USS Constitution by Darianfrost - Revell - 1/96 - PLASTIC - first build

[Darianfrost]

I'm starting my very first kit, Revell's U.S.S. Constitution 1/96 scale.  I know it's a complicated kit but wanting to get into the wooden models next I think this will be a good jumping point before making that plunge.  Currently out of the box and two out of 3 layers of copper paint on the hull.  I'm also trying my first bit of fine detail painting on some pieces but I'm struggling a bit.  Once I clean it up a bit I'll post pictures of that too.  

 

I'm excited to start this new journey and learning experience and this forum has been a great help already!  

[Darianfrost]

Hey guys back with my first update!  First let me take a really quick moment to say thanks to the site and its members for the welcoming and helpful environment here and thank you to the admins for setting up such an easy to use search system!

 

I've already learned so much from when I started.  Like I said, I'm going into this completely blind.  First, primer!  Who woulda thunk'd it?  I was having a real hassle of a time trying to paint the copper onto the hull without it.  I also learned about watering down your paints (I'm using acrylics).

 

Now for some actual update picture.  I spent an embarrassing amount of time working on this ornamental piece on the stern.  I need to say, I'm after browsing some of the other build logs here I'm pretty ashamed of my painting skills, or lack thereof, but I'm getting a little better with every piece!  After the getting halfway through the paint job I decided I REALLY don't like the recommended colors in the instructions and instead changed it up to almost all white and black (except for the little guy up top because I'm really proud of him) 

 

here's the first style 
Now here's the second style.  I could paint this, clean and repaint a hundred times and that's exactly what I was doing, never really satisfied with my shoddy paint job on the fine details.  But eventually you need to know when to say enough is enough and move on to the next piece so for the time being this will be how this one looks.

I then applied some black primer to every piece in the kit including the hull while taking care not to mess up the copper paint.

 

I've also painted the canon doors white while that dried.  And if I ever get terminology wrong or blatantly don't know what something is called please correct me or tell me the name!  The whole point of this kit and me being here is to learn   And apologies for it being white paint on white background.. pretty mindless of me in hindsight.

Lastly I painted the white stripe above the waterline across the windows, did the decorations on the hull and currently have the hull and hull stand glued and drying overnight.  In my next update I should have them set up and looking pretty for some half decent pictures.

Thank you again for following along and any tips or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

Matt

Edited October 20, 2017 by Darianfrost

[EJ_L]

Hi Matt! Looks like you are off to a great start! My first model ship was that same model kit. I've built it twice now as I gave one to my dad and kept the other for myself. It is a good kit and you will indeed learn a lot. While it does not do a lot to teach you the wood skills of a wooden build, it is great for painting and learning your way around a ship. Also the lessons from the rigging are invaluable.

 

I'll pull up a seat and follow along on your build. I always enjoy watching this kit come together and see all the different ways people build it. Looking forward to sharing in your journey!

[JerseyCity Frankie]

Good time to start a Constitution model, the 21st of October is the ships 220th birthday. Welcome to what is either the first or second most popular ship model subject in the entire hobby? Anyway she’s neck and neck with the HMS Victory. A very worthy subject!