USS Constitution by histprof1066 - FINISHED - Billing Boats - 1:100

[histprof1066]

So it doesn’t look as though I have accomplished much BUT I have finished the mounting of sails on the foremast. I finished the stay lines and painted them black at the suggestion of another modeler. I am debating on leaving the lines for rigging either light or staining them brown (a lot of work mind you). The colour would match the rat lines BUT in looking at the historic ship, there are many lines that are in different stages of aging onboard. I am including a few photos on a neutral background so you can get the scope of the work done so far, and see the lines you may not see in my usual working space. 
 

Next up… jibs 

[histprof1066]

Finished working on the jib sails. It took me looking at the historic ship to figure out how to add the sails, they are attached with metal rings (which I attempted to simulate with copper wire from my kit). I attached the sails using the light coloured string, and it was a bit tricky BUT I like the results. What do you think? 
 

I shall start working on attaching the sails to the yard arms for the main mast next before rigging that mast. 

I am attaching the sail plan from the 1800’s, a view showing about where the lines go aboard ship, and the metal rings that the jib sails are attached to along with my work. 

 

[histprof1066]

Finally got the sails for the mainmast sewn to the yard arms. Before you say anything, I’m including a closeup of how they are being sewn. It is very hard to go through the canvas sail cloth accurately. 
 

The instructions give us this specific stitch, and in replicating it as closely as I am able using the same strong poly thread I used for the rest of the sails. What do you think? 

 

I start working on attaching and rigging the mainmast soon. 

[JSGerson]

You've got fantastic sewing skills! I couldn't put three stitches in a straight line, never mind making them all equal lengths. Great job!

 

Jon

[histprof1066]

15 hours ago, JSGerson said:

You've got fantastic sewing skills! I couldn't put three stitches in a straight line, never mind making them all equal lengths. Great job!

 

Jon

Thanks Jon! I certainly had a learning curve on this sewing machine to do the sail bodies, but I worked through it. I haven’t picked up a needle and thread in years BUT it’s good to know I still have some good manual sewing skills. My mother insisted I learn basic mending, button attachment, hemming, etc. 

 

It is great to hear that my skills are good considering how good I see your model coming along, it means a lot. You have great construction skills too! 

[JSGerson]

Ah. we are a mutual admiration society!😁

[histprof1066]

It has been a bit since I worked in the shipyard. End of the school year and vacation have kept me busy. I made a bit of progress today on my model though. I painted the backstays for the mainmast, affixed the upper sails on the mainmast, painted the ship name on the cradle, and got two sails affixed to yard arms for the mizzenmast. I also had a little helper in the shipyard today. My kiddo was very excited to help daddy today. As you can see, she is painting, learning tweezers, and counting the cannon on the starboard side. 

[histprof1066]

It does not look as though I have completed much work today, but in about three hours, I readjusted the spanker gaff/boom, and attached the spanker sail to the aforementioned pieces. In adjusting the tightness of the rigging lines for the gaff, I had to slightly lower the gaff so the sail appears to be slightly puffed/billowed…I suppose it works to my advantage. What do you think of the work?

I have three more sails on 4 yard arms to affix and rig. I have stars and an eagle to affix on the stern. I also need to add rope coils to the ship, and perhaps some odds and ends I may be missing before I can call it completed. Not much more on my punch list. 
 

 

[JSGerson]

You've got some nice billow in those sails. Well done.

 

Jon

[histprof1066]

1 hour ago, JSGerson said:

You've got some nice billow in those sails. Well done.

 

Jon

Thanks Jon! I ironed the snot out of the fabric, used a bit of starch after I finished off the stitching so that way the fabric glue I used to hem the sails could act to keep them in a semi-billowed state. It is not as full as I would have liked, but at least they appear to be in a low breeze. Next model will have white glue over a form to shape the sails before attaching them to the yard arms.

