Force9

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

Thank you all for the compliments! It felt good to dust off the old air brush and get out the sable brushes.

I suppose I could elaborate a bit on the wood effect... The forums are full of terrific examples with detailed explanations - most of which have eleventy six steps ending with "simple"!  I'll add my method to the pile...

Real wood has tonal depth... I need to replicate that using different layers of color. Firstly, I always prime everything. No matter what. I used a rattle can of Tamiya gray primer, but I'm not too particular about the brand I use.

The Vallejo Air paints are terrific. No need for a dope like me to carefully replicate multiple blends of colors to pass properly through my cheap airbrush. The other nice thing is that the good folks over at MicroMark commissioned Vallejo to produce "MicroLux" acrylic versions of the most popular Floquil railroad colors that were going to disappear shortly. Many of these colors lend themselves nicely to period sailing ships. Several of the most used colors are made available in the larger 2oz bottles.



For all of the wood elements I start with a foundation coat of Vallejo Air "Aged White" applied with an airbrush. This gives the piece the underlying bright tone. At this point it would be normal to switch over to an oil based paint to add the next layer of wood tone. In this case I was able to use Vallejo Air "Wood" applied with a brush. No need to switch over to smelly oils and thinners with much more onerous cleanup. Since it is pre-mixed airbrush paint, The Vallejo Air paint will go on nice and thin and I can layer it up to get a good medium tone while still allowing the underlying bright tone to show through. The next layer was Vallejo air "wood" mixed with a bit of MicroLux Air "Roof Brown". I just did one thin coat with a brush to give a final, deeper tone.

The last step is the critical part...

There have been many great ideas that have moved the human race forward through time. The wheel was a nice start... steam engines... the first airplane... landing on the moon. Penicillin was good too. But the guys in the white lab coats at Vallejo really made a contribution when they came up with this stuff:



Acrylic wash that can be applied over acrylic paint. No smell, no need to mix paint and thinner... water clean up. This stuff belongs in the pantheon of great human achievements. As a final step, I smear this sepia wash over everything and immediately wipe it off with a soft cloth or cotton swab. Pretty similar to using a stain with wood. This final step imparts a nice woody sheen across everything and helps the colors blend. I should note that with Acrylics, I always allow the paint to dry overnight before adding the next layer. I did, however, wait only 20 minutes or so to add more paint within the same medium color layer whenever I was trying to deepen the tone.


See - "Simple"!

The deck was done similarly, but with only two layers. I varied the colors on the second layer between Vallejo Air Wood mixed with Aged White, sepia wash, and dark wash. I did add a bit of Vallejo Air "Earth" to the Aged White on the first layer just to give the entire deck a slightly deeper tone. A dark gray .03mm pen was used for the lines between the planks.

Thanks again to everyone for following along.

Evan

Cheers Popeye!
 
  A bit of mindless fun:   A few months back I was having another look at the historical deck plan of the US Frigate United States and I noticed an interesting detail on the gun deck:     The items labeled "B" are listed in the legend as "Round Houses".  Hmmm... I generally think of those as something external on larger ships a la Victory... I did a quick google search which found an article by Cmdr Tyrone Martin on the USS Constitution museum website that mentioned these in more detail. http://www.ussconstitutionmuseum.org/constitution-resources/the-captain-speaks/the-guns-of-constitution/    Apparently the crew referred to these as "Spice Boxes" (presumably because they resembled a common household item) and they were commonly included on the larger frigates for the convenience and privacy of the ships officers. It is tough to determine how permanent these were... You'd think they were flimsy screens that were easily removed when clearing for action.  It seems that they might've been more solid fixtures... Captain Stewart ordered them removed prior to the battle with Cyane and Levant to give better clearance for the forward gun crews.  They were not reassembled after the battle - probably because they were removed with an axe. On the cruise home the British officers began to grumble and get very vocal about the lack of private facilities for the gentleman.  They felt that it was very undignified to have to relieve themselves using the leeward channels like common sailors.  One of the American Lieutenants finally got fed up and remarked loudly to one of them something to the effect that the prisoners were well positioned to attest that American officers cared more about their gunnery than about their round houses... Presumably that ended the trouble.   I decided that including them would be a waste of my limited Units of Effort since they would not be visible once the spar deck was positioned.  But just a few weeks later the Log Lines blog on the Constitution Museum website had a great article on these same round houses. http://usscm.blogspot.com/2014/01/head-lines.html  I took this as a sign from the Goddess of Ship Models that I should include these in my build for thoroughness.  There would be one on both port and starboard, but since I do not know if these were removed before the battle with Guerriere, I decided to only include one and split the difference.     More details soon.   Thanks again for following along. Evan

Folks
 
I've been neglecting my build for many weeks... Late summer travel and life adventures.
 
I did manage to make my way to the Charlestown Navy Yard for an Old Ironsides fix. As many of you know, she'll enter the yard in early 2015 for an extensive three year restoration so this was a last chance to walk the decks for awhile.
 
I got some more photos of the correct carronade:

 
Also a good shot of the interlocking planking on the gun deck:

 
The kids are at an age where they can appreciate the interactive displays inside the Constitution museum. They were put to good work:
 
Hoisting livestock onboard:

Holystoning the deck:

And shortening sail:

 
They will make good topmen one day!
 
The bell that Constitution carried into the Guerriere battle was cast by Paul Revere and sadly destroyed. Here is the one requisitioned from the Guerriere:

 
And here is a shot of my favorite artifact in the museum - a hand drawn diagram by one of her lieutenants of the battle with Java. You have to find a little box on the wall and open the door:

Many folks don't realize that Java stern raked Constitution TWICE during the battle.
 
Here are some interesting detail shots from a series of paintings of the Java battle done by George Ropes Jr. - the deaf/mute apprentice of Michel Felice Corne. I hadn't seen these paintings before:
 


 
These also suggest a pale yellow stripe and five stern windows for those who care to ponder such things.
 
Altogether it was a great day in the Navy yard. The only disappointment was not being able to make Henry's acquaintance. I flubbed up the coordination with our rendezvous. The kids and I got caught up in the long queue inside the Bunker Hill monument... By the time we got down and over to the Navy yard the 1812 Marine detachment had decamped for the day and Henry wasn't able to hang back.
 
We've had brutal heat and humidity for much of the past few weeks here and it has only just now abated enough for me to venture back into the garage workshop. Fiddling with the 24-pdrs...
 
Thanks again to those who follow my build log.
 
Evan

Folks
 
I've been neglecting my build for many weeks... Late summer travel and life adventures.
 
I did manage to make my way to the Charlestown Navy Yard for an Old Ironsides fix. As many of you know, she'll enter the yard in early 2015 for an extensive three year restoration so this was a last chance to walk the decks for awhile.
 
