shawn32671

Thanks Volker for the kind words on my build to date...I'm definitely thinking of presewn sails for a future kit...I just couldn't get the stitching to stay straight even ion a small easy to use hobby sewing machine.

You can never have too many projects going on at once. I'm guessing like myself that most of us here are ADD in some way, I have at least 12 things going on at once and switch between each once boredom starts and switch to another and so on...Eventually one gets finished.

Very cool Mark, I hope you do build it, I'd be very interested in seeing your build of the kit.

Thanks Popeye, it looks like it should be a fun build and I think I'll plank the hull and deck also while I'm at it as I'm a bit concerned as well about the balsa being "dentable" plus with my carving skills with such a large piece, I would be lucky if it even almost resembled ta proper ship hul once I was done with that step. I do have these scanned 1:1 so I'd gladly send you the copies in .jpg picture form via email...pm me your email address....if anyone else would like copies as well...let me know, I'm happy to share. note: the balsa parts sheets, the plastic parts sheet and the card stock template sheet are also scanned 1:1

I have "ideas in the works" to add more realistic rigging and add sails plus scratch building several different parts and finding/making some cannons as well.

I made copies of the plans and printed them off since the original ones in my kit are pretty brittle and was afraid they would fall apart if I used them for the build. I haven't done much with the kit yet since I decided to do a little more work on my Albatros kit first. I'll post updates though as I progress.

Well I've accomplished the sails but need to research the rigging and sail attachment next. I posted updates in my Albatros build post for anyone interested.

I posted 2 more updates to my Albatros build progress on Youtube. For anyone interested, the first update (progress update three) is mostly mast assemblies. Sorry for the blurry pics here and there. The next update (progress update four) is the remaining mast and boom assemblies and the completed sails. This may be the last update on this kit for awhile until I can research how to best tackle attaching the sails and the rest of the rigging to the model. Be sure to keep watching though for updates to this model. I hope you like the build so far. Update three: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OICzsRoQjk Update four: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz-wifN7LBY

I posted an update here and will be posting a build update on youtube as well if yud like to see.

I finished all of the sail work tonight and the easiest part had to be attaching the little brass rings to the top edge of the 5 sails requiring them...I will be taking a break from the kit for a little while and research more on how to attach the sails to the ship and running the rest of the rigging.

Another sail update. I am finished sewing the sails and have attached the sails to the booms (just one pictured but there are 2). Next I will be moving on to attaching the tiny brass rings to the remaining sails and start rigging those to the ship. I hope the rest of the sail work goes smoothly.

Manufactured here in the USA by Paul K. Guillow's Inc. Wakefield, Mass. circa 1975. kit no. 153 That's what it says on the box. As stated, I found this on Ebay and I've seen finished auctions for the same model while doing Google searches to find out more about this kit...I couldn't find much info but I'm sure you could find one if you searched awhile online. Although it seems to be a fairly rare kit, it's not worth any real value "cash wise" I think it's a super cool kit though.

I hope you all have enjoyed my review of the Guillow's U.S.S. Frigate Constitution. I either plan to build this kit next as my second ship build or something a bit more difficult than my current Albatros ship build.

Guillow's "U.S.S. Frigate Constitution" ship model kit review: Specs. on box side: ""7-5/8" hull length, 1-34" beam, approximate scale: 1/26"=1'0" Real old time model making with smooth textured, golden grain balsa wood- The light friendly wood that is easy to shape and finish"" Copyright 1975 This seems to be a nice kit but it's a lot smaller than I'd realized it was going to be when I received it today. The box is about a 10 inches long by about 6 1/4 inches wide, and about 3 inches tall. The balsa is in very good shape with very minor warping, the downside is that the die cut parts are not quite cut completely through for the majority of the 5 sheets. There is a sheet A, 2 sheets B, and 2 sheets C. Kit also contains 6 small rubber bands that still seem usable, a baggy of flat toothpicks, a baggy of round toothpicks, four 10 inch by about 3/16" wooden dowels, three spools of black thread, a plastic parts sheet, a black hard rubber grommet type doodad and a card stock template for ratlines etc. and 2 full size plans with full size 4 view drawings. Sails were not included or called for with this kit although I plan to possibly add some when I assemble the kit. Below are the full size plans in .jpg and full size copies of the balsa sheets using regular letter size printer paper and card stock where needed so if anyone wants to try to scratch build this kit, you should have what you need minus the plastic parts. Please leave a comment or ask any questions you may have about this kit. I'm happy to share this model with all of you and hope some of you may try to scratch build this kit.

Kit review coming tonight of this model

Thanks Sam and those are the kit sails...I just wish I had better sewing skills

Del, I know what you mean by the instruction manual for Constructo kits being very vague and not very helpful. I just looked at the pictures in the manual and the plan for guidance with my halyards...what i did was tie around the masts and spars and where it looked like a block was hanging from like a small 1/8 inch long rope type thingy, I just tied a few knots in a row and pulled/stretched the knots lengthwise to give a short rope effect and it seemed to do the trick (i hope that made sense), I then tack glued each in their respective place on masts and spars. I too need some books and plan to buy a few, especially something that covers rigging and sails. Mainly so far, I've pretty much played it by ear as far as building this model has gone in the hopes it ends up at least sort of looking like its supposed to. It helped having a lot of past building and fabricating from years of other balsa and plastic kits building. I hope I've answered your questions, if nothing else I was more informative than the crappy manual with the ship lol.

thank you Volker

Your wife did an incredible job with the sails...I just finished sewing mine tonight but mine didn't turn out the nicest but I'm happy with them. Check out my post about my build when you get a chance to see my sail work and upcoming updates...I will be sure to keep an eye on your work as well...your model looks amazing so far. http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/3188-albatros-by-constructo/

Probably powered by a thick rubber band and cut down plastic airplane prop...If it'd been Cox or Testors, probably the .049 lol I plan to do a kit review then once I finish my Constructo Albatros kit, I'm going to give this one a try. Should be a fun build.

Thanks, I was shocked seeing this kit myself as I had no clue Guillow's tried their hand at ship model kits. As far as I know according to the photo, (photo is of the actual item listed in the Ebay auction I'd won) everything is there including instructions and templates for parts that weren't die cut. I believe the date was 1975....From what I've heard so far, this was the only Ship kit Guillow made. I'm not too terribly concerned about messing up the hull while shaping and sanding as I have plenty of balsa sheet stock on hand but will do my best not to mess it up in any case. Thanks for your comments.

Sails so far, still need to cut the strings hanging off then sew on the rope work around the outside and loops at the corners...not the best sewing work but I'm happy enough with the way they turned out. I completed one sail to show what each sails final result will be. Also, this is the little sewing machine I bought from Amazon for the sails...it's the perfect size for the hobbiest too. http://www.amazon.com/Dual-Speed-Sewing-Machine-Combo/dp/B005K93LV6/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1376119077&sr=8-5&keywords=lil+sew+and+sew+sewing+machine sails so far:

The model is scheduled for delivery saturday and I will post pictures of the kit contents at that time.