tarbrush

Folks - Here is my rebuilt log of my Plastic Constitution build.  I've copied the entries over from another forum and I reserve the right to alter a few things to clean up previous errors:    
I’ve had a Revell 1/96 USS Constitution fall into my stash at a very reasonable price (Overstock.com) and it seems appropriate to take it on in recognition of the upcoming anniversary of USS Constitution’s victory over HMS Guerriere on August 19.
 
I’ve been spewing forth much hot air in defense of the Michel Felice Corne paintings and their representation of the ship as she first burst into glory against HMS Guerriere, so I feel obligated to back up my tirades with action. I’ll try to make this version align very closely to what we see in these paintings commissioned by Captain Hull immediately after his victory

(https://picasaweb.google.com/106997252788973852335/PEMMichelFeliceCorneGuerrierePaintings'>https://picasaweb.google.com/106997252788973852335/PEMMichelFeliceCorneGuerrierePaintings).
This does mean that I’ll set aside my Heller HMS Victory build for a time - I haven’t lost a bit of enthusiasm for that project - but I’ll apply what I learn in this new effort towards making that one better down the line.
 
Like many of us (most of us?) I’ve built this kit before... a few decades (or more) back. It seems to have been almost a rite of passage for anyone wanting to take ship modeling seriously. I’ll call that one the MK 1 version and it still exists in a dusty condition on a high shelf in the garage:

 

 
I was never happy with that earlier effort. Much has happened in the intervening years to improve my chances of making a more representative kit - most notably the proliferation of great information on the internet to inform my approach.
 
This venerable kit was originally issued back... well, back before some of us were born(!)... and I think it still holds up well. Certainly there is plenty of flash and injection moulding marks that we don't see in modern kits, but the kit still makes up into an impressive display as we can see in the various log entries across this forum.  It seems to be a copy of the 1/48 George Campbell plan model in the Smithsonian collection (http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery/misc/sail/constitution-48-sm/con-index.html'>http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery/misc/sail/constitution-48-sm/con-index.html) - which itself is a refinement of the famous Hull model built by the crew and presented to Captain Hull following his victory over Guerriere

(https://picasaweb.google.com/106997252788973852335/PEMUSSConstitutionHullModel'>https://picasaweb.google.com/106997252788973852335/PEMUSSConstitutionHullModel).
We see plenty of similarities in the bow and stern between the models and the Revell color guide somewhat follows the original. So the question becomes - does this Revell kit align well to the configuration of the Constitution when she earned her “Old Ironsides” moniker against HMS Guerriere? Well, strictly speaking no... In fact, if built OOB it would not actually represent Constitution as she was configured in any of her wartime cruises. There is a critical difference between the historic model and her modern copy - the Hull model shows 15 gun ports on each side of her gun deck (although the forward most are a bit too far forward) and the Revell kit shows 16. The difference is explained by this journal entry from Frederick Baury - one of Constitution’s midshipmen:
 
21 Sep 1812  Carpenters cutting bridle ports in bows ‑‑ Lieutenant Morgan and Midshipman Taylor left on recruiting duty.
 
After returning to Boston following the battle, Isaac Hull resigned and command was handed over to the much despised William Bainbridge. He proceeded to make a few changes including the addition of “bridle ports” up forward to help in towing, anchoring, and to potentially serve as bow chaser positions. Unlike the guidance provided by the Revell instructions, these positions would not normally have had a gun mounted. If needed during a chase, a nearby 24-pounder would be hauled into one of these spots to lob a few shots and try for a lucky hit to take out a spar and slow down the prey. To that end Bainbridge made another change as outlined by Commander Tyrone Martin in his overview of Constitution’s armament:
 
Following his succession to command of the ship on 15 September 1812, Commodore William Bainbridge eliminated the 18-pounder, simplifying his ammunition loading and handling problem by dropping one caliber. The gun had been virtually useless, anyway, since the ship's bow structure was not well suited to the accommodation of a chase gun.
 
