Aussie048

And all this time I thought English was a language and Imperial was the system of measurement 
 
I find metric is easier but somehow I still screw it up.

Tom, 
 
Thanks for the inspiration. I really feel like my skills are improving and getting more confident. The Glad Tidings has taught me quite a bit so far but the most important thing is patience. It seems like it's taken so long to get to the point I'm at. In the past it would have bothered me but now I'm fine with it. It's become fun to solve problems and re-do things until they are right. I don't know if Constitution will be my next build but I will build her.
 
Al

Al - you are doing a great job on your Glad Tidings. The Constitution build is a lot of the same processes, just more and bigger. If you are comfortable planking, for instance, it is just more planks to do. The instructions are probably very familiar to you as Model Expo seems to reuse a lot of the same information. For this detailed a ship, however, I think they are minimal. Another option is to purchase the Launk Street shipyard tutorial for the Constitution, which uses this model. The first chapter is available for free, so you can take a look and see what you think. I used the first chapter but did not use the rest. I think you could do a decent model of this ship if you take your time. It all depends on what you want in the end. In my case, I know I will be pleased with the outcome even with the many flaws because 1. I am learning a lot and have attempted things I would never have tried before, and 2. It is taking me a long time, which to me is a good return on investment.   Oh, and it is a big sucker so think about where you will put it when finished.
 
Geoff - I was going to grind the grooves off one of the hemostats I have, but they seem really hard, so I went for the easier solution.
 
Here are some pictures of the small wooden cleats from Syren in place. I am very happy with the result.
 

 

 
And here is what I was referring to in an earlier post. While looking for information on the binnacles, I re-found Force9's build log (on another site) and there was this great looking belfry that he added to his Constitution. His research found that she may have had a belfry in the 1812 era, so he put one in. I liked it so much I had to try making one. The curved piece at the top was the challenge to me, so I first tried making a form from some plywood and bending a piece of basswood strip in it. This came out OK, but the strip thickness was not consistent across the whole curve. My second try used a piece of basswood sheet. I cut the upper profile in the scroll saw, then made a cut straight across at the thickness of the ends. It was then just a matter for filing out the underside of the curve until it was the same thickness all the way along its length. I was quite afraid that the piece would split somewhere near the end of that process, but luckily for me it did not. The brass bell I had left over from a previous build and I just added a large eyebolt that I opened up to hold the bell, then glued it to the underside of the cross piece.
 

 
I have been going through the two rigging plan sheets to start figuring out the sizes of line I need to make. In the process, I saw that the main stay and preventer stay connect to bullseyes that are attached to the bulwarks under the bow pin rail. I think it will be a good idea to add these bullseyes now while I still have good access to this area.
 
 

You take a lot of details into account! Great job!

I like that look of the rope coils. I tried for something similar. You have got to show the horizontal milling set up for the masts when you have it figured out. Thanks.

Awesome work, Bill!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

I have completed rigging the guns. I purposefully made the various coils inconsistent and a bit sloppy. Much of the crew of the Eagle had very limited ship experience. Since the guns are run out, the lanyards should not be neatly bound up, or in flemish coils. So this is what I ended up with. These would also have been unhooked before firing (I think) but having them laying on the deck really would have looked terrible. I will still play with the shape of the breeching lines, but this is close.
 
Now it is on to the masting. I just received my new rotary table for the Milling machine. I should be able to mill the masts in a horizontal position. However these are still in the box, so I will need to play with them a bit.

Tom,
 
I have really been enjoying your build and learning a lot. I am considering this kit once I finish my Glad Tidings. I am still pretty new to the hobby and not sure I can handle it and want to do the ship justice. How are the instructions? Would I be taking on too big a project for a beginner? I do see other people taking it on early in their building and see mixed results. Some look great and others just fall off the grid and probably never get finished.
 
Thanks, Al

I have been working with the wooden cleats from Syren to get them ready to install. I cleaned about 40 of them using a small file. This took a while but they look great to me. They are so small (I am using the 5mm versions) that the only way I can hold them while working on them is with a hemostat. Unfortunately, all of the hemostats i have have grooved jaws, so they left some slight indents on the sides of the cleats. I was afraid these would be really noticeable after staining, but they look OK. I have since ordered some hemostats that have smooth jaws for future work like this. After staining, I drilled a tiny hole into the base of each one and glued in a small piece of wire. Since most of these will have lines attached, I wanted a more secure connection than just gluing that bases to the bulwarks. Some of these will be used on other parts, like the spanker boom. I have started adding these to the bulwarks. The size is perfect and they fit in all the places they should. I was going to include my attempt at a cleat to compare, but it was too pathetic.
 

