USS Constitution by Force9 - Revell - PLASTIC - Revisiting the classic 1/96 kit

[Guest Tim I.]

I agree with your assessment. With that being said, I also respect Tyrone Martin's position an agree that he has been an incredible asset to the research of the history of the Constitution. 

 

One of the challenges with being a historian is you have to follow the research. The research becomes a dim light on a dark and obscure path into a point in time where sometimes all you have to go on is something that gives you a vague description of what might, could, or in some cases should of happen. Naturally you become a skeptic.

 

In that light, I understand Martin's position. Although if you consider the fact that most American naval vessels of the period often would double shot cannon. This was done to bring the most weight of broadside against the enemy in an attempt to maximize a glimmer of an opportunity for the upper hand in an engagement. In my own research, I have seen this mentioned many times in the engagements on the Great Lakes during the War of 1812.

 

However, in Martin's defense as a historian you always have this nagging feeling your missing something. That is the challenge and specter that is already there. When working on in-depth research it is easy to get tunnel vision and your begin to triage sources based on veracity (implied or otherwise). With the advent and propagation sources in the information age, a lot of long (thought) lost sources have come to light, that previous bodies of research have been occluded to. Think of the period when Martin formed his thesis.

 

In my training as a historian, we were always admonished to question ourselves and accept that despite what the research says, you can still be wrong. It is your cardinal responsibility to understand this and always seek to refine your thesis based on new information that comes to light. If you are wrong, amend your interpretive stance. The other challenge is that research is exhausting. Many hours and months (in Martin's case, decades) spend exploring what you think is going to be ground breaking, when in fact you fell down a hole and have only been digging in the opposite direction -- then only to discover you need to begin again. 

 

Given Martin's prolific work on the Constitution, it must also be examined as an interpretive snapshot based on the information available at the time when he finished his monographs. As for your interpretation, I believe you are spot on, and that you should give yourself a lot more credit. The work and the care in research and workmanship you have taken in approaching this project is extraordinary. I will admit I eagerly await the e-mail that comes when you update your log. Keep up the excellent work!

 

- Tim

Edited June 5, 2014 by Tim I.

[Marcus.K.]

What could be added to this? ...Nothing!

 

Fully agree! Well explained.

 

I too very much admire your Research, the way you think and look at information, sources, second sources, etc. .. And I believe that its the responsibilty of a thinking human being to be careful with informations presented by others. Its always of great value, if you try to rethink it. There could be something  missed by your predecessor  ... Not because you do not trust others. Not because you think you can do better. But just because experience shows - no one is perfect, no one has the single truth. Its a journey to come closer to what we believe to be the truth.  But is´nt it fun to go on this journey? I like this a lot! In my future life I would like to become historian. .. But thinking it, I also think: if you have to do it to make your living, fun can dissapear very quick :-)

 

Evan - very interesting thoughts. Tim, very interesting feedback!

[Force9]

Tim -  Thank you indeed for the very generous remarks - I'm thrilled that there are folks that have enough interest in this build to be on the lookout for updates!

 

Regarding Cmdr Martin and his version of the battle... I appreciate that much of what we have available today was not in the mix when Martin first floated his new version.  But I do think his revisionist theory was fishy from the get go... It really does not pass the smell test to think that Isaac Hull would manipulate the facts in such a way to distort the reality of a battle he won so convincingly.  It would also require an unlikely conspiracy across all of the other officers (and crew) to pass muster.  And while the key documents concerning the double round shot used in the battle had yet to be discovered, it would still have been well within the realm of 1980s scholarship to have considered the double shotted guns to be a much more plausible explanation for the ammunition expenditure.  As you point out, there are other examples of this practice documented in logs and accounts of other 1812 battles.  (Incidentally, it was our own fellow forum friend USS Frolick who discovered these crucial documents within dusty shelves of microfilm while researching his excellent biography of Johnston Blakeley).

 

I will fall back, however, on my fundamental appreciation of Tyrone Martin and the tremendous contribution he has made over the years to our understanding of the USS Constitution. I have said before and I will say again that he has been an incredible champion of the great ship.  It can also be said that he has proven to be a great friend of serious ship modelers across the years - helping to promote research and publications by William Bass and Olof Eriksen among others. And of course he worked very closely with Larry Arnot on the Bluejacket kit depicting her War of 1812 appearance.

 

I do hope his overall reputation is never seriously tainted and his contributions are fully appreciated by future generations.

