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

[Force9]

Folks

 

Today marks the 200th anniversary of Constitution's last great victory - defeating both Cyane AND Levant in a nighttime action.

 

I'm busy drilling holes and should have something to show in a few days.

 

Stay tuned!

 

Evan

Edited February 21, 2015 by Force9

[dafi]

Folks

 

Today marks the 200th anniversary of Constitution's last great victory - defeating both Cyane AND Levant in a nighttime action.

 

I'm busy drilling holes and should have something to show in a few days.

 

WOW, showing battle damages ?!?

 

Looking foreward to see that ;-)

 

XXXDAn

Edited February 21, 2015 by dafi

[foxy]

Glad to hear it Evan.

 

I am just trying to picture were you would need to drill holes. , you trying to sink her!!!! .

 

Look forward to the next instalment.

 

Frank

[Force9]

So... A couple of comedians!    Don't people remember that she was called "Old Ironsides"???!! - She never absorbed any damage!  Everything bounced off!!!  Well, at least it all bounced off for my model.

 

 

Here is the latest...

 

It is amazing how many holes need to be drilled into a sailing ship model!  I've been busy with the mini spiral drill and #76 bit for the past few weekends.

 

It is also amazing to uncover the various nuances that go into these builds.  I've been drilling the many small holes for the Jotika eyelets that will be installed around the interior of the gun ports.  

 

Most references indicate the breeching terminating on a ring bolt positioned near the trucks in line with the bottom of the gun port.  The outhaul tackle, however, is often shown leading at an angle to an eyelet positioned about midway between the two guns.  It would seem to me to be more efficient if this tackle ran more parallel to the gun barrel - no waste in lateral effort when hauling on the tackle.  That would seem to be the arrangement on most of the contemporary ship models... An eyebolt for the outhaul tackle positioned about midway up on the gun port and near the opening.  The ring bolt for the breeching rope positioned directly below in line with the bottom of the port.

 

We can also see this type of set up on the remarkable War of 1812 wrecks of the Hamilton and Scourge that lie preserved at the bottom of Lake Ontario. Both were swamped by a sudden squall and lost at the same time.  (Actually the wrecks were once remarkably well preserved but have now become encrusted with an invasive species of mussel):

 

The boarding cutlasses are very cool.

 

Here is the approach I took:

 

None of these eyelets are glued in... Just a sample of positioning.  I'll blacken them and glue the upper eyelets, but I'll attach the lower ring bolts to the breeching rope when I rig the cannon off the ship before attaching these to the bulwarks.

 

Evan

[foxy]

Like the boarding cutlasses idea.

 

You can also add a set of eyelets above the gun aperture for holding gun in bad weather by the barrel end . 

 

I think all navies used this to secure below decks when not in action.

 

Lovely work.

 

Frank

Edited February 23, 2015 by foxy

[popeye the sailor]

good to see your making progress Evan........I like where your ideas are going 

[Force9]

Cheers Frank and Popeye!

 

Folks -

 

I've reached that point in the build where there is nothing more I can do to delay the inevitable... I have to start accounting for the rigging and making sure that I've incorporated the necessary end points into the half hulls before I start to glue it all together.  

 

I consulted the usual suspects:

 

1. The Revell rigging plans

2. The Bluejacket kit manual and rigging plans - Larry Arnot/Tyrone Martin

3. AOTS USS Constitution - Karl Heinz Marquardt

4. CONSTITUTION - All Sails Up and Flying - Olof Eriksen

5. The Charles Ware 1817 Sail plan (National Archives)

6. The "Hull" model in the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) collection.

 

I've been poring over these different representations of the rigging layout of Old Ironsides for many months and have started to form some sort of plan.  For the most part I will follow the guidance of Olof Eriksen, but fall back on the Bluejacket plans in some cases.  Eriksen's work is focused on her 1815 configuration, so I'll try to insert some 1812 era modifications wherever appropriate - mostly using the Hull model for corrections.  Ultimately this is all going to involve a fair bit of guesswork and intuition tempered by the realities imposed by the Revell model itself. In some cases the molding of the hull will impose limitations that are more than I'm willing to modify - I'll just roll with what is there.