I got some more photos of the correct carronade:

 
Also a good shot of the interlocking planking on the gun deck:

 
The kids are at an age where they can appreciate the interactive displays inside the Constitution museum. They were put to good work:
 
Hoisting livestock onboard:

Holystoning the deck:

And shortening sail:

 
They will make good topmen one day!
 
The bell that Constitution carried into the Guerriere battle was cast by Paul Revere and sadly destroyed. Here is the one requisitioned from the Guerriere:

 
And here is a shot of my favorite artifact in the museum - a hand drawn diagram by one of her lieutenants of the battle with Java. You have to find a little box on the wall and open the door:

Many folks don't realize that Java stern raked Constitution TWICE during the battle.
 
Here are some interesting detail shots from a series of paintings of the Java battle done by George Ropes Jr. - the deaf/mute apprentice of Michel Felice Corne. I hadn't seen these paintings before:
 


 
These also suggest a pale yellow stripe and five stern windows for those who care to ponder such things.
 
Altogether it was a great day in the Navy yard. The only disappointment was not being able to make Henry's acquaintance. I flubbed up the coordination with our rendezvous. The kids and I got caught up in the long queue inside the Bunker Hill monument... By the time we got down and over to the Navy yard the 1812 Marine detachment had decamped for the day and Henry wasn't able to hang back.
 
We've had brutal heat and humidity for much of the past few weeks here and it has only just now abated enough for me to venture back into the garage workshop. Fiddling with the 24-pdrs...
 
Thanks again to those who follow my build log.
 
Evan

Folks
 
I've been neglecting my build for many weeks... Late summer travel and life adventures.
 
I did manage to make my way to the Charlestown Navy Yard for an Old Ironsides fix. As many of you know, she'll enter the yard in early 2015 for an extensive three year restoration so this was a last chance to walk the decks for awhile.
 
I got some more photos of the correct carronade:

 
Also a good shot of the interlocking planking on the gun deck:

 
The kids are at an age where they can appreciate the interactive displays inside the Constitution museum. They were put to good work:
 
Hoisting livestock onboard:

Holystoning the deck:

And shortening sail:

 
They will make good topmen one day!
 
The bell that Constitution carried into the Guerriere battle was cast by Paul Revere and sadly destroyed. Here is the one requisitioned from the Guerriere:

 
And here is a shot of my favorite artifact in the museum - a hand drawn diagram by one of her lieutenants of the battle with Java. You have to find a little box on the wall and open the door:

Many folks don't realize that Java stern raked Constitution TWICE during the battle.
 
Here are some interesting detail shots from a series of paintings of the Java battle done by George Ropes Jr. - the deaf/mute apprentice of Michel Felice Corne. I hadn't seen these paintings before:
 


 
These also suggest a pale yellow stripe and five stern windows for those who care to ponder such things.
 
Altogether it was a great day in the Navy yard. The only disappointment was not being able to make Henry's acquaintance. I flubbed up the coordination with our rendezvous. The kids and I got caught up in the long queue inside the Bunker Hill monument... By the time we got down and over to the Navy yard the 1812 Marine detachment had decamped for the day and Henry wasn't able to hang back.
 
We've had brutal heat and humidity for much of the past few weeks here and it has only just now abated enough for me to venture back into the garage workshop. Fiddling with the 24-pdrs...
 
Thanks again to those who follow my build log.
 
Evan

Folks - Here is my rebuilt log of my Plastic Constitution build.  I've copied the entries over from another forum and I reserve the right to alter a few things to clean up previous errors:    
I’ve had a Revell 1/96 USS Constitution fall into my stash at a very reasonable price (Overstock.com) and it seems appropriate to take it on in recognition of the upcoming anniversary of USS Constitution’s victory over HMS Guerriere on August 19.
 
I’ve been spewing forth much hot air in defense of the Michel Felice Corne paintings and their representation of the ship as she first burst into glory against HMS Guerriere, so I feel obligated to back up my tirades with action. I’ll try to make this version align very closely to what we see in these paintings commissioned by Captain Hull immediately after his victory

(https://picasaweb.google.com/106997252788973852335/PEMMichelFeliceCorneGuerrierePaintings'>https://picasaweb.google.com/106997252788973852335/PEMMichelFeliceCorneGuerrierePaintings).
This does mean that I’ll set aside my Heller HMS Victory build for a time - I haven’t lost a bit of enthusiasm for that project - but I’ll apply what I learn in this new effort towards making that one better down the line.
 
Like many of us (most of us?) I’ve built this kit before... a few decades (or more) back. It seems to have been almost a rite of passage for anyone wanting to take ship modeling seriously. I’ll call that one the MK 1 version and it still exists in a dusty condition on a high shelf in the garage:

 

 
I was never happy with that earlier effort. Much has happened in the intervening years to improve my chances of making a more representative kit - most notably the proliferation of great information on the internet to inform my approach.
 
This venerable kit was originally issued back... well, back before some of us were born(!)... and I think it still holds up well. Certainly there is plenty of flash and injection moulding marks that we don't see in modern kits, but the kit still makes up into an impressive display as we can see in the various log entries across this forum.  It seems to be a copy of the 1/48 George Campbell plan model in the Smithsonian collection (http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery/misc/sail/constitution-48-sm/con-index.html'>http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery/misc/sail/constitution-48-sm/con-index.html) - which itself is a refinement of the famous Hull model built by the crew and presented to Captain Hull following his victory over Guerriere

(https://picasaweb.google.com/106997252788973852335/PEMUSSConstitutionHullModel'>https://picasaweb.google.com/106997252788973852335/PEMUSSConstitutionHullModel).
We see plenty of similarities in the bow and stern between the models and the Revell color guide somewhat follows the original. So the question becomes - does this Revell kit align well to the configuration of the Constitution when she earned her “Old Ironsides” moniker against HMS Guerriere? Well, strictly speaking no... In fact, if built OOB it would not actually represent Constitution as she was configured in any of her wartime cruises. There is a critical difference between the historic model and her modern copy - the Hull model shows 15 gun ports on each side of her gun deck (although the forward most are a bit too far forward) and the Revell kit shows 16. The difference is explained by this journal entry from Frederick Baury - one of Constitution’s midshipmen:
 
21 Sep 1812  Carpenters cutting bridle ports in bows ‑‑ Lieutenant Morgan and Midshipman Taylor left on recruiting duty.
 
After returning to Boston following the battle, Isaac Hull resigned and command was handed over to the much despised William Bainbridge. He proceeded to make a few changes including the addition of “bridle ports” up forward to help in towing, anchoring, and to potentially serve as bow chaser positions. Unlike the guidance provided by the Revell instructions, these positions would not normally have had a gun mounted. If needed during a chase, a nearby 24-pounder would be hauled into one of these spots to lob a few shots and try for a lucky hit to take out a spar and slow down the prey. To that end Bainbridge made another change as outlined by Commander Tyrone Martin in his overview of Constitution’s armament:
 
Following his succession to command of the ship on 15 September 1812, Commodore William Bainbridge eliminated the 18-pounder, simplifying his ammunition loading and handling problem by dropping one caliber. The gun had been virtually useless, anyway, since the ship's bow structure was not well suited to the accommodation of a chase gun.
 
