USS Constitution by kmart - Model Shipways - scale 1/76

[kmart]

So   time for my next update.

The stern... 

Well after being thoroughly pleased with myself for how the hull planking came out.....

I though finishing planking the stern would be quick  and easy... boy was I WRONG.  (again)

 

First pic.. The old Gal back in her build cradle.  

Now for the stern

 

First I glued on the ears.

Even as I was doing that , I knew sooner or later I would wind up breaking off the tops of the stern  "risers"?? tops of the stern bulkheads.

They are really thin, fragile and not supported by anything.

 

Since I needed to frame in the stern gun ports on the Spar deck anyways...  I used the same technique as the other gun-ports..

Basically made them solid!

Note the filler pieces are not rectangular.  That would be to easy. 

The spar deck port openings are just roughed in at this point.   Latter on I'll  clean them up to proper size .

Right now they are there to prevent me from breaking off the stern timbers.

 

 

Before I can go much further, I knew I had to position the quarter galleries.  So I cut out and shaped two lower solid pieces.

This was done similar to how the bow and stern spaces were made. 

Square block... mini table saw to right size, 

Then scroll saw to get close to the right shape.

Then table sander to finish up.

 

Then I started the decorative fitting that goes underneath.

For the lower pieces, I dove into hand carving with a number #7  exacto blade

 

Notice the lip on the upper right piece.  That fits over the wale .    The lower pieces will sit on the wale.  and then the upper  pieces will sit on those. 

So If I measured right.. They will all align and be at same height and symmetrical relative to the wale

 

Like So...

Note at this point,  the upper blocks are glued on.  The lower blocks are just dry fitted.   

They lowers do need more fitting and  sanding to be flush with the upper pieces.

 

Those lower pieces were my first ever free hand carving.   🙂   

 

 

Next,   Need to frame the 5 stern windows.

Like the gun-ports,  I made a jig.  basically a piece of wood 14x14 mm.  That's the size of the stern window frames.

 

The challenging  part is that

   1.  The stern angles outwards (further to stern) as it goes up to the top rail

    2.  That the stern framing is NOT straight up and down.     They cant outward port and starboard

    3.  The stern framing are not exactly parallel to one another. They are at slight different angles.

 

So with those three challenges...  

Need to frame 5 perfectly square 14 x14 mm ports , that are aligned and spaced properly.

Ugg

 

 

I know it looks rough,  but you can see all the shims of various sizes in place.

pretty much all 5 windows needed shims on 3 sided.    The bottom sill was correct and my starting reference point.

 

You can see the tick marks  above each window.

My methodology was  I basically measured and marked the center-line of the stern.

Then measured from there and marked where the center of each window should be.

My Jig also has the center-line marked.

 

So I aligned the center-line of the jig with the center-line mark for each window.   

Then positioned the shims around the jig.

Easy  ... NOT!

 

Now.. Finally,  I glue on the first plank.  

First one is aligned with lower window sills.

So much for stern planking being quick and easy!!  🙂

 

 

And that's where I'll leave it for today.

Hopefully next update will have most of the stern planking finished.

 

 

 

 

 

[usedtosail]

Nice job on the quarter gallery bases and the stern windows. Those are two very tricky areas to deal with.

[kmart]

Well,,, it was bound to happen.

I screwed up...

but if your going to do something.. do it right...

So  I screwed up a second time.

Then I identified my 3rd and 4th screw up that I made earlier in the build...but just identified now.

 

 

 

So.  Screw up #1:  The stern.

 

Hear is what my intended goal is/ was.

Looks like everything is lining up well  so far.

In my prior post.. I showed how I had all the stern prepped to plank...

All the windows and gun ports framed in etc.

soo

 

 

For the stern scuppers, portholes.  I cut a small square piece of wood.  half the thickness of the planks and positioned /glued.. them on the stern.

 

Then I planked around it.

This will allow me to have those ports open.    or if closed they ill sit flush with planking.

either way, I have options.

 

Getting there.   Will cut out upper gun-ports later.  But they are all properly framed under the planking.

 

But wait.  Look above pic where the topmost plank is at this point.

I still have 3 more planks to reach the top where the Cap-rail will be.

 

However ...  The top of the gun ports on the spar deck are already lower than the current plank on the stern.

The cap-rail has to run in 1 level from around the side to the stern.