 

Here is my first compromise:

 

 

 

Some may recall that I eliminated the chesstree included in the kit and filled in the holes at the gun deck level that originally allowed for the Fore Sheet and Main Tack to enter and get tied off within... I just feel that by 1812 these lines would've been led to the spar deck to allow for better control and coordination.  Eriksen shows the Fore Sheet entering thru a sheave in the spar deck bulwark just forward of the last carronade before the break in the bulwark at the waist.  The Revell kit does not have much of a bulwark at that point.  I couldn't widen it because the "entry port" is situated here with the cleats/steps leading up the side.  I was not willing to move that stuff over with all that scratch building... Marquardt offers a solution.  He shows a sheave added on the waist for the Fore Sheet to pass thru and tie off to a cleat mounted nearby on the deck.  Do I think this is historically accurate?  Nah... But it suits my purpose.

 

The first eyebolt near the sheave is the tie off for the Fore Sheet.  The eyebolt mounted forward on the waist near the fo'c's'le bulwark will eventually have a block mounted for the Main Tack to lead inboard. I still need to drill the hole just aft of the fore channel for the Main Tack tie off point.

 

Here is the sheave I cut into the spar deck bulwark for the Main Sheet:

 

 

I mounted a cleat on the inside to tie off the Main Sheet:

 

More to come shortly

 

Thanks for the interest

 

Evan

[Guest Tim I.]

Evan,

 

Given the limitations of this model kits tooling, I am amazed at what you have been able to do with it. Your rigging idea / plan seems like a sound approach. I look forward to following along and seeing the result.

 

- Tim

[foxy]

Will def copy this for my build.

 

Great work Evan.

 

frank

[popeye the sailor]

I think that it's a combination of the year the kit came out and the information base they had to work with.  you would think though,  that with every upgrade of the molds,  new information and detail would have been tooled into them......I'm sure the molds were remade a couple of times.  well done on the fore thought

[patrickmil]

Evan, I'm left with thoughts that can't be put into words. Your paint job is incredible! Such clean lines on a raised detail plastic model were always rumored to be a thing of myth. I'm glad you went with a yellow stripe. I wish when they refit Connie, they would bring her back to her very first years (the 1812 period is okay too I guess  ). It's so hard to get an idea of what she really looked like from old paintings and speculation, but I think you hit the nail on the head.

[Force9]

Guys -

 

Thank you all for following along.  I should have some updates soon with my progress on dead eyes, cleats, and ring bolts.

 

Robin - thank you for wading thru my build log... I wish you'd reconsider doing some paintings from this era.  I still think no recent artist has done the Constitution/Guerriere battle correctly.

 

Stay tuned!

 

Thx

Evan

[DCooper]

Evan, you just continue along at your own pace.  It's such a joy to watch you work your magic on these old bits of plastic .  Your posts are always informative and enlightening. Thanks for taking the time and effort to document and clearly explain not just how you are building your Constitution but why you have decided to build her in that way.  Your build is very inspirational even to those with stalled builds of their own. 

 

Dan

[Force9]

Ahoy...

Apologies for the long interlude... Had some computer issues and had to upgrade my system to get back on track.

I have made some progress on cleats, dead eyes and such and will post some pictures soon. In the meantime, I had a nice visit last week to the US Naval Academy museum... They have the other set of the Michel Felice Corne paintings of the Constitution vs Guerriere battle that were commissioned by Captain Hull. These are exquisite and I think I stared at them for at least 30 minutes:

The series is hung in a bit of a jumble, but very visible.








Here are some details of the stern. The ventilation ports under the counter are clearly visible - I'm glad I added those to my version.




Rigging detail:



Here is a detailed view from the Corne painting of the Tripoli campaign:


The basement of the museum contains the gift store and the model maintenance workshop. It turns out that if you stare through the viewing window long enough (it helps to have a forlorn puppy dog expression as well) someone in the workshop will take pity and invite you inside for a tour. Jack was extremely generous with his time and showed me all the projects and some of the terrific tools - including a very nice rope serving set up and a clever/inexpensive micro-torch he built for detailed solder work.

At some point I mentioned my own "learner's" project on the Revell Constitution and I was invited into the Curator's office to have a look at a "small Constitution" model kept on top of a file cabinet.





