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Hello friends, the young lady safing my life* will have birthday in 2 1/2weeks!!! So I picked the old WaltDisney JOLLY ROGER** pirate ship out of my pile of kits. Due to the sentence as she says if she thinks about me she remembers ships... So I do remember the nearly funny film (I was allways a sceptical guy even with Walts' productions at childhood - did I have had this illness?) and the JOLLY ROGER pirate ship (very first Revell kit box I can remember - Monogram is the P-61 Black Widow - Heller is the huge SR-box) the 1/72 scale I wouldn't take too serious. As I don't know if the young lady likes the film or the infantile application of a dutch warship I am going to re-historical it a bit in colour and appearence. So the sails were de-colourfulled, the pseudo-funny skull figurehead will be replaced and the big skull on the transon will be exchanged against something semihistoric*** Dutch. I think about a typical oilpainting: The "RED BULL" - Dutch seems to be "DE ROODE BUL"**** as on the historical Dutch ship BULL but coloured in Revell matt 86 (personally called "foxred" - as used for horses in tabletop). The rest is quite fine with the kit - there has only to be made some little changes in the colouring towards BATAVIA as a source of ideas. And there will be a bit of additional detail work. And perchance I am going to open tje state rooms windows giving a inner part into the kit. But I am affraid about reclosing the windows again - and running out time! But certainly the "glowing in the dark" paint will rest on the shelf. The result I aim for is a "positive carricature" of a Dutch sailingship. At the begin I want to say thank you to @Ab HovingAbHoving for his articles about his wwounderfull small Jacht as the initial giving idea what to build! _______ *by sending me in to the emergency as as a nurse she recognized it was a stroke. ** https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-h-377-jolly-roger--163552 *** analog to "semiscale" **** ...working in a Dutch company the only Dutch native speaker I know is our CEO.

Hi everyone, here's a link to my blog where I'm attempting my first model build ever. I chose a pretty difficult one apparently but I'm excited to see how it turns out. I started the Revell 1:96 USS Constitution build a year ago and then took a long break but I'm back now to try and finish it. I'd say I'm about 40% complete. This website has been a huge help in regards to viewing other's builds and giving me advice/tips on constructing my own ship, so thanks to the fellow builders. Here's my link! Feel free to comment or give advice either here or on the blog itself. Feedback is welcomed! http://shipsofsean.blogspot.com/

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.

Greetings, I'm from Hungary, and until now, I built mainly WW2 ships and planes from plastic kits. Now I decided to build a tall ship, and I ended up with two kits, but I can't decide which to buy. One is the 1/96 plastic model of the Cutty Sark from Revell (Nr. 5422), and the other one is from wood, the 1/124 Thermopylae model of Sergal. Which of do you recommend to a beginner in sailing ships, and why? If you know alternatives for a maximum of €80-100, in the category of XIX. century ships, I would appreciate it too. Thanks in advance.

Firts and foremost Hello and thank you for reviving this forum (i was browsing it once and almost had a heart attack when it went down). I have been thinking around a Tall Ship Model for some time now and i think i am now ripe for it. A few words about me: I am 32 years old, from Poland and i love the years 1600-1850 in different aspects (artillery mostly as i am an reenactor). I dont have much experience in modelling, but i was painting and kitbashing figures for Table-Top Wargames and i did actulally build a 2-person wooden sailboat with all rigging etc. which is still afloat somewhere So, now i want to do it, wife even said she's help out. Build: 1/96 Revell Plastic USS Constitution Although i havent started the build yet, i am already keen to get some insights and comments, as the box is due to arrive after the weekend So my Plan is for a refitted/kitbashed Revel 1/96 Connie model. I also own the paper plans from the C.Mamoli Wood Model and the Mamoli Cross-Section plans (courtesy of a friendly Modeller) plus the "Anatomy of the Ship" book so some ideas/changes will be taken from there Breakdown of changes planned: - pumps as per Force9's idea - same for gratings and on-deck furniture - changes in armament: 30x 24pdr long guns, 14-16x 18pdr long guns, 6-8X 32pdr Carronades (Modified 1804-1807 armament) - Boats lowered with crew in them (idea is for a scene where the crew picks up supplies from some island) - Water base - Furled sails installed on the yards (no idea how to do them yet though) - No Name - Extended Crew One idea was to make a wooden planking + perhaps wooden frame as per the Mamoli plans (ideally discaring the plastic hull completely) but i will think about it when the box arrives and i see how much work i need to put into the hull. Any insights, welcome and i will post pics when the box arrives. One question about the Bluejacket Store - do they list the scales in their catalog or the given item sizes ? I dont know about US scale transliteration too much.