Bainbridge may have been a jerk of a human being, but he was an astute naval commander and he thought it made more sense to offload the 18 pdr chase gun and make room to store more 24 pdr ammunition for his main guns.
So the 16 gun ports and the spar deck bow chaser as provided in the kit could not co-exist. The easiest solution to bring things into alignment is to ditch the bow chaser and the two forward main deck guns and call it a day. You’d likely have the correct representation of Constitution’s configuration when she scored her victory over HMS Java. Since I am trying to show her during the battle with HMS Guerriere, I will preserve the bow chaser gun, but I will need to take the drastic step of filling in the forward bridle ports. 
 
If you want to represent her last war cruise under Charles Stewart, then you’ll have to revisit the carronades on the spar deck. Here again Commander Martin provides some insight:
 
[Charles Stewart] reduced the number of carronades to twenty and added two 24-pounder "shifting gunades" recently captured from the British by an American privateer. Designed by Sir William Congreve in 1814, each was 8' 6" long, but being of thinner barrel construction weighed only about 5000 pounds on carriage. The design was an attempt to combine the range of a long gun with the lighter weight of a carronade. The pair sat on carriages like the long guns, and it was expected that, since they were lighter, they could readily be shifted from side to side as combat required.
 

 
 
Apparently Stewart had the two forward most and two aft most carronades removed and replaced with one each of the newfangled gunnades. I have no idea how these actually looked when mounted on a carriage, but it might be possible to find slightly over scale carronade barrels and mount them to the two gun carriages no longer needed on the main gun deck. Oh, and you’d also need to paint her with a yellow band - that is well documented.
 
Regarding the carronades... As represented in the kit with the wooden quoins, these would seem to be rather quaint. The carriages on the foredeck with their small trucks would also seem to be inappropriate for 1812. Certainly by the time of Trafalgar it would be more typical for a carronade to be mounted with a pin to the bulwark with trajectory controlled by an elevation screw. I think Karl Heinz Marquardt addresses these same concerns in his AOTS book since the restored ship has these outmoded versions still represented. I’ll optimistically try to modify all of the carronades to include the elevation screws and eliminate the funky rolling carriages on the foredeck.
 
Many folks get caught up in the various permutations of the stern gallery windows. Were there six or five?... or three or eight? The Hull model shows six, but the Corne paintings have five... I’m frankly not concerned either way. I assume there were many chances for the configuration to have changed across the years as different commanders supervised different refits within different time and budget limitations. Perhaps Hull and his crew replaced the six windows with only five after destroying the original gallery windows during their escape from Broke’s squadron (they axed out the windows and some of the transom to position guns to fire at their pursuers). Maybe there were always six and Corne got this wrong. Nobody knows the truth and we likely never will... I’m fine with working with the six depicted on the kit.
 
The rudder on this kit is a bit perplexing... It is moulded with wood grain without any copper plating represented. Hmmm... That doesn’t seem correct. I’ll ponder the idea of putting some of my extra styrene strips to work and setting that right.
 
Of course the kit provided plastic eyelets and rings are worthless - easily broken and a bit over scale. Those will be replaced with wire or PE versions. Somehow I managed to not break any of the plastic hammock cranes on my first effort all those years ago, but I’ll replace those with ones fashioned from brass micro-tubing and Jotika eyelets. Some of the thinner spars are also vulnerable to bending/breakage. I’ll try to shape some brass rod for replacements. I’ll need to carefully consider the moulded blocks - some may be usable or otherwise converted to usefulness. I suspect I’ll replace most with online purchases. The gun port lids will be omitted altogether - the Hull model and the credible paintings of the period (including the Corne series) don’t show them mounted (although the Hull model has a lid for the forward most ports).
 
The pre-formed ratlines, moulded deadeyes, and vacuum formed sails will not be utilized. ‘Nuff said. As for the accuracy of the rig represented in the kit... I am having trouble finding a stable representation of her complete masting and rigging layout. The 1817 Charles Ware diagram may be about the best, but as Marquardt points out it differs in some respects to other seemingly authoritative sources. It is also interesting to note that the Corne paintings are showing crows feet rigged... that is unique. At least it appears that the trysail mast (immediately abaft the mizzen) is authentic - records indicate that Isaac Hull had this added to allow better movement for the boom and gaff. The Hull model clearly shows it fitted as well. I’ll worry more about the rigging when I’m much closer to that phase, but in the meantime I’ll probably fork over the $60 bucks for the Bluejacket manual set and perhaps rely on that for guidance...
 
The biggest bugaboo in this kit is the multi-part decking. Ugh... The forums are full of attempts to mitigate the unsightly seams with various levels of success. Some folks just don’t worry about them at all and instead try to make the rest of the deck interesting enough to be distracting. I’ve even seen one modeler glue “battens” over them and pass them off as a “feature”. My first attempt was relatively successful in aligning the deck sections and eliminating any meaningful gap, but I was hesitant to fill and sand because I was trying to preserve the moulded wood grain detail. I was attempting to follow the “Les Wilkins” method of using a razor or low-grit sandpaper to remove the top layer of tan paint to reveal the base coat of black and highlight the grain (guidance that is also provided in the Revell instructions). I’ve since decided that the grain is a bit overdone at this scale and it’d be best to smooth everything down and use shades of paint and perhaps some artist pencils to impart the wood tones. Eliminating the seams is more important than preserving the grain.
 
There are many fine efforts out there... Here’s one that inspires - well known to those of us who prowl the web for impressive builds:
http://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=177&t=11091&sid=a22ea2a7adc8efe9b2fcffd0273bb134'>http://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=177&t=11091&sid=a22ea2a7adc8efe9b2fcffd0273bb134
Other useful online resources:
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/war1812/atsea/con-guer.htm'>http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/war1812/atsea/con-guer.htm
http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/46/46021.htm'>http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/46/46021.htm
http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/us_navy_pages/sailing_ships/constitution/uss_constitution.htm'>http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/us_navy_pages/sailing_ships/constitution/uss_constitution.htm
http://www.hazegray.org/features/constitution/'>http://www.hazegray.org/features/constitution/
http://navysite.de/ships/consttour.htm'>http://navysite.de/ships/consttour.htm
http://www.captainsclerk.info/'>http://www.captainsclerk.info/
 
Here are some of the modifications I hope to incorporate along the way:
Customized elements:
Fill in the forward Bridle ports.
Thicken the gunport sills.
Add a scratch built galley stove.
Show the anchor cable/messenger cable rigged on the gun deck.
Display Carronades with elevation screws.
Replace rolling carronade carriages with lug mounted versions.
Copper plating on the rudder.
Hammock Cranes fashioned from brass micro-tubing.
Brass Rod for delicate spars.
New capstan on spar deck (and gun deck).
 