 

Markus - thank you also for your appreciation of my very wordy brain dump.  Sometimes a person just has to dump all these thoughts out in order move on...!

 

I'm deep in the midst of air brush, sable brush, Vallejo paints and washes.  Hope to have the preliminary work completed on the spar deck by next week.

 

Thanks all for your LIKES and comments.

 

Evan

[Force9]

Hello all...

 

 

I have the basic painting and most of the details done on the spar deck - just a bit of touch ups and fine tuning remain.

 

Here are some sample views:

 

 

 

The spar deck was given a base coat of aged white (no tinting like the gun deck) and individual planks were picked out with Vallejo Wood mixed with Vallejo aged white, Vallejo Aged White mixed with Microlux Reefer White, and straight up Vallejo gray wash.  After 24 hours everything then got a quick smear with Vallejo Sepia wash that was immediately wiped down with a soft clean cloth leaving a nice wood tone and coloring the seams between the planks.

 

Nothing is glued down and the brass is yet to be blackened, but I can now move on to painting the half hulls.

 

Hope folks are still following along - I'm sure the World Cup is more interesting!

 

Evan

[lambsbk]

Really very, very nice Evan. All your hard prep work is paying off. I like the paint scheme you have followed. I assume it matches the Hull model. It is so good to see your progress.

[popeye the sailor]

very nice work on the spar deck Evan.......well done on the paint work!  

[Marcus.K.]

Wow - the capstan looks marvelous !!! Do you have pictures about how you did this??

 

Very impressive ! Absolutly cool !

[rock1947a]

Superb, inspiring work Evan.

I have a question about your plans for the ship's boats.  Please forgive my ignorance, but should any or all of the ship's boats have a rudder and tiller either installed or stowed?  I haven't been able to find any specific information via internet searches, and thought you might already have worked out how you'll depict the boats in your build. Regretably, I haven't spent much time on nautical subjects until now, but I'm learning a great deal from the postings on this thread. Thanks for any information, references, or suggestions.

Pete  

Edited June 28, 2014 by rock1947a

[Guest Tim I.]

Looking at your craftsmanship it is hard to believe that it is plastic. It looks stellar!

 

- Tim

[Force9]

Thanks all for the LIKES...

 

Dave - I did generally follow the guidance of the Hull model for the paint scheme:

 

 

 

We see all of the rails and coamings painted green.  I used Vallejo Air Gunship Green for my treatment.  It is slightly darker than ideal, but it is pretty darn close in my estimation to what we see on the Hull model.

 

Markus - I followed a similar approach to the gun deck capstan.  That process is highlighted earlier in my build log.  After a coat of primer, I sprayed on a foundation layer of Vallejo Air Aged White.  Then several thin coats of Vallejo Air Wood smeared in one direction using a fine brush to simulate wood grain.  A few of the whelps were given a brushing of gray or black wash to darken them and break up the uniformity. The whole was given a final coat of Vallejo Sepia wash that was wiped down leaving a woody tone with some darker detail in the seams.

 

Pete - The very nature of your question about the boat rudders suggests you are putting in a nice effort to attend to the details... I'm sure your build will be terrific!  I assume that the rudders would be unshipped and stowed in the boats when not in use.  We don't see the rudders attached to the boats in many of the contemporary ship models, and the Corne paintings show them removed:

 

 

 

 

Tim - Thank you for following along.  I hope I've come close to turning plastic into wood via Vallejo paint!

 

Thanks again to all who've hit the LIKE button!

 

Currently working on the gun stripe.

 

Evan

Edited June 28, 2014 by Force9

[rock1947a]

Hi again, Evan.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the rudders on the Constitution's small boats

 

I agree that it's logical to assume their rudders would have been unshipped and stowed until needed.  The least amount of obstructions on deck the better

 

Since I haven't found much information about the design of the different types of boats, I had thought the rudders on trhe largest types like the pinnace and cutters were permanantly attached to their transoms or stern pasts.

 

Thanks again for sharing, and keep up the excellent work.

Pete

Edited June 29, 2014 by rock1947a

[scott larkins]

That deck planking is loking really nice.  So clean.  I'm impressed.

[lambsbk]

I think your color scheme is dead on. I am sure the Hull model has changed color (darker) with age.

[Force9]

Ladies and Gents...  

 

(Actually - I have not detected any Ladies following this build so we're all free to belch and scratch without fear of retribution...)

 

Thank you all for the kindness of your remarks.

