David Lester

Hi Dave, Thanks very much. Yes, I just started a build log for the Rattlesnake. And I'll try to be a little more diligent about keeping it up to date than I was for this one! David

Have you seen this google maps "tour" of the Constitution. I know it represents a different configuration than the version you're building, but you still might find it helpful. I referred to it all the time. https://www.google.ca/maps/@42.3725618,-71.0567171,3a,75y,29.78h,66.99t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sF1i4AxBGxW4AAAQZLBJ9WQ!2e0!3e2!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&hl=en For my gun carriages, I just bought paint at the hardware store in a sample sized container. I know that's not good modeling practice, but I figured for only the gun carriages how big a problem could it be. This way, the colour selection was endless and if I didn't like the first one I tried, I could easily try another, (without another 40 mile drive to our nearest hobby store, or wait for an on-line order) and the price is about the same as for model paints. My black and white paints are Model Master and I found a Tamiya colour - Desert Yellow - which worked well when I needed to simulate a natural wood finish. David

Hi Doug, Just getting caught up on this build log (although I'm familiar with your PdeN.) It's coming along nicely. Fun to see the differences between the AL and Billing kits. David

Thanks for the likes and comments; much appreciated. I don't know about a case for it. I don't even know where it's going to go at this point. It's currently sitting on the mantelpiece, but it is tending to overwhelm the room. It might go to my daughter's office, we'll have to see, then dusting will be her problem. David

Thanks Doug and thanks for the tips on the Rattlesnake instructions Doug. I did something similar. I didn't transcribe them, but I made enlarged photocopies of the English part of the instructions, the parts lists and rigging sections and am working from them along with the plans. I agree, as printed, they are very difficult to read. David

So, spurred on by my return to the forum with my Constitution, I'm starting a build lot for my Mamoli Rattlesnake. I bought this kit through Cast Your Anchor in Toronto who were able to track one down for me. At this stage, I have the first layer of planking on the hull, the false decks in place and some of the planing on the bulwarks done. This is my first non-Model Shipways kit and so far it seems to be ok and so far so good. I needed to shim a number of the bulkheads, but that doesn't seem to be out of the ordinary. I had a bit of trouble getting the transom set correctly. The tabs in the rear deck didn't seem to want to line up with the slots in the transom. If I forced it, things didn't look quite right, so I cut them off and measured carefully against the plan and I think things are ok. I have the Bob Hunt practicum for this kit, but have to admit I'm not actually using it. For this particular kit, his practicum involves much kit-bashing. I chose not to go that route, because it involved ordering Hahn plans, changing their scale, ordering special wood etc. all of which I didn't want to get into. While the practicum claims to be helpful if just building the kit out of the box, it really isn't as all of the pictures only show the kit-bashed version. The kit instructions (which appear to have been translated out of the Italian by machinery) are actually quite good, once decoded as are the plans and I think I'll do just fine with them alone. Despite essentially building the kit out of the box, I am making a few minor "kit-bashing" choices nevertheless. There are cast metal parts representing the windows in the transom, the doors under the quarter deck, the head rails and the crosstrees, all of which are pretty crumby. I'll be making all of these from scratch. I have started the doors in the picture below, but they are not completed yet. I think I'll use the cast metal part for the curving scroll work around the transom, as it will look ok once painted and for sure a whole lot better than any carving attempt I might make. I read about a painting technique in a Blue Jacket newsletter that looks like it might work well. One picture below shows the cast metal windows which I'm discarding and the start of my alternative windows in the transom. I'll try to do better than with my Constitution build log and post another update before a year has passed. David

Hello Everyone, I've been feeling a bit embarrassed about my build log for some time now which I've allowed to become virtually non-existant. I became very lazy about taking photographs and making updates, and then the more time that passed the less inclined I become to update. Nevertheless, I finished my Constitution in April, so if I upload photos of it now, I hope you'll forgive me for the huge gap in the middle. I pretty much had the hull and its details finished when I last checked in, so it's primarily the masts and rigging that I haven't reported on. The rigging end of things went quite well generally. Making the masts and yards was very enjoyable and not particularly difficult. I didn't find the rigging too difficult either, but at times the shear volume of it and its finicky nature were a bit daunting. It was very frustrating to stop for lunch (and a quick fix of CNN) only to return to my shop and discover that I had tied a whole set of lines on the wrong side of something. I'm sorry to report that this happened to me more than a few times. However, every time it did happen, I tore it out and redid it. I am certain that there are many errors in my rigging, but at least I can say that none that were apparent to me went unaddressed. This was my second build and I couldn't have enjoyed it more. It was the model I wanted to do from the outset, but I chose to build the AVS first as a practice piece and I'm glad I did. I didn't find the Constitution to be especially difficult (although it had plenty of challenges), it's really more a matter of the volume of the work it requires that might be overwhelming as a first kit. I used Bob Hunt's practicums for both the AVS and the Constitution. The one for the AVS is excellent and as a complete novice, I don't believe I could have worked my way through the model without it. For the Constitution, the first half of the practicum is also excellent and I found it an invaluable resource. However, when it came to the rigging, it was quite a different matter. This part of the course is so full of errors and omissions and with a confusing approach that in many ways it hindered rather than helped. I did buy the Lennarth Petersen Rigging Period Ship Models and it was a very helpful resource. I know for a fact that my family is glad this project is done. They seem to take great delight in teasing me about how much I tend to talk about it and at what great length. At Christmas, my sister-in-law innocently asked "how's the model coming along?" at which point my son jumped in with "Oh my god, whatever you do, don't ask - do not engage - do not make eye contact - do not show fear!" But their respite is to be short lived as I have now started on the Rattlesnake. Here are some pictures of my completed Constitution.

