Der Alte Rentner

Funny you should mention that. Using some 32" boxwood sheet, some double-sided tape, a paper template, some Elmer's white glue, a Jeweler's saw, and an incredible amount of patience and tenacity, the ornaments are indeed achievable. I used the double-sided tape to a fix the template to the boxwood. Then I covered the template with a thin film of Elmer's white glue and let it dry. This was so that the paper wouldn't shred as I was cutting with the Jewelers saw. Making it much easier to follow the lines this way. A little clean up with some sandpaper and Diamond files, I got the first ornament out of the way.

If the intent is to be able to view Mustafa's masterful craftsmanship on the gun deck from above, a single sheet of plexiglass or acrylic, or possibly multiple smaller panels (call them windows?) would seem to adequately suffice. It makes no sense, in my view, to try to make plexiglass strakes. There's absolutely no way that that could be made to look good. And it would most likely simply muddy the "window pane". I say, go for one large panel or several small strategically placed windows.

Round one with a jeweler's saw and 1/32" basswood. Fail.. Interestingly, the hardest part of this is finding ways to hold the part as less and less remains to be cut away. Some strategy will need to be employed going forward. Next up, fabricate some 1/32" boxwood and try again..

Very interesting and unique approach! I look forward to seeing the end result. As far as the discoloration in the materials you're using, I personally would opt for character, leaving the natural color alone, and covering it with a matte finish.

I had a thought about your spar deck planking. Since you want to show off the gun decks, but still need some sort of surface, on parts of the spar deck, for other stuff, why not use plexiglass or acrylic in place of wood planks for those areas? Put some decorative lighting in between decks, and that ship would ROCK!

Outstanding workmanship! ..and I remind you that I placed an order with you some time ago for a pair of those hand-crafted wheels. You can add the canopies and skylight to the order too, now that I'm window shopping.. 😁 Um, why do you think you'll have trouble removing the hull from the mold? What's going on with the rubber band(s)? and, hells bells, you seem to be putting more effort into the molds than most of us would even consider for making the boats themselves.. You, sir, have waaaay too much time on your hands! But keep it up. Your work is a wonder to behold.

Quick update. Cannons and carronades arrived. My first impression is, wow these are well made. As expected, the carronades provided with the Constructo kit are almost identical to the ones provided by HiSModel, though the latter are a smidge longer. The HiSModel units come in two pieces, the barrel and a pin. They fit together beautifully. I'll use those on Conny. The dummy barrels were what I wanted most, because I didn't want to have to whittle the inboard ends of the shafts to fit the gunport holes. The diameter of that end of the barrel was exactly 11/64". I needed to ever so slightly enlarge the 5/32" holes in the gunport back plates that came with Conny - the ones I used on the starboard side, as well as the custom-made ones I fabricated for the port side. Perfect fit. Many tedious hours of filing saved. Well worth the premium. Bow chasers looks good too. HiSModel also included a small "sample" pack. I haven't dug into which rigging components these are, but I'll rummage through the kit box and see how they compare to those supplied by model shipways. Left to right in: Constructo, HiSModel, Model Shipways (Constructo did not provide bow chasers.)

Yes, Clement will experiment with a laser cutter, which has the potential for burn marks. But, he's also going to try using his resin printer to produce the parts. Ideally, I'd prefer boxwood without scorch marks, because I hope to go with the unstained finish for the scrollwork and stained backing. However, I can also go with painting the scrollwork white, carrying forward the look from the gallery windows which I made out of styrene. In the latter case, I can then opt for styrene for the trim pieces. I am prepared to try to make the trim out of basswood, holly or boxwood, if I see terrific results on the first option. Or, my attempt to cut the shapes out of boxwood using a jeweler's saw, which would mitigate the scorch marks that will likely be present on the laser cut parts. The little I've worked with the jeweler's saw has me skeptical that I can achieve the results I desire. We'll see what Clement comes up with.. As for 3D detail for carving the fiddlehead components, thanks but I don't think I'll be getting THAT fussy. I'm not programming the resin printer or laser cutter and I certainly don't know how to translate the details from the US Navy plans into usable input for either device. As you aptly observed, from a foot away, no one will notice anyway. I'm really only doing the bass-relief so that I can easily keep a sharp delineation between the back board and the scrollwork. (stained vs natural finish) Thanks for chiming in. Peter

