USS Constellation by JDDouglass - Artesania Latina - 1:85

[Bill Morrison]

Greetings!

 

First, you are doing a great job! I love your planking!

 

Second, you cannot build the original frigate with this kit. It represents the 1854 sloop-of-war, which was a very different ship that was being built as a new ship as the original frigate was being broken up.  They have different hull lines, the frigate had a square transom, not the rounded transom found in the model, a feature of the sloop of war.  The model depicts a separate  quarter deck and forecastle as in the frigate, but the sloop of war had a continuous spar deck.

 

The issue became confused when the current USS Constellation in Baltimore was advertised as being the original when it first opened as a museum ship.  That advertising continued into the 1990s in spite of much criticism and research disproving the premise.  It has since been advertised as the sloop of war.

 

Anyway, I mean no criticism of your model. You are doing a terrific job with it.

 

Bill

[JDDouglass]

27 minutes ago, Bill Morrison said:

Greetings!

 

First, you are doing a great job! I love your planking!

 

Second, you cannot build the original frigate with this kit. It represents the 1854 sloop-of-war, which was a very different ship that was being built as a new ship as the original frigate was being broken up.  They have different hull lines, the frigate had a square transom, not the rounded transom found in the model, a feature of the sloop of war.  The model depicts a separate  quarter deck and forecastle as in the frigate, but the sloop of war had a continuous spar deck.

 

The issue became confused when the current USS Constellation in Baltimore was advertised as being the original when it first opened as a museum ship.  That advertising continued into the 1990s in spite of much criticism and research disproving the premise.  It has since been advertised as the sloop of war.

 

Anyway, I mean no criticism of your model. You are doing a terrific job with it.

 

Bill

Greetings Bill,

Thanks for your comments. I think i read somewhere that the original plans for the early ship had gone missing or were lost which is a shame. I like to research what i’m building but it’s been difficult to find reference to this ship. I’m mainly using the photos of the sloop of war as some reference but i do understand that it’s not the right ship. I do find many ships are changed over their years of service, finding photo reference is aways fun. I have an old billings kit of the SMS Seeadler with it’s fittings I picked it up cheap at a boot fair. All the wood needs replacing and i need to scratch build the hull but thats another ship that has a long history with many changes. Anyway i’m glad you like the build even though it’s not exactly correct.

[J11]

@JDDouglass, here's some you might not have:

 

 

 

 

If you do have these please disregard.

 

 

[Bill Morrison]

Jonathan,

 

Those are beautiful photos of the original ship!  By the way, the profile drawings you provided were also once published in the defunct Seaways Periodical back in the 1990s, along with the equivalent drawings of the sloop of war.  The ships are in no way alike except that they both carried three masts and cannons.

 

Bill

[JDDouglass]

Thanks for the photos Jonathan, i’ve seen these photos but at the time i passed them over as being the wrong ship. I’ve been looking at the Haze Gray & underway photos. I see what you mean there is a lot of different between the ships. Guess i’m building the sloop of war then as unfortunately to late to change things now. Thanks guys for the information i enjoy the history of these old ships as well as building them. 

[J11]

Only to the master builders would anyone know the difference. Your representation is a beauty along with high quality craftsmanship. I look forward to more updates and in hopes one day I'll pick up the kit and build one myself. 

 

[mtaylor]

 

13 hours ago, Bill Morrison said:

Second, you cannot build the original frigate with this kit. It represents the 1854 sloop-of-war, which was a very different ship that was being built as a new ship as the original frigate was being broken up.  They have different hull lines, the frigate had a square transom, not the rounded transom found in the model, a feature of the sloop of war.  The model depicts a separate  quarter deck and forecastle as in the frigate, but the sloop of war had a continuous spar deck.

 

The issue became confused when the current USS Constellation in Baltimore was advertised as being the original when it first opened as a museum ship.  That advertising continued into the 1990s in spite of much criticism and research disproving the premise.  It has since been advertised as the sloop of war.

 

Ah yes.  Several people were about to jail time.   There's a document "Fouled Anchors - The Constellation Question" which reveals in detail what went on.  Things like stealing and destroying plans.  Altering plans.  They did nice job attempting to fool people.  I saw her in the early 70's when they had her full frigate mode and didn't realize it was pure BS.   

 

I bashed the daylights out the kit to make the 1854 version which I'm very happy with.  I've been told that there's only or two other models of the 1854 sloop of war.

