GGibson

Hey Phil! A great, comprehensive response to many of the "gluing solutions"! I have read a lot here on MSW regarding the advantages of using shellac in securing our rigging. My question with that, though, is... what does someone use to transfer the quart or gallon-sized can of shellac you purchase at the hardware store to something you can use at your shipyard bench in order to place a drop on your rigging knot? Can the shellac be placed in the same type of small plastic needle tip applicators that we use for our diluted glue? Or are we just pouring small portions of shellac into a shallow cup or bowl and use from there? Some type of applicator would be great and would probably create less waste. Appreciate anyone's input!

Maybe a bit late to the responses, but awhile back someone here recommended using diluted PH Neutral PVA glue (I put the mixture in a needle tip squeeze bottle) for gluing rigging, which works well for me, but I do use the Titebond Original for my wood-to-wood gluing. To undo it, apply some heat using something like a soldering tip. For wood filler, I have had good recent success with DAP Plastic Wood-X. If the container dries out fast, the DAP folks told me to add a drop or so of water to soften it up. 🤷‍♂️👍

Thanks for this info, Chuck! I had not heard about this. I was a first-time customer of Malco back around Christmas time, when I purchased $200 worth of blades for my Byrnes saw. The blades I have used so far have worked very well. Hope the quality stays high.

And good luck with THAT! 🤷‍♀️🤣👍 Honestly, Peter, speaking as the odd man out from where all you guys are currently that I'm following on your respective Constitution builds, but... your bow area has looked awesome to me. Keep doing well, sir! I'm anxious and excited to get anywhere near this point. Carry on! 🏆

You can make them yourself, as both Desertanimal and CPDDET suggest (I've done the wrap-around solution a few times, and cut them with some flush cutters or snippers), or... I have had great success ordering from this small business multiple times - Creating Unkamen. Perhaps a dealbreaker, but FWIW, they aren't terribly fast in shipping. May take a few weeks as I think she told me they only make orders as they receive them, not a big inventory. But their quality is top-notch.

These all look great, Chuck! More "stuff" to add to my Syren shopping list once I get to my Constitution build. 👍🏆 I am curious, though, what are the specific purpose of the toggles? The Pavel Nikitin version of the Santa Maria that I am currently finishing has toggles in various locations on the running rigging and at the end corners of sails. I assume they were placed on these ships in order for the crew to pull down on as they secured the various lines to make them as taut as possible. Any other reasons/purpose? Continued success on your Syren operations, Chuck!

I've had recent success with Malco saw blades for my Byrnes saw as an alternative to the Thurston blades. Home - Malco Saw Company

Welcome back, Chuck! Everyone knows how great your blocks and deadeyes are, so... whoosh! They're gone! 👍🏆 I was going to ask if you've ever done triangular deadeyes?

That's a beautiful ship, Peter! Awesome memories, I am sure! But, no! You'll have your Constitution completed (at least in the next 5 years, as you say 😆). The "someone in the future" I was referring to was me. Wondering what everyone thinks of doing an "open hull" version of the Constitution, displaying not only a detailed gun deck but also at least portions of the berth and orlop decks. Might be interesting! But yes, would add considerable time to an already lengthy build. Probably shouldn't plan something like that at the age of 70! 🤣🤣

There is a post in the "How to Use..." section - - that discussed how to create a PDF document from a build log. At the time I first saw this, back in November 2024, I tried it and it did work and I commented on it working well, but after-the-fact there was something about it that I didn't like and, of course, for the life of me, I cannot remember now what the issue was. It was either a size issue or a search issue or... whatever. So, this is what I have been doing, instead... and I stand corrected... I've been doing what Jon said he's doing. Copying and pasting to Word, pages at a time, cleaning up/deleting whatever gets copied that's not necessary such as signature entries, user profile pictures, etc. And, THEN, on the completed build logs, I have saved those to a good PDF file from the Word doc. All of your build logs that are still ongoing are still in Word format and I update and clean up pages periodically. So, I apologize for my mis-speak and, yes, Jon, it is VERY laborious, but it is an excellent way for me to read every bit that's been posted on y'all's logs from Day 1! 👍😄 OK, as long as I am already interrupting Peter's build log, did you gentlemen receive the email notice from Artesania Latina regarding their new HMS Victory? They have the starboard side of the ship exposed so one can see the details of each deck. HMS Victory 1:84 Wooden Ship Model Anatomy of English Vessel What are your collective thoughts about "someone in the future" doing a kit bash of the USS Constitution like this? I have always loved the idea of doing a detailed gun deck but have wondered how much of it would be truly visible once the spar deck and all of its "stuff" was properly placed, especially if placed in a glass case upon completion. Thoughts? Again, sorry, Peter, for clogging up your build log! 🏆

Yep, besides keeping current track of each of your active Constitution build logs, I have saved, bookmarked and (in some cases) already downloaded to PDFs the completed build logs of those others you have mentioned. And I think I mentioned in someone's build log a while back that I even purchased Ken Foran's (xken) Model Building with Brass book, as he did some amazing brass work on many of his Constitution fixtures. Continued great detailed work, Peter! Thanks! 🏆

Yes, all very interesting questions, Jon! And appreciate the experienced responses, Unegawahya! And thank you for your service! What ships were you on during your service? My son got his wings in 2007, was assigned to VFA-41 Black Aces and was on the Nimitz first and then the Stennis. 👍🛫🏆

Well stated, Jon! All of your Constitution renditions are great!

