kmart

Looking good Tom, We are pretty much in the same place in the build.

Thanks Usedtosail. Yes, I found the bow challenging. I'm glad how it came out. Now on to the stern. I figured it would be easier after working on the bow.. But I'm finding that its a real bear. I've spent hours and hours staring at the plans trying to figure out the stern. First I started on the filler pieces. Marked up the R bulkhead with some reference lines. G Glues some blocks together to be larger than the shape I needed. Rough cut them on bandsaw to the approximate shape Made lots of sawdust using a dremal tool and sanding drum and sand paper to get to the right shape The lower tips broke off. they get quite thin. I was able to glue them back on. But they are supper fragile unlit they are glued in place. Before I glue the filler, started working on the counter block. The counter took me awhile. and several attempts. The main reason being I tried a different approach than the directions. What I was thinking was to make the counter in two slices instead of 1 thick piece. The lower slice was cut to a thickness that would make the top surface the same high as the gun deck. What I was trying to plan for was the quarter galleries. The floor of the galleries are at the same level as the gun deck. I was going to keep the counter block wide and extend it out to include the floor of the quarter gallery's. This would make positioning and building the galleries easier. However after a week of struggling with it, I gave up and went back to and following the instructions after all. Through all this...I failed to take any pictures..... So I'll jump ahead to pics with the counter block and the filler blocks installed If you look close at the counter block. You can still see that it is made up of two slices still. But the two pieces together still match the plans shape and size. Next I added the 2 outside frames of the stern. Actually I had to do this twice. Uggg Again, I spent hours looking at the plan, measuring and trying to figure out how to position these two properly. The difficulty being they cant inward, as well as its edge follows the angle of the bulwarks on frame R. And because of the angles, you need to bevel the edges so that they sit flush. and of course both sides need to be symmetrical but mirror. Well after all the planning, I glued them in places... they looked good. so I walked away and let the glue set. Come back a few hours later to admire my work. All looks good. But then for kicks...I take out the stern rail piece that lazer cut. This will sit on top of the stern bulwarks. My bulwarks were canted in way too much and were too narrow at the top. didn't match the top rail piece, Swear, swear some more. Then pry the pieces off without breaking them. (Thankfully the Glue was not yet completely cured yet and I got them off ) Soo Attempt # 2 I learned my lesson and made a template /jig to position the pieces properly. You can see in the pic the actual top-rail piece that the bulwarks need to align with. and a template with the positions indicated. With the template, the second gluing attempt was much easier and accurate. This time... much better. And some batons in place to make sure the run looks good as well. Now, I'll let those dry. And start planning for the next part. As this is a 1812ish version... I need to pick the stern so that I can adjust the other stern frames to account for the sternwindow configuration. The big question 3 or 5 or 6 windows. I made a copy of the plans, and then a copy of the AOS stern versions. Then after an hour playing with scale, I determined the AOS picture scaled to 179% will math the ME plans. Or close enough. So I printed the AOS versions to the same scale as the ME plan. C2/3 (1803 version) and c2/4 (current day) are both out of consideration. But I used C2/4 to size and compare the scale to the ME plans. At this point, I like and would be happy with either c2/1 or c2/2 they are basically the same except for the 1 extra window. I'll play around with adjusting the frames to see how I can make either of them work. Right now I'm leaning towards the 5 window version just because it makes the framing easier. I'll let you know what I decide in my next post. K

Next Update I added a stringer on the underside of the spar deck beams. Reason for this is that I will cut out several of the deck beams center support in order to detail the gun deck under the open waist The stringer will help make the beams less fragile. Second because some of the beams over the center grating area don't match the actual beam positions from the plans. And the grating will be left open. these beams need to be replaced/moved with beams in the proper location. The stringers will be used to support the beams. Moved on to the bow frame area Notches cut for the bow frame I added strips on either side of the stem just behind the bevel. This is to add a bit more surface area to plank against I added a strip of wood just under the deck beam on A. This will support the filler piece that supports the bow frames, Also, I made the filler piece bigger than the instructions show. I made it square against frame A and resting on the wood strip I added. With the ports framed in ... Both gun and spar deck Yes , I know starboard side is higher. There is enough wood there that I'll sand it down to be level. The ports are actually at the same height and all square even though they don't look it in the picture. Next up... the stern framing. but that's for my next post.

