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

[JohnReid]

Wow Ken ! so glad to hear that you are doing a diorama with figures.What storyline do you have in mind ? Anything that I can help you with please advise.Cheers! John.

 

[xken]

Jon, not really a diorama, just figures for a sense of scale and something for the grandsons to enjoy when they get older.

After cleaning up the figures the next thing I decided to do was drill holes in the hands of the two crewmen to be able to feed the ropes through. I used a .024" dill bit and angled carefully into the hands. The one with his hand on his chest required drilling form both top and bottom to create a tunnel for the rope. Here is the test fit of the rope.

 

Next came my first attempt at painting any kind of figures. I checked for the uniform colors of the period and here are the results; I used a gold marker stick to do the gold hat trim and buttons on the jacket. 

 

 

 

Here are the crew glued in place at their different activities.

 

 

 

 

 

This shows the overall bow section with the one man climbing the ratlines.

 

Simultaneously, while waiting for paint to dry on the figures I made the various flags and pennant for the main mast. First I flipped the artwork in Photoshop and then printed a copy on T-shirt transfer paper for Staples. I then carefully cut out each flag unit and folded them down the center lines making sure that the artwork aligned front and rear. Each was then added to the edge of the white fabric and carefully with the iron set on "Cotton" ironed each flag in place both on the front and the rear. All were ironed in place making sure they were hot enough for the ink to transfer and then allowed to cool before removing the backing paper. I cut them out along the inside edge of the black outline which I added in the artwork to differentiate the flag white from fabric white. Each flag was glued in place using thickened CA along the contact edge and allowed to set. Flags were then moistened with water on both sides and carefully formed slightly. Here are the results.

 

 

 

 

 

Next onto the last detail the cathead faces.    

 

[xken]

Joshua, from Ages of Sail one of this site's sponsors here is a link:  http://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/figures/25mm-sailors.html

You may wish to explore their site for other items as well.

[JSGerson]

As I mentioned above (Aug 18, 2017 post), I used the same exact Armanti figures for my model. I got mine at Age of Sail.

 

Jon

[JohnReid]

Your grandsons will love the figures as it brings the whole thing alive for them and gives a wonderful sense of scale.I never understood why someone would build a ship under full sail with nary a soul on board. Love it, Cheers! John.

[xken]

Workflow got interrupted by restarting an old commission that was put on hold. Will be working back and forth on the projects now. Anyway after a couple attempts with materials at this small scale that did not work I reverted to an old standby of a 3/8" diameter black board chalk. This has limited application due to size but can have great results. Here is my feeble attempt using only an Xacto blade and the sharp point of dividers as carving tools with a small chisel paint brush to clean away scrapings. 

 

First was to flatten the back of the round stick for a steady hold, then carved the sides and top to the square size need and deep enough to allow cutting with a jeweler's saw later.

 

Then using just the point as a carving/scraping tool very carefully carved the two faces the best I could with the only magnification I had. I then carefully sawed off the bottom as seen.

 

 

Next since the chalk is very soft I hardened them by soaking liberally with Gold Foil spray paint with a brush on all sides until I thought I had very good penetration through the chalk. They were set aside and allowed to dry completely. I then sawed them down the back side to the thickness needed, sanded flat and then sprayed them again with the Gold Foil Krylon paint a good wet coat.

 

 

Once completely dried I glued them to there respective places with the best one on the starboard side which will be the primary viewing side.

 

 

Here is an overall view showing the cathead in place.

 

 

Now to take some good finished photos for the record.

Edited August 24, 2017 by xken

[JSGerson]

OK, now you are really showing off 8-). I would have never thought of using blackboard chalk as a carving material. Fantastic job. Too bad your viewers will be leaving their nose prints on the display case (you are making a display case, aren't you?) as they try to see the intricate detail of the carving. Your skills never cease to amaze me. Wow!

 

Jon

[Tigersteve]

Wow and wow again!

Steve

[CaptainSteve]

Outstanding work, Ken. Your build-log holds a treasure trove of useful tips and techniques. I'm certain that I'll be re-visiting it many times.

 

[xken]

Thank you all for your kind words and following along this build and helping with my ongoing education on ship building. This will prepare me for the future build of the HMS Victory 1:90 scale by Mamoli which will include some kit bashing. My next build which I am starting to work on and doing CAD drawings for is the container ship Maresk Detroit which my son-in-law is the Captain. This is the first ship he has command of since being promoted to Captain. This will be a complete scratch build at 1:356 scale with an overall length of 32" long x 4" wide x 7.25" high. Size is dictated by future display location in their home. I will start a build log once I have something more interesting than just CAD drawings.

 

I am also working on a couple of commissions which I will disclose at the time allowed.

 

Jon, my son is building a display case and once we get the word that it is ready we will drive the model across country from Morro Bay to Southold, at the end of Long Island. Literally coast to coast. I am sure both nose and finger prints will be a constant with the grandsons as they grow. Not exactly sure yet where my son will have it displayed in the house.

 

Anyway, for now the ship has be shelved out of the way here to clear the deck for my next projects.

 

 

 

 

Again, thank you to all for your kind compliments and advice throughout this build. 

 

 

[ca.shipwright]

Beautifully done.

[russ]

This is a beautiful model. Congratulations on a fine piece of work. Well done.

 

Russ

[BenD]

Fantastic, What a ship!!!  The Constitution is on my future build list for sure.

[john_wilmer]

It has been an absolute privilege to follow this build.  Thank you for all you have contributed.  You bring value to this forum.  With all of the talk about MSW vs. other sites, its builds like this and members like you that settle the debate!!

 

Thank you again,

 

John   

[mtaylor]

Beautiful work Ken.  Stunningly beautiful work.  And an educational build log.  Thanks for letting us follow along on this journey.

[mojofilter]

Outstanding!!  And from a purely selfish perspective, an invaluable resource for my future builds!!

- Tim

[JohnReid]

Congrats Ken,wonderful contribution to our passion for ship modeling.Cheers ! John. Good luck on the next one.

[John Allen]

On 8/18/2017 at 3:56 PM, xken said:

25 mm figures

Ken,

 

Will be into a Mamoli connie later down the road. where did you purchase the 25mm figures thanks

[dvm27]

An extraordinary Constitution build, Ken! I'm certain you grandkids will cherish it (at least until they are teenagers).

[SawdustDave]

Congratulations Ken, and thanks again for providing this amazing tutorial log.... especially for those of us who will be using it as a resource in our efforts to build this great war ship.

 

 

[MEDDO]

Truly one of the best Constitutions that I have seen!

[Tigersteve]

Agreed!

Steve

[xken]

John, here is where I got the figures from; Ages of Sail one of this site's sponsors here is a link:  http://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/figures/25mm-sailors.html

You may wish to explore their site for other items as well.

[usedtosail]

Ken, congratulations on a very fine build. It has been a pleasure working along with you.

[zappto]

Yes, this is a ship of fine detail, good work!

[Techsan]

Simply amazing work. The catheads...wow!!

[Geoff Matson]

Congratulations on a great build. I learned a lot from following your build. 

[md1400cs]

Ken,

Indeed superb work - thanks for all of your extra details within your log for this ship!!

 

Cheers,

[alde]

Amazing. You've done some beautiful work Ken.

[donrobinson]

Crazy stuff Ken. Masterful!!