Excellent work, Peter! Love the contour on the top gallant rails and the catheads came out looking great. 👍🏆

Apologize for taking up space on Peter's build log, and this may be one of the worst questions I have asked on any of your build logs, but... when you guys are referring to the 1/32" eyebolts, are the "eyes" of the eyebolts 1/32" or the thickness of the brass wire used to make the eyebolts 1/32" or both? Jon mentioned the concern about being in scale with our 1:76.8 Constitution scale, which made me think about what I have. Shown below is a picture of my two current supplies of eyebolts. The eyebolt on the left has a 0.52mm brass wire thickness (I use a #75 drill bit for it) and its "eye size" is 0.055" or 7/128" (3/128" larger than 1/32"). The eyebolt on the right has a 0.85mm brass wire thickness (I use a #65 drill bit for it) and its "eye size" is 0.042" or 5/128" (1/128" larger than 1/32"). While I have used the left eyebolts on occasion, I have liked the thicker eyebolts on the right for my recent builds, including my current Santa Maria. I have been purchasing these from Micro-Mark - Brass Eye Pins – Micro-Mark. So... would the eye pins on the right be in scale for the Constitution both in wire thickness and eye size? Again, Peter, apologizes for taking up space on your build log for this question, but thought since you guys discussed it, I'd toss in my ignorance. Thanks!

That's the plan! Which is why I've been following each of your Constitution builds with fervor and admiration. Great question, Peter. But I'm still not sure where I will land on which Constitution version/year. It will be "bashed", though, in the respect that it will have a completed gun deck. As I said above, and as most of you know, I have been following each of your current build logs, as well as researched some awesome completed builds from guys like xken and usedtosail, and... to Jon's point earlier, almost every one of your builds has some type of nuanced differences. So, we'll see where I land on it. Anxious to get to it... but need to finish the rigging on this Santa Maria first!

Don't be afraid to ask Vanguard if they can replace the lost/missing blocks. Many of these quality ship model companies will replace parts at no cost if you bought the kit from them. Otherwise, my best recommendation is to look at Syren Ship Model Company for your blocks. Rigging Blocks for ship models - scale boxwood blocks- swiss pear-2mm scale rigging blocks|3/32" scale rigging blocks and pulleys

I purchased Bob Hunt's Constitution course in preparation of my build, have reviewed much of it and am sure I will refer to it periodically during the build process, but will honestly look more at each of your processes (both the successes and struggles). For that, I continue to be grateful!

Gee, thanks a lot, guys..!?! 🤷‍♂️🤣🤣 And... nice solution to your issue, Peter. Looking forward to seeing how it all looks. 👍

Nice solution, Mustafa! And I've got plenty of 0.51mm brass rod around here (and know where to get more)! And something that small probably doesn't need much primer, does it? The paint itself adheres satisfactorily? The added primer would probably make it too thick and gunky, too. Continued awesome work, sir!

In looking at the search history on the discussion of forceps, I did not see anything specifically related to my query, so thought I would throw it out for discussion. I have a couple of locking forceps that, as memory serves, I probably picked up through Amazon. I use them regularly to hold my blocks when prepping them for rigging. I am finding, though, that when working with the smaller 5&6mm sized blocks, the forceps sometimes crush the block, as the squeeze is so tight when locked. What are others using to hold their blocks? If using forceps, have you found ways to "loosen" them just enough to not be crushing? Are there certain designed forceps that work better? I would assume the length between the forcep hinge and the tip where the block is held would have something to do with the force strength. Any recommendations on what type has worked best is appreciated.

Sea steps look nice, Mustafa. Well done, sir! Since you are gluing those to a painted surface, did you have any problems with adherence? At this scale, would it help to use some brass rods to assist in securing the steps to the hull, or would that be a bit of overkill? Looking great, Mustafa! Sorry for always interrupting your build log with silly questions and comments. 🏆👍 EDIT: Oops! Based on your response below, I just realized I missed your picture you posted above with the brass rod support. My apologies!

I think it was this post (Post #488) by Jon on Peter's build log quoting the USS Constitution Museum's info.

Hello gentlemen! I was interested in Mustafa's post regarding the bow rail, as well, as the current "version" of the Constitution does not have a bow rail, but was waiting on you experts to have the discussion before I weighed in. Peter, I have referred to the Constitution's online guided tour a million times. The issues you may be having in opening the guided tour completely (they ask if you are a teacher, student or simply an adult history fan) is what browser you are using. After using Microsoft Edge as my preferred browser for years, I decided recently to switch to DuckDuckGo and I was having problems opening this guided tour using that browser (as well as some other issues), so I've switched back to Microsoft Edge. I can't speak to the reliability with other browsers, but that may very well be your issues with not being able to open properly. With all that said, the current guided tour does not show a bow rail. Just another question for me to resolve on which restoration period I will shoot for once I get to my own build. As always, though, gentlemen, I appreciate the wealth of information y'all provide me. Looking awesome, Mustafa!!

Hello, Benjamin. Sorry to hear of your packaging issues with Model Shipways! That would definitely be disconcerting to receive the plans folded like that. The issue has to be with the staff person that prepared your shipment. I don't think that is their normal process. More than a year ago, I purchased the Model Shipways USS Constitution for a future build, as they were offering a special discount on purchases that I could not pass up. Fast forward to just a few weeks ago when, in preparation for that build as soon as I am done with the current one, I ordered another set of USS Constitution plans from Model Shipways in order to have an extra original set (granted I purchased these extra plans rather than having them send a free copy). But, to your point about shipping. they sent me the plans rolled and in a hard tube, rather than folded multiple times to fit in a box. Why they would not have done that with any plans like that is upsetting. Perhaps contact them again and express your concerns? I've always been impressed with how Marc Mosko (company president) handles customer service. And, best wishes on your Bluenose! It was a beautiful ship to build!