OK spent a lot more time cleaning up the bow filler blocks than I thought I'd need. They are as good as there going to get and ready to be glued on. Now, Due to poor planning, had to do the first surgery on the boat. As I'm going to have the open waist, I'll model whats visible underneath on the gun deck. That is a set of gratings. I'm going to cut up and use the kit gating that are not needed on the spar deck. I was just going to box around the gratings and put down on the deck. .... However..looking at the CD plans... There are several open stairways down to the Birthing deck. Well that means I need to add ladders and at least look like there is something below. Soo that means I need to cut holes in the false deck And then put a floor bellow that that the ladder will rest on II had to cut part of the bulkhead and part of the frame where the stairs will pass through. The aft stairs run parallel to the ship and go through one of the bulkheads. The forward stars run athwart ship and pass through the frame, Wow .. in the picture the run of the false deck looks wavy. But that's an illusion. (I've quadruple checked them :-) Ill paint the boxs later.

Time for progress update. Gluing the frames.. After adding the glue. used small squares on both sides to keep the bulkheads square to the keel. Kept them there till glue dried. which means this was a slow process. Only did 1 per day. As I went along, I also cut and fit/glued the struts for the prior bulkheads that was glued the day before. I measured the distance between the two bulkheads along the center line. Used that measurement to cut the width of the struts. That guaranteed the struts are same width on both sides (port/starboard) and the end set square against the frame. This ensured all the bulkheads were dead parallel and square. Also note, they were glued level with the top of the bulkhead gun deck beams. thus giving me a false deck. They took awhile to add but the Struts really add a lot of strength and rigidity to the whole structure. Frames don't flex or move at all. Also keeps the keel from warping. Starting to wok on the bow filler. Drew the pattern that faces against the bulkhead A on the blocks. Then cut out on a bandsaw Notice the two pieces of wood above the over the filler pieces. So the filler is supposed to have several notches cut into the top. I figured i can't cut them in until the pieces are shaped to fit first. But once shaped.. I'll have no way to hold the pieces square against a drill press or desk making it hard to accurately cut the notches. Soo, my thought is. Make the bow filler as the plan indicates.. but cut them 1/4 inch lower than the top of the gun deck. Then add these two 1/4 inch pieces on top. As those pieces are flat on top and bottom will be much easier to cut in the notches.... then just glue them on as the top part of the filler. Next I drew the pattern on the adjacent side ( that is against the keel) side and traced the rabbit onto the block. And then cut that out on band saw as well. The blocks was then very roughly in the proper shape in all three dimensions. Next I used a Dermal tool with sanding drum and sanded it to the final shape. Good news is they look very symmetrical. However, when I fit to the ship, it looks like too much curvature in the horizontal plane. I'll do a bit more sanding till I think it looks right. but they are getting close. Once done I'll tackle the top piece with the notches Thats all for now.

Looking Great !!

Wow. Great catch on the hole on the trailboard.

I'm pulling up a chair! Welcome to the Connie Club. I just started my build in Oct. There are several great builds of Connie currently going on. Check them out. Some great information, ideas out there!!!

From another angle

The Battle of Solebay: June 7th 1672 So..not related to my Connie build. My Prior builds are the "West Friesland" (a Dutch Ship) and the HMS Victory Bow section. Now I built a case sized for my Friesland. But haven't built one for Victory ..Yet. I 've been worried that the Victory will get dusty, or worse bumped and broken. So temporarily , I arranged them so they both fit into the Friesland case. Stood back... and realized..... I have a Diorama of the Battle of Solebay!! Yes, I know they are different scales Yes I know its a earlier Victory at Solobay .. not Nelson's But since they are both represented.... We have... The Battle of Solobay!