[Bill Morrison]

10 hours ago, mtaylor said:

 

 

Ah yes.  Several people were about to jail time.   There's a document "Fouled Anchors - The Constellation Question" which reveals in detail what went on.  Things like stealing and destroying plans.  Altering plans.  They did nice job attempting to fool people.  I saw her in the early 70's when they had her full frigate mode and didn't realize it was pure BS.   

 

I bashed the daylights out the kit to make the 1854 version which I'm very happy with.  I've been told that there's only or two other models of the 1854 sloop of war.

The only other kit of which I am aware is the old Pyro/Lindberg/Life Like plastic kit.  

 

By the way, what changes did you make to the AL kit to convert it to the sloop of war besides planking over the spar deck?  I am curious because I might purchase the kit.

 

Finally, there is one small historical point to make.  Whereas the Frigate USS Constellation was the first ship of the USN, the Sloop of War USS Constellation was the last sailing ship built for the Navy.

[mtaylor]

12 hours ago, Bill Morrison said:

The only other kit of which I am aware is the old Pyro/Lindberg/Life Like plastic kit.  

 

By the way, what changes did you make to the AL kit to convert it to the sloop of war besides planking over the spar deck?  I am curious because I might purchase the kit.

 

Finally, there is one small historical point to make.  Whereas the Frigate USS Constellation was the first ship of the USN, the Sloop of War USS Constellation was the last sailing ship built for the Navy.

I'm trying to remember... mostly details other than changing the way the bulwarks were set up in the kit.  Cannons got tossed as they looked too much like laser cannons from an old movie.  I made Parrot guns to the replace the kit ones.   There's two guns on the main deck at bow and stern, the drop-downs on the bow and stern and then there were some rigging changes.  I added some staysail yards. 

 

Down in my signature is a link to the build and to the photo gallery.  Note that the log is a bit confusing as MSW had a major crash that was unrecoverable and so I managed to restore the photos for the early part of the log.   If you'd like to discuss this, I suggest we do it in my log instead of cluttering up JD's log.

 

Indeed it was.  After that, they went to steam.  She spent the Civil War overseas intercepting Confederate cargo and also the slave traffic.

[JDDouglass]

Hi Guys, not been able to work on the ship as much as I would of liked this week but managed to do a bit. Originally i was going to paint this model the black and white to be different but has time as gone on i’ve got to like the colours of the wood. It made me think about the stem decoration and how to fit so it was back to haze gray photos for a little help. Also armed with the information about the ships history i thought i would have a read of what i could find on the internet. Found it interesting but It’s made me think i’m making a fake though. Anyway I decided to add wood to either side of the decoration which actually i’m pleased with. Drilling the holes for the anchor chains were a nightmare the ended up being slots but you will never know looking at them as it’s covered by wood. Also drilled the holes for the masts and bowsprit, so glad thats done. Lastly i fitted the rudder and a strip of wood along each side. Next i’ll be working on getting the rest of the planking on the side done i’m also thinking about increasing the hight by a millimetre or 2 to help centralise the upper deck guns. Until next time... 

[JDDouglass]

Not posted for a while been really busy lately. The model is looking great she has had a coat of varnish and I've fitted it's first guns. I'll let the photos do the talking as it's nearly 3 am when writing this message and I need some sleep. Up early for work in the morning so enjoy the photos.

[JDDouglass]

Hi everyone,

it's been a while since I updated the build here are some of the latest photos. I'm almost up to the rigging stage just a few things to finish off. You will notice I scratch built the bow frame I didn't like the one provided In the kit. Also changed the chain plate, repIaced it with brass wire. Still need to finish For and mizzen mast channels. I still don't get the time I would like on the model that's probably why I've not updated for a while. Well enjoying these photos until next time.

[JDDouglass]

Here are some more detailed photos of the ship but In no particular order.

[JDDouglass]

Afternoon MSW, 

Update on the Constellation. Finally got the chainwhales finished, I've added photos on how I made them. Again I didn't like what kit provided, Looks much better with proper chains rather then the brass flat and rings. Just a few finishing touches left and its all rigging. I'm not putting sails on I'm just going with standard rigging with a few improvements over the kit. Enjoy these latest photos, they are all the right way up lol. Until next time....

[JDDouglass]

Hi MSW or should say mtaylor as you seem to be the only one watching. Update on the constellation, I'm finally into the rigging and she is coming along nicely. I changed a few more things along the way like the ships wheel. Looks a lot better with some constructo 23mm wheels i got off ebay. I have a problem to solve next before doing the upper mast shrouds as I want to add hooks to the futtock shrouds and also brace them down to the deck level as it is on the real ship. Trouble is I can't find photos of how or where they attached the ropes to the deck. Also limited photos of the shrouds them selves. I little bit of guess work ingenuity needed i think, I already have a few ideas running around my head. Anyway enjoy the latest photos taken today and until next time..