Paint scheme (guidance from Corne paintings and Hull model):
Yellow ochre band ending up forward in a scalloped half-circle.
White trim on bow and stern details.
Red gallery windows. 
Red gunport sills/linings,
Green interior bulwarks on spar deck.
White bulwarks on the gun deck.
Green deck coamings/furniture on spar deck.
Yellow ochre lower masts with “natural” above.
Tops in Black.
Black bowsprit with “natural” jib boom.
 
Let the fun begin.

Folks...
 
My wife originally hails from Boston so we make a few trips back periodically to visit with family and friends. This year they were really making a big deal out of the July 4 celebration with Old Ironsides as the centerpiece of the commemoration of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 - so we decided to make our trip coincide with the festivities.
 
On Tuesday mornings during peak season the USS Constitution offers a special behind the scenes "Constitution Experience" tour of the great ship for a limited sized group (you need to pre-register thru the website). You get to see the morning flag raising and morning gun before heading aboard. The tour includes the captains quarters, the orlop deck, and a chance to crawl down into the after powder room - all spaces normally off limits to us civilians.
 

 



During Cdr Tyrone Martin's tenure he had the forward gun modified to fire salutes. Here is the exposed loading tray of the surplus WWII anti-aircraft gun utilized for the purpose (each firing pin now costs $60 because of scarcity):

The Tiller:


Here is the scuttle down to the after powder room:


Here is some original timber (transom wings?) in the aftermost space of the magazine:

Here is my foot standing on original wood. The guide says it is the keel - but it is more likely the keelson or deadwood on top:

Orlop deck with the diagonal riders:

 
USS Constitution is, of course, still a commissioned warship in the US Navy so the guides are all active duty sailors and marines. The facts as presented in the tour are a bit sketchy in terms of accuracy, but the intent is well-meaning. Here are a few of the most egregious:
- "The frames are spaced two - four inches apart unlike the British ships, which were three or four FEET apart."
- "The crew fired a round every 90 seconds. The British crew fired every two to three minutes." (The opposite was probably true)
- "The ship could only fire every other gun in a broadside - otherwise a full broadside fired from every gun would tip the ship over."
 
Overall it was a terrific morning clambering around inside the great ship.

The opening in front of the helm position will allow views down to the gun deck capstan and the chain pumps:
 

 
The fore deck opening will expose the riding bitts and the camboose (ship's stove):
 

 
 
There is another long opening along the starboard gangway to reveal the 24 pdrs rigged up below.  The final opening aft on the quarterdeck will have views into the captain's cabin - the stern galleries and side panelling will be seen.
 
The appropriate beams and carlings will be added after I've glued the three pieces together (actually I'll use some of the beams to help align the edges when gluing),
 
Thanks for following along...

Folks
 
I've been neglecting my build for many weeks... Late summer travel and life adventures.
 
I did manage to make my way to the Charlestown Navy Yard for an Old Ironsides fix. As many of you know, she'll enter the yard in early 2015 for an extensive three year restoration so this was a last chance to walk the decks for awhile.
 
I got some more photos of the correct carronade:

 
Also a good shot of the interlocking planking on the gun deck:

 
The kids are at an age where they can appreciate the interactive displays inside the Constitution museum. They were put to good work:
 
Hoisting livestock onboard:

Holystoning the deck:

And shortening sail:

 
They will make good topmen one day!
 
The bell that Constitution carried into the Guerriere battle was cast by Paul Revere and sadly destroyed. Here is the one requisitioned from the Guerriere:

 
And here is a shot of my favorite artifact in the museum - a hand drawn diagram by one of her lieutenants of the battle with Java. You have to find a little box on the wall and open the door:

Many folks don't realize that Java stern raked Constitution TWICE during the battle.
 
Here are some interesting detail shots from a series of paintings of the Java battle done by George Ropes Jr. - the deaf/mute apprentice of Michel Felice Corne. I hadn't seen these paintings before:
 


 
These also suggest a pale yellow stripe and five stern windows for those who care to ponder such things.
 
Altogether it was a great day in the Navy yard. The only disappointment was not being able to make Henry's acquaintance. I flubbed up the coordination with our rendezvous. The kids and I got caught up in the long queue inside the Bunker Hill monument... By the time we got down and over to the Navy yard the 1812 Marine detachment had decamped for the day and Henry wasn't able to hang back.
 
We've had brutal heat and humidity for much of the past few weeks here and it has only just now abated enough for me to venture back into the garage workshop. Fiddling with the 24-pdrs...
 
Thanks again to those who follow my build log.
 
Evan

Ladies and Gents...  
 
(Actually - I have not detected any Ladies following this build so we're all free to belch and scratch without fear of retribution...)
 
Thank you all for the kindness of your remarks.
 
Here is where the job stands after some time spent on the half hulls:
 






 
You'll see that I've done a fair amount of work on the underside and have the foundation in place for the gun stripe and red port sills.
 

 
I started by giving the underside a light coat of Vallejo Air Copper as a base.  I then began to randomly mix different blends of Vallejo Air Copper, Vallejo Hammered Copper, Microlux Air Roof Brown, and MicroLux Grimy Black in small batches and applied using some disposable micro brushes (Model Expo).  I would slink out to the workshop whenever I had an odd 15 or 20 minutes to spend filling in individual plates... After a week or so I had most of the two half hulls done.  A final (obligatory) coat of Vallejo Sepia Wash was then applied and - as with the decking - quickly wiped down with a clean soft cloth.  This had multiple good effects: It knocked down the shine, helped to blend all of the contrasting colors, highlighted some of the plate seams, and - most importantly - removed just enough paint to "expose" the riveting and define the edges of the plates.  I had to press down firmly when wiping it down to get an even exposure of the riveting.
 
The gun stripe was masked off a bit wider than the final dimension to allow some overlap and a cleaner line once the black is laid down.  After a base coat of Vallejo Air Interior Yellow (A near equivalent to Floquil Depot Buff), a thin layer of Vallejo Sepia wash (the old standby) was applied and lightly wiped down to leave a good patina behind.  This deepened the color enough to generally match what is seen in the Corne paintings.  Next I masked off everything except the gun port sills and airbrushed a few coats of Vallejo Air Ferrari Red.  I wanted the red to be deep and eye-catching.  None of this wimpy wannabe red... It looks blood red in the paintings and that's what will be on the model!  Still a few more detail touch ups remain, but it is almost there.
 
Here is the discarded tape used for masking just one of the half hulls!

 
I have not done much in the last week or so.  I thoroughly gunked up my very cheap airbrush and decided to invest in something more substantial.  I'm tired of constantly stripping it all down to clean after every small paint session.  Once done I can attack the black part of the hull.
 
Thanks to all for your continued interest!
Evan

Folks
 
I've been neglecting my build for many weeks... Late summer travel and life adventures.
 
