JerryTodd

I started using Anim8or in the 90's to make new 3D models for a WWI flight Sim, because it was free, saved in 3DS, and saved in plain text that could be edited.  It's still out there at: www.anim8or.com  It's not Blender, or any other "modern" 3D editing tool by any measure, but I'm at home with it.  My problem is if it's useful for making that viney 3D carved stuff, like below, I haven't found a way that isn't tedious enough to be maddening.

 
As for working in 1:36 scale, the larger the scale, the more detail that lacking, compared to what can be left out of say, 1:72 and still appear highly detailed.  But these being RC models, I can still see a 1:36 scale ship a hundred yards away. 
 

Some carronades and Blomfield 18 pdrs for Macedonian from STLs by Tim Bowman that I altered slightly.
 
 
Boarding steps, shells for blocks, bitts and stanchions, and a pivot gun for Constellation, all 3D models made in Anim8or free 3D software by me.
(All in 1:36 scale)
     
 
I'm trying to model the filigree vine-work of Constellation's head carvings, but it's difficult.  The basic geometry of guns and stanchions is much easier for me.

Helping out another modeler with 3D printed guns for his 1:96 scale model of the Harriett Lane I started researching and 3D modeling the guns he would need.  In the mean time, I got the idea to make a sampler of one of every gun Constellation ever carried from 1855 to 2024.  Those I would print in the model's 1:36 scale and mount on a plank or something to put on display with the ship when I took her to events.
Chuck's wanted his model of the Lane to carry the armament she was captured with at Galveston in 1864; which according to Phillip Tucker who was on the ship, and who was published in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly in 1918. as saying:

A four-inch rifled Parrot is a 30# Parrott on a pivot carriage; two eight-inch Dahlgren Columbiads folks interpret as being 9 inch Dahlgrens on Marsilly carriages, though there was such a thing as an 8 inch Columbiad, even 8 inch shell-guns.
The 24# howitzers seemed pretty straight forward, though I interpret "ship carriages" to mean boat-sleds in their case.
Someone made a nice graphic of how they thought this armament may have been organized on on the Lane.  My question though, was why they show a 10 inch Dahlgren pivot, when Tucker said it was a 9 inch gun.
I found a photo of a 9 inch Dahlgren on a pivot mount on board the Miami (often IDed as the Mendota) that showed it existed and that the 9 inch had it's own carriage, and not just a scaled down XI inch carriage.
The Lane's armament was thrown over-board when the ship went aground at Pamlico Sound in August of '61 and she was repaired and rearmed back at Hampton Roads.
The 10 inch Dahlgren wasn't as common a gun as the IX's or XI's and those in existence were already on the frigates and razeed sloops, except for one taken off Cumberland at Boston and replaced with a 60# Parrott.  Leaning toward Tucker's statement, I started the 3D model of the IX gun tube, and while trying to discern the pivot carriage from the Miami photo, went ahead making the tube and the Marsilly carriage.  Of all the Naval guns of the American Civil War, the IX Dahlgren on a Marsilly carriage, and the XI Dahlgren on it's designed for it pivot carriage, are the easiest to find data and images for.

The IX was modeled in just a couple of hours.  I'm doing these as static models, so I'm not concerned with wheels turning, or guns elevating.  I printed 4 of the guns, 2 for the Lane with 2 spares, in 1:96.  In the 1870's, Constellation was a training ship and armed with 8 of these guns, so I printed one at 1:36 for my intended display.

In my drawing software, using the photo as a reference; I scaled the tube in the photo to the length of the actual IX tube and traced the carriage to get the right proportions, since I didn't have a measured drawing like I did the for Constellation's 10 inch shell-gun pivot.  The slide is that from the XI Dahlgren carriage.
Once modeled, I printed one off for the Lane.  This one wasn't on my list of Constellation guns, so I didn't need to print one in 1:36.

The Lane, still needed the 24# howitzer, which I had usable data for; and a 30# Parrott pivot.  Constellation, during the Civil War got a 30# Parrott forward, and a 20# Parrott aft, to replace the 10 inch pivots that were removed in 1859.  I managed to find drawings online for the 20 and 30 from the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance that made sure I had the tubes accurate.

