bhermann

Hi all,
I have the pintle and gudgeons finished and the pins are holding in the pintle... I am pleased about that.
 

 
I have formed the eye bolts for the pendants
 

 
But I am not sure how to size the eye bolt.  I looked through the practicum but could not find the section that shows setting up the pendants to the rudder.  Might just be these old eyes are not too good at refocusing after using the magnifiers.
 
Can anyone give me the page number where it is described in Chuck's practicum. I would like to see the parts involved before I attach anything to the rudder.
 
Thanks,
Richard

Interesting box art.  I wonder if the JD is used as a finish, or something to drink while commiserating over the kits shortcomings.  I had a tour of the ship in August - if you'd like I will look through my photos and see if there is anything that might be useful to the kit-bash.  I will be following along as well.
 
Bob

Thanks Brian!!!
 
Here's a  couple of photos of it with a coat of paint.  Still needs some clean up and the robin's egg blue of the band and inside of the circular trim.
 
Also not sure what to do with the Star of India ornament.  I tried Sculpy with no success.  
 
I also have to add the name and town.  I saved them from the stern brass that i tore off.  
 
thanks
 
Marc
 

 

Thanks for the likes, guys.
 
Planking continues and is getting closer to being finished. I marked off the ends of the planks in belt B on the transom filler block, because it was the only way I could figure out what the widths should be here. I first marked off the plank widths on the last bulkhead, then drew a line across the gap closer to the keel and divided it by the same number of planks. I then drew lines between the two marks and extended them all the way to the keel to get the shapes and widths at the keel:
 

 
I found that if I fold the handles down on the binder clips, I can piggy back them to do two planks at once:
 

 
Here is the sweet spot - one clamp holds two planks at once:
 

 
The gap is getting pretty small, so other clamping methods need to be employed:
 

 
This weekend I also finished assembling the ME rope walk I bought in their the 40% off sale. I always wanted to try rope making and this was a low cost way to do that. I twisted up three strands of 0.012" diameter nylon thread and its produced a very nice rope, which is 0.025" diameter.
 

 

 
This just happens to correspond to 6 1/2" real world diameter at the Connie scale, so it is the perfect size for the cannon breech lines. I can untwist the rope slightly and fit it over the cassabel on the end of the cannon, instead of wrapping the whole rope around the casabel:
 

 
I also gave the cannon carriages a dry rub of raw sienna paint, which toned down the red a bit.
 

 
As always, thanks for looking in and please let me know if I can improve on any of these ideas. I really appreciate any advice or criticism.
 
 

Lawrence, David, Bill and Jerry,  Many thanks.  I was out of town for the past several days and just returned.
David, the acrylic case with wood strips sounds like a great idea.
Bill, I can't imagine the Victory without a case. I think it would be a dust catcher, and little hands (grandchildren and great grandchildren) would eventually find their way into the rigging.  I'll likely follow what I did for the Constitution.
 
I made a case for the "USS Constitution" of glass (tempered, so that the glass would break into tiny bits if shattered).  Brass trim was added and when the top front is lifted, the front glass sheet can be lifted out for easy access.  And finally a table was made to fit the case.  The Constitution however, was somewhat smaller than the Victory.  It's a museum.
 
The model of the Constitution without a case.
 

 
Completion of the case.
 

 
And finally the supporting table.
 

 
Cheers, Gil

Some of the bands required simulated hinges.  Here's how I did them.
 
Originally I tried gluing a piece of wire the the band but it did not hold up to trimming and filing very well.  So I decided to solder the wire in place.
 
I folded the wire so it "clamped" over the band and then used two hemostats to hold it in place for soldering.
 

 
Then I cut the ends loose and filed the remaining piece of wire.  Here is the final result.
 

 
The main boom has a couple of sheaves built in at the aft end.  I started with the idea of making working sheaves.
 
Drilling holes at the ends of the sheave locations was where I started this.
 

 
I then started to  carve away at the material between the endpoints with a rasp.
 

 
After going at that for a while, I decided I liked the look well enough and stopped after carving some of the material.
 

 
Bob

Next up, I started on the main boom.  It has a different set of hardware than the gaffs after the initial shaping is done and the jaws are added.
 
First a pair of belaying pins are put into the jaws.
 

 
A cleat is added on the port side.  I didn't pin it initially but I knocked it off enough times that I added the pin later.
 
Gluing and clamping the cleat.
 

 
and after install and shaping.  You can see that I mark top and forward directions - otherwise I'd forget..
 

 
The main boom uses a parrel rope, but no beads.  As there is no need for it to run up and down the mast, that makes sense.
 

 
There is a band with a bail - this was a bit complicated for me.  I started by wrapping the top and bottom pieces over the boom.
 