I did manage to make my way to the Charlestown Navy Yard for an Old Ironsides fix. As many of you know, she'll enter the yard in early 2015 for an extensive three year restoration so this was a last chance to walk the decks for awhile.
 
I got some more photos of the correct carronade:

 
Also a good shot of the interlocking planking on the gun deck:

 
The kids are at an age where they can appreciate the interactive displays inside the Constitution museum. They were put to good work:
 
Hoisting livestock onboard:

Holystoning the deck:

And shortening sail:

 
They will make good topmen one day!
 
The bell that Constitution carried into the Guerriere battle was cast by Paul Revere and sadly destroyed. Here is the one requisitioned from the Guerriere:

 
And here is a shot of my favorite artifact in the museum - a hand drawn diagram by one of her lieutenants of the battle with Java. You have to find a little box on the wall and open the door:

Many folks don't realize that Java stern raked Constitution TWICE during the battle.
 
Here are some interesting detail shots from a series of paintings of the Java battle done by George Ropes Jr. - the deaf/mute apprentice of Michel Felice Corne. I hadn't seen these paintings before:
 


 
These also suggest a pale yellow stripe and five stern windows for those who care to ponder such things.
 
Altogether it was a great day in the Navy yard. The only disappointment was not being able to make Henry's acquaintance. I flubbed up the coordination with our rendezvous. The kids and I got caught up in the long queue inside the Bunker Hill monument... By the time we got down and over to the Navy yard the 1812 Marine detachment had decamped for the day and Henry wasn't able to hang back.
 
We've had brutal heat and humidity for much of the past few weeks here and it has only just now abated enough for me to venture back into the garage workshop. Fiddling with the 24-pdrs...
 
Thanks again to those who follow my build log.
 
Evan

Folks
 
I've been neglecting my build for many weeks... Late summer travel and life adventures.
 
I did manage to make my way to the Charlestown Navy Yard for an Old Ironsides fix. As many of you know, she'll enter the yard in early 2015 for an extensive three year restoration so this was a last chance to walk the decks for awhile.
 
I got some more photos of the correct carronade:

 
Also a good shot of the interlocking planking on the gun deck:

 
The kids are at an age where they can appreciate the interactive displays inside the Constitution museum. They were put to good work:
 
Hoisting livestock onboard:

Holystoning the deck:

And shortening sail:

 
They will make good topmen one day!
 
The bell that Constitution carried into the Guerriere battle was cast by Paul Revere and sadly destroyed. Here is the one requisitioned from the Guerriere:

 
And here is a shot of my favorite artifact in the museum - a hand drawn diagram by one of her lieutenants of the battle with Java. You have to find a little box on the wall and open the door:

Many folks don't realize that Java stern raked Constitution TWICE during the battle.
 
Here are some interesting detail shots from a series of paintings of the Java battle done by George Ropes Jr. - the deaf/mute apprentice of Michel Felice Corne. I hadn't seen these paintings before:
 


 
These also suggest a pale yellow stripe and five stern windows for those who care to ponder such things.
 
Altogether it was a great day in the Navy yard. The only disappointment was not being able to make Henry's acquaintance. I flubbed up the coordination with our rendezvous. The kids and I got caught up in the long queue inside the Bunker Hill monument... By the time we got down and over to the Navy yard the 1812 Marine detachment had decamped for the day and Henry wasn't able to hang back.
 
We've had brutal heat and humidity for much of the past few weeks here and it has only just now abated enough for me to venture back into the garage workshop. Fiddling with the 24-pdrs...
 
Thanks again to those who follow my build log.
 
Evan

I think Evan summoned the case nicely. The most important was the saving of the rudder. Even though Dave mentions the lock, history is full of broken or lost rudders - another example is the Cutty Sark in race with the Thermopylae, where she lost it in a storm and the need of several days to fix an emergency rudder under these conditions is still one of the great stories of bravery in seamanship.
 
In my understanding the first purpose was to keep the rudder nearby the ship to recover the material. The chain is usually tied close to the stern, keeping the chain out of the water and out of the way and providing by the ties a kind of breaking point to give more line to keep the floating rudder as clear of the hull as possible.
 
Once recovered it for sure was a first option to be used as steering help, but for reasons of lever forces, it was handled by some spars that were set outside as Evan described. This and many more options are nicely shown in the Harland´s Seamanship. Also Nares, Sheet Anchor and Ketch Anchor etc have big sections about replacing the rudder, so it was a well known and especially dangerous issue.
 
Emergency systems contained the use of gun-carriages, barrels, old sails - an interesting and very exciting topic :-)
 
XXXDAn

Here are some pictures aut of my Harland Seamanship, showing the steering by the chains and other stories.
 
XXXDAn

I'll chime in here... Firstly, we should properly denote this rig as the "Rudder Pendant" tackle to stage any discussion.  
 
Let's not assume this gear is only for emergency steering. The 1828 Webster's dictionary includes a definition: "The rudder-pendant is a rope made fast to the rudder by a chain, to prevent the loss of the rudder when unshipped."  There are many documented instances of the rudder being unshipped by a storm or grounding... Oftentimes it was the pintles and gudgeons that were broken or wrenched loose causing the rudder to break away.  Admiral d'Estaing's flagship lost her rudder in a violent gale off the Chesapeake during the American Revolution.
 
It is most likely that the rudder pendant served ALL of the aforementioned purposes. Lawrence Mott in his "The Development of the Rudder: A Technological Tale"  notes that this tackle "Prevented the rudder from swinging too far to one side, helped control the rudder in rough weather, and acted as emergency steering in case the tiller broke."  
 
I would think that the need to use the pendant tackle for emergency steering was the least common purpose... Certainly ships like the Victory and Constitution had the ability to insert a replacement tiller on the rudder head and/or jury rig new steering tackle inside the ship in cases where the main steering tackle was damaged.  Resorting to exterior rudder pendant tackle would be extreme - likely only done when the rudder head itself was damaged and the rest of the rudder was still intact.  Having this tackle in place to prevent the loss of an unshipped rudder was probably much more useful to seafarers back in the day... Much better to be able to retrieve and repair the existing rudder than to make one from scratch when away from a dockyard.  The flimsy replacement made for the St. George ultimately failed in the midst of the next storm.
 
The lower portion of the tackle (below the counter) is the "rudder chain", the remainder is the "pendant" of rope that is typically led up to the mizzen chains and tied off around a deadeye or an eyebolt on the channel.  I think the restored Victory has it led up through a hole in the channel and secured with a stopper knot (at least when I last visited her in '97). When rigging the rudder chain to the spectacle plate on any model, attention should be paid to the arc of the rudder to make sure it can swing - but not too far. 
 
In the rare case where the pendant tackle was used to control the rudder, it is my understanding that the crew commonly set up a spare spar as an outrigger and passed the pendant line through a block on the end and back through an open port so that the pendant didn't rub against the side of the ship and the mechanical leverage was maximized. 
 