Tom, You continue to inspire.... K

Next Update. I went through all the bulkheads and tweaked /adjusted mostly the height to make sure the top of the gun deck was flush with the top of the frame. Then.. I started gluing the bulkheads in. Starting from the stern with bulkhead R first. Used a small square clamped to the frame to ensure the bulkhead is square. It stayed in place until glue dried. Thus making the process slooowwwww. A few minutes to prep and glue the bulkhead. Then wait a few hours for glue to really set up. Repeat. Number 2 (Q) I'm currently up to bulkhead K. So, as I progressed with gluing bulkheads while glue was drying... I started to work ahead on those struts that will go between the bulkheads and will stiffen up the frame, keep the bulkheads square and be the base for the gun-deck. Started with some 2"x2x6"" basswood blocks I got at Michael's Slices them into 5/16" thick slabs on my band saw.. Measured the distance between the adjacent bulkheads, cut pieces to fit and... Note the struts are not glued. They are a snug fit. (And only in place for bulkheads where glue is fully dry). I used a digital calipers to make sure the pieces were the correct uniform width to fit between each bulkhead. Also ensured the matching piece on the other side was identical width. That ensure it keeps bulkheads square. Even without being glued in yet. it really stiffens and strengthens the structure. Now... I've run into a dilemma with those struts that I need to solve before I glue them in. Looking at the plans.... there are scuppers and portholes shown below the gun-deck's, gun-ports.. IF those are located at or above or at the gun-deck level... all is good. But looking the plan. they might be just below the level of gun-deck. If so... they would be right where those struts would be. So scuppers and portholes looking into the end of the struts would not be good. Next thing to solve. Because I'm doing an 1812 version with the open waist. I need to cut out the support post for the spar deck beams in the area of the waist. This is bulkheads E and K. And then later remove/replace the entire beams for bulkheads F,G, H,I J ( similar to what UsedToSail did.) I was thinking to remove them before gluing the bulkhead. Thinking its much easier to do this first. Soooo But, After removing the first one. It does make the entire piece (beam and bulwarks) quite fragile. So its probably better to leave them alone for now and cut them out later when I'm ready to start work on the waist. However.. they're easy to break while cutting them now while unattached. I'm concerned it will be even more susceptible to breaking when trying to cut them out later when there is far less room to work and get at it with the tools.... What to do??? K

Correct Usedtosail. Trunnels.. Not tunnels. (Wish I could blame Autocorrect on that :-) Other than the guns in the waist. I don't plan on rigging the gun deck cannons. I don't think any gun rigging would be visible peering through the gun port. But I'll confirm that when I get to that point and decide then how much gun tackle (if any) to add. Current progress is slow. I'm eager to start gluing the bulkheads. But this part needs to be right to have a good run of the hull and deck... so I'm taking my time. Been going through each of the bulkheads and transferring lines. Bulkheads A- I face forward towards bow. J - R Face aft. That way the bevels go along with the sight bevel left by the lazer cutting of the frames. So on each bulkhead.... I marked. 1) vertical center line. 2) Center line on the top of upper deck beam to align the king plank. 2) Reference line "R" to match corresponding "R" line on frame 3) Top of gundeck carried onto bulkwork and spar deck support post 4) Marked the edges (both sides) for bevel Round #2. All the bulkheads marked up and back in the frame... Dry fitted only By marking the top of the Gundeck on the support posts... I can line these up with the top of the frame. And that should allow me to get the right height of all the bulkheads in the slots. And I then put some battens on.. just to see how things line up. The Battens show the run isn't perfect but not too bad either. The run of the deck is really good. Only some minor tweaking is needed. A few bulkheads do need some shimming on their edges though. Note: I marked but haven't beveled the edges yet so that could help the run a bit too, before I add shims. I plan to both bevel and shim after the bulkheads are fixed in place. Other progress I made. I did taper the stem and stern post. And I also added the braces to the 2 joints in the frame (both sides) I took a piece of basswood. cut to fit the full height and with between the adjacent bulkheads. That way it not only does it add strength to the frame. it also adds support to bulkheads on either side. Last thing of note I did. I have the CD from the US Constitution museum with the historic and restoration plans. Took that to staples and had them print the gun and spar deck layouts scaled to fit to 24"x36" Taped them to the wall. Cool looking and great to reference. Now its back to work Mon morning. So no more time in workshop till next weekend.