Bainbridge may have been a jerk of a human being, but he was an astute naval commander and he thought it made more sense to offload the 18 pdr chase gun and make room to store more 24 pdr ammunition for his main guns.
So the 16 gun ports and the spar deck bow chaser as provided in the kit could not co-exist. The easiest solution to bring things into alignment is to ditch the bow chaser and the two forward main deck guns and call it a day. You’d likely have the correct representation of Constitution’s configuration when she scored her victory over HMS Java. Since I am trying to show her during the battle with HMS Guerriere, I will preserve the bow chaser gun, but I will need to take the drastic step of filling in the forward bridle ports. 
 
If you want to represent her last war cruise under Charles Stewart, then you’ll have to revisit the carronades on the spar deck. Here again Commander Martin provides some insight:
 
[Charles Stewart] reduced the number of carronades to twenty and added two 24-pounder "shifting gunades" recently captured from the British by an American privateer. Designed by Sir William Congreve in 1814, each was 8' 6" long, but being of thinner barrel construction weighed only about 5000 pounds on carriage. The design was an attempt to combine the range of a long gun with the lighter weight of a carronade. The pair sat on carriages like the long guns, and it was expected that, since they were lighter, they could readily be shifted from side to side as combat required.
 

 
 
Apparently Stewart had the two forward most and two aft most carronades removed and replaced with one each of the newfangled gunnades. I have no idea how these actually looked when mounted on a carriage, but it might be possible to find slightly over scale carronade barrels and mount them to the two gun carriages no longer needed on the main gun deck. Oh, and you’d also need to paint her with a yellow band - that is well documented.
 
Regarding the carronades... As represented in the kit with the wooden quoins, these would seem to be rather quaint. The carriages on the foredeck with their small trucks would also seem to be inappropriate for 1812. Certainly by the time of Trafalgar it would be more typical for a carronade to be mounted with a pin to the bulwark with trajectory controlled by an elevation screw. I think Karl Heinz Marquardt addresses these same concerns in his AOTS book since the restored ship has these outmoded versions still represented. I’ll optimistically try to modify all of the carronades to include the elevation screws and eliminate the funky rolling carriages on the foredeck.
 
Many folks get caught up in the various permutations of the stern gallery windows. Were there six or five?... or three or eight? The Hull model shows six, but the Corne paintings have five... I’m frankly not concerned either way. I assume there were many chances for the configuration to have changed across the years as different commanders supervised different refits within different time and budget limitations. Perhaps Hull and his crew replaced the six windows with only five after destroying the original gallery windows during their escape from Broke’s squadron (they axed out the windows and some of the transom to position guns to fire at their pursuers). Maybe there were always six and Corne got this wrong. Nobody knows the truth and we likely never will... I’m fine with working with the six depicted on the kit.
 
The rudder on this kit is a bit perplexing... It is moulded with wood grain without any copper plating represented. Hmmm... That doesn’t seem correct. I’ll ponder the idea of putting some of my extra styrene strips to work and setting that right.
 
Of course the kit provided plastic eyelets and rings are worthless - easily broken and a bit over scale. Those will be replaced with wire or PE versions. Somehow I managed to not break any of the plastic hammock cranes on my first effort all those years ago, but I’ll replace those with ones fashioned from brass micro-tubing and Jotika eyelets. Some of the thinner spars are also vulnerable to bending/breakage. I’ll try to shape some brass rod for replacements. I’ll need to carefully consider the moulded blocks - some may be usable or otherwise converted to usefulness. I suspect I’ll replace most with online purchases. The gun port lids will be omitted altogether - the Hull model and the credible paintings of the period (including the Corne series) don’t show them mounted (although the Hull model has a lid for the forward most ports).
 
The pre-formed ratlines, moulded deadeyes, and vacuum formed sails will not be utilized. ‘Nuff said. As for the accuracy of the rig represented in the kit... I am having trouble finding a stable representation of her complete masting and rigging layout. The 1817 Charles Ware diagram may be about the best, but as Marquardt points out it differs in some respects to other seemingly authoritative sources. It is also interesting to note that the Corne paintings are showing crows feet rigged... that is unique. At least it appears that the trysail mast (immediately abaft the mizzen) is authentic - records indicate that Isaac Hull had this added to allow better movement for the boom and gaff. The Hull model clearly shows it fitted as well. I’ll worry more about the rigging when I’m much closer to that phase, but in the meantime I’ll probably fork over the $60 bucks for the Bluejacket manual set and perhaps rely on that for guidance...
 
