Felice Corne paintings of the Constitution vs Guerriere battle that were commissioned by Captain Hull. These are exquisite and I think I stared at them for at least 30 minutes:

The series is hung in a bit of a jumble, but very visible.








Here are some details of the stern. The ventilation ports under the counter are clearly visible - I'm glad I added those to my version.




Rigging detail:



Here is a detailed view from the Corne painting of the Tripoli campaign:


The basement of the museum contains the gift store and the model maintenance workshop. It turns out that if you stare through the viewing window long enough (it helps to have a forlorn puppy dog expression as well) someone in the workshop will take pity and invite you inside for a tour. Jack was extremely generous with his time and showed me all the projects and some of the terrific tools - including a very nice rope serving set up and a clever/inexpensive micro-torch he built for detailed solder work.

At some point I mentioned my own "learner's" project on the Revell Constitution and I was invited into the Curator's office to have a look at a "small Constitution" model kept on top of a file cabinet.





It should be readily apparent that this is no ordinary model. In fact, this is a Donald McNarry masterpiece showing Constitution's early appearance. The pictures don't give a true perception of the small scale... I'd think it is 1/192 or thereabouts (less than half the length of my project) and each element is executed with unfathomable detail. The guns, boats, wire rigging, etc. are all incredible. I urged The curator to find a way to get it on the display floor, but he explained that there is not much room in the current display area for all of the incredible models in the museum collection. Gawd only knows what the thing is worth - especially after the passing of Mr. McNarry.

The museum is a true treasure trove of American history. The collections include the original "Don't Give Up The Ship" flag, the actual table (and tablecloth) used for the Japanese surrender on board the USS Missouri (it was a mess table quickly adapted for use after the beautiful wooden table provided by the British turned out to be too small for the surrender documents), and the spur that snapped off the boot of John Wilkes Booth when he leaped off the balcony and got caught on the flag bunting - breaking his ankle on the landing.

Folks should make the effort to visit Annapolis if at all possible - well worth the side trip from DC!

I'll post some more project pictures later this week to catch everyone up on my progress.

Thanks
Evan

Ahoy...

Apologies for the long interlude... Had some computer issues and had to upgrade my system to get back on track.

I have made some progress on cleats, dead eyes and such and will post some pictures soon. In the meantime, I had a nice visit last week to the US Naval Academy museum... They have the other set of the Michel Felice Corne paintings of the Constitution vs Guerriere battle that were commissioned by Captain Hull. These are exquisite and I think I stared at them for at least 30 minutes:

The series is hung in a bit of a jumble, but very visible.








Here are some details of the stern. The ventilation ports under the counter are clearly visible - I'm glad I added those to my version.




Rigging detail:



Here is a detailed view from the Corne painting of the Tripoli campaign:


The basement of the museum contains the gift store and the model maintenance workshop. It turns out that if you stare through the viewing window long enough (it helps to have a forlorn puppy dog expression as well) someone in the workshop will take pity and invite you inside for a tour. Jack was extremely generous with his time and showed me all the projects and some of the terrific tools - including a very nice rope serving set up and a clever/inexpensive micro-torch he built for detailed solder work.

At some point I mentioned my own "learner's" project on the Revell Constitution and I was invited into the Curator's office to have a look at a "small Constitution" model kept on top of a file cabinet.





It should be readily apparent that this is no ordinary model. In fact, this is a Donald McNarry masterpiece showing Constitution's early appearance. The pictures don't give a true perception of the small scale... I'd think it is 1/192 or thereabouts (less than half the length of my project) and each element is executed with unfathomable detail. The guns, boats, wire rigging, etc. are all incredible. I urged The curator to find a way to get it on the display floor, but he explained that there is not much room in the current display area for all of the incredible models in the museum collection. Gawd only knows what the thing is worth - especially after the passing of Mr. McNarry.

The museum is a true treasure trove of American history. The collections include the original "Don't Give Up The Ship" flag, the actual table (and tablecloth) used for the Japanese surrender on board the USS Missouri (it was a mess table quickly adapted for use after the beautiful wooden table provided by the British turned out to be too small for the surrender documents), and the spur that snapped off the boot of John Wilkes Booth when he leaped off the balcony and got caught on the flag bunting - breaking his ankle on the landing.