UsedToSail, I went back and looked at your log again relative to the gun deck. Looking at how you did it is making me re-think my planned approach. I like the tunneling you did. really adds to the level of detail. And working on the false deck off the model makes it a lot easier to do a good job. Not sure if I could pull that off the way I intend to to implement. So you got me thinking how I might adapt. :-) Generally, I like to have all my gun ports open. And as such, all the guns need to be real and on carriages. I don't like the look of fake barrels (when the ports are open and its obvious they are fake). I'm not detailing the whole gun deck. Just near the open waist plus the real cannons. But the deck does need to run the whole length to support the real cannons. My planned approach is to leave the bulkheads and top of the frame at the current height. Not cut them down. I will cut the braces for the deck beams near the waist. But I don't plan to cut the beams themselves off. I am going to put struts between all the bulkheads to stiffen and strengthen them up and keep them square during the planking process. Soo my thought is to have those struts basically act as the false deck fitting them flush with the top of the bulkheads and extend from the frame all the way out to the side of the hull. For planking... I have strips left over from another build. These are 1/64th inch thick (very thin. They were supposed to be a second planking layer) and I can cut these down to the proper width. Since the tops of bulkheads are at deck level... My deck after planking will be 1/64" too tall. (That will be invisible to tell by anyone including me... so its good enough :-) BUT, then then gun barrels will now be too high and that will be noticeable. And another problem I typically have with real carriages... is that the wheels are so small, there is barely enough surface area for glue to hold in place. Then they break free later during the build when they get bumped. (and impossible to fix as its now enclosed in the lower deck.) Sooo to solve both issues.. I was going to file a 1/64 flat on the bottom of the carriage wheels. The cannon will then sit at the right height and stick better to the deck. I can also put a small shim under the carriage (same height as wheels to further add surface area. That's my current plan. Comments, suggestions, any potential issues you see that I might be missing? The downside of all this... is that with my fat fingers.. I cant get as much detail down in the waist ...working below and between those deck beams. So thinking out loud.... is there a way to add simulated tunnels to the deck planks... before installing them? And keep them lined up when laid down?? Any ideas?

Sooo. Does anyone know if Model Expo might have fixed the plans or bulkheads (or both) since the asymmetrical bulkhead issue was identified? I ask because while I haven't checked them all... I spot checked a few bulkheads that were supposed to be the worst ones(B, C,D,E)....and mine look fine. I'm not seeing the issue. CaptainSteve mentioned.. he thought one side of plan was different to show the beveled edge. But if you look at my bulkhead D blueprint. The bevel line is indicated on the right side. But also the full profile on both sides. When I put the bulkhead on the plans... it matches the full profile perfectly. And again matches when I flip the bulkhead over. The vertical center-line is square and centered. Did the original plans maybe only had the bevel on one side. But in latter releases, ME updated the plans to show both bevel and full profile? Another quick non scientific test I did... Again not precise but the error should be apparent by eye. I dry fitted all the bulkheads. and then sited down the center from stern looking forward. (I left off the last bulkhead R that is solid) If there was a misalignment of any one or more bulkheads... then when looking straight down the deck, The center support posts (for spar deck) of any misaligned bulkhead should be obvious by not being directly inline. But as you can see.... they align perfectly. Not as obvious from the pic. but the horizontal top of both gun deck and spar deck also align and look perfectly parallel by eye. Same goes for sighting down the spar deck. all the bulwarks on both sides look even and symmetrical all the way down. Again, I would think that if on was even slightly out of alignment. it should really stick out and be apparent? Obviously this is not scientific, and I will cross check every bulkhead against the plans. But I guess my point is, my bulkheads seem to be in "perfect" alignment. So Did I get really lucky (doubtful) or did ME fix the issue in later issues of the kit? Or was the issue intermittent / not consistent across every kit? Were there any other Connie build logs where the modeler didn't have the issue? I'm expecting to see the error and looking for it. but not finding it. that makes me worried. K

Markku, I had heard about the nonsymmetrical issue with some of the frames from other builds logs. So I'm going to watch for them when I put the reference lines on the frames. Thanks for pointing me to your build you're log. You have the best/clearest description of the problem I've seen. I'll definitely use that info to fix mine. TomS, Also welcome to the Connie Club as well. I think Me, you and Markku will all be in roughly the same phase in the build together ...so it will be great encouragement and motivation. Also search the forum. There are a large number of Connie builds to draw knowledge and inspiration from. I'll singe out usedtosail among many. Check out his log.. He not only has a incredible build.. but he turned his log into a practicum for us to follow. :-) No model pictures today, but I did make some progress. I have the rest of the keel and stern-post glued on. Sad day for a sailor though... End of season, My non-model boat got hauled for winter today. After Connie, I may need to make a model of her for the day I become Usedtosail II. but that's a long way off.