 
I have also been getting the pieces of the Syren serving machine ready for assembly. This involved removing the char from 1/4" pieces of cherry. I recently received a Dremel routing table attachment which I used with a sanding drum on these pieces. It worked great. I finished the clean up with sanding blocks. The wood is absolutely beautiful when sanded. I gave all the pieces a coat of Wipe on Poly last night and will start assembly soon.

Hi Everyone,
I have only a minor update today. I haven't been working on my model much over the past week. My daughter and son-in-law listed their house for sale yesterday and I've spent the last week helping them to hide all its flaws... er, sorry, I mean helping them to get it ready to show! I'm off the hook for the time being, but their new house suffers from much deferred maintenance, so it looks like I will have a lifetime of home improvements ahead of me.
 
On the Constitution, I've finished all the gunport lids. I opted for thread instead of wire. At first I thought wire would be best, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the two pieces of wire to join at the "Y" without a large ugly mass of twisting. The thread however worked quite well; I coated each piece in CA glue first and it was easy to handle and I got a decent join at the "Y". I used one size for the piece that attaches to the lid itself and a thinner piece leading back to the hull. I doubled that piece around the first piece which gives a smooth joint and glued it tight to itself.
 
I've started the chainplates and am finding that this is very difficult and finicky work. I have the ones for the main mast on the port side finished. They are less than perfect, but I'm hoping for better results as I go along. As of my last post, the starboard side was going against the wall. As of now, the port side is going against the wall. I'm thinking of running a betting pool for members to guess which side wins in the end.
David 

Happy Friday Everyone,
A little progress to report: I've all but finished the deck details and started on the upper hull details. I've installed the dummy cannons and the gunport lids on the starboard side and am about to do the port side. All is moving along with almost no problems. I say almost, because I did have one moment of panic when I was installing the dummy cannons. Their diameter is wider at the end than it is throughout the rest of the barrel. As you insert them, they fit tightly at first and then all of sudden they don't anymore. I lost control of one of them and it fell right through and into the hull. And I thought things were lost for good when they hit my basement floor. This cannon was gone. Of course, they don't give you any extra, so I was short one. They give you thousands of those little brass brads which I never use - (I tend to think of getting them with a model kit like getting all that extra white rice with an order of take out chinese food - you don't really use it, but they seem to think it needs to be there nevertheless,) but the things you really do need are doled out like they were made of gold. So I had three options. Either order a replacement(s) from Model Expo and wait forever and pay an exorbitant international shipping charge, or order from a Canadian supplier but it wouldn't be a match for the others, or make one out of wood which is what I did. It's in the last picture below. You can most likely tell which one it is, but the casual observer won't be able to detect it, especially when I place this side of the model against the wall.
 
David

Well I went and bought me a rolling mill so I would not have to pester a friend who had a bead roller I have used. Used for what you ask?  A rolling mill purpose is to flatten soft wire, brass, copper, soft mild steel, even aluminium. The rolls are adjustable so one can get different widths and thicknesses for each gauge of wire. The flattened wire can then be used for a number of things like, mast bands, straps. hinges and more.
The rolling mill I purchased is one of their economy models (lowest cost ) and weighs 50 plus pounds. It is about 8.5 x 8.5 x 12" with handle.Granted you can make alot of flatten wire in a short time and will not have to use this tool often. But hey you know how us model builders like "Toys=Tools " Here is a sample of flattened wire. Here are some bands I have made for a project.

I finished the gun ports today, and everything you will see in the following pictures (as poor quality as they might be) is glued in and probably should not need to be changed.  I also framed the cathead openings, which the instructions don't tell you to do.  I have been through the entire instruction book, and couldn't find any reference to framing these, but I felt it was prudent to do so, and that it couldn't hurt.  If it is a mistake, I can always tear it out.
 
As you can see, I am still dealing with the transom.  I went through measurements and dimensions and calculations, and can find nothing wrong with the way I have done things, but still, things aren't coming out as expected.  I am absolutely certain my counter is made correctly, as I checked it many times against the drawing, and it is exact as can be expected.  My only conclusion with the problems I am having with it is a compounding of minor errors with the laser cut parts and the plans.  I am certain my construction has been correct.  I have an idea as to how I will correct that, but that is a post unto itself, so once that is done, which is my next step, I will report on it.
 