Folks should make the effort to visit Annapolis if at all possible - well worth the side trip from DC!

I'll post some more project pictures later this week to catch everyone up on my progress.

Thanks
Evan

Ahoy...

Apologies for the long interlude... Had some computer issues and had to upgrade my system to get back on track.

I have made some progress on cleats, dead eyes and such and will post some pictures soon. In the meantime, I had a nice visit last week to the US Naval Academy museum... They have the other set of the Michel Felice Corne paintings of the Constitution vs Guerriere battle that were commissioned by Captain Hull. These are exquisite and I think I stared at them for at least 30 minutes:

The series is hung in a bit of a jumble, but very visible.








Here are some details of the stern. The ventilation ports under the counter are clearly visible - I'm glad I added those to my version.




Rigging detail:



Here is a detailed view from the Corne painting of the Tripoli campaign:


The basement of the museum contains the gift store and the model maintenance workshop. It turns out that if you stare through the viewing window long enough (it helps to have a forlorn puppy dog expression as well) someone in the workshop will take pity and invite you inside for a tour. Jack was extremely generous with his time and showed me all the projects and some of the terrific tools - including a very nice rope serving set up and a clever/inexpensive micro-torch he built for detailed solder work.

At some point I mentioned my own "learner's" project on the Revell Constitution and I was invited into the Curator's office to have a look at a "small Constitution" model kept on top of a file cabinet.





It should be readily apparent that this is no ordinary model. In fact, this is a Donald McNarry masterpiece showing Constitution's early appearance. The pictures don't give a true perception of the small scale... I'd think it is 1/192 or thereabouts (less than half the length of my project) and each element is executed with unfathomable detail. The guns, boats, wire rigging, etc. are all incredible. I urged The curator to find a way to get it on the display floor, but he explained that there is not much room in the current display area for all of the incredible models in the museum collection. Gawd only knows what the thing is worth - especially after the passing of Mr. McNarry.

The museum is a true treasure trove of American history. The collections include the original "Don't Give Up The Ship" flag, the actual table (and tablecloth) used for the Japanese surrender on board the USS Missouri (it was a mess table quickly adapted for use after the beautiful wooden table provided by the British turned out to be too small for the surrender documents), and the spur that snapped off the boot of John Wilkes Booth when he leaped off the balcony and got caught on the flag bunting - breaking his ankle on the landing.

Folks should make the effort to visit Annapolis if at all possible - well worth the side trip from DC!

I'll post some more project pictures later this week to catch everyone up on my progress.

Thanks
Evan

After many (and many more) hours of effort by numerous volunteers, it is now ready and available for viewing.  Joshua Humphreys is acknowledged as the principal designer of the original six American frigates.  His son, Samuel, was Chief Naval constructor from 1826 until his death in 1846.
 
The Notebook represents essentially an Aide-mémoire or ready reference on a wide variety of information related to ships and shipbuilding.  It opens with the hand copied British Establishment of 1719, and also includes the 1745 establishment, dimensions of many vessels from several nations, and notations on ships wheels, various capstans and much more.  It runs chronologically from the first entry (not dated) - some entries provide clues as to the date (such as a notation "captured by the British in 1813) but that also is sporadic.  For example, there is an entry for "Dimensions of spars of US Frigate President" followed by "Dimensions of Spars of US Frigate Constitution", however they follow entries for the "Dimension of Brig US Nautilus captured by The British in 1812" and "Rules for masting Frigates 1809", and are followed by "Dimensions of Ship Madison Corvette, Built-Launched at Sacketts Harbour on the Lakes November 1812" and an entry titled "Sept 1814 A Better Rule".
 
Overall, there is a great deal of information of various detail provided which can aid in understanding the basis for some of the ship design philosophies of Joshua and Samuel.  Please note that spellings have been retained as they appear in the source document for the most part, so there may be multiple spellings of the same word.  Emendation has generally been restricted to converting the thorn (looks like a y as in ye ) to the appropriate word (such as "the" for ye ), and spelling out certain abbreviations. 
 
It can be downloaded from the Modelshipbuilder website at the bottom of the resources page here:
http://modelshipbuilder.com/page.php?24
 
We hope that this is a useful reference work for you, and have plans to add to the body of knowledge as we continue transcription of other documents related to the early Navy.

