USS Constitution by xken - Model Shipways - Scale 1:76.8

[xken]

Jonathan you are absolutely correct. Necessity is the mother of invention and I opened my Flying Fish box and retrieved the roll of copper foil from it to continue on. Request for replacements from ME have not been very timely and having masking tape on the hull I want to get it off so there is no tape residue on the hull. Especially with the regular type tape. 

 

Here is how different the two finishes are. The roll in the Flying Fish is like a shiny new penny versus the tarnished one already applied. I will let the new tape set awhile to see if it comes in line with the existing one; otherwise I may have to use Brasso with it's wadding to clean them all to the same finish and allow them to start tarnishing all over again. Never a dull moment in modelling.

 

  

[UpstateNY]

Sorry about this issue Ken, but thank you for the very helpful post. Never a dull moment when modeling indeed....

 

Interesting that the Flying Fish roll had this much color difference as I think you purchased this kit at the same time as your Connie and Niagara.

 

Be very interested to see the results of your tests with Brasso if you need to go there, but hoping a little time will take care of this problem for you.

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

[GLakie]

Sorry about the blending problems Ken!  That's been an issue with ME for quite a while now in not supplying enough of the copper tape to do a decent job. And I'm not sure if time will blend the 2 shades or not. I do know ME was made aware of it at least 2 years ago, because I talked myself to a Rep there about that issue and a couple others.  I think my solution for that problem will be just to get 2 fresh rolls when I get ready, just to be sure of a match. 

[David Lester]

Hi Ken,

Your model is looking beautiful. I'm just about to start coppering on mine and am approaching it with trepidation. I'm curious about how to handle the bottom of the keel. How are you going to handle it? Will you simply apply plates to the bottom and wrap their edges up over the first course? I'm using the Bob Hunt practicum and in it he suggested that I would be likely to run out of copper tape, so I bought an additional roll ahead of time, but I guess that's still no guarantee of a colour match. I might work from both rolls at the same time and mix the plates to minimize an discrepancies.

David

[xken]

David, Here is a picture that may help. I started at the stern corner using the full size plates and added the first plate halfway down the stern post then cut it to the corner then pressed the second half onto the stern post; then folded the second half of the plate onto the keel and pressed into place with half on the side of the keel and half on the bottom of the keel. Then subsequent plates would overlap correctly forward to the bow and up to the water line. In short the plates were bent in half down the keel on both sides overlapping to the bow.

 

 

[Burroak]

Ken your doing a beautiful job!

[alde]

Ken, thanks for the great copper plating tutorial. Your Connie looks fantastic.

Edited February 29, 2016 by alde

[xken]

Back to building after having out of town guest for a couple of days. I finished up the plating of the hull with the two tone copper foil. After checking around and discussing with my wife who is a silversmith the best solution for now is to leave the copper foil alone and let time do it's work. The big concern is that any polish or chemical treatment may cause the edges to lift and create a bigger problem. Since I still have plenty to do on this build time is not an issue.

 

I moved onto the rudder and wanted it to be movable so I used a stronger brass strip (.015" x .60") than what was provided in the kit. I also used 1/32" rod and 1/16" tubing to be the hinge elements of the pintles and gudgons. On critical point is that when soldering make every attempt to make sure the tube and rod are centered when soldered in place for a good functioning five point hinge.

Here is a sequence of pictures that are self explanatory; but if questions please ask. One other thing I discovered is that the pre-stain conditioner is great for adhesion of the copper when dried and sanded. I did not include the plating of the rudder which is pretty straight forward.

 

 

Next onto the chain iron as long as I am in the stern area. 

 

[GLakie]

That was a great rudder assembly tutorial Ken! Very nicely done! 

[xken]

George, Thank you the plans and instructions were a little sketchy about doing it. 

 

David, peel back both rolls of tape to see if they match. Usually at least two lengths of the roll.

[texxn5]

Hi Ken, I also found that Hobby Lobby carries the same copper foil that comes in the kit. It's in their section that deals with stained glass products. It's the same foil that the glass people use. I needed some and it matched perfectly in color and size.

John

Edited February 29, 2016 by texxn5

[David Lester]

Hi Ken,

Thanks very much, your descriptions and pictures are quite helpful.

David

[Landlubber Mike]

Very nice tutorial Ken!  

[xken]

Here is how I fabricated the chain iron using a brass strip and making two identical parts and soldered together. They were just bent and formed with small pliers.

 

This shows it in place and I also added the chain eyebolts that I formed using black anodized copper wire twisted around a 1/32" drill bit shank.

 

 

Next will be the scuttles and portlights. I see already that I will have to make one since one was only partially filled in the casting process.

[JSGerson]

Just being picky, but I assume you drilled a 0.132" hole in the twisted end and not the 1.32" as indicated...just saying. 8-)

 

Jonathan

 

P.S. Beautiful workmanship and documentation of it.

[xken]

Jonathan,

You are correct the . is next to the / on the keyboard, it should have read 1/32" (.032"). At times my brain works faster than my fingers and my eyes just overlook everything. 

 

Just keep me honest! 

[xken]

Moved on to the portlights and they required drilling holes in the hull; measuring locations was critical. also it turned out that one of the castings did not fill when cast; so I had to turn one on my lathe.