Not much time spent in the shipyard. But I finally received my supply of boxwood sheets in various thicknesses, so I can go to town when I get back to the shop. In the mean time, I've been relearning Corel Draw so I could get better photos from which to cut out the scrollwork shapes for the tailboards. That led me to a discussion with my friend Clement about providing him an SVG file (Scalable Vector Graphic) for him to tinker with. He's going to try to print me the individual components. The idea is to do what XKen did in creating a bass-relief of the scrollwork vs just painting those shapes on. I'll attempt to attach the .svf file for anyone who might find it useful. Bow Scrollwork - final vectors only with fill.svg and here are pictures of the effort: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + Bonus update! Those cannons from HiSModel will arrive sometime today! + ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I just did. Thanks for the suggestion.

I already have some sheet stock ordered from him in thicknesses of 1/16", 1/32", 3/32 and 1/4" in boxwood. I suppose I can rip some strips from that and hope it bends as severely as needed for the stripes. XKen made it sound like basswood would take a better bend, and another contributor at his build log suggested that holly was the best. Modeler's Sawmill doesn't provide either. Hence my search for another supplier. I really would like to see how holly flexes. I do have some Ace Hardware 1/32" basswood. I guess I'll put on my sawmiller's hat tomorrow and start ripping my own strip. If you're going to paint the hull black, I think you'll enjoy working with styrene. I don't know how seriously I'd worry about it discoloring over time, as other contributors have reported elsewhere at MSW. But it was an easy material to work with for the gallery windows. Thanks Gregg.

Can anyone recommend a supplier for #8000 (.0208 x .0208 x 11") basswood, boxwood or holly strips? Xken used this material to do his bow stripes. I don't wan't to use styrene because I'm trying to stick with the stained/unstained contrast scheme. I've tried an internet search and struck out - the few sites that showed it were out of stock. I suppose I could try making my own, but if someone knows someone.. 😉

Jon, I can't thank you enough for having provided this photo to XKen, way back in 2016. It answers a big question for me on how to tackle the tailboards. Thanks again. Peter

Funny you should say that. You should look at the discussion on cannons at Musafa's (mtbediz) build. You'll need to buy replacements for the half barrels that came with the kit. Furthermore, you probably won't like the carronades that came with the kit either. At present the Syren Ship Model Company's (https://syrenshipmodelcompany.com/) cannon store is closed. But I'm pretty sure that by the time you're ready to build the gun carriages, the site will be back in business. Or you could see if Mustafa's friend will make some for you..😁 Do you have a lathe?

I'll chime in for the dark grey as well. Looking good!

Geez, Jon, you just beat me to the punch. I went back to my build log, where you posted the photos of Conny's carronades. By the time I got back, here you are - being all reasonable and coming up with good ideas. I'll copy your photo here so Mustafa can compare his work to the present day guns and decide between weathered or like new. (My guess? He's going to try for the uniform finish. In which case, you're prescription should indeed provide the cure.)

Likewise trying to recall, without making a fool of myself 😉.. I think the carronades that came with the M.S. kit measured around 25mm in length. Looking at the HisModel offering above, I'm pretty sure their carronades are going to be about the same size as the slightly shorter Constructo provided guns. I'll revise this post when next in the shipyard.. (can't do it until I fix the garage door cable, which I discovered yesterday was severely frayed. I'm not risking my truck in the hope the cable won't snap as I'm driving it out of the garage..)

As always, Jon, thanks for the images. My reference library grows, but it will never compare to yours.