Evan

I'll chime in here... Firstly, we should properly denote this rig as the "Rudder Pendant" tackle to stage any discussion.  
 
Let's not assume this gear is only for emergency steering. The 1828 Webster's dictionary includes a definition: "The rudder-pendant is a rope made fast to the rudder by a chain, to prevent the loss of the rudder when unshipped."  There are many documented instances of the rudder being unshipped by a storm or grounding... Oftentimes it was the pintles and gudgeons that were broken or wrenched loose causing the rudder to break away.  Admiral d'Estaing's flagship lost her rudder in a violent gale off the Chesapeake during the American Revolution.
 
It is most likely that the rudder pendant served ALL of the aforementioned purposes. Lawrence Mott in his "The Development of the Rudder: A Technological Tale"  notes that this tackle "Prevented the rudder from swinging too far to one side, helped control the rudder in rough weather, and acted as emergency steering in case the tiller broke."  
 
I would think that the need to use the pendant tackle for emergency steering was the least common purpose... Certainly ships like the Victory and Constitution had the ability to insert a replacement tiller on the rudder head and/or jury rig new steering tackle inside the ship in cases where the main steering tackle was damaged.  Resorting to exterior rudder pendant tackle would be extreme - likely only done when the rudder head itself was damaged and the rest of the rudder was still intact.  Having this tackle in place to prevent the loss of an unshipped rudder was probably much more useful to seafarers back in the day... Much better to be able to retrieve and repair the existing rudder than to make one from scratch when away from a dockyard.  The flimsy replacement made for the St. George ultimately failed in the midst of the next storm.
 
The lower portion of the tackle (below the counter) is the "rudder chain", the remainder is the "pendant" of rope that is typically led up to the mizzen chains and tied off around a deadeye or an eyebolt on the channel.  I think the restored Victory has it led up through a hole in the channel and secured with a stopper knot (at least when I last visited her in '97). When rigging the rudder chain to the spectacle plate on any model, attention should be paid to the arc of the rudder to make sure it can swing - but not too far. 
 
In the rare case where the pendant tackle was used to control the rudder, it is my understanding that the crew commonly set up a spare spar as an outrigger and passed the pendant line through a block on the end and back through an open port so that the pendant didn't rub against the side of the ship and the mechanical leverage was maximized. 
 
Evan

I'll chime in here... Firstly, we should properly denote this rig as the "Rudder Pendant" tackle to stage any discussion.  
 
Let's not assume this gear is only for emergency steering. The 1828 Webster's dictionary includes a definition: "The rudder-pendant is a rope made fast to the rudder by a chain, to prevent the loss of the rudder when unshipped."  There are many documented instances of the rudder being unshipped by a storm or grounding... Oftentimes it was the pintles and gudgeons that were broken or wrenched loose causing the rudder to break away.  Admiral d'Estaing's flagship lost her rudder in a violent gale off the Chesapeake during the American Revolution.
 
It is most likely that the rudder pendant served ALL of the aforementioned purposes. Lawrence Mott in his "The Development of the Rudder: A Technological Tale"  notes that this tackle "Prevented the rudder from swinging too far to one side, helped control the rudder in rough weather, and acted as emergency steering in case the tiller broke."  
 
I would think that the need to use the pendant tackle for emergency steering was the least common purpose... Certainly ships like the Victory and Constitution had the ability to insert a replacement tiller on the rudder head and/or jury rig new steering tackle inside the ship in cases where the main steering tackle was damaged.  Resorting to exterior rudder pendant tackle would be extreme - likely only done when the rudder head itself was damaged and the rest of the rudder was still intact.  Having this tackle in place to prevent the loss of an unshipped rudder was probably much more useful to seafarers back in the day... Much better to be able to retrieve and repair the existing rudder than to make one from scratch when away from a dockyard.  The flimsy replacement made for the St. George ultimately failed in the midst of the next storm.
 
The lower portion of the tackle (below the counter) is the "rudder chain", the remainder is the "pendant" of rope that is typically led up to the mizzen chains and tied off around a deadeye or an eyebolt on the channel.  I think the restored Victory has it led up through a hole in the channel and secured with a stopper knot (at least when I last visited her in '97). When rigging the rudder chain to the spectacle plate on any model, attention should be paid to the arc of the rudder to make sure it can swing - but not too far. 
 
In the rare case where the pendant tackle was used to control the rudder, it is my understanding that the crew commonly set up a spare spar as an outrigger and passed the pendant line through a block on the end and back through an open port so that the pendant didn't rub against the side of the ship and the mechanical leverage was maximized. 
 
Evan

Thank you Shroeter for the very kind note.  
 
I hope I'm diligent enough as I go along to relay meaningful detail about my processes and decisions to help inform the next modeler.  I suspect the next wave will improve on my methods and build on what I have done to get the most out of the venerable 1/96 Revell kit.
 
Please don't hesitate to chime in often and ping me with any questions or requests for clarification as you follow along...  Hope to see some postings of your effort!
 
Evan

Ladies and Gents...  
 
(Actually - I have not detected any Ladies following this build so we're all free to belch and scratch without fear of retribution...)
 
Thank you all for the kindness of your remarks.
 
Here is where the job stands after some time spent on the half hulls:
 






 
You'll see that I've done a fair amount of work on the underside and have the foundation in place for the gun stripe and red port sills.
 

 
I started by giving the underside a light coat of Vallejo Air Copper as a base.  I then began to randomly mix different blends of Vallejo Air Copper, Vallejo Hammered Copper, Microlux Air Roof Brown, and MicroLux Grimy Black in small batches and applied using some disposable micro brushes (Model Expo).  I would slink out to the workshop whenever I had an odd 15 or 20 minutes to spend filling in individual plates... After a week or so I had most of the two half hulls done.  A final (obligatory) coat of Vallejo Sepia Wash was then applied and - as with the decking - quickly wiped down with a clean soft cloth.  This had multiple good effects: It knocked down the shine, helped to blend all of the contrasting colors, highlighted some of the plate seams, and - most importantly - removed just enough paint to "expose" the riveting and define the edges of the plates.  I had to press down firmly when wiping it down to get an even exposure of the riveting.
 
The gun stripe was masked off a bit wider than the final dimension to allow some overlap and a cleaner line once the black is laid down.  After a base coat of Vallejo Air Interior Yellow (A near equivalent to Floquil Depot Buff), a thin layer of Vallejo Sepia wash (the old standby) was applied and lightly wiped down to leave a good patina behind.  This deepened the color enough to generally match what is seen in the Corne paintings.  Next I masked off everything except the gun port sills and airbrushed a few coats of Vallejo Air Ferrari Red.  I wanted the red to be deep and eye-catching.  None of this wimpy wannabe red... It looks blood red in the paintings and that's what will be on the model!  Still a few more detail touch ups remain, but it is almost there.
 