I have never done this (a build log) before, but from what I've seen, one of the best ways to get advice is to have a build log as a forum for discussion! I have in the past built model cars, but I recently, after a good 20 of years of nothing, decided to get back into it, and then I decided to try my hand at a ship! I built the 1/150 scale Revell USS United States. And I absolutely loved it! I have now decided (perhaps foolishly) to tackle the 1/96 USS Constitution by Revell. So I dove in earlier this week from the beginning, painting the hull. I have that mostly complete, still needing to paint the interior, and I've hit the detail areas on the bow and stern as well as on the cabin. Here are my pictures so far. I used a paint pen from Hobby Lobby for the gold and some of the white for the small detail, but a small brush and a toothpick for the other small parts. What I struggled with was the bulwarks color. I have decided to go with a darkish green, similar to what is on the current real life ship. I don't know why Revell wants it white, but I'm rebelling! I have been unable to mix a satisfactory green, so I'm buying some paint today. I am very nervous about this ship build because it's a hefty task for someone like me with very little to no experience. Also super excited. Hopefully the community here will be as awesome as it appears to be! My next task once the hull is complete is going to be an attempt at creating a weathered wood look on the deck. I have seen some vague references to doing this, but I am going with trial and error. If anybody has any input, please let me know! What I've done is grabbed varying colors of brown from light to dark, and I'm going to try to layer them. To be continued!

Hi Guys!!!! Im so Glad to Start my first Build log in MSW Well as some of you might know by now one of the several proyects i have in mind is the Jolly Roger ship also Re-named as the Chiken of the Sea, this version has been made into a model kit first produced by Disney and then by Revell with the name of "Caribbean Pirate Ship" but there are no blueprints available for this ship as far as i know and i have always been in love with how powerfull it looks I think one of the problems with this ship is that is always Taken/Mistaken for a tiny/weak/cartoony/Childish ship but there are several media where we can find that the ship wasnt as small or inoffensive Actually i think lots of Disney Stuff are way creepier if you think about them deeply, includding the Peter Pan Story, so i will try to make Justice to the Ship keeping the Shape and Colors but with a Creepier and Realistic Approach, i want it to look as a huge and old ship, since its actually a really big ship take this illustrations as example Jolly Roger on the left (just for size comparison between ships ) the kit that was made unfortunately is also Extra Small so.......... I went nuts and tried something i have never tried before, i worked the whole night ( from 6 pm to 5 in the morning ) i only took a break to have dinner but im glad to tell you guys im extremly near to have the whole set of blueprints fo the ship What do you guys think? ill keep on working the whole day so ill try to post some pics of the blueprints soon

This build log will cover my building of the 1:72 Revell plastic kit of the Gato class submarine. The decals that come with the kit are for the USS Drum and USS Albacore. However, the fairwater, or conning tower, does not match either boat. But it does match that of the USS Cobia, which is what I will model here. Besides the kit itself which is 52 inches in length when completed, I have also purchased the complete "Big Ed" set of brass photo-etched parts for this kit from Eduard. Where I will display it I haven't decided yet, but it will be on the work bench for quite some time. Painting will mostly be done by airbrush, which I am quite the novice at using. But it should be fun to build. While not needing the skills to build like the wooden kits, I wanted to add this particular model to the log entries due mostly to the size of the model itself. (From Wikipedia:) The United States Navy Gato-class submarines were launched 1941–43 and were the first mass-production US submarine class of World War II. Together with their near-sisters the Balao and Tench classes, their design formed the majority of the United States Navy's World War II submarine fleet. Named after the first vessel of the class, USS Gato, the Gato class and its successors formed the core of the submarine service that was largely responsible for the destruction of the Japanese merchant marine and a large portion of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. Gato's name comes from a species of small catshark. Like most other U.S. Navy submarines of the period, boats of the Gato class were given the names of marine creatures. USS Cobia (SS/AGSS-245) is a Gato-class submarine, formerly of the United States Navy, named for the cobia. Cobia (SS-245) was laid down on 17 March 1943 by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, Manitowoc, Wisconsin. She was launched on 28 November 1943 (sponsored by Mrs. C. W. Magruder), and commissioned on 29 March 1944, Lieutenant Commander Albert L. Becker in command. On 1 July 1970, the Navy struck Cobia from the Naval Register, and she was towed to Manitowoc, Wisconsin to serve as an international memorial to submariners. In 1986, Cobia was incorporated as a part of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, declared a National Historic Landmark, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Cobia is permanently docked at the Manitowoc River's mouth at Lake Michigan.