Years ago I visited the Constellation and met with the folks running the "restoration."  One of the things they showed me was a drawing of a 30# Parrott on a pivot carriage.  I was modeling Constellation as she was in 1856, so didn't figure I needed plans for a gun she got in 1862; but I took some photos of the drawing anyway.  Now it turns out I did need them, and just had to find those photos.  Once found, it turns out I had good data for the carriage itself, but not much for the slide.

In the mean time, I got started on the 24 pounders.  Using the gun tube from the boat-howitzer, I scaled it to the size of the 24# version, and scaled my reference image to that to get the proportions right.

Then I printed 4 of them in 1:96 for the Lane.

When the 3D model of the 30# Parrott was done, I printed it in 1:96; and since Constellation had one, in 1:36.

One the guns for the Lane were all printed, I boxed them up and mailed them off.  I cranked out two guns that made up Constellation's original broadside; the 8 inch shell gun, and the 32# gun and printed them in 1:36 scale.  I now had 4 of 11 types of gun Constellation had, printed.

While posting the STL for all these guns on Thingiverse, I got a request for something a bit off the track.

When 3D printing became available to me, I went to work on creating 3D models of the parts I'd need for my models (all linked in my signature below).
Even before 3D printing was "a thing" I started a model in Anim8or* of Constellation's pivot guns.  Just a basic model at first, but when I actually got a 3D printer, details were added to the model.
I had built the basic model in wood with the intention of learning photo-etch to detail them.  3D printing negated that entirely.
The guns were modeled to a plans for the 10 inch shell-gun pivots for Mississippi that were acquired from the National Archives in College Park Maryland.
(click the pic to see full-size)...
 
It took a couple of tries, but I managed to get a pair of pivot guns that if not perfect prints, were usable, and with more and better detail than I could have managed by hand.

The next gun needed for Constellation was the boat-howitzer for her launch.  Working mainly from the images in Boat Armament in the US Navy 1856, and any drawings and photos I could find online, I based my model on an existing boat-gun located in Fairfax Virginia with iron wheels.

Despite the spindly looking nature of the gun's field carriage, it was actually quite a fun model to make; lots of circles.

Once printed, and painted, it took it's place in Constellation's launch.

Much later I felt the wooden wheeled version was probably more appropriate for Constellation in 1856, so I added a set of wood wheels to the model howitzer.

Since I didn't model Constellation's gundeck, I didn't need to make the 16 8 inch shell-guns and 4 32# guns that would require.
I did model a 6# gun in 1:20 scale for Pride of Baltimore, and started on 18# Blomefields and 32# carronades for Macedonian.
 
But that's getting off-topic...
 
* Anim8or is free 3D modeling software that I used back at the turn-of-the-century to make 3D models for a WWI flight sim/game.
I use it today because I'm used to it after two+ decades, though either it or I aren't capable of doing some of things I want/need to do.
I can't recommend it to complete novices, but It's still available at anim8or.com.

Helping out another modeler with 3D printed guns for his 1:96 scale model of the Harriett Lane I started researching and 3D modeling the guns he would need.  In the mean time, I got the idea to make a sampler of one of every gun Constellation ever carried from 1855 to 2024.  Those I would print in the model's 1:36 scale and mount on a plank or something to put on display with the ship when I took her to events.
Chuck's wanted his model of the Lane to carry the armament she was captured with at Galveston in 1864; which according to Phillip Tucker who was on the ship, and who was published in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly in 1918. as saying:

A four-inch rifled Parrot is a 30# Parrott on a pivot carriage; two eight-inch Dahlgren Columbiads folks interpret as being 9 inch Dahlgrens on Marsilly carriages, though there was such a thing as an 8 inch Columbiad, even 8 inch shell-guns.
The 24# howitzers seemed pretty straight forward, though I interpret "ship carriages" to mean boat-sleds in their case.
Someone made a nice graphic of how they thought this armament may have been organized on on the Lane.  My question though, was why they show a 10 inch Dahlgren pivot, when Tucker said it was a 9 inch gun.
I found a photo of a 9 inch Dahlgren on a pivot mount on board the Miami (often IDed as the Mendota) that showed it existed and that the 9 inch had it's own carriage, and not just a scaled down XI inch carriage.
The Lane's armament was thrown over-board when the ship went aground at Pamlico Sound in August of '61 and she was repaired and rearmed back at Hampton Roads.
The 10 inch Dahlgren wasn't as common a gun as the IX's or XI's and those in existence were already on the frigates and razeed sloops, except for one taken off Cumberland at Boston and replaced with a 60# Parrott.  Leaning toward Tucker's statement, I started the 3D model of the IX gun tube, and while trying to discern the pivot carriage from the Miami photo, went ahead making the tube and the Marsilly carriage.  Of all the Naval guns of the American Civil War, the IX Dahlgren on a Marsilly carriage, and the XI Dahlgren on it's designed for it pivot carriage, are the easiest to find data and images for.