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I took a look at the Model Monkey product, and while the price wasn't half bad (if I read correctly, 8 ea. for $18 and change?), I didn't like the look. Preferring brass, and wanting to avoid filing the Model Shipways dummy barrels to fit the holes in the gunports, I took a chance on this more esthetically pleasing offering from HiSModel (available through E-Bay) instead: This is the link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/225798488561?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20231107084023%26meid%3D99995fd3ece648bbb639713d73e121c0%26pid%3D101875%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D224832281882%26itm%3D225798488561%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2332490%26algv%3DSimVIDwebV3WithCPCExpansionEmbeddingSearchQueryRecallAuctionPushout%26brand%3DModel%2BShipways&_trksid=p2332490.c101875.m1851&itmprp=cksum%3A22579848856199995fd3ece648bbb639713d73e121c0|enc%3AAQAJAAABMM%2BSIK5LCqs2uiCwInhHqGVzIMLIMo0iPltG%2Fc%2FV8dzqXG8bAAbTVw985HbdYTuG2wPTDx%2F8lbe8GSu4NUrsEPcDBvCLFhf2QkBmtTX5yUHKQb00aHrCAEqnL1H7RiLKPWzAq77QSHjvkbp%2FD6QIw2d0cwYkcaEx1Le5vSJVNSpietrpaDU6XL1sU59PSFVgME0FeDqPYwDuID3a3%2Bvh%2F53vbte%2BQu3o0w6ieGjGnLdw3ubBmNku7FqvGzXRs3I0v8TOWfoozbZ0xH%2FPhofdDYM3ofsUrcQv82u8IpmkqnqOnqjo9lX%2Fga%2FLeb4CWX5A%2BXyq6RFdxkASoQYLBYDYK8XQg5x%2BvAMCkFig8VKslfNN0ARTWvpDjXV%2Bs8WBFrNZPfHCBzABYPTB8%2F1qV0GsQeE%3D|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2332490&itmmeta=01JGY06WJ0VRGHK6MCB5SMVHY0 Given that I'm building the model to my own taste and (in)experience 😁, I'm not all that concerned about historical accuracy (or scale). I'm hunting around the shipyard for some ebony left over from a previous project in the hope that I can build the spar deck gun carriages from that - because I think that would net some really awesome results. If the ebony doesn't turn up, I could paint the assemblies made from the M.S. laser cut stock, or simply use the Contsructo kit carriages. The latter look pretty good. The HiSModel carronades look to be longer than those in the Constructo kit, but since the carriages appear to be the same size. I'll likely be mixing and matching. At any rate. Construction of the carronades will be relegated to the upcoming Floridian hiatus. I'm hoping the HiSModel dummy barrels fit the gunport holes without modification.. In the short term I'm still on the sidelines awaiting a shipment of boxwood sheets in various thicknesses. Lastly, I was hoping I could find the cannons at Syren Ship Model Company. Sadly, that part of their store was "closed for maintenance"

It has been a very busy holiday season, and I am just now returning my attention to the shipyard. As I await a delivery of boxwood, so that I can complete the main and top gallant rails, I'm beginning to plan my upcoming trip to Florida. What can I do to occupy myself with the USS Constitution in a hotel room? How about tackling the half barrel cannons, the carronades and their carriages? The castings that came with the kit are abysmal. But if I bring the parts along, with some files and sanding sticks, I might be able to clean up the carronades and cannons, and make the latter fit the holes in the gunports. That's a lot of busy work, which will certainly occupy my idle time in Florida. However, I compared the parts between the Model Shipways kit and the Constructo kit, and I'm wondering if I can at least swap out the carronades with those from the Constructo kit. The carriage sides seem to be identical in size. The guns themselves are shorter, but they look a heck of a lot nicer than the crud from M.S. Model Shipway carronade vs Constructo (Constructo supplies brass and sapellly wood) Also, what should I make of this note? Filing the half cannon ends to fit the gunport holes might be unavoidable, as the Constructo parts won't fit. One small accomplishment - thank you Clement for printing me the Eagle!

Hmm, forcing yourself into a "kit bash" just because you wanted to go for open gun port lids. That was an interesting decision. I might have given more weight to "or rather had fully removable lids instead of the split lids provided in the kit", and opted to install closed lids, skipping the gun deck guns all together. Nice workmanship and attention to detail so far.

Als wir hier sagen, Happy wife, happy life, Alles Gute

They are indeed! Nice work on the rigging.

I hear you loud and clear, Jon, and will cross that bridge (swearing all the way) when I finally get there. Though, it may take a while, given my tendency to overthink things - and for my boxwood vendor to deliver fresh supplies.. Thanks again and Happy New Year

Perhaps it's because of the nature of a super zoomed photograph, but I'm not entirely convinced on the color. But then, when I saw the spec of 1/16" square on those styrene junction boxes, I had to gulp. Yikes! This is a long way off for me, and I may not bother with them anyway, but, I think I would try to find some 1/16" square brass stock and drill holes in that instead of messing with styrene. Or hunt down someone who has plans for the canopy frames and can knock them off with a 3D printer (in this country). I have a friend who has a 3D printer, but he'd need plans or whatever the specs are called for him to make them for me. I'm beginning to wish I'd started with a much larger scale, so that I wouldn't need an electron microscope and nano robotics to work on these smaller details. Nice work Jon.