 

I used 1/8" masking tape aligned with the top edge of the wale to use for marking the locations for the scuppers first and then the port lights. 

 

 

 

Here is the incomplete cast port light; should not have been included and is just a piece of scrap.

 

 

Just a tip for holding the lights to clean the parting lines and true up roundness. The back edge of a Xacto blade tip was used to scrap the face smooth.

 

It is hard to photograph black on black but here they are in place.

 

Moved on to the stern molding and discovered a major dependency with the gallery locations that will require major surgery and rework since they did not line up with the white gun strip. Once I sort things out I will post the rework and what I think caused the problem. In checking other builds I see the same problem that I have which I think stems from the issue with the transom framing. It will be a major rework.

 

 

[GLakie]

Looking splendid Ken!  Makes me want to get going on mine every time I look in! 

[xken]

Well my inexperience of ship building reared its ugly head again and not understanding certain relationships of ship elements. However, in looking around at previous builds I see others did the same which lead me back to the instruction manual and page 13, Fig 1-11 adding the transom extensions. In my opinion these extensions should not be added until the gundeck and spar deck gunports are framed in. Then the extensions should be added and aligned with the bottom edge of the gunports to get the galleries located in the correct position. This also assumes the issues with the transom framing is sorted out as well.

 

The following rework is for the benefit of those who will follow since there is no clear instructions in adding the bottoms of the galleries and molding which are critical visual elements of the build.

The pictures are self explanatory and questions or suggestions are welcome. The solution I am describing is based upon looking at several pictures of the real ship and the interpretation of them. 

 

Once finally ready, I will add the pre stain wood conditioner and then the black stain and then clear Satin finish. The one regret is that I will lose the wood board definition due to the previous staining process filling the grain and now being sanded. Hopefully the transom molding and decoration will mask this up.

 

The lesson I have learned is to refer to the pictures of the real ship, check the plans and resolve any differences. I will look at the instruction manual with a real jaundiced eye; but I am learning more about ship building.

[GLakie]

I'm definitely baffled because they looked so good.   It's a bummer they had to be re-done Ken, but a lesson for all of us I think! 

[David Lester]

Hi Ken,

Sorry you've had so much trouble. I'm not sure I'd have tackled relocating the galleries, because they actually didn't look too bad even though they were sitting a bit high and I don't think they would have caused any further problems down the road. However, I also understand the urge to get it right too. It's a lot of work, but it will all look great in the end. That's the beauty of working with wood - it's possible to change almost anything. I don't quite understand where you went wrong. I didn't have trouble with my vertical placement, but I sure did with my lateral placement. It took quite a bit of fudging to get them right (or I should say at least looking acceptable) front to back. I had to add pretty big filler pieces to the "roof" and "floor" of the galleries.

 

David

[alde]

Ouch, that is a major re-work. It did look darn good the way it was but you need to be happy with it.

[Geoff Matson]

Hello Ken

 

I really admire your building skills. Sorry to hear of your rebuild. I know from past experiences of my own you are doing the right thing. Great job on making things right. When you are finished you will a great model you can be proud of. 

[xken]

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement! I look upon this rework not so much as a mistake, but a lesson in ship building and an opportunity to hone my wood working skills. It should also be a warning to add the gunports first, take care with the rework of the transom framing (page 12) and only add the transom extensions (page 13) after the gunports and align the bottom edge with the gunports. The extension parts are laser cut too short (1-5/8") by about 1/8" the difference of 1-1/2" on plan rear view; versus the side view of 1-3/4" (angled).

 

Anyway I am back on track and here are pictures of the stained rework and some of the wood definitions can still be seen along with rework joints which will be blinded up with molding and decorations.

 

 

 

Now I will add the new molding I made while waiting for stain to dry using 1/32" half round to the angled side surfaces first and then to the transom. After they are in place then the rest of the transom will be addressed.

Again thanks for your words of encouragement.

[Altduck]

Ken,

 

Nice recovery - looks good, and well worth the work.

 

Richard

[GLakie]

No kidding! I'd probably spend days fixing that! 

[CaptainSteve]

Nice save, Ken !!

[xken]

Had some fun time with the granddaughters so my daughter could have a business meeting. Moved on to adding the gallery and transom moldings after making new ones at a smaller scale of 1/32" half round strips made with brass cutter.

 

I will leave the gallery components off until later in the build to minimize potential damage while handling the hull.

 

Here are in progress forming of the curved transom moldings, the kit ones were junk in my mind and out of scale as well. I am using 1/16" half round moldings again using my brass cutter.

 

While waiting for moldings to dry I turned to the metal castings for the decorations around the windows; and much to my surprise more junk castings. One even broke taking out of the bag; glued the pieces to a 1/64" plywood carrier to save it.

 

 

Now back to fixing the above parts, not a good one in the bunch.

 

[GLakie]

It's a shame about the quality of the parts they supply, when compared to what they charge for the kit! 

[xken]

George, you are absolutely correct and this is the reason why I started scratch building years ago. Raw materials are much more cost effective and no one else to blame than yourself. I have designed kits for Model Expo and the castings I received were much, much better in quality than these, then of course I supplied the master parts for the molds to be made from and worked directly with the supplier.