My stern is 3 planks to high.  Ugg

 

 

My current stern planking ends at the lower red arrow.   3 more planks will end up way over the side cap-rail at upper red arrow.

 

 

What to Do???

 

 

 

 

   

[kmart]

Trying to fix screw up #1  let me to Screw up  #2.

 

Sooo as mentioned about earlier in my log.  I chose to go with the 1812 version of the ship that does NOT have that top-galleon Rail.

On the model expo plans of the current ship... the cap-rail sits right on top of the spar deck gun-ports.. and then there are 3 more planks... and then their is the second ( top-galleon) rail.

 

That's where I messed up.  I positioned my stern based on the model expo plan... Not adjusting for the different stern and lack of the extra planks.  i.e. 3 more planks.

 

Looking at the AOS  and also several other models.  I notices that while they don't have the top galleon rail... some models DO have 1  maby 2 planks over the spar gun-ports under the mail cap rail.

 

That's  it.  that my way to fix... Add a plank or two over the ports, but still under the main cap.

 

Sooo

 

 

Look Close again

The green arrow is the extra plank.  All good.

But red is screw up #2.   

I forgot I had not completely cleaned up the gun ports.  they were planked higher than actual size,

The plan was to pair it back down to proper size, when I put cap-rail on.

 

Well when I added the extra plank,, all my gun-ports became too tall.

I had to go back and add extra plank and as well as a  header behind it.

 

You can see I used small scrap pieces to put in in backings as well as gun-port header the full length of the extra plank.

So when I get to the cap rail.. it will be a solid 3 pieces top to attach to,  outer plank+ backer+ inner plank.

 

 

 

 

 

[kmart]

Another view of the aft  extra  plank in place

 

 

 

 

 

 

Screw up #3

This was done prior.. I just noticed it now.

Well since I'm adding the extra plank aft .. it needs to go all the way around  so I'm making same update at the bow.

Look at the first gun-port... that's closet to the bow.

 

That's Not actually a gun-port.. its where the anchor gets stored.

Notice its a larger size than the gun-port.  That's correct per the current 2019 version of the ship.

But all the Corne paintings and AOS pictures show it as the same size as a normal gun-port....

So  not correct for 1812.   Plus I really didn't like how it looks.  not symmetrical with the rest of the ports...

 

Soo demolishing time.

Made a new backing piece

 

 

Glued in place

 

Next session  I'll plank it over..

 

Screw up #4  Also just noticed today.

Waaay back when I was framing the main deck gun-ports.  

I was so pleased with myself for my framing method and my jig for perfectly square gun-ports...

 

 

Well

As you can clearly see...  quite a large gap.

This is for both gun-ports on both sides.

The way I framed them two at at a time port starboard... worked great for rest of the ship.

Because of the steep curvature at the bow,   If I run the jig all the way through both ports.. its square and proper sized,  but because of the curvature of the hull,  if I put the jig in at 90 to the hull... the ports too wide.  Fortunately is just the one pair that suffers from this.

I can build up one side of the frame to the right side.   Not sure how to add extra planking to cover it up.

Grrr.

I'll figure something out.

 

The past week is NOT what I had been expecting to do in the wood-shop.

 

 

Oh well.  Fix and move forwards.

 

 

 

 

[CaptainSteve]

On the plus-side, at least you discovered all four problems at the one time. Rather than fixing one, then discovering the next etc etc.

 

If it helps at all, before I abandoned my Connie, I was actually planning on NOT cutting the two chase-ports. This might help with scaling your stern cap-rail somewhat. From reading Theodore Roosevelt's book "The Naval War of 1812", I learned that these two ports were actually cut by Cpt Hull (well, maybe not him personally, but under his instruction) during the Great Chase. Since you have gone with the 5 window arrangement, I think it would be perfectly logical for you to argue that the chase ports did not exist at the time of your Connie.

 

[kmart]

Hello all,

Sooo sailing season (real sailing as apposed to model sailing :-))   is wrapping up in the next few weeks here in New England.

Hoping to get a few more days on the water before hauling her out. 

Then it will be back to work on the Connie after the summer hiatus.

I already started cleaning up the  basement workshop to start getting my brain back into modeling mode

And thinking about where I left off .