 

Here is where the job stands after some time spent on the half hulls:

 

 

You'll see that I've done a fair amount of work on the underside and have the foundation in place for the gun stripe and red port sills.

 

 

I started by giving the underside a light coat of Vallejo Air Copper as a base.  I then began to randomly mix different blends of Vallejo Air Copper, Vallejo Hammered Copper, Microlux Air Roof Brown, and MicroLux Grimy Black in small batches and applied using some disposable micro brushes (Model Expo).  I would slink out to the workshop whenever I had an odd 15 or 20 minutes to spend filling in individual plates... After a week or so I had most of the two half hulls done.  A final (obligatory) coat of Vallejo Sepia Wash was then applied and - as with the decking - quickly wiped down with a clean soft cloth.  This had multiple good effects: It knocked down the shine, helped to blend all of the contrasting colors, highlighted some of the plate seams, and - most importantly - removed just enough paint to "expose" the riveting and define the edges of the plates.  I had to press down firmly when wiping it down to get an even exposure of the riveting.

 

The gun stripe was masked off a bit wider than the final dimension to allow some overlap and a cleaner line once the black is laid down.  After a base coat of Vallejo Air Interior Yellow (A near equivalent to Floquil Depot Buff), a thin layer of Vallejo Sepia wash (the old standby) was applied and lightly wiped down to leave a good patina behind.  This deepened the color enough to generally match what is seen in the Corne paintings.  Next I masked off everything except the gun port sills and airbrushed a few coats of Vallejo Air Ferrari Red.  I wanted the red to be deep and eye-catching.  None of this wimpy wannabe red... It looks blood red in the paintings and that's what will be on the model!  Still a few more detail touch ups remain, but it is almost there.

 

Here is the discarded tape used for masking just one of the half hulls!

 

I have not done much in the last week or so.  I thoroughly gunked up my very cheap airbrush and decided to invest in something more substantial.  I'm tired of constantly stripping it all down to clean after every small paint session.  Once done I can attack the black part of the hull.

 

Thanks to all for your continued interest!

Evan

[Guest Tim I.]

Wonderful work!

 

- Tim

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Wow,

that's one of the most impressive coppered hulls, I've seen.

Didn't you be afarid of damaging the wonderful painting by glueing the hull together?

[Force9]

Thank you Tim and Christian and thanks to all for the LIKEs.

 

Christian - you'll notice on closer examination that the bottom row of plates and the outer edges were not given as much attention on this first pass.  I know I'll need to come along and redo these after I've glued the hull pieces together and filled and sanded the seam.  I've also slightly overpainted the upper edge of the copper so that I can overlap with the black for a crisp edge at that stage.

 

I think the copper detail done by the artisans at Revell all those years ago is under appreciated.  Each plate is rendered with great detail and the riveting adds terrific "dimension" that is not always found on other kits (the Heller Victory comes to mind).  I wanted to do justice to their original effort.

 

Many of us of a certain age (say something north of 50) can remember when American pennies had a much higher copper content.  Every family had a jar full of pennies that showed a wide variation in color and tone.  Most were shades of brown, some were black, some had green... a few were shiny.  I thought it would be worth the effort to add this same kind of variation to the underside of my Connie and make many of these detailed plates "pop" for a better visual effect.  All was done free hand - no masking involved.  A bit time consuming, of course, but nothing difficult to do... 

 

Thanks again to all who follow along.

 

Evan

[Schroeter]

Hi Force9,

 

Though I just became a member here today, I've been following your build since this past October when I started building this kit. This is my first ship model and there was a lot of detail that I wanted to add to the original kit. I just wanted to say thanks for all the pictures and detailed explanations you've put into your posts. They've been a great inspiration and source of guidance as I keep going with my build.

 

-Schroeter

[Force9]

Thank you Shroeter for the very kind note.  

 

I hope I'm diligent enough as I go along to relay meaningful detail about my processes and decisions to help inform the next modeler.  I suspect the next wave will improve on my methods and build on what I have done to get the most out of the venerable 1/96 Revell kit.

 

Please don't hesitate to chime in often and ping me with any questions or requests for clarification as you follow along...  Hope to see some postings of your effort!

 

Evan

Edited October 19, 2015 by Force9

[Force9]

Folks

 

I've been neglecting my build for many weeks... Late summer travel and life adventures.

 

I did manage to make my way to the Charlestown Navy Yard for an Old Ironsides fix. As many of you know, she'll enter the yard in early 2015 for an extensive three year restoration so this was a last chance to walk the decks for awhile.