The biggest bugaboo in this kit is the multi-part decking. Ugh... The forums are full of attempts to mitigate the unsightly seams with various levels of success. Some folks just don’t worry about them at all and instead try to make the rest of the deck interesting enough to be distracting. I’ve even seen one modeler glue “battens” over them and pass them off as a “feature”. My first attempt was relatively successful in aligning the deck sections and eliminating any meaningful gap, but I was hesitant to fill and sand because I was trying to preserve the moulded wood grain detail. I was attempting to follow the “Les Wilkins” method of using a razor or low-grit sandpaper to remove the top layer of tan paint to reveal the base coat of black and highlight the grain (guidance that is also provided in the Revell instructions). I’ve since decided that the grain is a bit overdone at this scale and it’d be best to smooth everything down and use shades of paint and perhaps some artist pencils to impart the wood tones. Eliminating the seams is more important than preserving the grain.
 
There are many fine efforts out there... Here’s one that inspires - well known to those of us who prowl the web for impressive builds:
http://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=177&t=11091&sid=a22ea2a7adc8efe9b2fcffd0273bb134'>http://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=177&t=11091&sid=a22ea2a7adc8efe9b2fcffd0273bb134
Other useful online resources:
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/war1812/atsea/con-guer.htm'>http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/war1812/atsea/con-guer.htm
http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/46/46021.htm'>http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/46/46021.htm
http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/us_navy_pages/sailing_ships/constitution/uss_constitution.htm'>http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/us_navy_pages/sailing_ships/constitution/uss_constitution.htm
http://www.hazegray.org/features/constitution/'>http://www.hazegray.org/features/constitution/
http://navysite.de/ships/consttour.htm'>http://navysite.de/ships/consttour.htm
http://www.captainsclerk.info/'>http://www.captainsclerk.info/
 
Here are some of the modifications I hope to incorporate along the way:
Customized elements:
Fill in the forward Bridle ports.
Thicken the gunport sills.
Add a scratch built galley stove.
Show the anchor cable/messenger cable rigged on the gun deck.
Display Carronades with elevation screws.
Replace rolling carronade carriages with lug mounted versions.
Copper plating on the rudder.
Hammock Cranes fashioned from brass micro-tubing.
Brass Rod for delicate spars.
New capstan on spar deck (and gun deck).
 
Paint scheme (guidance from Corne paintings and Hull model):
Yellow ochre band ending up forward in a scalloped half-circle.
White trim on bow and stern details.
Red gallery windows. 
Red gunport sills/linings,
Green interior bulwarks on spar deck.
White bulwarks on the gun deck.
Green deck coamings/furniture on spar deck.
Yellow ochre lower masts with “natural” above.
Tops in Black.
Black bowsprit with “natural” jib boom.
 
Let the fun begin.

Folks...
 
My wife originally hails from Boston so we make a few trips back periodically to visit with family and friends. This year they were really making a big deal out of the July 4 celebration with Old Ironsides as the centerpiece of the commemoration of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 - so we decided to make our trip coincide with the festivities.
 
On Tuesday mornings during peak season the USS Constitution offers a special behind the scenes "Constitution Experience" tour of the great ship for a limited sized group (you need to pre-register thru the website). You get to see the morning flag raising and morning gun before heading aboard. The tour includes the captains quarters, the orlop deck, and a chance to crawl down into the after powder room - all spaces normally off limits to us civilians.
 

 



During Cdr Tyrone Martin's tenure he had the forward gun modified to fire salutes. Here is the exposed loading tray of the surplus WWII anti-aircraft gun utilized for the purpose (each firing pin now costs $60 because of scarcity):

The Tiller:


Here is the scuttle down to the after powder room:


Here is some original timber (transom wings?) in the aftermost space of the magazine:

Here is my foot standing on original wood. The guide says it is the keel - but it is more likely the keelson or deadwood on top:

Orlop deck with the diagonal riders:

 
USS Constitution is, of course, still a commissioned warship in the US Navy so the guides are all active duty sailors and marines. The facts as presented in the tour are a bit sketchy in terms of accuracy, but the intent is well-meaning. Here are a few of the most egregious:
- "The frames are spaced two - four inches apart unlike the British ships, which were three or four FEET apart."
- "The crew fired a round every 90 seconds. The British crew fired every two to three minutes." (The opposite was probably true)
- "The ship could only fire every other gun in a broadside - otherwise a full broadside fired from every gun would tip the ship over."
 