The IX was modeled in just a couple of hours.  I'm doing these as static models, so I'm not concerned with wheels turning, or guns elevating.  I printed 4 of the guns, 2 for the Lane with 2 spares, in 1:96.  In the 1870's, Constellation was a training ship and armed with 8 of these guns, so I printed one at 1:36 for my intended display.

In my drawing software, using the photo as a reference; I scaled the tube in the photo to the length of the actual IX tube and traced the carriage to get the right proportions, since I didn't have a measured drawing like I did the for Constellation's 10 inch shell-gun pivot.  The slide is that from the XI Dahlgren carriage.
Once modeled, I printed one off for the Lane.  This one wasn't on my list of Constellation guns, so I didn't need to print one in 1:36.

The Lane, still needed the 24# howitzer, which I had usable data for; and a 30# Parrott pivot.  Constellation, during the Civil War got a 30# Parrott forward, and a 20# Parrott aft, to replace the 10 inch pivots that were removed in 1859.  I managed to find drawings online for the 20 and 30 from the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance that made sure I had the tubes accurate.

Years ago I visited the Constellation and met with the folks running the "restoration."  One of the things they showed me was a drawing of a 30# Parrott on a pivot carriage.  I was modeling Constellation as she was in 1856, so didn't figure I needed plans for a gun she got in 1862; but I took some photos of the drawing anyway.  Now it turns out I did need them, and just had to find those photos.  Once found, it turns out I had good data for the carriage itself, but not much for the slide.

In the mean time, I got started on the 24 pounders.  Using the gun tube from the boat-howitzer, I scaled it to the size of the 24# version, and scaled my reference image to that to get the proportions right.

Then I printed 4 of them in 1:96 for the Lane.

When the 3D model of the 30# Parrott was done, I printed it in 1:96; and since Constellation had one, in 1:36.

One the guns for the Lane were all printed, I boxed them up and mailed them off.  I cranked out two guns that made up Constellation's original broadside; the 8 inch shell gun, and the 32# gun and printed them in 1:36 scale.  I now had 4 of 11 types of gun Constellation had, printed.

While posting the STL for all these guns on Thingiverse, I got a request for something a bit off the track.

Helping out another modeler with 3D printed guns for his 1:96 scale model of the Harriett Lane I started researching and 3D modeling the guns he would need.  In the mean time, I got the idea to make a sampler of one of every gun Constellation ever carried from 1855 to 2024.  Those I would print in the model's 1:36 scale and mount on a plank or something to put on display with the ship when I took her to events.
Chuck's wanted his model of the Lane to carry the armament she was captured with at Galveston in 1864; which according to Phillip Tucker who was on the ship, and who was published in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly in 1918. as saying:

A four-inch rifled Parrot is a 30# Parrott on a pivot carriage; two eight-inch Dahlgren Columbiads folks interpret as being 9 inch Dahlgrens on Marsilly carriages, though there was such a thing as an 8 inch Columbiad, even 8 inch shell-guns.
The 24# howitzers seemed pretty straight forward, though I interpret "ship carriages" to mean boat-sleds in their case.
Someone made a nice graphic of how they thought this armament may have been organized on on the Lane.  My question though, was why they show a 10 inch Dahlgren pivot, when Tucker said it was a 9 inch gun.
I found a photo of a 9 inch Dahlgren on a pivot mount on board the Miami (often IDed as the Mendota) that showed it existed and that the 9 inch had it's own carriage, and not just a scaled down XI inch carriage.
The Lane's armament was thrown over-board when the ship went aground at Pamlico Sound in August of '61 and she was repaired and rearmed back at Hampton Roads.
The 10 inch Dahlgren wasn't as common a gun as the IX's or XI's and those in existence were already on the frigates and razeed sloops, except for one taken off Cumberland at Boston and replaced with a 60# Parrott.  Leaning toward Tucker's statement, I started the 3D model of the IX gun tube, and while trying to discern the pivot carriage from the Miami photo, went ahead making the tube and the Marsilly carriage.  Of all the Naval guns of the American Civil War, the IX Dahlgren on a Marsilly carriage, and the XI Dahlgren on it's designed for it pivot carriage, are the easiest to find data and images for.