Next, I will fix the transom, finish the main rail, and topgallant rail.  As I have mentioned in other posts, I will not be affixing the hammock or gangway boards, since I am sure they would just get broken in the planking or coppering process.  If you look at my gangway, you can see it is easy to avoid mounting the boards and still give the support that should be behind the planking in these areas.  I am surprised that the instructions or plans have a butt-joint for support of the planking.  With my method, there is definite support behind the planking. 
 
 After that will be installing the inner plank shear and water ways, fairing, and planking can start.  I think I will hold off on installing the outer plank shear until I can take some measurements to confirm it's position during planking.  I have been working on the ship for 1 month now, and feel progress is going well.  I should be ready for planking to start next week, actually.  Then things will slow down a lot, I am sure.  Here are some pics:
 
Matt

Thanks for that insight into how your build was, David.  I rechecked and rechecked my measurements, and every thing seems kosher here.  I thought I might have not made my counter deep enough, but it is spot on.  I did compare my unmodified transom frames with the drawing, and noticed and extra bit of length, but it shouldn't have been enough to justify the almost 1/8th inch error I have.  I think I will finish the port side gun ports while I think about it.
 
Following is a picture or two of the starboard side gun ports.  They are glued in now, and if I had it to do over again, I would probably not build the gun deck ports off-ship.  I would probably stick build them in place if I were to do it again.  There is really no advantage to making them separately, and they require a bit of adjustment while fitting each one for gluing.  I made myself more work, in other words.  But what is done is done.  I should have the port side completed to this same point in 2 days though, if nothing of momentous importance rears it's ugly head.
 
I did take a moment to stand back and really look at what progress I have made to this point, since it is 4 days short of a month since I started this build log.  I know I am not a fast builder, and I realize I am trying to take my time building this ship.  But I thought I would have been further along by now.  And then I stopped and really thought about it.  I considered how many parts had to be scratch built, and just how many there were.  I figured it was about 150 parts in the ship total to this point.  I decided that I should count them, and see how many were actually there, and figure out how many were actually needed to bring both sides to where the starboard side is now.  I was genuinely surprised.
 
In 2 more days, I will have 352 parts glued up.  That includes the transom frames.  At this moment, I have 262 parts in place, most of which have been custom cut for their unique space.  I really had no idea so much went into these ships, but it is a pleasant surprise.  It has been a very satisfying trip.  I really have to commend you all who take on this challenge.  It is a lot of work.  Fun work, nonetheless.    I know I will have a lot of fairing to do... lol.
 
Anyway, here are the pics:
 
Matt
 
 

I know that my photography skills are poor, and my camera isn't that good either, but the pictures are as good as I could get.  I will have to go buy a tripod one of these days.
 
Anyway, I now have completed all of the gun ports on the starboard side.  I could start work on the port side, but I decided it was time to deal with the transom, which I have been putting off since the laser cut parts aren't that well cut.  I am not faulting Model Shipways for this, but this angle I am showing in these pictures could have been done by them.  But then again, maybe they were trying to accommodate for builder errors.  This seems likely.
 
If you look to the rear, you can see the overhang of the transom frame over the counter, and at the front, you can see the huge gap between the bulkhead and the frame.  My solution for this is to remove the excess wood.  I will use a jeweler's saw for this, but it could be done with a sander probably faster. 
 
In order to cut less and come close to the angle I wanted here, I used a compass to transfer the line to the transom frame.  When I used to work as a remodeling carpenter, I used this trick frequently.  Like cutting baseboard for uneven floors, or hanging cabinets on uneven walls.  You will notice that the space at the bottom of the bulkhead is not as great as the space of the overhang of the frame over the counter.  I will use a file or sandpaper to correct that later.
 
You can also see in the pictures the completion of the starboard gun ports, except for the last one which is why I needed to finish off the transom framing.  Also, the transom must be done in order to do the windows and chase ports there.  I know that they were not original to the ship, but I am sure they wished they had them in the Great Chase.  But it is easy for me to sit in my chair and speculate about why were they so silly as to not have included them in the first place.  This ship was a state-of-the-art war machine at the time, and all circumstances couldn't be seen then. 
 
These 2 pictures should be self explanatory.
 