Overall it was a terrific morning clambering around inside the great ship.

The opening in front of the helm position will allow views down to the gun deck capstan and the chain pumps:
 

 
The fore deck opening will expose the riding bitts and the camboose (ship's stove):
 

 
 
There is another long opening along the starboard gangway to reveal the 24 pdrs rigged up below.  The final opening aft on the quarterdeck will have views into the captain's cabin - the stern galleries and side panelling will be seen.
 
The appropriate beams and carlings will be added after I've glued the three pieces together (actually I'll use some of the beams to help align the edges when gluing),
 
Thanks for following along...

A bit of extra time at the museum of late has allowed me to get ahead with the Pritt.
 
The counter rim frame is now roughed in and will stay like this until after hull planking, at which time I'll finish fairing it in properly.
 
I've also made a start on the deck beams.  Once these are completed I can start to think about planking the hull.
 
John
 




 
 

The bench at the aft end of the 01 level looks pretty straightforward from the photo. There is no back to it and the legs look straight, and white. I decided to make it out of apple, just because I have a lot of it and it finishes to a nice golden hue.
 
What I did was to make a "mould" that replicates the curve around the stern; slice up some slats; and make some spacers out of basswood. I tried assembling the whole thing all at one time. Too complicated; pieces flew in all directions. I realized there were too many moving parts. To minimize that I'm tackling one section at a time. So, I put the spacers in at the end and glue the first cross piece; let the glue dry and move the spacers around to the next cross piece and so on around the curve (I hope!).

For better or for worse, I finished the railing around the 01 level. I laid out the railing on the 01 deck to get the joints and curves properly aligned. Next I put stanchions in place around the deck. The next step took some education on my part, but it turned out that the best way to install the railing onto the stanchions was to take one of the sections of the railing (there are 7 sections all the way around), attach stanchions only at the end points and let the ones in between fall where they may. That process insures that the stanchions will be vertical and parallel. The railing is cherry, the stanchions are Evergreen styrene rod (.040), and the nipples are Evergreen tubing.
 
That hole in the decking at the forward end of the 01 level is where the pilot house goes.
 
Tom

I've been looking forward to this build Chuck.  Now I know what I will be getting myself for Christmas.

Start building a Genoa's saettia , merchant ship often used in '600 around the Mediterranean Sea. Here is a picture of how it should be (approximately) the finished model.
Mauro

Hi all. Final build log. This log features the final shots of Lennox on her display stand. Hope you enjoy the photos.
 
Thanks for all your Likes, questions and comments. They're all greatly appreciated.
 
All the best!

So, the winder assembly is the next part of the project. I started by cleaning up the metal parts and the gluing them. I added the grease caps with a couple of nail heads and gave it a little black paint. After all the work I have put into this, I have decided to add the details that are semi-hidden by the winder cabin. To that end I made a frame from plasti-strut I beams a piece from a 1/35th armor kit as a pulley.
 

 
You can be pretty creative with the portion of the winder, i.e. engine, fuel tank, as you want. It will only have limited viewing, so impressions are as good as going nuts. I used the engine out of a WWII jeep kit, a fuel tank out of wood, and brackets and braces out of plasti-strut. After I paint all of this I will add a fuel line, some rad hoses and an exhaust stack. Should look real good thru the side hatches on the winder house.
 

 

Push Boat is done. Rigging is not yet pulled tight as I am waiting for more cleats to get here. The kit has only 6. Needs about 16.But they give you 2 water barrels when you only need 1.
 

 

 
 

Getting there with the push boat
 
 
 
and just because, an  overview of the whole thing!
 