 

 
The two pieces are clamped together while drilling the holes for the bail.
 

 
Then the bail is soldered to the bottom of the band.
 

 
The top of the bail is them placed over the bail, a piece of stripwood is placed over the band and clamped with clothespins, and glued in place with CA.
 

 
After drying the whole thing is removed, the edges are roughly clipped, then finish filed.
 
Here are several of the bands that will be installed on the boom.
 

 
And in place on the boom.
 

 
Bob
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The foremast gets bails for the jib stay and the main topmast stay, and a couple of links with blocks for jib halliards.
 
ready to install - the cross-locking tweezers come in handy again.
 

 
And installed
 

 
I did up a fitting for the jumbo jib boom
 

 

 
And here it is test-fitted.
 

 
Bob

After the topmasts were prepared, the mast caps needed to be made and lots of hardware attached.
 
I start by making a  couple of bands with tails.
 

 
The pieces are then soldered together to finish the cap.
 

 
The mast top gets a shoulder filed and the cap is test fitted.
 

 
Various links and bails are fabricated and attached to the the mast caps,  First the spring stay bail:
 

 

 
and a link to attach the pullback stay
 

 

 
The starboard side is attached first.
 

 
And the completed hardware for the mainmast.
 

 
Bob
 
 

Gun deck floor ready. I think that's enough and a bit more than what would be visible when the model is ready.





 
Imagining how it will look like when watching thru the companion ways, and I think it will be very nice.
 
Markku

Just about come to the end of all my spare wood now,Found some strips to put on as in photo,but it looks like I'm actually going to have to start buying stuff now!!

Well underway with the second side now. More confidence now I'm used to the copper tape idea. This time I've made the strips much longer,so I can go from front to back in one run.

At 700 HRS. into the build, it's time to finish off the cannon barrels.  We'll be using 1/16" eyebolts with just a short length of the base left to insert into the gun:
 

 
 
 
The hole was drilled with a #76 pin drill at an angle so that the ring sits hard to the small knob.  A very small dab of thin CA was applied prior to insertion.  Here's the 32 gun cannon 'forest' ready for painting:  
 

 
 
Now ready for painting.......see you in 2 weeks!!!
 
 
 

Tuesday 04 November 2014
 
cut the shape with my scroll saw
lightly sanded
needs more shaping and a clearance hole for the bowsprit but here is the idea
 
by my calculations the bowsprit should be approximately 0.4666" dia and 4-1/2' extension beyond the bow
the dowel is 7/16" dia = 0.4375"
 
PS: forgot to mention the warts... I cut one piece backwards and had to start it all over

Interesting box art.  I wonder if the JD is used as a finish, or something to drink while commiserating over the kits shortcomings.  I had a tour of the ship in August - if you'd like I will look through my photos and see if there is anything that might be useful to the kit-bash.  I will be following along as well.
 
Bob

Even though my actual build probably won't start for some time, I decided to go ahead and start my build log.
 
I purchased my MS Constitution kit a few days ago as what was anticipated to be a belated birthday present to myself. I say belated because I was quite certain the kit would not arrive until later this week. In fact, the expected delivery date was November 7th and my birthday was yesterday.
 
When I got home from work yesterday evening, my better half told me that a package had been delivered. I figured it was some books I had ordered for research on the Constitution. But amazingly, it was my Model Shipways kit. Quite honestly, I have no idea how it arrived so quickly. I didn't order it until Friday and it arrived on Monday - on my birthday. 
 
As the topic title indicates, I'll be bashing the Model Shipways kit and building it to 1812 Era specs. That being said, I'm going to attempt to use a single post as a one-stop location to document all of the necessary changes to bring the MS kit to 1812 Era specs. All posts after that will be used to document the build progress itself. As I identify changes that need to be made to the MS kit to bring it to 1812 Era specs, I'll come back and edit that post. Hopefully, it will help folks down the road who want to build the MS kit to 1812 specs but, don't have a lot of time to devote to research.
 
I assure you that I'm going to attempt to build this kit and remain as true to the 1812 Era specs as possible. However, given that there is so much that we DON'T know about this era, there will invariably be things that come down to a matter of personal preference. What I would ask of all the Constitution researchers out there is, if you see something in my modification log that is obviously wrong, please point me in the right direction. You folks have been doing this much longer than I have and are undoubtedly much more knowledgeable regarding her history and construction. So, please keep me on the right path.
 
Clark Fletcher (Fletch)

Constitution is scheduled to enter the drydock in March 2015.  The Navy is waiting to conclude the war of 1812 bicentennial celebrations with a commemoration of the victory over the HMS Cyane and HMS Levant of Feb. 20, 1815.
 