The IX was modeled in just a couple of hours.  I'm doing these as static models, so I'm not concerned with wheels turning, or guns elevating.  I printed 4 of the guns, 2 for the Lane with 2 spares, in 1:96.  In the 1870's, Constellation was a training ship and armed with 8 of these guns, so I printed one at 1:36 for my intended display.

In my drawing software, using the photo as a reference; I scaled the tube in the photo to the length of the actual IX tube and traced the carriage to get the right proportions, since I didn't have a measured drawing like I did the for Constellation's 10 inch shell-gun pivot.  The slide is that from the XI Dahlgren carriage.
Once modeled, I printed one off for the Lane.  This one wasn't on my list of Constellation guns, so I didn't need to print one in 1:36.

The Lane, still needed the 24# howitzer, which I had usable data for; and a 30# Parrott pivot.  Constellation, during the Civil War got a 30# Parrott forward, and a 20# Parrott aft, to replace the 10 inch pivots that were removed in 1859.  I managed to find drawings online for the 20 and 30 from the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance that made sure I had the tubes accurate.

Years ago I visited the Constellation and met with the folks running the "restoration."  One of the things they showed me was a drawing of a 30# Parrott on a pivot carriage.  I was modeling Constellation as she was in 1856, so didn't figure I needed plans for a gun she got in 1862; but I took some photos of the drawing anyway.  Now it turns out I did need them, and just had to find those photos.  Once found, it turns out I had good data for the carriage itself, but not much for the slide.

In the mean time, I got started on the 24 pounders.  Using the gun tube from the boat-howitzer, I scaled it to the size of the 24# version, and scaled my reference image to that to get the proportions right.

Then I printed 4 of them in 1:96 for the Lane.

When the 3D model of the 30# Parrott was done, I printed it in 1:96; and since Constellation had one, in 1:36.

One the guns for the Lane were all printed, I boxed them up and mailed them off.  I cranked out two guns that made up Constellation's original broadside; the 8 inch shell gun, and the 32# gun and printed them in 1:36 scale.  I now had 4 of 11 types of gun Constellation had, printed.

While posting the STL for all these guns on Thingiverse, I got a request for something a bit off the track.

Great models!

Helping out another modeler with 3D printed guns for his 1:96 scale model of the Harriett Lane I started researching and 3D modeling the guns he would need.  In the mean time, I got the idea to make a sampler of one of every gun Constellation ever carried from 1855 to 2024.  Those I would print in the model's 1:36 scale and mount on a plank or something to put on display with the ship when I took her to events.
Chuck's wanted his model of the Lane to carry the armament she was captured with at Galveston in 1864; which according to Phillip Tucker who was on the ship, and who was published in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly in 1918. as saying:

A four-inch rifled Parrot is a 30# Parrott on a pivot carriage; two eight-inch Dahlgren Columbiads folks interpret as being 9 inch Dahlgrens on Marsilly carriages, though there was such a thing as an 8 inch Columbiad, even 8 inch shell-guns.
The 24# howitzers seemed pretty straight forward, though I interpret "ship carriages" to mean boat-sleds in their case.
Someone made a nice graphic of how they thought this armament may have been organized on on the Lane.  My question though, was why they show a 10 inch Dahlgren pivot, when Tucker said it was a 9 inch gun.
I found a photo of a 9 inch Dahlgren on a pivot mount on board the Miami (often IDed as the Mendota) that showed it existed and that the 9 inch had it's own carriage, and not just a scaled down XI inch carriage.
The Lane's armament was thrown over-board when the ship went aground at Pamlico Sound in August of '61 and she was repaired and rearmed back at Hampton Roads.
The 10 inch Dahlgren wasn't as common a gun as the IX's or XI's and those in existence were already on the frigates and razeed sloops, except for one taken off Cumberland at Boston and replaced with a 60# Parrott.  Leaning toward Tucker's statement, I started the 3D model of the IX gun tube, and while trying to discern the pivot carriage from the Miami photo, went ahead making the tube and the Marsilly carriage.  Of all the Naval guns of the American Civil War, the IX Dahlgren on a Marsilly carriage, and the XI Dahlgren on it's designed for it pivot carriage, are the easiest to find data and images for.