[histprof1066]

Almost done, all lines on the ship and sails have been affixed. I have polished the copper again with Renaissance wax, checked the fit of the stand, all I really have left to do is rope coils (quite a few), flags, and affix the Eagle to the stern. I do not have enough room to place it…you had to be VERY precise with the spacing of the white trim pieces. So…my thought is to place it on top of the lower trim pieces so it looks like a board carved on the top of the trim. Should I do that or leave it off?

[JSGerson]

My thoughts on your eagle: As shown, your kit supplied eagle looks over sized at first glance. I checked my model which is 76.8 scale against your model of 100 scale, and noticed that your four most centered pilasters are placed different than mine. A possible solution, not to be take lightly, would be to remove and move those pilasters so they look like mine and then you would have space for the eagle. This is not an easy fix. I don't know what the material those pilasters were made from or how easy/hard it would be to pry them off.  Just a thought.

 

Jon

[histprof1066]

Jon, I see what you mean. I looked at the Billin Boats instructions to ensure that I had them installed properly, and per the directions, they are correctly spaced. Now, if I move the middle ones apart, I could lay the Eagle flat, but I would just barely do that. Their in house model shows the white pilasters in the same spot with the white trim just slightly higher...I am definitely not looking at removing the trim. pilasters are a different story...but they are attached with CA; not an easy fix. 

[JSGerson]

Not to put salt on the wound, but my model looks closer to the actual ship. If you can't move the pilasters, maybe you could make a new smaller eagle. Because of the small scale, maybe just the outline of the eagle might suffice. It could even be made out of white card stock.

 

Jon

[histprof1066]

5 hours ago, JSGerson said:

Not to put salt on the wound, but my model looks closer to the actual ship. If you can't move the pilasters, maybe you could make a new smaller eagle. Because of the small scale, maybe just the outline of the eagle might suffice. It could even be made out of white card stock.

 

Jon

 

I kind of figured that there were going to be aspects of the model that were going to not be as accurate. Billings is a good company, though there are things that I cannot stand, lack of instructions, descriptions of what to do, inaccurate model details.

 

I figure that I might go ahead and either move it or try and peel off the pilasters... after I finish making the rope hanks. The in-house model doesn't have rope hanks, I figured that I would finish making those (need 40 total methinks).

 

Some of the aforementioned things are why I decided to go with Artesania Latina for my next model (Vasa- most accurate...but also more detailed). 

 

Question though Jon... the rings on the stern board next to the stars...what are they for? I have them on my model but I am not certain what they are for...thank you for your illumination and your assistance. 

[JSGerson]

Those rings are for towing

 

Jon

[histprof1066]

I did not know that. The more you know, am I right? 

[histprof1066]

Two years, four months; February 2021 to June 2023. That is how long it has been to complete the Constitution. It could have been 6 months shorter, but I let it sit while I was frustrated with planking. I also laid copper on the hull which took a couple of months as well. 
 

I made a jig to make rope hanks on most of the pins on the rail. The kit didn’t come with much thread for overage, but I feel I got enough on there to be more realistic. 
 

 

I have to check my black lines and make sure I haven’t missed anything, but principal work is done. After inspection, all that is missing is to place the ship on its display cradle. Let me know what you think. 

 

My last ship was dedicated to my father, but his spirit helped me finish this model, it is to him I have raised a toast in his absence in the last photo. Thank you to my mother, Cathy for her motivating words and support. Thank you to my wife Joscelyn and my family for putting up with the mess. 

[JSGerson]

You've got something to be very proud of. I'm a big believer in display cases to protect your hard work from possible damage and dust. Can't wait to see see its final display area.

 

Jon

[histprof1066]

Thanks John! I am looking into building a display case. I see one forum post that interests me on this site. However, due to the cost of about 200 dollars, that might have to wait until I get my bonus check at the end of August. Hopefully I will have it made and done soon thereafter. I for now have it displayed on a table. 
 

Do you make your own cases? If not, do you have a good retailer that I might look at instead of making mine? Thanks for your assistance and input. 