For my first build, I thought I would start with a plastic kit and see how it goes from here. After a couple trips to my local hobby shop I purchased an 896-piece model called Pirate Ship. 896 parts may seem a bit ambitious, but I wanted a fair amount of detail. Perhaps a bit of back-story is in order. My basement's decor is loosely based on the period of Age of Sails. It started with my wife's and I love of the sea, but being landlocked, we thought we'd bring a small window of the sea into the home. A 180-gallon salt-water aquarium was set-up in the basement and we were well on our way. From there it seemed only natural to go with a nautical theme. I also enjoy woodworking and built an aquarium tank stand with two mermaids holding up a portion of the stand. From there an interest in historical accounts of pirates evolved, which lead to the purchase of the Revell Kit. Here is a photo of the boxed kit, as I am still working up the nerve to opening it. What's a ship without a crew?

Hello again. I started this log back on November 1, 2011, and I think I've managed to salvage most of it. I have all the photos, and will re-build the log as best I can. Having been through catastrophic data losses before (professionally), I know the feeling the moderators must have and completely sympathize. Re-boots and recovery are always difficult, but the "can-do" attitude of everyone here and the overwhelming friendly atmosphere obviously hasn't been lost. For that, I am thankful. Here's the last photo I took (some progress made since then, but not photographed). I will start the log from the beginning when I have more time. Andy.

Hello and welcome to my build log for my 1/96 Revell USS Constitution kit. This kit is going to be a slew of firsts for me. This is the first 'Age of Sail' ship for me. As well as my first build-log. I have also thought about adding lights where I can. I will do my best to keep this log up to date and look forward to learning from the builders here. A bit of background on my kit, I got it when I was in middle school and was too afraid to put it together for fear of messing it up. I now know better how old this kit is and I'm glad that I did not try it before I was ready too! The first images are of the kit it'self showing the general condition of the kit. She has a good deal of dust on the hull halves that I had actually started to mate together about 10 years ago. I also began painting the white stripe at the gun ports level but at this point I may redo the paint. I've also found a nasty miss-match at the bow. They do not mate well and for yet another first I've gone and added some filler back when I first glued the hull. I admit the Cement job isn't pretty in there but I wasn't that experienced yet at the time My sail sheets are not too bad though 2 of the sails are damaged. I will be modeling the ship with sails so I'm looking at possible ways to repair the sheets however I'm tempted to find another material to make the sails out of rather than use the old plastic ones. I had wanted to try to add lights inside the ship at the gun deck and Captains cabin, perhaps any topside lanterns, this will be a new challenge for me as I've never worked with lighting on a model before. Right now I am waiting for my supplies to come in and once they do I'm going to begin on this beast!

OK here we go... 3 January, 2015. Thus begins my build log of Revell's 1:96 scale USS Constitution. I selected an older kit release because a lot of things I've read indicate that they have much higher molding quality over the newer kits. Mine has a box date of 1974 and it has a US Bicentennial logo, so I believe that it was produced between 1974 and 1976. I plan on "kinda" building her as she appeared under Isaac Hull's command. I say "kinda" because I'm not going into every particle of minutiae involved with how she really was configured. I'm just taking care of the obvious such as eliminating the forward gunport (bridle port) and the skylight above the Captain's cabin. Other than that this will pretty much be an out-of-box build. Feel free to follow along!