The IX was modeled in just a couple of hours.  I'm doing these as static models, so I'm not concerned with wheels turning, or guns elevating.  I printed 4 of the guns, 2 for the Lane with 2 spares, in 1:96.  In the 1870's, Constellation was a training ship and armed with 8 of these guns, so I printed one at 1:36 for my intended display.

In my drawing software, using the photo as a reference; I scaled the tube in the photo to the length of the actual IX tube and traced the carriage to get the right proportions, since I didn't have a measured drawing like I did the for Constellation's 10 inch shell-gun pivot.  The slide is that from the XI Dahlgren carriage.
Once modeled, I printed one off for the Lane.  This one wasn't on my list of Constellation guns, so I didn't need to print one in 1:36.

The Lane, still needed the 24# howitzer, which I had usable data for; and a 30# Parrott pivot.  Constellation, during the Civil War got a 30# Parrott forward, and a 20# Parrott aft, to replace the 10 inch pivots that were removed in 1859.  I managed to find drawings online for the 20 and 30 from the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance that made sure I had the tubes accurate.

Years ago I visited the Constellation and met with the folks running the "restoration."  One of the things they showed me was a drawing of a 30# Parrott on a pivot carriage.  I was modeling Constellation as she was in 1856, so didn't figure I needed plans for a gun she got in 1862; but I took some photos of the drawing anyway.  Now it turns out I did need them, and just had to find those photos.  Once found, it turns out I had good data for the carriage itself, but not much for the slide.

In the mean time, I got started on the 24 pounders.  Using the gun tube from the boat-howitzer, I scaled it to the size of the 24# version, and scaled my reference image to that to get the proportions right.

Then I printed 4 of them in 1:96 for the Lane.

When the 3D model of the 30# Parrott was done, I printed it in 1:96; and since Constellation had one, in 1:36.

One the guns for the Lane were all printed, I boxed them up and mailed them off.  I cranked out two guns that made up Constellation's original broadside; the 8 inch shell gun, and the 32# gun and printed them in 1:36 scale.  I now had 4 of 11 types of gun Constellation had, printed.

While posting the STL for all these guns on Thingiverse, I got a request for something a bit off the track.

When 3D printing became available to me, I went to work on creating 3D models of the parts I'd need for my models (all linked in my signature below).
Even before 3D printing was "a thing" I started a model in Anim8or* of Constellation's pivot guns.  Just a basic model at first, but when I actually got a 3D printer, details were added to the model.
I had built the basic model in wood with the intention of learning photo-etch to detail them.  3D printing negated that entirely.
The guns were modeled to a plans for the 10 inch shell-gun pivots for Mississippi that were acquired from the National Archives in College Park Maryland.
(click the pic to see full-size)...
 
It took a couple of tries, but I managed to get a pair of pivot guns that if not perfect prints, were usable, and with more and better detail than I could have managed by hand.

The next gun needed for Constellation was the boat-howitzer for her launch.  Working mainly from the images in Boat Armament in the US Navy 1856, and any drawings and photos I could find online, I based my model on an existing boat-gun located in Fairfax Virginia with iron wheels.

Despite the spindly looking nature of the gun's field carriage, it was actually quite a fun model to make; lots of circles.

Once printed, and painted, it took it's place in Constellation's launch.

Much later I felt the wooden wheeled version was probably more appropriate for Constellation in 1856, so I added a set of wood wheels to the model howitzer.

Since I didn't model Constellation's gundeck, I didn't need to make the 16 8 inch shell-guns and 4 32# guns that would require.
I did model a 6# gun in 1:20 scale for Pride of Baltimore, and started on 18# Blomefields and 32# carronades for Macedonian.
 