 

My goal  for this winter modeling season.... is :

• Finish the hull
• Finish the stern windows/ details/ quarter galleries
• Paint the hull
• Detail the main gun deck
• And just maybe get the spar deck planking in

At my speed of modeling that's ambitious.  but that's the goal. 

Especially as I'm trying to do a respectable job and up the quality of my Connie build over my past builds as apposed to fast...

 

Should start having real updates and (modeling) pics in the next few weeks.

 

K

 

    

[kmart]

So,,,last spring, when I left off, I had started working on the quarter galleries..   

I had just completed the lower piece, and the decorative piece underneath it.

Next  After several attempts I made the main part where the windows will go.

I made out of a solid block.   The challenge was fitting the three surfaces properly .. All of them angled and not square with one another.

Bottom, inner side towards the hull  and then the back towards the aft.  

After several attempts, I got the block to fit.  After that,  shaping the front curved side was fairly straight forward.

 

Using the kits window frames,  I traced in where the windows will go.

leaving 2 mm under and over the window frames,  Then another 3 mm for the trim.  You can see that marked up on the block  

 

Next up comes the Roof.   I have two options with this.

The easier one...

 

 

or the harder version...

I'll give you 3 guesses on which one I chose to attempt.

 

Attempt #1 : i thought I could model in two pieces to make up the roof. First piece breaking of the trim in the middle

 

So attempt #1 failed.  I didn't like the looks, and the top of the roof was not sized to have the second layer.

Attempt #2, and #3,  all failed as well.

 

I cant believe how much time I've wasted on making 2 little pieces of wood.  

Grrrrrrrrr

 

Now onto attempt #4 came out a bit better: 

This attempt is with a single piece.   Because doing one big complex block couldn't possibly be harder than doing smaller , simpler shaped pieces )

 

Laying out the cuts to make on the block

After cutting and rough shaping

It has potential..   But it kinda looks more like a shoe or sneaker that a fancy roof.

Both at the bottom and then at the flat selection in the middle , I'll put a trim piece.   

That might make it look better.   But I'm not convinced yet.   

 Still considering to another  attempt.

 

This is a really hard part to make.   Really testing and frustrating me.

 

Thoughts , opinions....  look good enough once cleaned up and painted... or start over.?

 

FYI  for the main piece.. the plan is to cut out where the windows will go.  

Then use jig saw to cut away the inside of the block.   That will leave the outer wall... say 2 mm thick, with all the proper curves and fitting and window frames as one piece.

 

( I still think the roof looks like a sneaker!)

That's it for now.

 

And please comment on the roof.  keep the roof or toss it and try again.

 

[kmart]

I just went and checked my picture library. ...  This is how Connie's roof currently looks today.  This is in line with the simpler version of the roof.   

Now the fancier version the roof extends higher up and has another white trim line in the middle.  

 

So my last attempt isn't as far off shape wise as i thought.   hmmmm

 

[J11]

I feel you should keep your double roof and add smaller bent trim around the lower roof shelves for detailing. Then sand very gently and precisely the added bent smaller trim into shape and add a little wood filler per needed. The basis of what you have is great to work with adding the smaller wood bent trim pieces for definition. Could blend them in nicely with what you have.

 

 

[GrandpaPhil]

Looks good!  I agree that the roof looks like a great base to work from!

[kmart]

Jonathan and GrandpaPhil...  Thanks for the feedback.

The more I'm looking at it, the more I like it.  Once cleaned up and detailed it will work.

 

So onto my progress.  slow but moving forward.

I needed to prep the quarter gallery windows.   so after tracing out where the windows will go... I drilled a bunch of holes in the block

 

 

Then carefully carved, cut out the openings

 

 

From the backside

 

both Quarters with  windows roughed in

Set on the Hull

 

And the port side

Once cleaned up and painted..  I think they will come out looking decent.

I cant believe how long a 4 small block took me to make.    (days)

 

That's it for today.

 

 

And Happy Veterans Day for all of you who have served.  

We owe you more than we could ever possibly repay!   Thank you.

 

 

[src]

That looks really good. How on earth did you manage to cut your window lites out without turning your mullions into little tiny fragments????

Sam

[kmart]

🙂   lol.  Very slowly.  It wasnt acualy that hard but it did take a long time.  Traced the opening.   Drillied the holes leaving lots of space away from the lines.   Hacked the big stuff out with the mini carving tools.     At that point.. using a very sharp exacto knife was able to clean up to the lines.  Its basswood so it cuts easy and clean.  But did i mention it was slow work.  