Here is the discarded tape used for masking just one of the half hulls!

 
I have not done much in the last week or so.  I thoroughly gunked up my very cheap airbrush and decided to invest in something more substantial.  I'm tired of constantly stripping it all down to clean after every small paint session.  Once done I can attack the black part of the hull.
 
Thanks to all for your continued interest!
Evan

Ladies and Gents...  
 
(Actually - I have not detected any Ladies following this build so we're all free to belch and scratch without fear of retribution...)
 
Thank you all for the kindness of your remarks.
 
Here is where the job stands after some time spent on the half hulls:
 






 
You'll see that I've done a fair amount of work on the underside and have the foundation in place for the gun stripe and red port sills.
 

 
I started by giving the underside a light coat of Vallejo Air Copper as a base.  I then began to randomly mix different blends of Vallejo Air Copper, Vallejo Hammered Copper, Microlux Air Roof Brown, and MicroLux Grimy Black in small batches and applied using some disposable micro brushes (Model Expo).  I would slink out to the workshop whenever I had an odd 15 or 20 minutes to spend filling in individual plates... After a week or so I had most of the two half hulls done.  A final (obligatory) coat of Vallejo Sepia Wash was then applied and - as with the decking - quickly wiped down with a clean soft cloth.  This had multiple good effects: It knocked down the shine, helped to blend all of the contrasting colors, highlighted some of the plate seams, and - most importantly - removed just enough paint to "expose" the riveting and define the edges of the plates.  I had to press down firmly when wiping it down to get an even exposure of the riveting.
 
The gun stripe was masked off a bit wider than the final dimension to allow some overlap and a cleaner line once the black is laid down.  After a base coat of Vallejo Air Interior Yellow (A near equivalent to Floquil Depot Buff), a thin layer of Vallejo Sepia wash (the old standby) was applied and lightly wiped down to leave a good patina behind.  This deepened the color enough to generally match what is seen in the Corne paintings.  Next I masked off everything except the gun port sills and airbrushed a few coats of Vallejo Air Ferrari Red.  I wanted the red to be deep and eye-catching.  None of this wimpy wannabe red... It looks blood red in the paintings and that's what will be on the model!  Still a few more detail touch ups remain, but it is almost there.
 
Here is the discarded tape used for masking just one of the half hulls!

 
I have not done much in the last week or so.  I thoroughly gunked up my very cheap airbrush and decided to invest in something more substantial.  I'm tired of constantly stripping it all down to clean after every small paint session.  Once done I can attack the black part of the hull.
 
Thanks to all for your continued interest!
Evan

I recently struggled with how to represent the copper sheathing on my own build - the classic 1/96 Revell kit of the Constitution.
 
Many of us of a certain age (say something north of 50) can remember when American pennies had a much higher copper content.  Every family had a jar full of pennies that showed a wide variation in color and tone.  Most were shades of brown, some were black, some had green... a few were shiny.  I thought it would be worth the effort to add this same kind of variation to the underside of my Connie and make many of the detailed plates "pop" for a better visual effect. 
 
In addition to the variation found in the old jar of pennies, I was influenced by some cursory research into the production of copper sheets by Paul Revere.  Thank goodness for Google and Wikipedia...
 
Most of you already know that Revere provided the first copper sheets made in America and used on the Constitution.  He recognized an opportunity to launch a new industry and invested in an old ironworks in Canton that could utilize the adjacent river for the necessary power to turn the gears of the rollers and power the industrial hammers needed to crush ore.  Revere had sent his son to England to glean what information he could on methods for rolling copper.  This info combined with his own experience in working with forging of copper and Iron (and of course silversmithing) gave him enough confidence to proceed.  Benjamin Stoddert, the Secretary of the Navy at the time, was encouraging domestic sources for vital military materials such as copper sheathing and offered to help fund Revere's initial effort.  The US Government provided a $10k loan and the first batch of raw copper for processing into sheets - an early example of federal subsidy of the military industrial complex.  There were no reliable domestic sources for large quantities of copper, so England and other overseas sources were needed.  Additionally, Revere was smelting and refining domestic copper in small amounts from Pennsylvania mines in the hopes of establishing some independence from these foreign sources. Metallurgy in that day was clearly a far cry from what we have today and the consistency and quality would vary widely which would naturally introduce color variation.
 
Secretary Stoddert preferred that Revere use a "cold rolling" method for flattening the copper through a series of heavy iron rollers into thinner sheets.  He felt that this would harden the material for greater strength.  Paul Revere, however, successfully argued for a "Hot Rolling" method which would anneal the copper as it was flattened through the iron rollers with a final cold rolling pass to add some strength.  This approach, however, introduces "mill scale", which is heavy oxidation on the surface caused by the recrystallization of the metal under heat.  The final cold rolling would help to  reduce the scale problem and give the sheets a better finish.  The heating of the metal would further introduce color variation in each batch - especially when a consistent temperature is not applied.  Revere used plentiful New England hardwoods to heat his "furnace" instead of coal as used in England.  This likely introduced more color variation than the copper sheathing imported from England.
 
Finally, it appears to have been common practice for the shipyards to store the copper sheets in open sheds to allow some natural oxidation that would help flake off any remaining mill scale.  This period of "weathering" would also introduce wide color variation as different batches were stored for different periods before use - like the old pennies in the jar.
 
I think it highly unlikely that any ship of the early 19th century was ever sheathed in shiny copper of consistent color.  Even when first applied to a new ship on the ways, you'd have seen a patchwork of color and tone in the underside copper plates.  That is essentially what I've tried to depict.
 
All of this brain dump aside, I readily acknowledge that all of the choices made by modeler's for representing the copper plating is good by me... A nice even coat of copper paint on the hull produces a beautiful effect.  The use of copper tape seen in some of the newer builds is also a great approach - absolutely gorgeous stuff.  I just prefer the patchwork effect - purely artistic license.
      BTW - Here is a link to a nice overview of the Minerva model in the USNA Rogers collection:   http://www.usna.edu/100Objects/Objects/object-04.php?iframe=true&width=770&height=580   Good discussion.   Evan

I recently struggled with how to represent the copper sheathing on my own build - the classic 1/96 Revell kit of the Constitution.
 
Many of us of a certain age (say something north of 50) can remember when American pennies had a much higher copper content.  Every family had a jar full of pennies that showed a wide variation in color and tone.  Most were shades of brown, some were black, some had green... a few were shiny.  I thought it would be worth the effort to add this same kind of variation to the underside of my Connie and make many of the detailed plates "pop" for a better visual effect. 
 
In addition to the variation found in the old jar of pennies, I was influenced by some cursory research into the production of copper sheets by Paul Revere.  Thank goodness for Google and Wikipedia...
 