But that's getting off-topic...
 
* Anim8or is free 3D modeling software that I used back at the turn-of-the-century to make 3D models for a WWI flight sim/game.
I use it today because I'm used to it after two+ decades, though either it or I aren't capable of doing some of things I want/need to do.
I can't recommend it to complete novices, but It's still available at anim8or.com.

When 3D printing became available to me, I went to work on creating 3D models of the parts I'd need for my models (all linked in my signature below).
Even before 3D printing was "a thing" I started a model in Anim8or* of Constellation's pivot guns.  Just a basic model at first, but when I actually got a 3D printer, details were added to the model.
I had built the basic model in wood with the intention of learning photo-etch to detail them.  3D printing negated that entirely.
The guns were modeled to a plans for the 10 inch shell-gun pivots for Mississippi that were acquired from the National Archives in College Park Maryland.
(click the pic to see full-size)...
 
It took a couple of tries, but I managed to get a pair of pivot guns that if not perfect prints, were usable, and with more and better detail than I could have managed by hand.

The next gun needed for Constellation was the boat-howitzer for her launch.  Working mainly from the images in Boat Armament in the US Navy 1856, and any drawings and photos I could find online, I based my model on an existing boat-gun located in Fairfax Virginia with iron wheels.

Despite the spindly looking nature of the gun's field carriage, it was actually quite a fun model to make; lots of circles.

Once printed, and painted, it took it's place in Constellation's launch.

Much later I felt the wooden wheeled version was probably more appropriate for Constellation in 1856, so I added a set of wood wheels to the model howitzer.

Since I didn't model Constellation's gundeck, I didn't need to make the 16 8 inch shell-guns and 4 32# guns that would require.
I did model a 6# gun in 1:20 scale for Pride of Baltimore, and started on 18# Blomefields and 32# carronades for Macedonian.
 
But that's getting off-topic...
 
* Anim8or is free 3D modeling software that I used back at the turn-of-the-century to make 3D models for a WWI flight sim/game.
I use it today because I'm used to it after two+ decades, though either it or I aren't capable of doing some of things I want/need to do.
I can't recommend it to complete novices, but It's still available at anim8or.com.

64
I did a couple desk top Armstrong Fredericks in 1:24 and it made for a nice change of pace type project.  Give a shout if you want the carriage drawing.
Allan


 

The "Mendota" image is actually probably on the Miami as the Mendota mounted a 100# Parrot and did not have a IX Dahlgren pivot forward.  (In the good photos of the 100# Parrott you can see "Mendota" on the sailor's hat bands.)  Things being misidentified isn't unusual, Constellation's been miss-IDed as a frigate for decades 

The Navy had taken to painting everything black in the 1850's; hatch combings; waterways; fixtures, like scuttles and vents; and gun carriages.  In my sailing days things were generally painted white so you can see them at night, like white circles around deck-pads and eye-bolts;  So I found this blackness thing a bit odd.  Oak also doesn't take paint well, and in the most detailed images, carriages don't look painted; there's no chips, peeling, runs, globs in checks or seams, etc
This colorized image of the "Powder Monkey" on the New Hampshire is the best colorization of this particular image I know.  If you look closely at the carriage, there's no evidence of paint on the wood anywhere and the color's probably pretty close to how it actually appeared.

In fact, the carriage looks just like the unpainted oak on these items on Pride of Baltimore, water casks and gun carriages.  note the sloppy paint job on the barrel bands.

 

I got a copy of the book, and that drawing below the Mendota/Miami photo on page 218 is from the Ordnance Instructions for the United States Navy and is the carriage and slide designed for the XI Dahlgren.
I put all those images on one page, plus my interpretation of the IX carriage

The other carriage shown in any detail is the "Traversing carriage" for Columbiads.

The only other pivot carriage in shown OIUSN is a top-down view of the Traversing Carriage in the diagrams for the positions of gunners for an 8" pivot gun, bow and stern.

As for my Guns of Constellation project, the IX pivot isn't on the list, and though the XI is, it's on an iron carriage, which I'm assuming will be this sort of thing...

Here's a resized and cropped version of the best resolution image of the Mendota photo I've found.