[kmart]

Time for my next post.    While I haven't posted in awhile I have been making progress on my build.

 

First up.... I finally got around to fixing the forward gun-port.   From way back last year.. when I framed in the gun-ports, I used a jig to ensure all the ports were equally sized and square.   The jig also spanned athwart ship to do the matching gun-port on opposite side.   This worked great for almost all the gun-ports.   The foremost  port is where the hull curves in to at the bow.   Well using my jig,, these forward ports came out square and matching with its pair.    But because of the curve of the hull and geometry...:-)  it was larger than the other ports.... 

Fix was to insert a new side piece of the port to make it the proper width.   Then added a piece of hull planking (vertically).  (i know wrong but no way to put in proper horizontal planks that small).

sanded the new plank in flush.

 

Later I'll use some wood filler.    Once painted it should be invisible.

 

 

Looks pretty rough hear but it cleaned up well..   better pictures of fix later.

 

 

Next up... started roughing out the channels.  

cut out blanks to the proper size...

From plans... measured  and positioned  them on the hull where the belonged.

 

Because there is not a lot of surface area to later glue these on,  and because of the stress of the shrouds... 

 1) drilled small holes in the hull facing edge.    

  2)  drilled matching holes in the hull.

3) used small brass rode..  into the matching holes.

So now the channels stay in place..  (not glued yet.   But the rods will help me align them later and give a lot more strength when I do glue them on.

Speaking of gluing.   I am planning to attach the channels permanently prior to painting.   Want a wood to wood matting.   to add strength.

ie not tried to glue to a painted surface.    The risk is these will be in the way / risk breaking during other parts of the build.   Well see how it works out.

 

 

 

Next,  I used Microsoft Visio..  build a template to match the channels.  Then figured out exactly where the notches for the chainplates will go.

also spent hours going over the plans... all the way through Standing and running rigging  to figure out where eyebolts will also go.   Want this all added in advance of attaching to the hull.

 

 

 

More details on the channels. 

Notches,  eyebolts and some of the  wire rods.

 

 

[kmart]

More updates

So in addition to making the channels.  I'm getting the hull closer to painting.

 

First step.. Sanded the whole hull with 320 grit.

Next I used Areo Gloss Filler to coat the hull.

This is what they used back in the 70 and 80s to make model rockets.

Its basically a lacquer based sanding sealer with fine filler.

They discontinued it for years.. but was in the hobby shop and they had some in stock.

So I bought.

 

 

Brushed on the hull...  Let dry

Sand again  320 grit

 

Second coat + sand.

And the result..

going to add some of the hull details before I actually start..  hut the hull itself is all ready for paint

 

As for the paint.

In my stash I actually have some still good Floquil.

New bottles   unopened until recently to check to confirm they are still good

2 bottles of engine Black  ( plan to use this.   will test to make sure its  not glossy)

1 Bottle of Dull Black

1 bottle of Grimy Black.   (might be good for the cannon barrels)

1 new bottle of flat while   (White Stripe)

1 navy aged white

 

I took a few large squares of basswood.  (same as hull material)

first prepped with the Areo Gloss.

Now am paining with the colors to see how they come out before I commit on the hull.

 

 

[kmart]

1 more update.  

 

So when I put in the gundeck planking and bulwarks... at the time I didn't put in the green waterway.

Time to correct that.    Because its the gun deck and will be barely visible.. I didn't try to do the proper shape  Just left it a rectangular  profile.

Painted up several strips and added.

 

 

And side view...If you look close in addition to the waterway...  I've been adding some of the pre-paint details

 

You can see I have the lower deck port lights also installed.

     They will get painted in position when the hull is painted.

     I ordered a bottle of Microscale  Krystal Clear.

     After painted.. will use that to make the porthole glass... as well as the glass panes in the stern windows.

 

I'll add the Scupper ports and the gun-port eyebrows next before I paint the black.

Also created and installed  molding /trim between the channels.

In AOS it actually shows 3 rows of trim.

       the one as seen above. 

       another one that runs through the center of the spar deck gun-ports

      and a third below the channels but above the gundeck gun-ports.    

  

The trim itself is 1 mm  high.  by 2.3 mm wide and there is a grove down the middle.

The groove is 1/2 mm deep

Took me forever to figure out how to make that.

