mtaylor Posted April 26, 2013 #1 Posted April 26, 2013 This kit makes a pretty nice model out of the box. But there are issues. This model is a work of fiction and not by AL (for a change). Once upon a time, the fine folks in Baltimore were hoodwinked into thinking they had the original frigate USS (or USF) Constellation from 1797 when what they had was the USS Constellation of 1854. Completely different ship with different lines and dimensions. Much of the this history can be found on-line and is well known. However, AL took pictures or drawings of what was being displayed in Baltimore at the time and made the kit. If you look closely at the kit after it's built, it even has the hog in the hull that was there at the time. To their credit, they tried but had bad input information. There are the common issues of deck furniture being incorrect for the published scale. The cannons are for lack of a better word "funky". The biggest issue as I saw in building the kit from the box would have been installing and rigging cannon on the gundeck. They have you doing that after the foredeck, quarterdeck and walkways are installed. The kit cannot be bashed into the 1797 Constellation. Period. Wrong hull lines and wrong dimensions. Round stern vs. flat stern. And the list goes on. If a frigate is what you want, put your time and money into a different kit. There's plenty of "real" frigate kits out there for just about the same money. On the other hand, with some effort, it can be bashed into the 1854 Sloop of War Constellation. The rigging plan is close but needs some modifications. The decks/cannons need attention and rework. But the hull lines are right and without too much effort the hog can be taken out. sport29652, Longshot and trippwj 3 Quote Mark "The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me Current Build: Past Builds: La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD Triton Cross-Section NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64 Non-Ship Model: On hold, maybe forever: CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)
sport29652 Posted April 27, 2013 #2 Posted April 27, 2013 Great review! I wish more kits were reviewed for a newb like me. When I look for a kit a huge factor is the accuracy. I almost got this kit but opted for the MS constitution mtaylor 1 Quote Eric Current build(s) ; AL San Francisco II http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/862-san-francisco-2-by-eric-al-190-sport29652/ MS Rattlesnake http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/868-rattlesnake-by-eric-model-shipways-164-sport29652/page-2 Sitting on the shelf : MS Constitution, MS Sultana, Wish List : MS Essex, Confederacy, and Syren, and a Victory kit by someone ? "80% of the time it works every time."
JerryTodd Posted September 15, 2013 #3 Posted September 15, 2013 I'm a bit late chiming in here, but I have a great deal of data on the sloop of war Constellation, and if someone is of a mind to turn this kit into something of value, I would be happy to share my data with them. I can't speak to the idiosyncrasies of this kit, as mine is a scratch build, but if you're going this route, it's only a kit up to the gunports and it's scratch from there up. Constellation 1871 mtaylor 1 Quote Jerry Todd Click to go to that build log Constellation ~ RC sloop of war c.1856 in 1:36 scale Macedonian ~ RC British frigate c.1812 in 1:36 scale Pride of Baltimore ~ RC Baltimore Clipper c.1981 in 1:20 scale Gazela Primeiro ~ RC Barkentine c.1979 in 1:36 scale Naval Guns 1850s~1870s ~ 3D Modeling & Printing My Web Site My Thingiverse stuff
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