I got a copy of the book, and that drawing below the Mendota/Miami photo on page 218 is from the Ordnance Instructions for the United States Navy and is the carriage and slide designed for the XI Dahlgren.
I put all those images on one page, plus my interpretation of the IX carriage

The other carriage shown in any detail is the "Traversing carriage" for Columbiads.

The only other pivot carriage in shown OIUSN is a top-down view of the Traversing Carriage in the diagrams for the positions of gunners for an 8" pivot gun, bow and stern.

As for my Guns of Constellation project, the IX pivot isn't on the list, and though the XI is, it's on an iron carriage, which I'm assuming will be this sort of thing...

Here's a resized and cropped version of the best resolution image of the Mendota photo I've found.

Digging around the hard-drive, I found photos I took of the aforementioned drawings of a 30pdr Parrott on a pivot carriage.
Not the best photos of a st of plans, but I took them for interest, not figuring I'd need to use them.
I immediately rebuilt my model, though there's still some work to be done.

Here's the 30 alongside the 150

The 32 pdr gun has been next to done for a while, but the cascable needed to be modeled for it to be finished, so it's done at last.

There seems to have been a standard slide-chassis for nearly every Civil War period Naval pivot gun, and since making one for the 9" Dahlgren, a big part of the of the guns to follow is done as well.
 
IX Dahlgren on a pivot mount on shore and painted gray all over
I have an 11" Dahlgren on my list, but it's on an pivot iron carriage, according to a drawing showing how, in the 1870's, a gun port on either side was opened to 10' for the 11" Dahlgren and a 100pdr Parrot.

I made the tube for the 11" Dahlgren, and the slide for the 9", so I went ahead and made the wood carriage for the 11" for the heck of it.

Then it was back to the Parrotts
I was near completing the 100 and 150 pounders when someone sent me a chart of measurements, that included things like the trunnions.  I had been using photos only for these guns proportions.  I reworked the breaches on all the Parrotts and modeled the cascables.

100pdr or 8 inch Parrot
150pounder or 10 inch Parrott.  This one's for someone modeling the Susquehanna which carried two of them.
Here's the 150 Parrot with the XI Dahlgren for comparison
The Parrotts were narrower guns, generally, and had smaller diameter trunnions then the Dahlgrens.  This seems to have been compensated for with the full-cover cap-squares like this 30pounder on a Marsilly carriage has...

Years ago, the Constellation folks showed me a drawing from the Archives of a pivot carriage for the 20 & 30pdr Parrotts the ship carried during the Civil War.  I never got a copy myself, figuring I didn't need them.  Now I can't find them.  Now I do, and can't find them, nor can I find any drawings or photos on a 20 or 30pdr Parrot on a pivot mount
I conjectured this up for the 30pdr...

Just today, someone asked if I planned on doing other guns with a wink for a 7" Blakley Rifle and the 10" Columbiad.
I guess this little side project isn't just about Constellation's guns any more and I should snip this out into it's own thread/log?
 

The lower square on it's own yard is akin to a spinnaker or a "drifter" today.  It's set "flying" from on deck as is the t'gallant.  The tops'l is the only square that lives on the mast, and even that's designed to be lowered completely (notice none of the yards have parrells and only the tops'l yard has footropes).  The course yard, which is the lowest yard on the model to which the tops'l sheets, is typically lowered to the rail and tied down when the tops'l's not in use.
Petersson's Rigging Fore-and-Aft Craft the details of all of this pretty much exactly as it is on this model.

Hi
 
With the bulkhead closing the chamber, the "fine" carpentry is for later, now and before installing more equipment on the deck I will make the lining of the submerged part of the frigate’s hull since for this operation I have to put the keel up.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Adrián Sorolla

The lower square on it's own yard is akin to a spinnaker or a "drifter" today.  It's set "flying" from on deck as is the t'gallant.  The tops'l is the only square that lives on the mast, and even that's designed to be lowered completely (notice none of the yards have parrells and only the tops'l yard has footropes).  The course yard, which is the lowest yard on the model to which the tops'l sheets, is typically lowered to the rail and tied down when the tops'l's not in use.
Petersson's Rigging Fore-and-Aft Craft the details of all of this pretty much exactly as it is on this model.

