David Lester

Hi Greg,
I didn't make a build log on this site, but I did on Lauck Street forum. I believe it's still accessible (although that can change at any moment.) if you're a client, you should be able to register to access the forum. I'm not going to that forum any longer for reasons that have been well discussed elsewhere on this site.
 
While there seem to be two schools of thought on Bob's practicums, I for one think they're invaluable. I simply couldn't have completed the AVS with any kind of success without it. I'm now building the Constitution with his practicum and again it's very helpful. In time though, after I have two or three models completed, I think I should be able to handle a build without a practicum.
 
There are one or two typos in the practicum with respect to measurements, but if I recall correctly they were all obvious to me with the exception of one. When it comes time to drill the holes for the hawse ports, in chapter 5 I think, there is a glaring error there. The practicum says to drill a 3/16" hole which I did and it is simply too big. It needs to be closer to 3/32". Otherwise, I don't think you'll find any problems.
 
David

Hi Greg,
Welcome to the AVS club. I loved building this model. In many places I had read that the AVS is like a gateway drug that leads to nothing but hardcore modeling in the future. I think it's true. In my case I can clearly blame it all on the AVS! I'll be following your "downward spiral" (just kidding) with interest.
 
 
David

OK, I figured there must be a reason, but it's not an issue from my point of view.
D

Hi Dave,
I'm interested to see that you've used (or at least of thought of using) Benjamin Moore paint in sample sizes. That is exactly what I did on my Constitution, but have been hesitant to mention it for fear of causing some of the purists out there to have a stroke. I was sure I was breaking a rule, but I knew it would take a bit of experimenting to get the colours right. There isn't a model paint supplier anywhere near where I live and ordering by mail coupled with trial and error was going to be a nightmare. We do have a Benjamin Moore dealer in town, but instead I used the house brand from our local Home Hardware (a Canadian chain.) The clerk there was enormously helpful and even researched pictures on line herself to help me find colours. While my green is only ok, I'm very happy with the dull pale red I found for the gun carriages. I also found a great colour to simulate natural wood which I'm using for the trim on the small boats as that basswood doesn't take even a light stain very well.
 
David

OK, I figured there must be a reason, but it's not an issue from my point of view.
D

OK, I figured there must be a reason, but it's not an issue from my point of view.
D

Hi Dave,
I'm interested to see that you've used (or at least of thought of using) Benjamin Moore paint in sample sizes. That is exactly what I did on my Constitution, but have been hesitant to mention it for fear of causing some of the purists out there to have a stroke. I was sure I was breaking a rule, but I knew it would take a bit of experimenting to get the colours right. There isn't a model paint supplier anywhere near where I live and ordering by mail coupled with trial and error was going to be a nightmare. We do have a Benjamin Moore dealer in town, but instead I used the house brand from our local Home Hardware (a Canadian chain.) The clerk there was enormously helpful and even researched pictures on line herself to help me find colours. While my green is only ok, I'm very happy with the dull pale red I found for the gun carriages. I also found a great colour to simulate natural wood which I'm using for the trim on the small boats as that basswood doesn't take even a light stain very well.
 
David

Good Morning Everyone,
This is my first posting for my build log of the USS Constitution. I'm using the Bob Hunt practicum and started the model in September of last year and until recently was posting regularly on the LSS forum.  At the time I left that forum, I was just about ready to begin the stern and bow details. So, this first posting will serve as a sort of recap of my progress to that point. My next posting will show what I've been working on over the past couple of weeks.
 
I'm really enjoying how much material there is to be found on this forum (especially Constitution builds) and look forward to following them all.
 
David
 
Here are the "recap" photos:
 
  
 
 

Thanks Tom,
I also found the rails and timbers very hard to do, and I am getting tired of touching up with filler and paint. It seems every time I add something I ruin something else. For example, I wish I had drilled the holes for the hawse ports much earlier. When I drilled them on the starboard side, I managed to take a pretty big chunk out of the cheek knee directly above it. Despite all that I think I can live with the results - as they say, "a blind man would be glad to see it."
 
David

No music for me Don, I'm addicted to CBC!
David

Thanks John.
Thanks for checking in Mike - I've been spending quite a bit of time on it lately and I'm glad to reconnect with everyone from LSS over here.
 
David

Thanks Tom,
I also found the rails and timbers very hard to do, and I am getting tired of touching up with filler and paint. It seems every time I add something I ruin something else. For example, I wish I had drilled the holes for the hawse ports much earlier. When I drilled them on the starboard side, I managed to take a pretty big chunk out of the cheek knee directly above it. Despite all that I think I can live with the results - as they say, "a blind man would be glad to see it."
 