 
 

Finished the wider and its deck house. Next up is the gantry!!
 

 

the first half Setup for final outside shaping.

uncomment

I was not happy with my trail board artwork. The instructions suggest coloring the image that they provided and attaching it. I was not happy with the results, so I scanned their image and went to work in Paint.net. After coloring their image and cleaning it up I was much happier.
 

 
Here is the .jpg of the colored page;
 

 
Hers are the port and starboard sides:
 

 
D
 
Don, and anyone else. Feel free to download the images and resize to your model!

Made the gear guard out of brass and plastic strip
 

 
Added a fan and motor to the radiator
 

 
Did some more painting and added a fuel line, water pipes, and fuel fill. Ready for rigging line, The leveling platform and final pint touch up. I am pretty happy with this, as I have never done this kind of work before.
 

 

Research on the Dutch Vessels -  Jacht and Fluyt
I do not wish to hijack my own build log on the Derfflinger but felt it necessary to uncover a few more facts - for myself - and for the forum. The last few days have been filled with a whirlwind of emails to people 'in the know' .I must say this has been an incredibly exciting journey into an avenue of shipbuilding of which I was so ignorant. This is a sad admission since the Dutch nation was a real powerhouse of shipbuilding in the 17 C.
 
I received the following text from Nick Burningham (nautical archaeologist) who was contracted by the Duyfken Foundation in Western Australia to design a full-scale replica of the Duyfken. I gratefully acknowledge his authoritative comments ....
 
“ … Dutch jachts and fluyts were similar in the sense that all sea-going three-masted ships of the same era and same place of building were similar. Terms such as jacht and fluyt were not formally defined in the way that later terms such as schooner and brig were.
 
However, there are major distinctions between the two
 
- a jacht was a fast, armed vessel with a square tuck stern, but
- a fluyt was a capacious cargo vessel with a round stern (not a round tuck stern).
 
Fluyten were sometimes armed, but they were not developed as armed vessels.
 
[Karl Marquardt did try to argue that jachts were round-sterned vessels [Marquardt, K.H., 2007. The Duyfken enigma: some alternate design possibilities. The Great Circle] but Nick suggested that there was insufficient evidence to support his comments]
 
In my article I make the point that the jacht is primarily a term indicating function and performance whereas fluyt primarily defines hull-form. Although a jacht usually had a square stern, a fast and armed, round stern ship could be regarded as a jacht, but it would be called a flieboot or vlieboot in the early 17th century….”
 
 
My comments ...
For those interested, Nick Burningham’s excellent article is worth reading and is called : The Flute; histories and mysteries and myths. MHA Journal Vol. 13 (3)
 
The fluyt had a very distinctive shape and purpose to have a large loading capacity whilst minimising the number of crew members necessary to sail them. The result was a much rounder and bulkier hull and steeper bulwarks towards the stern. In other words, these ships often displayed a long tumblehome design. The stern, like the bow, was quite rounded.

 
The sides of the ship inclined towards the inside at their top, creating a much smaller deck. Ships passing through the Danish Sound Strait into the Baltic Sea had to pay taxes (‘Sound Dues’) based on their deck surface area. Reducing the deck area resulted in a significant decrease of these taxes while actually increasing the carrying capacity of the vessel.
 
The unique design of the fluyt did cause some problems - if used in the tropics, the clinker design of the bulwarks and bulkheads accumulated moisture leading to wood rot and the rounded bow exposed to the harsh sun caused considerable cracking of the timbers. They were better suited to the European climate where they were so commonly used.

Painting the Derfflinger (or not)
 
There was a question raised about whether I would be painting the Derfflinger but I was not happy with my immediate response. After doing some research, I have uncovered a photo (seen below) of a fluyt model in the Maritime Museum Prins Hendrik, Rotterdam. The upper hull planking is painted dark green and wales are black but that does not categorically prove that painting should be done [Ab Hoving did not paint the upper hull planking on his model of Tasman’s Zeehaen]. 
 
There are also paintings by artists which show completely unpainted topsides on fluyten.  Dutch ships, when not painted, were coated with a mix of pine tar, oil and resin which made the timber quite dark, and eventually black.
 