It should be readily apparent that this is no ordinary model. In fact, this is a Donald McNarry masterpiece showing Constitution's early appearance. The pictures don't give a true perception of the small scale... I'd think it is 1/192 or thereabouts (less than half the length of my project) and each element is executed with unfathomable detail. The guns, boats, wire rigging, etc. are all incredible. I urged The curator to find a way to get it on the display floor, but he explained that there is not much room in the current display area for all of the incredible models in the museum collection. Gawd only knows what the thing is worth - especially after the passing of Mr. McNarry.

The museum is a true treasure trove of American history. The collections include the original "Don't Give Up The Ship" flag, the actual table (and tablecloth) used for the Japanese surrender on board the USS Missouri (it was a mess table quickly adapted for use after the beautiful wooden table provided by the British turned out to be too small for the surrender documents), and the spur that snapped off the boot of John Wilkes Booth when he leaped off the balcony and got caught on the flag bunting - breaking his ankle on the landing.

Folks should make the effort to visit Annapolis if at all possible - well worth the side trip from DC!

I'll post some more project pictures later this week to catch everyone up on my progress.

Thanks
Evan

Edited May 12, 2015 by Force9

[foxy]

Glad your still working on the Connie Evan.

 

Nice to see any progress.

 

Still building up a picture for mine, and your build is an inspiration I can tell you.

 

Wonderfull work.

 

Frank.

[popeye the sailor]

very nice pictures Evan......must have been a great trip for you 

[JerseyCity Frankie]

I'm so happy to learn that McNarry's model is in a pantheon like the Naval Academy Museum.  McNarry says in his 1975 book that he had built six versions of the Constitution and would do no more. I wonder if he knew where his models went after they left his hands? I hope he was told that one of his Constitution models wound up in such a collection.

[Force9]

Lads...

 

I've been laboring away at the build but haven't taken many photos along the way... And some that I have taken have gone missing in the nether world of my old hard drive.

 

I'll pick up here with my progress and get the build log up to snuff.

 

Firstly, I decided that my original location for the main sheet sheave holes was too far forward.  They really should've been positioned aft a bit - centered in the gap between the main and mizzen shrouds.  So I filled in the first version and laid in a new row of inner planking with rivet detail, etc. and painted it all to match.  Then I redid the sheave holes and moved the cleat.

 

 

You'll notice the addition of more cleats along the bulwark.  My understanding is that halyards were NOT tied off to pin rails... Those tie off to cleats or bollards at the ends of the pin rails.  I used the guidance from Olof Eriksen to position appropriate cleats to tie off the various halyards on either port or starboard.  The cleats were quickly fashioned from Styrene I-Beams from Evergreen using the handy Chopper:

 

 

Once sliced off of the stock piece, one end would be snipped and the remainder filed to shape and glued into a hole drilled almost thru the bulwark to maximize the surface area for holding power when glued.  After the glue dried, I came back and painted with wood brown.

 

Deadeyes:

 

 

I've got the deadeyes all primed and painted to resemble wood with iron strops and light tarring (just smeared them with a dark wash).  I wanted them to be wood-like- not entirely black.

 

I've reamed out the holes in the channels and test fitted the initial batch on the fore channel.

 

 

You'll also notice that the forward most shroud will lead to a triple block instead of a standard deadeye.  (I've got a test version mocked up for now and should have something in place after I put the solder iron to work on the wire strops.)

 

The Hull model in the Peabody Essex museum clearly shows the triple blocks fitted on the forward shrouds on the fore and main channels.  The mizzen does NOT have this block - just the standard deadeye.  

 

 

This contradicts the guidance from Larry Arnot in the BlueJacket kit manual, but Mr. Eriksen confirms this approach against the Brady Naval Apprentice Kedge Anchor (Ed. 1841)  Apparently these first shrouds would be eased or tightened as the ship changed tacks.  As such, Eriksen refers to these as "Swifters" - although that term is a bit ambiguous to me.  I know, for example, that the aft most shrouds on a channel were often referred to as the "Swifters" - they are not paired with another shroud when rigged and seem to have evolved from some sort of backstay in an earlier time.

 

All part of the mysteries of rigging as I venture forth.

 

Sorry for the delayed update and thanks again for all the Likes and interest.