David

Happy Wednesday Everyone,
I have a brief update for today. I have finished all of the bow work. As I had mentioned earlier I needed to adjust the middle rail on each side. I not sure if their profiles are exactly correct, but at least they now fit the model. With the stern and bow both finished, I'm now about to start the copper plating.
David

Hi Dave,
Looks great!
David

Happy Wednesday Everyone,
I have a brief update for today. I have finished all of the bow work. As I had mentioned earlier I needed to adjust the middle rail on each side. I not sure if their profiles are exactly correct, but at least they now fit the model. With the stern and bow both finished, I'm now about to start the copper plating.
David

Hello Again,
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been working on the stern and bow details. As many of you know the practicum suggests using Evergreen styrene for much of the details. While it's quite effective, it really isn't very much fun to work with. It's difficult to do without getting CA glue all over the place and it doesn't set up as quickly as I would like. Also, the "memory" in the strips causes them to not want to stay in place around curves. I found it helped to wrap the trip around a cylinder for a day or se before using it. One minor change I made from the practicum was the size of the stripe on the rails. For some reason it's suggested to use .040 half round on the cheek rails and then switch to .010 x .020 for the headrails. Once I added the smaller stuff to the headrails, I noticed how much better it looked than the hearvier on the cheek rails, so I redid it, using the smaller scale. I'm not sure if it's more authentic to use the two different sizes or not, but I'm sure happier with the smaller size throughout.
 
The headrails are interesting to make. Most of them were not actually too difficult, but that middle rail is of the devil's own design. It's a series of compound curves and the practicum suggests making it ahead of attaching any of the rails to the model. The problem with this is that you're flying blind. The timbers connect the top curved rail with the top cheek rail. The middle rail goes between and I believe it is supposed to make contact with the timbers. My middle rail, which looked quite good off the model, didn't even come close to reaching the three middle timbers. It didn't seem to curve far enough toward the centre throughout it's horizontal run. I didn't have the heart to start over, as these rails were the result of several failed attempts, so my solution was to modify them. I laminated planking material to the inside surface of the rails where they were to meet the three timbers, then I sanded them to the necessary contour. Once I was satisfied, I then sanded the outside surface down to create the right width throughout its length. This effectively reshaped the piece. For anyone else using the practicum, I would suggest installing the other rails and timbers first, and only then making the middle rail to fit.
 
On the gallery, I know my work here isn't especially beautiful, but it's the result of several failed attempts and if there's one thing I've learned it's to know my limitations and when to cut my loses, so this is what it's going to be. The nameplate looked like it was going to be a bit of a challenge. The laser cut plate provided required painting and I knew I'd never get a satisfactory job. The trailboard isn't so difficult as all the curving detail allows a fair bit of margin for error, but the lettering is another story altogether. The practicum suggests using dry transfer lettering. I ordered some, but it is very difficult to hold it in place correctly and to get a straight string of letters. Also, often despite rubbing the letter, only a portion of it actually comes off which leaves quite a mess. In the end I turned to Microsoft Word. I created the lettering in a Word document, approximating it as closely as I could. I cut it out, glued it to a piece of wood and then sealed it with polyurethane. It seems to work ok.
 
So that pretty much brings my build log up to date.
David

Good Morning Everyone,
This is my first posting for my build log of the USS Constitution. I'm using the Bob Hunt practicum and started the model in September of last year and until recently was posting regularly on the LSS forum.  At the time I left that forum, I was just about ready to begin the stern and bow details. So, this first posting will serve as a sort of recap of my progress to that point. My next posting will show what I've been working on over the past couple of weeks.
 
I'm really enjoying how much material there is to be found on this forum (especially Constitution builds) and look forward to following them all.
 
David
 
Here are the "recap" photos:
 
  
 
 

Happy Wednesday Everyone,
I have a brief update for today. I have finished all of the bow work. As I had mentioned earlier I needed to adjust the middle rail on each side. I not sure if their profiles are exactly correct, but at least they now fit the model. With the stern and bow both finished, I'm now about to start the copper plating.
David

Hello Again,
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been working on the stern and bow details. As many of you know the practicum suggests using Evergreen styrene for much of the details. While it's quite effective, it really isn't very much fun to work with. It's difficult to do without getting CA glue all over the place and it doesn't set up as quickly as I would like. Also, the "memory" in the strips causes them to not want to stay in place around curves. I found it helped to wrap the trip around a cylinder for a day or se before using it. One minor change I made from the practicum was the size of the stripe on the rails. For some reason it's suggested to use .040 half round on the cheek rails and then switch to .010 x .020 for the headrails. Once I added the smaller stuff to the headrails, I noticed how much better it looked than the hearvier on the cheek rails, so I redid it, using the smaller scale. I'm not sure if it's more authentic to use the two different sizes or not, but I'm sure happier with the smaller size throughout.
 
The headrails are interesting to make. Most of them were not actually too difficult, but that middle rail is of the devil's own design. It's a series of compound curves and the practicum suggests making it ahead of attaching any of the rails to the model. The problem with this is that you're flying blind. The timbers connect the top curved rail with the top cheek rail. The middle rail goes between and I believe it is supposed to make contact with the timbers. My middle rail, which looked quite good off the model, didn't even come close to reaching the three middle timbers. It didn't seem to curve far enough toward the centre throughout it's horizontal run. I didn't have the heart to start over, as these rails were the result of several failed attempts, so my solution was to modify them. I laminated planking material to the inside surface of the rails where they were to meet the three timbers, then I sanded them to the necessary contour. Once I was satisfied, I then sanded the outside surface down to create the right width throughout its length. This effectively reshaped the piece. For anyone else using the practicum, I would suggest installing the other rails and timbers first, and only then making the middle rail to fit.
 