Doesn't sound so bad, Dave. It's hard to beat a good panda steak! David

I realize that this will seem like a stupid question to many of you, but it's one that I haven't been able to discover the answer to on my own. I'll soon be starting the hammock netting on my Constitution. In the Bob Hunt practicum he shows the netting as two separate pieces, each one running along one side of the double stanchions. However in some pictures in various build logs, it appears as though the netting might in fact be one continuous piece, running along one row of stanchions, then across the bottom (just above the rail) and then up along the other row of stanchions. But I haven't been able to find a definitive picture one way or the other. It's not clear to me from the kit's plans either. Can anyone shed some light on this for me? Many thanks, David

Hi Jon, I've been buying a lot of my bits and pieces, including these nails from Cast Your Anchor in Toronto. www.castyouranchorhobby.com. They have a pretty decent inventory and I like the fact that they give very detailed descriptions of the sizes of things. While their website is well laid out and descriptive, it never seems to work all that well if I try to order through it, so I always phone. You always deal with Sandra and she's great. If I get the answering machine she always calls back. Even though they're based in Toronto, most of their customers are in the US so they price in US dollars. I'm not sure how they charge for US shipping, but here for small items they just pop them in an envelop, stick a stamp on it and mail it without any extra charge. It's pretty hard to do better. David

Don, you're unstoppable! I'm looking forward to this build because Pegasus is what I am planning to build myself after my Rattlesnake after my as yet unfinished Constitution. Displaying them is a concern. My Constitution is going to my daughter's office, so that's the big one dealt with and we'll see about the others. David

Beautiful decking! David

Hi Dave, I like you're idea of pinning the gun carriage. Looks like it works well. David

Very nice Ken! David

That's looking great Tom! David

Hello All, It's been a while since I last posted or even worked on my model. There are just too many outdoor demands on my time and it never feels right holed up in my basement when the weather is absolutely glorious. Nevertheless I have a little progress to report. I have almost finished the chainplates. The biggest problem I had with them was getting their length correct, but I developed a little system that worked well enough. Working one channel at a time, I pinned them in place temporarily and let them protrude up through the holes in the channel. (This of course brings me to my frequent complaint about all those little brass nails they include in the kit for no reason that's apparent to me. On this build I actually need little nails to attach the chainplates, but the ones included in the kit are about three times too big to fit the holes in the chainplates. I had to buy new ones. They're about the size of a #75 drill. Why do they do these things?) Working one chainplate at a time, I snipped it off flush with the top of the channel and then removed it. I then snipped about 1/16" more off of it and then soldered on the deadeye. I slipped them back into position, let them hang loose and painted them below the channel before attaching them permanently. Once all are in place, I'm painting the channel and deadeyes and touching up black and white paint where necessary. I'm also planning ahead for the netting along the railing. I had bought some tulle at a fabric store some time ago, but I'm beginning to think the little diamond openings are too big for the scale. I don't know whether tulle comes in different "gauges" or not. (At any rate, gauge is certainly not a word to use at a fabric store; I got a very odd look.) Today I took a stroll through a dollar store to see if I could find anything else that might work. I did find two different cheap black mesh zippered bags which I can cut up. One also seems a bit too big, but the other looks like it might be ok. I'm going to experiment with all three. That's all until next time. We're told to expect beautiful weather right through the weekend and then plenty of rain on Monday, so maybe I'll be able to have indoor recess all day! David

Hi Dave, That is one gorgeous model. Bob's design is first rate and your building is exemplary. I'm anxious to try this Jax Pewter Black, and I discovered I can buy it in Toronto! I had been using gun bluing but it isn't very satisfactory - it tends to rub off and just makes a mess of everything, (well actually, mostly my fingers, which in turn make a mess of everything) so I've been painting things black instead. I'll get some ordered today. David

