CaptainSteve

Jay, Absolutely loving your work and following closely every step of the way, although I remain approx 2 years behind where you are now. I see you are approaching the rigging stage of this magnificent build. Whilst having no idea how you plan to display your Connie, I did notice a tip you may/may not wish to consider .... For sails "under wind", paint with a heavily diluted mix of PVA and water. Hang on a frame, or fix mounted spar to frame, in front of a household fan. Tie clews/corners off to create the effect you require. Leave with fan on long enough for the glue to dry, creating a permanent billowing sail.

Progress has been slowed this last week - as predicted, blame Karl Heinz Marquardt. For you history buffs, I thoroughly recommend this book. The information is highly detailed and it appears to me that ModelShipways got their hands on the same sets of plans for their kit as Karl has accessed. The additional level of detail Karl has covered in his book makes for an excellent addendum to the MS kit. But, Karl, baby, surely you could've included some colour pics!! Personally, I will admit to having no more than a high-school knowledge of US history prior to buying my MS kit. (Glad to see you guys finally got rid of Bush !!) And despite doing as much research on the back-story of the USS Constitution as I could, I did once ask (on MSW1) why the ship's flag had 15 stripes. (Numerous historically correct answers were provided. Thanks !!) However, whilst this book has answered a number of questions, it has raised some, as well. In particular, my intention is to build my Connie at the stage of her life which I consider to be her prettiest. This would be the time immediately prior to that master tactician, Isaac Hull, having his wicked way with her !! OK ... sure, I get it !! By removing the stern windows to allow additional chaser guns was a master-stroke that allowed Connie to escape, thus setting the scene for her famous encounter the following month against HMS Guerriere. But, I mean, she was soooo pretty !!! Therefore, I plan on representing her with the stern window configuration of (circa) May, 1812. However, Marquardt's book raises the question of how many windows. Basing his research on the Corne paintings, he offers five, six and eight window configurations. Although I prefer the 5-window set-up, six windows is also an option. Which do I build ??? (Thoughts, anyone ??) For now, some minor progress with ribbing on the boats. The curves are tighter than the curling iron is capable of producing, so working on a solution for that problem at the moment. This is the first boat. These ribs were made by re-soaking the original attempts and shaping over the handle of my Exacto knife (plastic guard on first) ...

Stunning work there, Jeff. I can only hope my Connie looks that good one day.

Reckon you have it, slagoon. I found the exact picture with a simple Google search on that name.

This arrived yesterday via courier. It was actually delivered by a driver from the very company I work for !! I suspect it will slow my modelling down for a few days ... At top-left of above pic and this one, some dowels which I salvaged from an earlier kit (refer my MSW1 thoughts on Billings kits!!). These are destined to become the masts/spars for my Connie's boats.

Linda, If your interest is of the history of your ship, then I'd suggest starting a topic under this category (Nautical History). Title it something like "Northern Belle - History", post what you know and what your specific questions are, then wait for the responses.

Great detective work there, Crackers !!!

Bismarck ... No Titanic ... No SS Minnow (from "Gilligan's Island") ... No Boat from "Jaws" .... No

Jeff, it actually helps keep my one good eye straight. Final pic for the weekend ... Keelson pieces fitted. Ribs next. (Anyone have a real good spare-ribs sauce recipe ??)

I may as well get in early ... and (usually) incorrectly ... Is it USS Emeline, an American Steam Yacht from 1898 ??

The hulls of my boats are now shaped to my satisfaction <phew>!! I think that deserves a drink !! In the fore-ground are some early attempts at making internal ribs ....

Nothing a little sawdust and PA glue won't take care of ...

Using the curling iron, some minor crimping does occur ...

I think I may have it !! Is it USS Columbia ??? ... later known as USS Old Columbia ??

And where are those turret guns ??

Okay. I'm probably wrong, but I'm going to kick discussion off with this guess. Here goes ... Is it HMS Dreadnought ?? And if you also require the version, then first guess is - 1906. Second guess is - 1875.

Ooooh ... I've got one !! I've got one !! Darn !!! It ain't my turn.

The weekend is here again and I have resolved to get back to work on my boats. All that has been done thru this week is that the keels have been attached and some more shaping has been done. I mentioned above that the kit instructions suggested not attaching the base-plate piece to make shaping the insides easier. Sure wish I had listened to my own advice !!! Whilst I did do a fair amount before attaching these pieces, a lot more had to be done before I was happy with them. This was quite a chore whilst making sure that the sides were not sanded too thin. In addition, I highly recommend checking out the group builds on MSW of the 18th Century longboats. There are a number of them, including Chuck's and Bob Riddoch's. I think my favourite, however, would be Mike Lonnecker's. In particular, his pics of the interior showing the keelson and ribs has helped me immensely. More pics soon ...

I'm still none the wiser. But I HAVE ruled out galleons, man-o-wars and ships-of-the-line .... (Unless it's from the navy of a really, really small colonial power)

Beautiful work there, Mike. And of great interest as I am currently building the ship's boats for my USS Constitution. Thanks for the pics.

Might I suggest an amendment to the game rules ?? If the player whose turn it is has not replied in, say, a fortnight, then the previous winner gets to post again. Thoughts ??

Hmmm ... I can see I am not going to be very good at this game .... Anja, any hints ??

Soooooo ... who's turn is it ?? (CaptainSteve focuses his one good eye in RMS' direction)

The LEDs in the above pic were purchased seperately. According to the wiring diagram which came with the Flicker3 DC, it should be possible to create up to 3 channels, with a number of LEDs (based on resistance and voltage) on each channel. As I understand it (NOTE: I am NOT an electrical engineer!!!), each channel will flicker randomly and differently to the others.

Really impressed with your work on the interior lighting, Michiel !!! Your lanterns and candles are very authentic. This is a topic that could prove immensely useful to many MSW members. I am planning on installing some lighting to my current build, and recently found something which may be of interest to others thinking of putting lighting into their builds. It's a tiny circuit board called a Flicker3 DC. It is designed to create a random flickering effect that simulates candle/gas/oil lamps.