Most of you already know that Revere provided the first copper sheets made in America and used on the Constitution.  He recognized an opportunity to launch a new industry and invested in an old ironworks in Canton that could utilize the adjacent river for the necessary power to turn the gears of the rollers and power the industrial hammers needed to crush ore.  Revere had sent his son to England to glean what information he could on methods for rolling copper.  This info combined with his own experience in working with forging of copper and Iron (and of course silversmithing) gave him enough confidence to proceed.  Benjamin Stoddert, the Secretary of the Navy at the time, was encouraging domestic sources for vital military materials such as copper sheathing and offered to help fund Revere's initial effort.  The US Government provided a $10k loan and the first batch of raw copper for processing into sheets - an early example of federal subsidy of the military industrial complex.  There were no reliable domestic sources for large quantities of copper, so England and other overseas sources were needed.  Additionally, Revere was smelting and refining domestic copper in small amounts from Pennsylvania mines in the hopes of establishing some independence from these foreign sources. Metallurgy in that day was clearly a far cry from what we have today and the consistency and quality would vary widely which would naturally introduce color variation.
 
Secretary Stoddert preferred that Revere use a "cold rolling" method for flattening the copper through a series of heavy iron rollers into thinner sheets.  He felt that this would harden the material for greater strength.  Paul Revere, however, successfully argued for a "Hot Rolling" method which would anneal the copper as it was flattened through the iron rollers with a final cold rolling pass to add some strength.  This approach, however, introduces "mill scale", which is heavy oxidation on the surface caused by the recrystallization of the metal under heat.  The final cold rolling would help to  reduce the scale problem and give the sheets a better finish.  The heating of the metal would further introduce color variation in each batch - especially when a consistent temperature is not applied.  Revere used plentiful New England hardwoods to heat his "furnace" instead of coal as used in England.  This likely introduced more color variation than the copper sheathing imported from England.
 
Finally, it appears to have been common practice for the shipyards to store the copper sheets in open sheds to allow some natural oxidation that would help flake off any remaining mill scale.  This period of "weathering" would also introduce wide color variation as different batches were stored for different periods before use - like the old pennies in the jar.
 
I think it highly unlikely that any ship of the early 19th century was ever sheathed in shiny copper of consistent color.  Even when first applied to a new ship on the ways, you'd have seen a patchwork of color and tone in the underside copper plates.  That is essentially what I've tried to depict.
 
All of this brain dump aside, I readily acknowledge that all of the choices made by modeler's for representing the copper plating is good by me... A nice even coat of copper paint on the hull produces a beautiful effect.  The use of copper tape seen in some of the newer builds is also a great approach - absolutely gorgeous stuff.  I just prefer the patchwork effect - purely artistic license.
      BTW - Here is a link to a nice overview of the Minerva model in the USNA Rogers collection:   http://www.usna.edu/100Objects/Objects/object-04.php?iframe=true&width=770&height=580   Good discussion.   Evan

Paint!
 
Folks -
 
Apologies for the long gap between updates - I just got caught up in the flow and haven't paused to add to my log.
 
It may be hard to believe, but I've actually begun to smear some paint over some of the plastic...
 
I've got the gun deck and associated furniture mostly done with a few minor touch ups needed here and there:



Spare Anchor:

Camboose:

Capstan:


Chain Pumps:

 
I was a Floquil paint guy in the past, alas, we know how that has gone.  I'm now trying Vallejo paint and I'm becoming a big fan.
 
Thanks for looking in
Evan

I recently struggled with how to represent the copper sheathing on my own build - the classic 1/96 Revell kit of the Constitution.
 
Many of us of a certain age (say something north of 50) can remember when American pennies had a much higher copper content.  Every family had a jar full of pennies that showed a wide variation in color and tone.  Most were shades of brown, some were black, some had green... a few were shiny.  I thought it would be worth the effort to add this same kind of variation to the underside of my Connie and make many of the detailed plates "pop" for a better visual effect. 
 
In addition to the variation found in the old jar of pennies, I was influenced by some cursory research into the production of copper sheets by Paul Revere.  Thank goodness for Google and Wikipedia...
 
Most of you already know that Revere provided the first copper sheets made in America and used on the Constitution.  He recognized an opportunity to launch a new industry and invested in an old ironworks in Canton that could utilize the adjacent river for the necessary power to turn the gears of the rollers and power the industrial hammers needed to crush ore.  Revere had sent his son to England to glean what information he could on methods for rolling copper.  This info combined with his own experience in working with forging of copper and Iron (and of course silversmithing) gave him enough confidence to proceed.  Benjamin Stoddert, the Secretary of the Navy at the time, was encouraging domestic sources for vital military materials such as copper sheathing and offered to help fund Revere's initial effort.  The US Government provided a $10k loan and the first batch of raw copper for processing into sheets - an early example of federal subsidy of the military industrial complex.  There were no reliable domestic sources for large quantities of copper, so England and other overseas sources were needed.  Additionally, Revere was smelting and refining domestic copper in small amounts from Pennsylvania mines in the hopes of establishing some independence from these foreign sources. Metallurgy in that day was clearly a far cry from what we have today and the consistency and quality would vary widely which would naturally introduce color variation.
 
Secretary Stoddert preferred that Revere use a "cold rolling" method for flattening the copper through a series of heavy iron rollers into thinner sheets.  He felt that this would harden the material for greater strength.  Paul Revere, however, successfully argued for a "Hot Rolling" method which would anneal the copper as it was flattened through the iron rollers with a final cold rolling pass to add some strength.  This approach, however, introduces "mill scale", which is heavy oxidation on the surface caused by the recrystallization of the metal under heat.  The final cold rolling would help to  reduce the scale problem and give the sheets a better finish.  The heating of the metal would further introduce color variation in each batch - especially when a consistent temperature is not applied.  Revere used plentiful New England hardwoods to heat his "furnace" instead of coal as used in England.  This likely introduced more color variation than the copper sheathing imported from England.
 
Finally, it appears to have been common practice for the shipyards to store the copper sheets in open sheds to allow some natural oxidation that would help flake off any remaining mill scale.  This period of "weathering" would also introduce wide color variation as different batches were stored for different periods before use - like the old pennies in the jar.
 
I think it highly unlikely that any ship of the early 19th century was ever sheathed in shiny copper of consistent color.  Even when first applied to a new ship on the ways, you'd have seen a patchwork of color and tone in the underside copper plates.  That is essentially what I've tried to depict.
 
All of this brain dump aside, I readily acknowledge that all of the choices made by modeler's for representing the copper plating is good by me... A nice even coat of copper paint on the hull produces a beautiful effect.  The use of copper tape seen in some of the newer builds is also a great approach - absolutely gorgeous stuff.  I just prefer the patchwork effect - purely artistic license.
      BTW - Here is a link to a nice overview of the Minerva model in the USNA Rogers collection:   http://www.usna.edu/100Objects/Objects/object-04.php?iframe=true&width=770&height=580   Good discussion.   Evan