So... A couple of comedians!    Don't people remember that she was called "Old Ironsides"???!! - She never absorbed any damage!  Everything bounced off!!!  Well, at least it all bounced off for my model.
 
 
Here is the latest...
 
It is amazing how many holes need to be drilled into a sailing ship model!  I've been busy with the mini spiral drill and #76 bit for the past few weekends.
 
It is also amazing to uncover the various nuances that go into these builds.  I've been drilling the many small holes for the Jotika eyelets that will be installed around the interior of the gun ports.  
 
Most references indicate the breeching terminating on a ring bolt positioned near the trucks in line with the bottom of the gun port.  The outhaul tackle, however, is often shown leading at an angle to an eyelet positioned about midway between the two guns.  It would seem to me to be more efficient if this tackle ran more parallel to the gun barrel - no waste in lateral effort when hauling on the tackle.  That would seem to be the arrangement on most of the contemporary ship models... An eyebolt for the outhaul tackle positioned about midway up on the gun port and near the opening.  The ring bolt for the breeching rope positioned directly below in line with the bottom of the port.
 
We can also see this type of set up on the remarkable War of 1812 wrecks of the Hamilton and Scourge that lie preserved at the bottom of Lake Ontario. Both were swamped by a sudden squall and lost at the same time.  (Actually the wrecks were once remarkably well preserved but have now become encrusted with an invasive species of mussel):
 

The boarding cutlasses are very cool.
 
Here is the approach I took:

 
None of these eyelets are glued in... Just a sample of positioning.  I'll blacken them and glue the upper eyelets, but I'll attach the lower ring bolts to the breeching rope when I rig the cannon off the ship before attaching these to the bulwarks.
 
Evan

Cheers Frank and Popeye!
 
Folks -
 
I've reached that point in the build where there is nothing more I can do to delay the inevitable... I have to start accounting for the rigging and making sure that I've incorporated the necessary end points into the half hulls before I start to glue it all together.  
 
I consulted the usual suspects:
 
1. The Revell rigging plans
2. The Bluejacket kit manual and rigging plans - Larry Arnot/Tyrone Martin
3. AOTS USS Constitution - Karl Heinz Marquardt
4. CONSTITUTION - All Sails Up and Flying - Olof Eriksen
5. The Charles Ware 1817 Sail plan (National Archives)
6. The "Hull" model in the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) collection.
 
I've been poring over these different representations of the rigging layout of Old Ironsides for many months and have started to form some sort of plan.  For the most part I will follow the guidance of Olof Eriksen, but fall back on the Bluejacket plans in some cases.  Eriksen's work is focused on her 1815 configuration, so I'll try to insert some 1812 era modifications wherever appropriate - mostly using the Hull model for corrections.  Ultimately this is all going to involve a fair bit of guesswork and intuition tempered by the realities imposed by the Revell model itself. In some cases the molding of the hull will impose limitations that are more than I'm willing to modify - I'll just roll with what is there.
 
Here is my first compromise:
 

 

 
Some may recall that I eliminated the chesstree included in the kit and filled in the holes at the gun deck level that originally allowed for the Fore Sheet and Main Tack to enter and get tied off within... I just feel that by 1812 these lines would've been led to the spar deck to allow for better control and coordination.  Eriksen shows the Fore Sheet entering thru a sheave in the spar deck bulwark just forward of the last carronade before the break in the bulwark at the waist.  The Revell kit does not have much of a bulwark at that point.  I couldn't widen it because the "entry port" is situated here with the cleats/steps leading up the side.  I was not willing to move that stuff over with all that scratch building... Marquardt offers a solution.  He shows a sheave added on the waist for the Fore Sheet to pass thru and tie off to a cleat mounted nearby on the deck.  Do I think this is historically accurate?  Nah... But it suits my purpose.
 
The first eyebolt near the sheave is the tie off for the Fore Sheet.  The eyebolt mounted forward on the waist near the fo'c's'le bulwark will eventually have a block mounted for the Main Tack to lead inboard. I still need to drill the hole just aft of the fore channel for the Main Tack tie off point.
 
Here is the sheave I cut into the spar deck bulwark for the Main Sheet:
 

 
I mounted a cleat on the inside to tie off the Main Sheet:

 
More to come shortly
 
Thanks for the interest
 
Evan