Matt
 
 
 
 

I started wondering about wood finishes a few days ago, and have been pondering whether I want to paint the hull or not.  I wasn't really warm to the idea of painting it, since paint tends to fill the grain structure, and the painted pieces don't really look like wood after that.  So I started thinking about stains.  I have a can of Minwax ebony stain, so I thought I would try that.  It looked good, but not really black... More of a very, very, very dark brown.  So I ruled it out.  So I prepared another test platform and tried a black Sharpie.  It gave a nice black, but left shiny spots on the wood which I didn't really care for.  I knew I could probably get away with this and give it a squirt of dull coat afterwards, but it still wasn't an optimal solution.
 
So then I got the idea to try India Ink... This gave me the exact finish I was looking for.  It is dead black, and gives the illusion of painted wood.  Here are a couple of pictures that show the grain, and you can differentiate between the individual planks.
 
Matt
 
 

Thanks, Tom.  I will have to check for bin primer as well.
 
So here you all can see I have almost completed the front starboard quarter of gun and anchor ports, as well as part of the main rail.  The only thing left to really do up here is add the strips on the outside and inside of the ports ahead of bulkhead "E", but I am going to hold off on that until I fair this potion of the hull.  This allows me to just do it in a single strip instead of several short ones.  As you can see by the photos, it is coming along smoothly.  Getting the right bends in the main rail was a little tricky, but fairly simple.  All I did was soak the plank in hot water for about 3 minutes, eye-balled the bends, and held it in front of a little space heater I have to set it.  The bends are subtle, but really need to be there.  If you look at the pictures, you will see it, I am sure.  The moulding that I cut into the rail may not be visible though.  I took a piece of scrap brass I had lying about, and cut a moulding profile into it, and then dragged the edge against it.  Brass is plenty tough enough for this task on such a soft wood as basswood is.
 
This tiny moulding will barely be seen, I know.  But my philosophy of modeling is that if it looks like a model, you didn't do a great job.  A model should look like the real thing, not a model of the real thing.  What makes this happen relies on two things, in my opinion... The first is detail, and the second is proportion.  If detail is missing, it will look like a model.  If something is out of proportion, it will look like a model.  Of course, workmanship is important to, but I have been fooled by models which didn't have the greatest workmanship, yet the level of detail shifted my attention from that to the point that it took me a few minutes to notice missteps in workmanship.  And concerning proportion, I have discarded parts on plastic and metal kits before, like piping molded in plastic, in favor of brass wire, or fashioned my own parts from scratch.
 
Enough of my rambling, here are the pictures:
 
  

I know my updates are a bit slow, but I am new to this, so I beg everyone's patience.  Today I started on the spar deck gun and anchor ports.  These are a lot more fun than the gun deck boxes, though I don't know why.  But these are a bit tougher to do.  The wood is thin, and easily broken.  My hand aren't as steady as they used to be, but they are still functioning, and should be capable of doing the job.  To think at one time I was going to become a surgeon... lol.
 
Anyway, this is the beginning of the spar deck gun ports.  It is going to storm tomorrow, so I should be able to get some work done.  I still haven't glued in the gun deck boxes, since that can throw off the top gun port positions.  I know that in the pics I have those in there, but just to show the relationships between the two decks.  As I am seeing it, the lower gun deck is slightly more flat than the spar deck.  It may be an illusion, but that is what I see.  I will need to check it against my AOTS book.
 
Matt
 
 

Thanks George, and for the likes too.
 
No progress to report because work has been crazy, and we were away over the weekend. I am embarrassed to point out that I completely screwed up the bow pin rail, as it is supposed to be a single piece that goes over the bowsprit. I made it in two pieces that don't connect at the bow. So off it will come and a new one will be made. I am also attempting to add the baffle plate to the galley stack, using some thin copper sheet material. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thank you Nenad, Popeye, and Geoff, and for the likes. Geoff, good luck with your new ladders. I am sure you will do a great job on them.
 
I have been working on more spar deck and inside bulwark details. I made steps for the transom and bow areas, and the few large cleats that are needed. I also made two horse blocks (those grating pieces) that were used as platforms to stand on.
 

 
I attempted to make the small wooden cleats, but I was not happy with them so I have an order into Syren for some cleats of the appropriate size. While I was on the web site I also ordered a serving machine to replace my homemade one, since I have a lot of serving coming up. It looks so much better and I know it will work better too.
 
Here are the pieces installed, except for the small cleats and the two iron cleats in the bow. I have metal cleats from a previous model I am using for them, but they are still being painted.
 

 
I installed the horse blocks in the folded down position, since without the higher bulwarks of the current ship configuration, I could not use the current mechanism of rope to hold them up. I am not sure how they were held up on the original ship.
 

 
And here is the bow details.
 