Hello! I have built a variety of things over the years - starting off with aircraft, tanks etc. I have however been bitten by the ship bug! I have a part completed model of the Titanic (Minicraft 1/350 scale) to which I have added LED and fiber optic lighting, a lot of scratch building of smaller vents etc and photoetch - it's a work in progress at present. Following the receipt of a shiny new Revell Constitution I have been bitten by the bug. I have started owrk as follows (and I'll get pictures posted up soon): Gluing and cleaning up all the cannons - this did take a long while! Cleaning up gun carriages (correct terminology? - if not please enlighten me). Some of the wheels on these were rather poor and almost all had mold lines, or mold mismatch to a greater or lesses extent. I decided to sam the outside of the wheels flat and replace the "axle" in the center of the wheel with plastic rod. Gun deck - joined the three parts together using plastic on the underside, unsuring upper surface at joins is level across the joins. At this stage I have some questions which I would love some thoughts on: Decks - I have sanded the surface of the decks smooth and and contemplating what is the best way to replicate the deck. The alternatives I have in mind are as follows: 1. Scribing lines for the planks. 2. Wood veneer (holly perhaps?) cut into planks 3. Thin plastic sheet appropriately pained in slightly different shades cut into planks My inclination is towards the third option and I will maybe experiment with this and see what it looks like but I would really like the thoughs/suggestions of others on here. I am also curious on where I could put my hands on a plan of planking on the deck, any areas where planking was wider etc, Also what the width of planks on the decks was. Planning on retaining the plastic masts only where they can be reinforced internally with metal to avoid future bending. Smaller masts etc I plan on replacing with either brass tubing (sizes can be had which can be slid inside each other to represent taper - I Used this approach to replicate the masts on the Titanic), or alternatively with wood. If wood - any suggestions on the best product to use, and where it could be purchased? One of my general questions is where can I get a better understandign of sail ship terminology, especially as it relates to masts and rigging? I have reviewed a lot of the builds I can see on here and I will be shamelessly applying some of their good works - imitation is the sicerest fom of flattery after all. I especially like the approach take by force9 to his build. I'll try to get some pictures of work do far pposted shortly. Thanks for looking and for any comments of the questions I have above. Stuart

Hello everyone, sorry for my bad english today and got my first kit ever, I am new to modeling, could you give me some advice, especially for painting? as soon as possible'll post pictures of the kit just arrived, and will update every time the post, with the progress made in the construction thank you all in advance

Hi folks, Way back in the 70's when I still had brown hair, I built this plastic USS Constitution. As did many of us then, I glued the pieces together and then put the black strings where they belonged and the tan ones where they were supposed to go. Before I could complete this ship, I moved and during transit, that Constitution was destroyed beyond repair. Now retired, I happened to be on Amazon.com and saw my old ship for sale and I couldn't resist and a few days later UPS delivered my kit in a heavy rain storm lovingly protected by a plastic bag. Now it's 2013, I have white but we have the internet. So this time before doing anything else, I Googled the Revell USS Constitution and found Model Ship World. To make a lousy pun, I was sunk after that. Especially after I saw what could be done with a plastic ship kit, some supplies and some know how. MSW is unbelievable! I was amazed with all of the superb craftspeople but was particularly taken with Force9's approach to building the Constitution and because I know nothing at all about shipbuilding I decided to start out by emulating his approach figuring that as I progressed I would make discoveries of my own. I had no idea how right I was. The first thing I found out was that "kitbashing" is not for the faint of heart. I began and started over three times on the first step of lining the hull with styrene stripping to "thicken" the bulwarks until finally I thought things were going well. After looking at Evan's (Force9) pictures of the r/w Constitution, I thought that it would be nice to model the bolts in the buwarks and that's when things started to get dicey. I took my punch to .010 styrene strip and it didn't take long for me to realize that it's not good enough just to punch some bolts in the strip. It has to be punched on in a prescribed manner so that there is pattern after the strips go on or it won't be very believable. So off they came and then I did the job over only this time with a repeating pattern. Back on to the bulwarks they went. Better now. I was feeling pretty good about myself now so I attempted the knees by selecting .08 x 1.0 styrene strip. This works out to about 7" x 10" full scale. The results were an absolute disaster. As I said in another post, they were so crooked that they looked like they needed a good orthodontist, So this morning, I decided to yank them all out and start over again. Pretty ugly stuff now but I know that I can smooth the bulwarks over and start over after I learn a little more about what I am doing. Seeing that I needed a change of pace, I moved over to preparing the spar deck and happily things went went quite well. I don't have that nifty drill press that Evan has so I had to resort to a steady hand and a strong filing arm but here is what I came up with: Also, I have been playing around with the quarterdeck windows. I ran and didn't walk to West Valley Hobbies but alas the K & S PE gratings are gone forever. Mike Sanchez of WVH assures me though that said gratings can be had through Plastruct or another vendor. In the meantime I played around with cutting tiny little 1mmX9mm styrene pieces but didn't find that too satisfying. So here I am folks deciding which direction to take next. Thanks for reading. Verne