[JSGerson]

I bought one of the cases offered by Model Expo for my 2-foot Rattlesnake. I bought the table it sits on separately from a furniture online site.  I had to stain the case myself to match the table. Model Expo subcontracts out the cases to a workshop that makes the cases for them excluding the transparent material. I chose to use Plexi-glass in lieu of glass.  And yes, they are not cheap. The case for my 4-foot long Constitution is going to be even more expensive.

Edited June 28, 2023 by JSGerson

[mtdoramike]

Beautiful job on the Connie, which usually takes 18-24 months to build if your not in a rush. 

[ccoyle]

Very nice! Billing Boats gets a bad rap in some circles, but your model proves once again that the skill of the builder is more important than the name on the kit box.

 

Cheers!

[histprof1066]

Thanks John, I was certain that they might do a display case, though I was figuring it might be better and cheaper if I do it. Do you mind if I ask how much you spent on yours? 

 

I wasn't thinking that two years and 4 months was especially long, though towards the end I was wondering if I was going to finish lol.

 

Billings does get a bad wrap in many other groups I have seen. The thing is that the talk is all about the instructions and in some cases, their materials. They are working to correct the materials issue in some kits they are relaunching. The instructions though, they are moving to more of what you would see from Artesania Latina. Only time will tell what they will do to ships like the Constitution. I definitely have some feedback they should use for a relaunch lol.

[mtdoramike]

On 6/28/2023 at 1:25 PM, ccoyle said:

Very nice! Billing Boats gets a bad rap in some circles, but your model proves once again that the skill of the builder is more important than the name on the kit box.

 

Cheers!

I don't understand why, I guess it maybe because the older Billings kits required you to purchase the fittings packages separately, which in most cases equalled or surpassed the original cost of the kit. But as far as fit and finish, I have built several Billings kits from the old kits to the newer kits and found all of them to be quite good as far as fit and finish. But then again, I have always had low to moderate expectations of most all kits, which leaves me with pleasant experience. I never try to over expect from a kit, which is to me only a starting point. 

[JSGerson]

I don't remember what I paid 5 or 6 years ago for the display case, but here is the Model Expo web page I used with the current prices:

 

https://modelexpo-online.com/Ship-Model-Displays

 

Then I paid about as much for the table to hold the display. I also had to buy the Plexi-glass and stain the case to match the table. So all told, ballpark about $500. 

 

You can find other websites that also sell premade displays, and there are build logs which conclude their ship build with a description as to how they made their own displays. I don't have any woodworking skills or tools other than for model making so I had to buy my display.

[histprof1066]

I think the bad comments comes from a combination of the lack of detail in some kits to the supplied thread being only one colour and easily frayed. I had not thought about the kits that were sold separately. Thinking about it now, I wonder if people can really hold a grudge that long.

 

As for the case, I have a basic understanding of how to make a case and some wood working skills, though my tools are limited. Do I have a miter saw? No. Do I have a power sander? No. Do I have a lathe? No. These are all things I would like to have in the future but just do not have the room. Right now I am wondering if it would be better to order a case and get the glass (I have cut glass and plexi before for a living). I am going to start asking around and see what materials I can get a hold of first. I will keep you posted.

 

Thank you all for the wonderful words and support. 

[Ferrus Manus]

Dude, your model is just fine. We all have to learn, and most of that learning comes from ruining something. In your case, ruining does not apply. Nice model! It's a WHOLE lot better than the Revell version i built when i was 14. If i were you, i'd be very proud of the model, especially for only being a second ship. 

 

(future historian here) I can see from your name that you are definitely someone i would like to associate myself with. Is the "1066" part of your name in reference to the Norman Conquest? 

Edited August 16, 2023 by Ferrus Manus

[histprof1066]

Ferrus, thank you for your comments on my completed model. Yes, the 1066 is in reference to the Norman Invasion of England in 1066. I appreciate your comments on my advancement in the modeling hobby. I have just recently started the Artesania Latina Vasa build, and am currently 'fairing' the hull. I know I ought to start a build log on it for sure from what I currently see online with a good number of people interested in seeing it completed. Now that I have all new tools and other helpful items, I am sure that this next one will be even better.