The ship will be open for visitors until she actually is moved into the drydock and then the Navy is hoping to have parts of the ship open during the drydock period depending on safety concerns.
 
Between now and March the ship will begin un-rigging and sending down her spars and masts.  All the carronades have been removed from the spar deck already.
 
I am hoping to get and post a set of pics of the various stages of the refit.

Thanks Joe, Vivian & Mark. Indeed I used the knurling attachment from Shereline, it gives a good grip and a adds a nice touch.
 
Port side treenailed
 

 
And draught marks added, they won't be painted red as they should as this might be to distracting. They are just 3 mm, 1/8" high
 

 

 
Remco

This will be my first build log, so I will start at the beginning  with some photos of the kit, and discuss some 'kit bashing' I want to do.
 

 

 

 

 
The kit seems well thought out but has some shortcomings I will amend, and some that are beyond my skills to fix.
 
The Main thing that I cannot fix is that all of the ribs are the same size making the structure a lot easier to build as there are a lot more straight lines then if it had the correct curve of the hull, making for an easier build was mamolis goal here, I think.
 
And the top deck has one of the smaller cannons pointed very close to  a shroud, it has been placed there with artistic licence, so as to display a cannon on the top deck.
 
Both these things would need major changes made to the plans, so I will just have to live with these mistakes, and not point them out to people when I show the finished model off.
 
Things that I plan to fix are;
 
The pumps do not carry through the decks below, so I plan to research what the drains would look like and install them.
 
I plan on leaving some deck planking out to see into decks below, and let in light.
This will mean that I will have to improve the timbers that hold the decks, there seem to be missing knees that run under the decks, the vertical ones are represented but no horizontal knees, and I believe the constitution had 2 sets of wooden knees as well as iron knees that I want to research and replicate.
 
I also want to improve the gun hatches.
 
And plate the bottom of the model in copper tiles to replace the hideous GREEN pieces of planking suggested by Mamoli
 
I am sure I will find other ways to improve on the kit, and it will be good practice till I can do a WHOLE ship.
 
Looking forward to a good build.
 
I will update when I get this started.
Reading Italian instructions???, and researching the changes I want to make till then.
 
 
 
 

Fore Tack Step Blocks
 
These are relatively large Blocks which attach to the Boomkins - 14" in real life. I made them from English Box, the pics tell the story :
 

 

 

 

 
Their Strops are served :
 

 
  Danny

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 93 – Main Deck Framing 4
 
The two large fresh water tanks needed to be permanently installed before the main deck framing could be completed.  The first photo shows these two tanks in place.
 

 
The tanks were iron and rest on heavy wood bases in the hold over the keelson.  These bases were shown in earlier posts.  The tanks were made from cardstock glued on to wood blocks.   The picture also shows  tops of the lower sections of the bilge pump suction piping just forward of the tanks.   The next picture shows the run of these pipes down to the limber channel.
 

 
The pipes are copper tube.  The upper sections between these pipes and the pumps on the main deck will be installed later.  The 4”x4” dunnage timbers on the base for the forward tank can be seen in this picture – taken before setting the tanks - just aft of the pipes.  The main mast step can be seen just forward of the pipes.  (This was shot at an aperture of F32 and very slow shutter – much better field depth vs. the pictures in last post.)
 
In the next picture the framing in the midship area is approaching completion.
 

 
All of the full beams have been installed in this picture including their hanging knees and pillars.  In the picture the headers for the main hatch - with scores cut for the half beams - have been fit as well as the main mast partner carlings.  In the next picture the framing over the tanks has been completed and the last pillar under one of the half-beams is being test fit. 
 

 
All of the pillars are pinned with copper wire bolts top and bottom.  The fitting of this last pillar finishes the deck beam setting.  The next picture shows the hull with the main deck framing at this stage.
 

 
Next will come the lodging knees for all these beams and the ledges – but first a few housekeeping items needed to be taken care of.  One of these was literally a housecleaning of the workshop that might be partially noticeable in the above picture.  This tidying up also included installing 10 dozen or so functional copper wire bolts with epoxy to further secure the main deck beams and knees.  One of these is being installed in the next picture.
 

 
There are two at the end of each beam – one through the beam into the clamp and one through the beam into the hanging knee.  The other task was to apply wax finish to all of the structure from the middle deck up to just below the main deck beams.  This cannot be done easily after the ledges are installed. 
 
The deck framing has not been sanded at this stage as might be noticed.  This will be done once after all of the ledges are installed.
 
Ed

Wow, Ed, just wow.  I showed the Admiral the last photo taken through the viewport and she said "look at those knees"... I guess that tour of Constitution Popeye2sea gave us really paid off!  Incredible work, sir. Looking forward to more updates!
 