Hi Dave, Just a suggestion, but instead of the picture you added to the wall, how about a picture of the Patrick Henry containing a picture of the Patrick Henry, containing a picture of the Patrick Henry.... and so on All kidding aside, that's a really beautiful model. David

Hi Mike, Check out Cast Your Anchor (www.castyouranchorhobby.com) They have walnut and boxwood belaying pins in several sizes and give very precise measurements - length, diameter and length above the rail. They're really great to deal with too. David

Hi Everyone, Thanks Tim for your comments. I don't have too much progress to report at this time. I've been working away very slowly. There are too many outdoor maintenance demands on my time now that the warm weather has arrived. What little modeling I have been doing has been very frustrating. I seem to be in some kind of hellish loop where everything I touch turns to *#@! I'm still working on deck and upper hull details and it has become downright sisyphean. Why do anything once, when you can do it twice or three times over? Right? Those little components called the horse blocks have really tried my patience and only after I had both of them glued in place did I decide to rip them out and start over. I notice in Bob Hunt's practicum that he omits them. In fact he doesn't even refer to them and I now understand why. At first I thought he forgot them but now I believe he chose to "forget" them. (The latter, of course, is a time honoured technique and one that I have frequently employed to my advantage throughout my life) I'm currently soldering the chainplates for the starboard side and here my skills seem to be getting worse with practice with several attempts needed for just about every one of them. (You've heard about the carpenter who cut the board twice and it was still too short, well I literally did that in one case!) I don't really have much new to show in pictures at this point and sorry for all this kvetching, but as soon as I have evidence of progress I'll get some new pictures up. It won't be until next week at least as we have a very big weekend coming up. My wife Nancy is retiring. She's an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada (a liberal denomination, similar to the United Church of Christ in the US) and they have a big dinner and special services planned for her and we have relatives coming from far and wide so it will be chaos around here for a few days. It should be a great weekend though. Perhaps with a little break and my preoccupation with the upcoming weekend over, I will return to the Constitution next week with fresh eyes and more nimble fingers and get past this Groundhog Day loop that I'm currently in. David

That looks amazing Dave. David

Hi Matt, I wouldn't sweat the fairing on this model too much. The MS Constitution is only my second build, so I'm hardly an expert, but I found that there wasn't really that much fairing required, certainly not when compared to my MS Armed Virginia Sloop which is a much smaller model. I think it's because the model is so large that the majority of the bulkheads through the central portion of the hull need minimal attention. I agree that the plywood bulkheads are a nightmare to sand. They were solid basswood on the AVS and were very nice to work with. I haven't built a kit by another manufacturer yet, so I can't legitimately comment on the quality of MS kits when compared to others, but from what I gather reading many different build logs is that none of them is perfect. I have a Mamoli kit waiting in the wings, so I'm looking forward to finding out how building it compares. David

Hi Tom, I believe the channels should be 1/2" deep. I used 3/32" x 1/2" stock and tapered it to 1/16" at the outer edge, leaving it at 3/32" against the hull. It's very hard to find, but there is a little illustration showing it on page 7 of the plans. It's just up and to the right of the centre of the page. I had to shape a slight contour on the inside edge of the fore channels to get them to sit tightly against the hull, and I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to find that the two contours were not perfect matches for each other - close, but not identical. They certainly seem to be secure enough without supports once the chain plates are added. Hope that's of some help. David

Hi Again, I may have just answered my own question. I took a closer look at the plans and it shows the metal strap which holds the davit to the upper bracket to be long enough and with enough "slack" to allow the davit to pivot away from the hull whereas the practicum shows the metal strap to be short holding the davit tight against the hull which causes the problem I outlined in my earlier posting. I think this longer metal strap might be the correct solution without having to reinvent the upper bracket. In any case, I'll wait until I have the mizzen shrouds in place before I install the davits, that way I can better gauge how far away from the hull the davits need to be. Anyway, I'm still very interested to hear your take on this. Thanks again, David

Hi Ken, I have a question about the quarter davits (yours look great by the way.) I've been getting mine ready to install and it appears to me if they are mounted upright against the hull of the ship as the plans show and the spar is installed across the top of them, that it will interfere with the mizzen shrouds. Does it look that way to you too? Is there a potential problem here and is there a good way to deal with it. In the Bob Hunt practicum, he just left the spar off which appears to be one approach. In the pictures below which I took when I visited the ship a couple of years ago, the spar is in place, but the davits are pivoted outward with quite a different arrangement where the kit supplied upper bracket would be. Of course I realize that the Constitution as I toured it is a different version in many respects than the model, but if I followed the model plans to the letter, I'm pretty sure the problem will present itself. I see two possible solutions, the first being to leave the spar off as Bob did or to pivot the davits away from the hull and change the upper bracket. I would be interested to know how you plan to deal with this little issue. Many thanks in advance for your thoughts. David