It comes down to what the builder of a model wishes to do and historically, painting or timber finish both seem to be historically correct. At this stage, then, I plan to paint the upper portion of the hull green/ black and below the water line ‘white’. Between the two painted areas, there will be a relatively narrow band of unpainted timber.

As promised, a pictorial update. 
 
I have all the frames installed, and the clamps along both sides to support the deck beams.  While not necessarily correct, I opted to do the clamps in one piece for the strength it will provide vice the laminated layers with 3 sections as on the real ECB.  When originally built, the clamps would probably have been in 3 sections port & starboard scarphed together, cut from 2 x 10ish timbers. 
 
You can see the clamps on either side.  The foreman s checking the temporary bracing between the frames and clamps at the midship section.
 

 
I also have started installing the cabin - here you can see the first 3 beams and posts for the cabin deck.  there will also be beams (no posts) at frames 20 through 22.
 

 
 

 
The view from above at the overall shape - remember, the outer battens that are pinned on are just temporary for stiffening, but will be somewhat useful for fairing the hull later on before planking the exterior.
 

 

in this part I tried to add some sturn decoration,,,not sure it is suitable for spanish galleon of 1588,but from other side we can see that in the first part of 17 century already aft part of the ship reach decorated...so why not

continue,
this part of building of 2011 some preparation for rigging

Hello everyone,
Dear friends,let me introduce   my model of Spanish galleon 1607 building log(actually I'd like to position it as galleon of Great Armada, so instead of maker name Spanish galleon 1607,I call it  Spanish galleon 1588  )
I've started to assemble this model long time ago- 2009,due to lack of time building goes extremely slowly, can do it 2-3 month per year , and only during this "season ",last two months I finally reached "rigging" and started rigging spritsail  ...for me it is most interesting part of this kit assembling!
During assembling hull,in the begining,  I used ordinary (not spesial for plastic models painting) acrylic paints and dry artist pastel for making tone/aging...later on,during masts and spars painting I started to use acrylic paint "folk arts" as well...
Some additions which I made for this model,I've made from plastic telephone cards,paper,and various plastic remains which I could find , like a food container etc...
For rigging I use ordinary polyester thread Gutermann,actually this not a good choice ,due to their wrong appearance and with my next project I plan to buy or fabricate by myself   some kind of rope making machine
On the fotoes You can see progress of this model building since the time when hull was assembled and generally painted ,than I decided to add some sturn decoration ,and to make some more small additions....
Rigging plan I've made my own due to kit rigging plan I consider as too primitive and not accurate, rigging plan I've tried to develope using  book " The rigging of ships. In the days of the Spritsail topmast 1600-1720 - Anderson" ,Peter Kirsch "The Galleon the great ships of the armada era" and information which I could foun in the famous book "The Royal Warship Vasa"
I guess I've made not too much  mistakes in my rigging plan, anyway this was only plan which I have...so pls consider it like my interpretation of Spanish galleon rigging
Remaining parts of rigging and sails will be done during next couple of years(during my vacations)...
Recently I've found this forum and was very much impressed by models and modellers...great and wonderfull models I want to say!
I will be very appreciate for your comments and corrections where and what I did  wrong...it is a little bit sad ?that I found this forum too late ,when hull is completed...bu OK...rigging still in progress
Probably soon I'll be need to stop building till september-october...if it will happened?than see all of you in autumn
All the best

Right the crunch time has come,  thanks to Daniel for sending me some pictures of this Body stove that made sense.
 
I took the plunge and had a go.

First using plastic card I made a basic shape.
Then added varies Brass/plastic fittings to this structure.

The main structure was Balsa and plastic, but for strength brass was needed at this scale.

Was quite pleased with the overall shape, but had to delve in my spare's  box's for items attaining to this build.
So a base was made and scribed/painted.

Test fit with other parts of the ship.

Then it was down to a spot of paint to bring all to life.
First a primer from a can.





Last was a figure to show all was well.

Next will be all the detail to bring it to a conclusion.

Foxy

I am working on attaching the various blocks to the masts and tops. I stropped and fitted the block for the main topmast preventer stay. Fitted the blocks on the underside of the fore top.