 

 
I am working on something that I may or may not include, depending on how it turns out. Then it is off to fabricate the capstan.

beautiful build Bill,  
 
Nils  

Hi Bill
 
Super rope work! Love it.
 
Without a doubt, she's coming together beautifully!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Thanks for the comments and likes and for looking in.   
 
I've spent the last 4 days, working on the two main windows and tweaking the frames for the galleries.  The top was too far outboard and the windows didn't lean inward.   I've also done several iterations of the two rearmost windows to get the fit.  Here's were I am this weekend.   The windows will get cleaned up more (laser char) and then glazed before installing.  I'm going with full glazing as I think it will look better.  I'll also add the planking between them and finalize the forward most window.   I'm hoping that it will have the 3 panes wide but we'll have to see.  I'm thinking that this window was overall narrower than the other two with rectangular panes instead of square-ish.
 
Here's the pictures.  The first picture shows the "lean" that I was talking about with the red lines for emphasis.  The other two just show the window placement.
 

 
 

I agree with Brian C - The Model Machines Drawplate  is brilliant - one of my favourite non powered toys!! I have used bamboo BBQ skewers to treenail/Trennel/trunnel on my last two builds. I think tree nailing and another dimension to the hobby and, if done well, looks great. I found that the bamboo skewers went through the drawplate well, but had to be sliced longitudinally several times in order to fit into the larger holes. This meant slicing with a hobby knife. I found this to be a pain for two reasons. Firstly getting the hobby knife to slice evenly along the length of the skewer was sometimes difficult. Secondly I tended to cut, stab and splinter myself  with the knife &  bamboo slivers - klutz!!
 
I ended up making a simple jig to halve, quarter and then further divide the skewer if necessary - without blood and swearing!!!(see pics below)
 

 
The Byrnes Drawplate - an engineering masterpiece!!!
 

 
- take 2 identical pieces of pine which are slightly bigger than a razor blade and drill 2 holes through them (clamp together for drilling so holes line up perfectly in both)
 
- insert  bolts which will be fitted with wing nuts for quick adjustment
 
- Fit both pieces of wood together and tighten wing nuts
 
- Drill a hole (about the same size as a bbq skewer) down the centre of the 2 pieces of wood - make sure that half the hole you drill is in each piece of wood. - a bench mounted drill will achieve much more accurate results than a hand held one.
 
- Do the same with a smaller drill bit - for use once you have quartered your skewer.
 

 
- fit your razorblade over the bolts
 

 
- slide the top half of the jig over the bolts and tighten with the wing nuts
 

 
- the jig can be adjusted by tightening or loosening the wing nuts - this will accommodate any slight variation in skewer diameter.
 
- Push then pull the skewer over the razor to produce an even slice.
 
                                 Happy tree nailing!!

Thanks Denis
 
In mean time, HotHead go back to Novi Sad, Princess today started her four-day lasting trip to Zagreb, Croatia, and I`ll be alone at weekend and couple of days. Today is Friday, last working day, not much office job at 14h, and, waiting for evening to come when is my usual model time, I started with preparing to attack main deck.
 
First step is to locate and identify all main deck contents on C-plans, and huge research job - to review and analyze all available photos from my collection ( about 700 photos, among them 245 photos of main deck).
 
I returned to my old helping friend, Adobe Illustrator, make new file with "paper" size 500x500 mm, copied in 1:1 scale crops of main deck from pdf CS plans sheet I have, and joined them in first layer as transparent background, and started drawing sketch of main deck and existing content in second layer. locked this two layers, and opened a new layer for each part I identify. This method will help me not to forget something, similar as I have done preparing for front and aft deck
 
Notice: Applying this method with drawing masks over original drawings, and moving masks around, even when mirror them for another side of ship ( e.g. rails with dead-eyes) I noticed that Campbell drawings are not 100% symmetrical and consistent, and this can be warning point for those modelers who build strictly to C-plans. For my purpose, I trimmed layers just to represent as closely as possible main deck space
 
For now, I noticed on C-plans many nice details to be added which are not presented on Her today ( e.g stunt sail yards, Spare Hermaphrodite Spars, Topsail yard ... ), also get inspiration from some old photos (some chains lay on deck, etc)
 
Here is beginning
 

 
Precise positioning of the individual parts and the analysis of their appearance and structure follows later, when the time comes to make each individual of them
So, work will continue on two synchronous fields:
In shipyard mounting aft-deck content followed with cleaning of main deck and after that installation of side dead eyes and pins. in office on PC - as parallel process - completing sketch of main deck.