 

I got some more photos of the correct carronade:

 

Also a good shot of the interlocking planking on the gun deck:

 

The kids are at an age where they can appreciate the interactive displays inside the Constitution museum. They were put to good work:

 

Hoisting livestock onboard:

Holystoning the deck:

And shortening sail:

 

They will make good topmen one day!

 

The bell that Constitution carried into the Guerriere battle was cast by Paul Revere and sadly destroyed. Here is the one requisitioned from the Guerriere:

 

And here is a shot of my favorite artifact in the museum - a hand drawn diagram by one of her lieutenants of the battle with Java. You have to find a little box on the wall and open the door:

Many folks don't realize that Java stern raked Constitution TWICE during the battle.

 

Here are some interesting detail shots from a series of paintings of the Java battle done by George Ropes Jr. - the deaf/mute apprentice of Michel Felice Corne. I hadn't seen these paintings before:

 

 

These also suggest a pale yellow stripe and five stern windows for those who care to ponder such things.

 

Altogether it was a great day in the Navy yard. The only disappointment was not being able to make Henry's acquaintance. I flubbed up the coordination with our rendezvous. The kids and I got caught up in the long queue inside the Bunker Hill monument... By the time we got down and over to the Navy yard the 1812 Marine detachment had decamped for the day and Henry wasn't able to hang back.

 

We've had brutal heat and humidity for much of the past few weeks here and it has only just now abated enough for me to venture back into the garage workshop. Fiddling with the 24-pdrs...

 

Thanks again to those who follow my build log.

 

Evan

Edited September 22, 2014 by Force9

[GuntherMT]

Are the nets across the gunports period correct, or are they modern additions to keep unleashed children from going swimming?

[Guest Tim I.]

I also have never seen those Ropes paintings. Thank you for posting them!

 

- Tim

[Usgecko]

I'm inclined to go for the pale yellow stripe when I get to that stage on my build.

 

Good luck with the cannons - I started on them first to get them out the way. The plastic on my kit had a sort of "soapy waxy" texture that made clean up of them more difficult - same for the carriages. It would have been easier had the plastic been of a harder texture.

 

Your build is excellent and definitely a source of inspiration for me as I am starting on my build.

 

Is that interlocking planking only on the gun deck, or spar deck also?

 

Stuart

[CIWS01]

Wonderful pictures in all! Looks like a fun trip over all. The Guns are most certainly a project all to themselves. I've had to take a few weeks off my build but not that I'm back again it's back to the armory. I agree about the material of the guns and carriages being some what soft. It has been a difficulty prepping them on my own build. 

Keep up with the work here! It is motivating to see what is possible with some excellent research and creativity that you have here! 

 

 

PS!! I wanted to say, I love the yellow line concept. It looks fantastic and your hull isn't even black yet. Something I will most certainly try myself!

Edited September 23, 2014 by CIWS01

[Marcus.K.]

Hello Evans, thanks for the insight!

 

The ship and the museum are a great attraction - to children and adults ! I am so sad to be on the wrong side of the Atlantic not having the possiblity to just pop by .. But one day I will travel to Boston again - this time with my family - and this time during indian summer (which I missed, when I did my internship).

 

I very much would like to show my sons (especially) the hard work of holystoning the decks - this would clean up with some romantic ideas about the life on board ;-)

 

And thanks for the pictures of the paintings .. they missed in my little collection!

[Force9]

Folks - thanks for all the LIKES!

 

Brian - Thanks for looking in. I think (as you probably suspect) that the netting over the gun port openings is a safety measure and not authentic.  It may be, however, that netting was placed over openings like transom/stern gun ports that didn't generally have a gun in position...

 

Tim - I think the Ropes paintings of the Java battle are on loan from a museum or historical society in New Bedford.  They are jewels of detail...

 

Stuart - thank you also for looking in... Glad to see you starting your own build!  Tyrone Martin in his "Creating a Legend" book indicates that the interlocking planks were added on the gun deck in two "thick strakes" running the length of the deck.  The modern restored ship shows similar interlocking planks on the outer edge near the waterway on the spar deck:

 

 

I'm not sure that is authentic to the 1812 period.

 

You can sorta see my feeble attempt to replicate the interlocking gun deck strakes in this view:

 

 

The yellow gun stripe is controversial among purists... The Constitution's log clearly shows the stripe being painted white (and the bulwarks green) immediately before the outbreak of war.  The Hull model in Salem also shows a white stripe.  Accounts and log entries do verify that Captain Stewart changed the stripe to yellow on his late war cruise.  I've used the Corne paintings for guidance in the belief that some captains (including Stewart and Bainbridge) likely changed the color for deception once the shooting started.  Regardless of counter opinions, I'm falling back on the Corne paintings and I'm sticking to  it!