Still deciding if I will add the other two rows.

To make ,  I uses a dremel  (sears actually) router table that I have  (but never used until now)

Used the smallest engraving bur  bit.  And was super careful not to route my fingers when working with strips that small

 

 

Hopefully fairly soon I'll get to post some pictures with her white strip on.  🙂

 

K

 

 

[kmart]

Sooo.   Starting the white stripe

decided to go with Vallejo paints instead of my old stock of floquil.

After testing on some sacrificial wood.   Vallejo was just so much easier to use.  Went on with a brush very easy. levels right out nice,  no smell.

and the color look good.    I was also really worried about using that really old Floquil.  It looked ok, but didn't want to risk the model with it.

 

 

This is coat #1.  you can barely see it.. but its there

I put on very thin layer at a time.

it levels out very nice straight from the bottle.  not thinned.

Dries quick so I left 1 hr between re-coats

 

This is around coat #4.

 

After last coat  (#6)

I also started preparing the Eyebrows (Rigloi??)

cleaned them up and painted black.  

Will glue them on.. so its wood to wood   before I put black on the hull.

 

Used double sided tape to stick  them to a board.  Made it much easier to hold them while painting

 

Nest up..

While looking at pictures of the real ship.. I did see that there is a series of bolts on the side of the hull

Basically just below the sill of and between each of the main gun ports   :    .   :   2 - 1 -2 pattern

So thinking about if I wanted to add this detail.

I haven't really seen it on other  builds.  but they are noticeable enough on the real ship to at least consider adding.

I'm guessing these are at back of the ring bolts used for the cannon tackle.    the pattern and location certainly seem to match.

 

Thinking ahead  for the inboard green bulwarks on the spar deck will also have all the bolts heads .

So I did a few tests to see if I can simulate bolts at the right scale to be used for both.

 

Made a few test strips with very small brass nails but the heads still looked way to big/ out of scale.

So I went and looked at several of the other Connie build logs I follow.

 

JSGerson log.   He had a ingenious  method with a brass die punch.  His turned out great with that method ..  but I neither have a punch or  the patients or skill John had to make the 1000s  bolt heads by that method and come out looking good.

 

UsedtoSail's is my other go to log

(I reference that all the time.  Its basically a build practicum the way he organized it!)

He used small drops of white glue.   turned out looking real good as well.   and easy to replicate.

 

so i copied the white glue technique.  (using my yellow wood glue).

 

I apply the glue using  a small medical syringe.  can put out very small drops.

so I mad a test plate and painted with black.

 

Looks big in the picture.. but the "bolt heads"  are  ~0.5 mm diameter.  so they look the right scale.

That test strip took me all of 1 minute to make all those heads..  So that looks like a winner as the way to go.

 

I'll definitely do this for the bolts on the bulkheads.   

Now I just need to decide if I want to add the bolts to the side of the hull below the gun-ports.

Probably will ..  but still  TBD

 

That's about it for now.

Will let the white  acrylic paint fully cure for the week.... while I go to back work for the week.

Want it fully Dry before I use masking tape on it.  I've read that acrylics dry to the touch fast, but take a while to truly harden and cure.

Else they can peel right off.

 

Should be ready to  add the black next weekend.

Then she will really start to look like Connie.

[JSGerson]

When I was contemplating how I would simulate the bolt heads, I did consider the "glue" method. But because I didn't have access to syringes (don't know if you can just walk into a drug store and just buy them or if you need a prescription) and I figured you would need a bunch of them as the glue eventually clogs them up, or a method to consistently create uniform thousands of drops, I chose not to do it that way. Also, I could adjust the position after placing them on the wood with Wipe-on Poly (before it dried). 

 

Your build looks great and you are moving a whole lot faster than me.

 

Jon

[usedtosail]

That's a really nice modification of the bolt head technique with the syringe. I am so glad you find my build log helpful. You are doing a fantastic job.

[kmart]

Lol.  Well they are medical syrnges.  But wont be injecting myself with glue using them.  That would be a quick way to harden the arteries. 😁  

Not pointy hypodermic needle .  More like eyedropper tip.

Dont need perscription.  

They actually work great for applying glue. Very small amounts in controlled fashion in exact spot.    Glue doesnt dry out or clog in there.   Just use a micro drill or t pin as a cap.   Glue stays good.  No clogs.  Have used same syringe for a year now as my primary glue application tool.