Amazing job with the ships boats. As for how to use the oak....Grains to big for scale on the model. Should be seen so not an internal piece and I wouldn't want to paint or copper over it. So my vote is that I would use it to make the cradle. I've just started my Connie build as well so I'm eager to watch your progress as we are at the same point as far as the ship proper goes. (I'll build my boats last.)

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. Now that the three frame pieces are together. I wanted to dry fit all the bulkheads. Without a good deal of clean up, most wont fit in. So I took my dremel tool with a straight router bit and touched up the slots on both the frames and the bulkheads. I followed that with a small file. I took just enough off so that they would be a snug fit, (not overly tight) fit. But still have a just enough play so that they can be squared up when gluiing without a lot of pressure. So this is Dry fitted. Latter I'll transfer all the reference lines to the bulkheads to ensure they sit at the right height. But for first pass.. they look fairy good. As for reference lines on the frame. I cut out the template from the plans. I cut the plans at the bearding line. This let me just lay the template on the frame and trace the edge. Yes, I know in the pictures, the template is not lined up correctly. It was when I traced the lines :-) After I traced the lines. I cut the rabbit and bearding line using some mini carving knives After those were cleaned up (both sides) I went to work on the Stem. Notice the two enlarged holes on the stem. That allows for the rope gammoning?? on the 1812 ship vs the smaller hole for chain on the current ship and model. And here I'm gluing on the stem, A couple of things I'll point out. 1) The joint between the three frame pieces need to be re-enforced. I will do that after the Stem, Keel and stern-post are attached and doweled to the frame. But by leaving them off for now, It was easier to cut the rabbit and bearding line when the frame is flat on the board. Likewise when attaching the keel, stem and stern pieces, if you add the re-enforcing pieces first, then the frame wont be flat on the board.. keeping those pieces square when gluing harder. 2) The stem and stern pieces need to be tapered and have the edges rounded.. I am gluing them on first. Will taper then afterwords. My thinking being. The square edges are easier to clamp against. Being un-tapered its easier to keep them flat to the board and square with frame when gluing. And if the clamps mar the wood.. they will be sanded out when I do taper them. The question then is....how hard will it be to taper them once there all attached. I'll find out soon enough. Thats it for now.

Gluing the 3 frame pieces together. After cleaning and fitting (and gluing the joints) I used two levels to hold the pieces down and square. Worked great because the level kept the pieces dead flat over the whole length. And then I added weights to hold everything down. After glue dried

So' I'll start with the box cover And some Reference material I also have The History of the American Sailing Navy by Howard Chapelle in my library. And best of all. I live South of Boston. So I can regularly visit the Real ship And I'll probably join the Constitution Shipwright Guild . So the build begins.... Frame and Keel pieces laid out on plans gluing and clamping the pieces together. Used pretty much my entire inventory of clamps. HeHe

Awsome. Thank you!!!

So I've had Model Expo's Constitution on the self for over two years now. I had been waiting until I finish my last build (HMS Victory Bow Section) before I start. Well I just finished The Vic and am wasting no time in jumping right into this one. It will be good to get away from tying knots and back to wood working. I've been following some of the other Constitution builds (UsedtoSail, CaptainSteve and others.. and getting inspired!) And I'll be shamelessly borrowing ideas from their logs to apply to my own build. So I'll start with the typical early decisions to be made when doing a Connie build :-) --Aiming for a 1812 version or reasonable proximity (of course) --Open waist --5 window stern --White stripe (not the yellow) --Gun deck with deck and real cannons. (Not the dummy barrels.). That's all I got for now, but I'll be posting pics soon as I start to assemble the frame and bulkheads. K.

Great Build!

Couple more from various angles This one I think is cool And one to compare to the real Victory. This one of the pics I've been using as reference to see I close I could get model looking like the real thing

Been awhile since my last post. But I made a lot of progress over the summer. Basically Finished the model except for some minor touch ups to some of the paint that got dinged. Also going to try and make some coils to go over the belaying pins. And of course... need to buy a name plate.