[mtaylor]

Looking good, JD.   I can't help with the rigging question but suggest you open a topic in the rigging area.   I think you'll get an answer and maybe some more eyes on your build.

[JDDouglass]

Hi MSW, a few up to date photos of the Constellation I took last night. Solved my rigging problem by using a couple of photos of the Constitution’s shrouds. Was going to upload some photos on how I made them but changed my phone. Not worked out how to transfer photos from my google album. Ratlines are next so will be doing those for at least the next week. Still not made any yard or booms for the masts either, still plenty to do but getting an idea of what the ship will look like finished now. 
Until next time. 😁

[JIMNDU]

JD,

Nice work.

working on the same ship also ..hope mine comes out as nice as yours

 

JF

[J B]

I am currently building the Constellation , read you’re build log and you did a great job.

Looking at the stanchions for the rope railings they don’t look kit supplied . If I may ask, where did you get them?

 

[JDDouglass]

On 12/31/2021 at 1:45 PM, J B said:

I am currently building the Constellation , read you’re build log and you did a great job.

Looking at the stanchions for the rope railings they don’t look kit supplied . If I may ask, where did you get them?

 

Hi yes they are Caldercraft 10mm 2 ball stanchions. I perched these on EBay at £7.99 for 10 if I remember. 

[JDDouglass]

Hi MSW, I’ve not been on here for a while. I was involved in a car accident in September where I sustained neck and shoulder injuries. I’m hoping to pick this model up again very soon to finish it. I’m not fully recovered as yet, it’s been a long road. I’m at the stage where able enough to do work on the model although it still extremely painful to work high in the rigging. I’ve missed doing this model so much that I purchased Victory Models HMS Fly. This is so I can start low down so to speak where I don’t need to reach high. So look for a new build log In the near future. Anyway I’ll sign out now and I’ll wish those who are starting the Constellation the best of luck with your builds. I’m hope my log will be useful to you to help you make great models. Until next time JD

[Jack12477]

JD, sorry to hear about your car accident,  wishing you a speedy recovery.  

 

I do have a question about your build.  I'm building the same model. On the parts list it indicates the stair treads are cut from a 1x5x100 mm sappeli strip with each tread " 0,6 mm"  long. However the completed stair seems to be too narrow and does not match the photo in the instruction manual or your photographs. Looking at the kit blueprints it appears the stair tread are 9 mm long, but there is no scale on the blueprint for reference.  How long did you make the treads in your model?  And how wide is the finished stair ? 

 

Thanks

[JDDouglass]

On 1/16/2022 at 8:04 PM, Jack12477 said:

JD, sorry to hear about your car accident,  wishing you a speedy recovery.  

 

I do have a question about your build.  I'm building the same model. On the parts list it indicates the stair treads are cut from a 1x5x100 mm sappeli strip with each tread " 0,6 mm"  long. However the completed stair seems to be too narrow and does not match the photo in the instruction manual or your photographs. Looking at the kit blueprints it appears the stair tread are 9 mm long, but there is no scale on the blueprint for reference.  How long did you make the treads in your model?  And how wide is the finished stair ? 

 

Thanks

Hi Jack I think I made them 9mm long as the instructions said. Once I’d made the ladders though I used a sanding block to reduce the width of the sides and treads to make the whole ladder narrower. Being careful not to damage them in the process. I hope these photos will help.  

[JDDouglass]

22 minutes ago, JDDouglass said:

Hi Jack I think I made them 9mm long as the instructions said. Once I’d made the ladders though I used a sanding block to reduce the width of the sides and treads to make the whole ladder narrower. Being careful not to damage them in the process. I hope these photos will help.  

Oh, By the way just remember that the ladders that come from the main decks I made the treads smaller 7mm or 8mm. This was because or the openings on the gun deck which made it easier to fit them between the openings and cannons. Again using my fingers a sanding I reduce the width of those as well. 

[JDDouglass]

1 minute ago, JDDouglass said:

Oh, By the way just remember that the ladders that come from the main decks I made the treads smaller 7mm or 8mm on these. This was because of the openings on the gun deck, this made it easier to fit them between the openings and cannons. Again using my fingers a sanding block I reduce the width of those as well. 

[Jack12477]

Thanks JD