 

John.and usedtosail. Thanks for the positive comments.  Means a lot to me.

 

Im not so much fast as ocd.   Wont touch the model for months and months.   Then i get a long week like over Christmass and i disapear into worshop for entire duration.  Only emerging to eat and sleep.    I get obsessed  to complete a phase and reach that next milestone.   

[Bob Cleek]

It pays to make friends with your veterinarian. Vets use a lot of large syringes for large animals and for hydrating smaller animals. Those are the big ones in the picture above. they are 3/4's or an inch in diameter. (You'd go nuts trying to use the skinny insulin syringes.) These hold plenty of glue. You can remove the needle, or not, as you wish.  (The needles come with handy plastic caps. If you don't have the needle on the syringe, the needle cap will fit over the end of the syringe in any event and keeps the glue from hardening.) Vets don't seem to be quite so conservative about "bio-hazards" as people doctors do, or so it seems. If they are concerned about "sharps" disposal protocols, ask if they will just save the syringes for you without the needles.

 

I get a bag of them from our vet every so often. (It pays to have a champion basset hound kennel, I guess. We usually have eight or ten dogs at any given time. I put his kids through college!  ) I use them for other things besides glue applicators. They are very handy for applying isopropol alchohol in between faying surfaces to unglue parts glued with aliphatic resin glue. Just poke the needle into the crack. I also find them very handy for transferring paint from a container to my airbrush cups. Also for mixing small amounts of paint. I sometimes make my own oil-based paint using artists' oils conditioned with linseed oil, turpentine, and Japan dryer. I can measure exact proportions using the graduations on the syringe. I also mix modeling paint in small pharmacy bottles (the ones pills come in.) A few BB's or small ball bearings dropped in the medicine bottle make mixing a breeze. Just shake the bottle like a "rattle can" and you're good to go.

 

The BBs trick works well in large syringes, too. I can mix thinned aliphatic resin glue and paint right in the syringe by shaking it. It makes clean up easy and small amounts of mixed paint can be stored between modeling sessions right in the medicine bottles. For cleanup, I use isopropol alcohol for glue and mineral spirits for paints. Just suck it up, shake and squirt out a few times. I use the same routine for models as I do for painting full sized boats. Three cans: 1) used solvent drawn off the top of the used solvent can after the solids have settled for the first rinses, 2) clean new solvent for the last rinses, 3) dirty solvent can into which dirty solvent is dumped and left to sit for the solids to settle on the bottom. This is then decanted and becomes "used solvent" for can #1. Maybe it's a lot of hassle to go through for small amounts in modeling, but surely for full-scale painting, it saves a huge amount in brush and spray equipment cleaning solvent costs. 

 

 

Edited January 8, 2020 by Bob Cleek

[JSGerson]

Thanks Kmart and Bob. That was just what I needed to know

 

Jon

[kmart]

Marking the Copper line

 

So first.... need to get the ship at the right angle to the reference baseline.   

The Keel is not parallel with the baseline.  The bow end of the keel is about 8 mm higher than the baseline  than the stern.  

 

When I roughed out my stand.. i didn't account for that and made them the same height.  That's incorrect. 

The bow stand needs to be slightly higher.  But NOT mm.  something less than that.

took me longer to do the geometry than to actually fix the stand.  fix was just a shim of basswood glued on the bottom

 

   

 

Then cleaned up.   trimmed both to have similar silhouette 

Notice how the stand in foreground... the slot where keel rests is a bit higher.When the hull now is in the stand,  is correct relative to the reference  baseline in the plan.

 

Next I need a waterline marker.  I inherited the drafting / architecture tool from my Father. (Never used it until now)  Taped a pencil to it and presto  ...perfect waterline marker.

 

calculated based on reference line + height of stand +height of top of copper-line.  Adjusted pencil height to same... and marked away.

 

Sorry... Didn't take a picture with just line.   Here is taped right below the line and right above the bottom sill of the gun-ports. (ie bottom of white stripe).  

Checked bow and stern to make sure it looked parallel / aligned on both sides.

Yes its level.. the picture is taken at a off angle.

 

 

 

Annnd..   starting to paint

 

 

Tape comes off

 

Then I taped and painted between the top of the white stripe and the just below where the channel/chain-plates  will go.