 

Thanks again for the interest and I'm looking forward to following these new builds!

 

Evan

Edited September 26, 2014 by Force9

[Guest Tim I.]

Evan,

 

I don't have Martin's book, does he mention when the interlocking planks where added?

 

Thank you,

 

Tim

[Force9]

Tim - I think the interlocking planking was inherent in the initial design.  There was a row alongside the hatches and another about midway between the hatches and the bulwarks.

 

Time for some attention on the guns...

 

There is still some lingering confusion regarding the armament during the War of 1812 - likely caused in some degree by the misrepresentations on the restored ship.

 

The royal cyphers on the gun deck 24 pdrs are an artifact of the 1927 restoration that turns out to have been a bit misguided.  

 

 

More modern scholarship has firmly established that the armament for Old Ironsides was almost entirely home grown.  A notable exception was late in the War of 1812 when Captain Stewart replaced a few of the carronades with English "gunnades" that were liberated from a captured RN supply ship.  These would've had the royal cyphers.  When Constitution was first launched, she borrowed some guns from Castle William (now Fort Independence) in Massachusetts until the domestic foundry could catch up with demand.  These may have been British or French gun tubes - perhaps Revolutionary War surplus.  They could've even been some of the guns sledded over from Fort Ticonderoga to drive the British out of Boston.  It is unlikely that the British abandoned any intact guns at Castle William when they left Boston, although a few may have been inventoried in local armories.  What the British could not take with them would've been spiked or otherwise disabled.

 

We know now that Constitution was armed with thirty 24 pdrs on the gun deck during the entire War of 1812.  These versions were 9'6" long and cast in 1808 by the Cecil Ironworks in Maryland.  The original 24 pdrs were about 8 feet long and were replaced with this newer set after complaints by one of her commanders that the shorter versions lacked range and accuracy.

 

I have dabbled a bit with modifying the kit provided carriages to include more representative detail... The trucks are too small (and poorly molded) and of course none of the hardware is in place.  I added the curvature under the carriage, scribed a line to represent the two pieces of the carriage sides,removed some of the material in the back under the quoin to give it a more "dimension", and added the brass pin and various eyelets, bolts, and rings for the breeching.  I also added new axles and wheels:

 

 

 

 

This is my first pass and I may need to make further refinements before settling on the final version.  I will probably only "trick out" 10 or 12 of these and do some simpler modifications for the rest that won't be seen once the spar deck is in place.

 

I hope to post more progress soon.

 

Thanks for your continued interest!

Evan

[lambsbk]

They are taking shape Evan. Well done. Can't wait to see them with their color.

[Guest Tim I.]

Evan,

Thank you for the information on the interlocking planks. One more question, do you have illustrations that show them, or just what you have done for your build?

To muddy the water a bit more on the cannon debate.A couple of facts about the USS Constitution that is often not mentioned is post her battle with the HMS Guerriere (on 18th of August 1812), she was put into Boston Navy Yard for an extensive and major refit in September 1812. During this time various structural changes were made, and battle damage repaired. While this refit occured, 26 of her long 24 pounders were removed and half of the veterans from the battle were sent to Sackets Harbor, NY to crew the vessels on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The 26 long 24 pounders, became the principle armament of the USS General Pike, the flagship on Lake Ontario during 1813. The disposition of these guns (and what replaced them) fits into the discourse you mentioned on when they were sourced from (or if some were English guns). 

 

The detailed information (official record) of what was actually sent to Sackets Harbor, armament and men (as well as the details surrounding the changing of the sheers and lifting of the spar deck, and the stern ornamentation and stern light changes) was destroyed in an 1814 fire in the Boston Naval Yard. However, mention of this transaction does show up in the USS Constitution's pursers log, along with a side notation of a purchase of 50 pounds of green paint for the bulwarks (this also contributes to the varying opinions that prior to this refit the bulwarks were actually red on the gun and spar deck as they were when the ship was launched). The reciept of the cannon and men in Sackets Harbor is also recorded in various primary and secondary sources.

Just an interesting tidbit I came across in my research for my build and my research on the War of 1812 Lake Ontario fleet.

 

I hope it helps,

 

- Tim

Edited October 6, 2014 by Tim I.