 

Evan

[lambsbk]

Very nice. I have been going over the shrouds in m mind knowing they are on the horizon.

[Matt Cinnabar]

I am in awe of your work. Maybe some day I will try this build for the third time. (The first was at age 12 in 1965, the second at age 23 in med school. Neither attempt ended well.)

I will plead ignorance for my question, but I noticed a ring and eye in the hull below the triple block forward of the foremast deadeyes. I have never seen this before, and cannot find it on my (limited) references. Why is it there?

[JerseyCity Frankie]

I have never heard of blocks in lieu of deadeyes, but I love the idea and what a great detail on a model! I can't think of a good reason to want to ease shroud tension once you have it though. My understanding of the issues with shrouds is that they stretch more than the sailors would like, and more tension had to be put on them from time to time by hauling the lanyards tighter.

 I can't think of a reason to ease tension or to ease just one shroud, the first one, when changing tacks. I can't think of any reason anyone would want the lower masts to change in any way.

I would love to hear other opinions about this.

[Force9]

Matt - Thank you for the generous comment... I think third time might be a charm?  I'd encourage anyone to take a crack at the Revell kit using a few extra touches to produce a very substantial representation of the great ship during her glory years.  Time and patience are the key factors...

 

The ring bolt below the first shroud is for the lower stuns'l boom... The Martingale tackle hooks to this point to hold the boom in position in conjunction with the topping lift.  I won't display the boom swung out, but I thought the ring bolt should be there for accuracy.  I'm glad someone noticed it!

 

JCFrankie - I'm not too familiar with the intricacies of square rig seamanship, but my understanding is that the block would allow the forward shroud to be eased when going to windward or making a hard tack so that the courses could be pivoted around just a little bit more... That is why they aren't there on the mizzen - obviously no such thing as a mizzen course on the crojack yard.  Those with more knowledge are free to correct my explanation...

 

Thanks for taking an interest and thanks again to all for the "likes"!

 

Hope to make a bit more progress on Father's day - modeling time is gifted to me already!

 

Evan

[youngtiger1]

It's been a while since I visit this sit, but every time I visit i'm in an awe of all you guys work and your work is not only incredible but with the added information on the ship...it's very educational. At least, for me is sure is educational as most of my knowledge is based around aviation subjects. I blam it on my lack if swimming skills thus my interest as stayed above it

 

Mike

[Force9]

Ahoy Mike!

 

Glad you've rediscovered my log... Hopefully you can be inspired to venture forth with nautical efforts and forego the aeronautical stuff for a time.  I don't swim particularly well, but I KNOW I can't fly!  Perhaps that is why I stick to ships.

 

Work continues at a leisurely pace on my Connie... I am fiddling still with the deadeyes and chains with nothing notable to show for it yet.

 

A few more weeks should yield some pictures.

 

Thanks again to all who check in on my build.

 

Evan

[lambsbk]

I have been thinking ahead on the chains as well Evan. I will let you know if I have any epiphanies. I believe I will make an 'on-ship' jig for the lanyards. I want to attach the chains at their furthest point with a pin but I can't afford to drill the wrong spot and slice a fiber optic cable so that for me is a challenge.

Edited July 25, 2015 by lambsbk

[foxy]

There maybe some development for the Connie in that line.

 

I would like to see some etch chains for this ship.

 

Maybe more.

 

Have this to build after me Victory in 1/100.

 

So 1/96 will be a challenge too.

Will be following Evans way of building and in the same period.

 

Great to see more progress when its about.

 

Frank 

[JerryTodd]

After your teaser images of the McNarry model, I posted some images I took of it in 09 in the gallery. 

Edited July 25, 2015 by JerryTodd

[foxy]

Jerry is that for the same period Evan is doing, it looks earlier.

 

But very nice all the same.

 

Frank.

[JerryTodd]

It's supposed to be "as launched."  He's doing something about 15 years later. 

[Marcus.K.]

Hello Evans,

 

have not been here for a very long time! Beautiful progress!!! .. and wonderful paintings in the Museum you shared with us. Thanks for that!

 

Would you tell us which kind (seize) of eyebolts you used? .. and the deadeyes - from which company are those? They look really phantastic !

 

Of course I very much like your approach with the rigging. Is the block visible on the Hull Model also used by Erkisson?