Bob

Ahoy Mates
 
This should be my last post as a Commander
 
Dragzz: That build is amazing 
 
Scott: It's the edge bending 
 
Lawrence: It just looked odd but its yours to do as you please. The wedges are coming in quite handy on this first planking. Not sure if they will be good on the second 
 
Back to the build 
 
Well planking this beast is sure turning out to be a learning experience. I still can not seem to get my head around belts; that and the edge bending is really getting a little out of hand.
 
I have completed the port belt and decided to do the Garboard belt next. My hope is that once complete I will be able to better plan the next two belts. I am winging the plank widths. I am going with "they need to taper just before the stern and then flare" as my last model did. So far it looks like I am close and any errors should only cause minor problems. Fingers crossed.
 
The edge bending has me concerned on all three belts. I am hoping the thinner walnut will be a little more receptive to the curves. The drop plank on the port side had to be done three times. I now have some "franken planks" as a result of my changes. I normally would have just replaced the complete plank but do not know how much extra wood Corel has included. Currently my waste is less then one strip. Possible only a half. 
 
In the stern my planks do not line up on both sides and I will have to pay better attention to this with the walnut. I am debating whether to make a correction on this or not. On the bow I had to pull back my drop plank due to all my mistakes and there were quite a few. I was happy with the way it turned out until I saw this picture. I see I have one more issue to address. I am hoping all this experience will only help me on the final planking. Trust me when i say the thought of just slapping all these  on and then throwing a sanding party; then inviting some filler is entertained quite frequently in the shipyard.
 
The bow end of the garboard plank was much easier then I thought. I just terminated it at bulkhead 2. Any further and it was curving up which I was told is something this plank should never do. I have some doubts as to how much and how I tapered the following planks as this led to considerable edge bending to get compliance. I went slightly wider on the last plank  to hopefully reduce it for the ones that follow. If I were to do this again I would put a filler here. 
 
In the stern getting the planks to conform and contact the plywood keel was not so easy. I found that nuking small pieces of paper towel in a shallow dish of  water and then clamping them to the wood very helpful. Getting the wood to make full contact with the plywood keel took no less then five sessions.. Because I believe I will be sanding most of this all the way back down in some areas I felt full contact necessary. Its just which area???, that is why it all needs to be put down. Sanding here, fitting the walnut and the keel post are one of my biggest concerns with this project. I also pulled up the garboard strake where it met the keel post. The plans do not show the planks sweeping up as mine do but I felt that if I matched the plans with this layer I would not be able to with the final one. I did this plank two times before I realized this and then did it another two more times to get this. . I am be big believer in water solvable PVA.  it really is a newbies best friend. 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 92 – Main Deck Framing 3
 
Framing of the main deck continues from forward and aft.  Additional operational features are also being installed.  In the first picture the topsail sheet bits  and two round openings for the anchor chain chutes  are installed.  The samson post is being glued in place toward the bow.
 

 
This very large timber extends up above the forecastle deck.  It will support the lever arms for the anchor chain winch located on the main deck just below the forecastle break.  The levers were operated from the forecastle.
 
Working just one step behind the drafting sometimes causes problems.  The next picture shows the step for the main capstan, which I neglected to install when framing the middle deck.
 

 
The decking between the two hatches and the middle bay of framing had to be removed and reworked to include support carlings and the square step itself.
 
The next picture shows the extent of the main deck framing at that time – a few days ago.
 

 
The next picture is a different view.  The three rows of carling under the deck cabin can be clearly seen in this picture.  The cabin will extend some distance further aft than the beams installed here.
 
 

 
The next picture shows some additional progress on the aft part of the main deck.
 

 
The members that will support the capstan on the main deck have been installed including two large support carlings.  The design of these supports and the step is speculative.  It will soon be time to make the smaller forward water tank and install both iron tanks while there is still access.  The bilge suction pipes will also need to be installed soon.
 
The next picture was taken while I could still place a smaller camera on the middle deck.  The view is forward along the middle deck
 

 
In the foreground is the main hatch and the bilge pipe openings.  The dark areas along the waterways are shadows of the deck beams. 
 
The last picture is one of those scary close-ups taken through one of the view ports.
 

 
This was taken at F8 – the smallest aperture on the smaller camera - so the foreground is out of focus, but the detail of the knees on the middle deck framing can be clearly seen – also a scarph jint in the deck clamp.
 
Ed

Cutted the bulkhead middle supports off from the area where main hatch will be. I'm planning to do the same with companion ways area, where also will be ladders down. My new spar deck supports are excellent, since the top part of bulkheads seems to be very strong now, even they have no middle supports at all. Those were very good to add there.
 


 
Markku