The lower square on it's own yard is akin to a spinnaker or a "drifter" today.  It's set "flying" from on deck as is the t'gallant.  The tops'l is the only square that lives on the mast, and even that's designed to be lowered completely (notice none of the yards have parrells and only the tops'l yard has footropes).  The course yard, which is the lowest yard on the model to which the tops'l sheets, is typically lowered to the rail and tied down when the tops'l's not in use.
Petersson's Rigging Fore-and-Aft Craft the details of all of this pretty much exactly as it is on this model.

The resolution is high enough to get a good finish, but since it prints in layers there's going to be some lines and that butterfly wing texture.
It's as much or more dependent on the 3D model.  The gun tube I made from a 64-sided cylinder then applied a "smooth" feature to it after getting the general shape, which made it 192 sided, I think.  More smaller smaller polygons looks smoother than fewer bigger ones.  The trucks are 32-sided, and you can see the facets on them. 
My models are mostly "low-poly" because it's a habit I got into making 3D models for a flight sim back in the early 90's when too many polygons would stop the sim dead in it's tracks.  It's akin to my programming from back then too when a 30 meg hard drive cast $700.
The pivot gun on the left is the "low-poly" tube I made years before I ever 3D printed anything.  The one on the right got a higher-poly tube which is much better visually.
 
These are 1:36 scale.  Scaling them down to say 1:48 or 1:76 might reduce the visibility of faceting on something like the trucks, but you'd still see it on the gun barrel.  Resin printing is very faithful to the 3D model that way.  

My next model will be the immigrant ship ‘Meteor’.  Built at Bremerhaven as the ‘Admiral Brommy’ in 1851, she was purchased by the Hamburg ship owners T.E & C. Vidal in December 1852 and re-named ‘Meteor’.
 
She was not a large ship – her principal dimensions were; Length - 135.70 ft [41.36 m]; Breadth 29.17 ft [8.89 m] and depth of hold 20.54 ft [6.26 m].
 
She sailed from Southampton on the 17th March 1853 carrying 326 emigrants bound for Australia.  Amongst these were Robert and Rachel Laing – my great, great grandparents.  The ‘Meteor arrived in Sydney on 3rd July after a voyage of some 108 days.  The voyage was described by the Sydney newspapers as ‘excellent’ as only two children died during the passage!
 
The final fate of the ‘Meteor’ is unknown.
 
There are no plans for this ship, however the German Maritime Museum at Bremerhaven were able to provide me with high resolution copies of two excellent paintings of the ship – one as the ‘Admiral Brommy’ and the other (incidentally dated 1853 – the significant year for me) as the ‘Meteor’.  I will be using modified hull lines of a similar ship of the period and the two paintings to build a plank on frame model “in accordance with the best available historical information”.
 
It may be a while before anything happens on this build log, as I first have to sort out the very faint and difficult to read plans I have and convert them into something I can use to shape the frames.
 
In the meantime, here are the two paintings of the ship.
 
John
 
 

Another small update. Here's the 'Meteor' with the first deck beam temporarily in place - no, I'm not planning to deck the upper decks before the lower decks, but a beam placed there helps to stop the hull from being forced inwards at the shoulders by the severely curved bow planking!
 
John
 

I've been very slack with posting progress on the 'Meteor' of late. On the other hand, there's actually been very little progress as it's Christmas school holidays here in Oz and the museum has been seething with families keeping the kids amused. I've done an awful lot of talking and showing people the models, but very little work on my model!
 
However, the capping rail is now complete, and I've been working on the very simple stern decoration (this is a merchant ship, not a prestigious ship of war), so something is happening, at least.
 
Here are a couple of phots of the model as she is now.
 
John
 

"Meteor' continues to creep slowly ahead. I haven't had much actual building time as the museum has been pretty busy and I've been spending a lot of time talking ti visitors.  I've also been spending time in discussions regarding the new project I mentioned. There have been a few hiccoughs along the way but the 'powers that be' at the museum are now keen to see the project go ahead.  There is a (hopefully) final meeting planned for January 19th to finalise matters for all stakeholders. The meeting could have been much sooner, but during the holiday period its difficult to get everybody together at the same time.
 
Here's a photo of the 'Meteor' showing the current state with capping rails rough fitted.
 
John