 

 

[kmart]

Next up, start the gun-port lids.

Soo  they gun-port lids all come laser cut...     Nice!

But it would be too easy if they just fit in the ports.  No chance of that!

Actual, after I cut  them out  and sanded off the char, the height was perfect, but the width was about 1 mm too wide.

Now as the lids will be open,  no one in the world would notice them being 1 mm too wide.   But it would bother every time i looked at her me sooo.

they must be fixed.

 

Because the hole for the cannon and the portholes are in the center,  I cant just take 1 mm off one side.  Need to take 0.5 mm of each side.  

Evenly and square.   And then do it 64 times..  (16 ports a side x2 sides x top and bottom piece)

 

There is no way I can cut that precise and that consistently on my mini table saw.  Plus the piece are so small... Id loose a finger tip in the attempt.  : -(  Had to find another way.

 

So I cut 2 strips of basswood the proper width  of the ports.   In this case exactly 15mm wide. 

Drew a center line on all the lid pieces

Drew a center line on the strip of wood I cut

Put some double sided tape on one one piece

and

 

 

More double sided tape and  Sandwiched the second piece on top of the lids.

 

Sanded down the 1/2 mm sticking up.  Repeated on the other side.

And you get...

Yes they are all the same size.  

What I was more amazed at was the gun-port frames were remarkably consistent.   With only a couple of minor exceptions, lids all nicely fit the ports without adjustments.

 

I still have to add the tiny photo etched hinges, and then paint both sides.   That shouldn't be to hard.

 

What I'm really stumped on is how to attach the things to the hull.

The bottom hang straight down so I can almost just glue them right to the hull.   But the upper lid is angled up.  And any for kind of attachment,  the eyebrows will be in the way of the attachment point.   

Any ideas/ suggestions on how to attach the lids?

 

 

 

  

 

[kmart]

Continuing on,  The stern windows, 

As the ME kit is of a modern version of the ship,  the kit does not include the window like they do with the  quarter galleries.

But to look right, the windows need to be sized and be comparable to the quarter galleries.

and did I mention they are TINY!

 

Modern Stern

 

The stern I'm aiming for...

First Attempt. 

Did lots of math.  Calculated all the spacers I needed.   

Cut up lots of tiny pieces of wood.

 

Started framing out the windows using the spacers to make square frames

Then added the two sets of vertical sashes?  inside each frame.    Again using the spaces to get them perfectly positioned

 

So far so good.

BUT,  when I took them out of the jig.   started to try and add the super tiny cross pieces.

They were just too tiny to align right, and the surface area holding the frames together was soo small.  

The frames kept falling apart.  I got a pile of wood pieces that looks like the first pic, but covered in glue.

 

Attempt #2

Looking at the plans,  I thought   hmmm that kinda looks like a  deck grating,  but just larger holes...

 

 

So,  While I never successfully made my own gratings before.  I kind knew the general idea.

Lots more measurements, math and cutting more spacers.. I made a pile of these....

 

Glued them together.   (this time they stayed stuck together)  and got these.

 

Cleaned them up...

 

 

Still needs some more sanding and cleaning.  Just set in place but....

 

They are actually the same height as the quarter gallery windows, even though they don't look like it in the pic.

They came out way better than I expected.

 

 

 

 

[usedtosail]

Nice job on those windows K. One idea for attaching the upper gun port lids is to cut small strips of brass or pieces of wire, bend them into a U shape, drill small holes into the edge of the port lid and the top of the gun port, then insert the brass strips into the gun port lids and the holes in the gun ports. I don't remember if the lids are thick enough for the holes though.

[k-mart]

I can't believe its been two years since my last post.  Took a pause in model building due to life events.   Switched jobs. sold house moved 1000 miles away. Spend year looking for new house.  Bought new house...settled in.    Now I'm finally back to where I can work on my models again.    Unboxed my Connie and she's just as I left her 2 years ago.   No damage... Ready to start again.  Next post I'll show pics before I start to work on her and of my new hobby space. 

And I need to catch up on the other Connie build logs on this forum.   

 

[bthoe]

Hi K-mart!  Glad to see you back.  I love how you did the stern windows.  When I get there, I'll try using the same technique.

-Bob

[k-mart]

OK,  first up is my new model space... Wife allowed me to use one bedroom in my new house as my hobby room

But.  the sawdust making machines stay in the garage.