On the gallery, I know my work here isn't especially beautiful, but it's the result of several failed attempts and if there's one thing I've learned it's to know my limitations and when to cut my loses, so this is what it's going to be. The nameplate looked like it was going to be a bit of a challenge. The laser cut plate provided required painting and I knew I'd never get a satisfactory job. The trailboard isn't so difficult as all the curving detail allows a fair bit of margin for error, but the lettering is another story altogether. The practicum suggests using dry transfer lettering. I ordered some, but it is very difficult to hold it in place correctly and to get a straight string of letters. Also, often despite rubbing the letter, only a portion of it actually comes off which leaves quite a mess. In the end I turned to Microsoft Word. I created the lettering in a Word document, approximating it as closely as I could. I cut it out, glued it to a piece of wood and then sealed it with polyurethane. It seems to work ok.
 
So that pretty much brings my build log up to date.
David

Good Morning Everyone,
This is my first posting for my build log of the USS Constitution. I'm using the Bob Hunt practicum and started the model in September of last year and until recently was posting regularly on the LSS forum.  At the time I left that forum, I was just about ready to begin the stern and bow details. So, this first posting will serve as a sort of recap of my progress to that point. My next posting will show what I've been working on over the past couple of weeks.
 
I'm really enjoying how much material there is to be found on this forum (especially Constitution builds) and look forward to following them all.
 
David
 
Here are the "recap" photos:
 
  
 
 

Happy Wednesday Everyone,
I have a brief update for today. I have finished all of the bow work. As I had mentioned earlier I needed to adjust the middle rail on each side. I not sure if their profiles are exactly correct, but at least they now fit the model. With the stern and bow both finished, I'm now about to start the copper plating.
David

Thanks John.
Thanks for checking in Mike - I've been spending quite a bit of time on it lately and I'm glad to reconnect with everyone from LSS over here.
 
David

Happy Wednesday Everyone,
I have a brief update for today. I have finished all of the bow work. As I had mentioned earlier I needed to adjust the middle rail on each side. I not sure if their profiles are exactly correct, but at least they now fit the model. With the stern and bow both finished, I'm now about to start the copper plating.
David

Hello Again,
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been working on the stern and bow details. As many of you know the practicum suggests using Evergreen styrene for much of the details. While it's quite effective, it really isn't very much fun to work with. It's difficult to do without getting CA glue all over the place and it doesn't set up as quickly as I would like. Also, the "memory" in the strips causes them to not want to stay in place around curves. I found it helped to wrap the trip around a cylinder for a day or se before using it. One minor change I made from the practicum was the size of the stripe on the rails. For some reason it's suggested to use .040 half round on the cheek rails and then switch to .010 x .020 for the headrails. Once I added the smaller stuff to the headrails, I noticed how much better it looked than the hearvier on the cheek rails, so I redid it, using the smaller scale. I'm not sure if it's more authentic to use the two different sizes or not, but I'm sure happier with the smaller size throughout.
 
The headrails are interesting to make. Most of them were not actually too difficult, but that middle rail is of the devil's own design. It's a series of compound curves and the practicum suggests making it ahead of attaching any of the rails to the model. The problem with this is that you're flying blind. The timbers connect the top curved rail with the top cheek rail. The middle rail goes between and I believe it is supposed to make contact with the timbers. My middle rail, which looked quite good off the model, didn't even come close to reaching the three middle timbers. It didn't seem to curve far enough toward the centre throughout it's horizontal run. I didn't have the heart to start over, as these rails were the result of several failed attempts, so my solution was to modify them. I laminated planking material to the inside surface of the rails where they were to meet the three timbers, then I sanded them to the necessary contour. Once I was satisfied, I then sanded the outside surface down to create the right width throughout its length. This effectively reshaped the piece. For anyone else using the practicum, I would suggest installing the other rails and timbers first, and only then making the middle rail to fit.
 
On the gallery, I know my work here isn't especially beautiful, but it's the result of several failed attempts and if there's one thing I've learned it's to know my limitations and when to cut my loses, so this is what it's going to be. The nameplate looked like it was going to be a bit of a challenge. The laser cut plate provided required painting and I knew I'd never get a satisfactory job. The trailboard isn't so difficult as all the curving detail allows a fair bit of margin for error, but the lettering is another story altogether. The practicum suggests using dry transfer lettering. I ordered some, but it is very difficult to hold it in place correctly and to get a straight string of letters. Also, often despite rubbing the letter, only a portion of it actually comes off which leaves quite a mess. In the end I turned to Microsoft Word. I created the lettering in a Word document, approximating it as closely as I could. I cut it out, glued it to a piece of wood and then sealed it with polyurethane. It seems to work ok.
 
So that pretty much brings my build log up to date.
David

Happy Wednesday Everyone,
I have a brief update for today. I have finished all of the bow work. As I had mentioned earlier I needed to adjust the middle rail on each side. I not sure if their profiles are exactly correct, but at least they now fit the model. With the stern and bow both finished, I'm now about to start the copper plating.
David