USS Constitution by CaptainSteve - Model Shipways - 1:76.8 scale

[Tophog]

Very nice.

[CaptainSteve]

Thanks Tophog

(Not gonna call you Geoff, coz there are enough of them around here as it is)

 

 

I managed to break away and get a few hours at the shipwright's table today. The morning was spent cutting tiny floor-planks and building the gratings for the Captain's Gig. 

 

Also, the decision has been made to "go green". So, the red stripe on the two whale-boats no longer exist, and the first coat of green has been applied to one boat. This time around (the second re-paint for these two boats), I have protected my dark wood keel-pieces with masking tape.

 

Work will continue finishing this stage off over the coming week.

 

Here's a pic ...

 

[Geoff Matson]

Glad to see you have busy. The boats are fun becasue each one is a model in itself

[CaptainSteve]

Apologies for the very slow progress over the past week. Whilst I do try to keep moving forward on my Connie, sometimes this can be a battle - especially during football season !!

 

Still working on re-creating your pics, Geoff. Although, there have been some minor modifications.

 

The hulls of the two whale-boats are now green (two coats of paint and matt varnish).

 

A comment by a work-colleague ("Pity you had to hide most of that ribbing") led to a slight re-think with the deck pinnace. As I thoroughly enjoyed spending hours making the tiny gratings for the Captain's Gig, last night I opted to make up a plate of gratings for the floor of this boat. In order to display the ribbing work, one panel has been left off, giving a glimpse of the internal bottom. 

This panel - constructed on grease-proof paper - will be set lying askew once the benches have been fitted.

 

Also, in these next two pics (though hardly visible with my crappy camera) the mast-step has been put in, just behind the new grating panel.

Edited April 21, 2013 by CaptainSteve

[Geoff Matson]

Steve

 

Looks like you are having fun with boats. Don't worry about the progress, its not a race. Some parts do take longer than others. I am still playing around with yards and will be for some time to come.

[themadchemist]

So is under that panel where the captain keeps his stash of rum?

Nice work CaptainSteve, it is always sad when the layers cover beautiful detail, but thats why having a build log is nice. You could also put a photo album together to have with it displayed showing the build.

[CaptainSteve]

Steve

 

Looks like you are having fun with boats. Don't worry about the progress, its not a race. Some parts do take longer than others. I am still playing around with yards and will be for some time to come.

 

Too true, Geoff.

However, my main problem is that I am my own worst critic.

Feel free to comment if you think I have got it wrong, but chances are that I will have already changed my mind and begun alterations.

 

For example, in a fit of madness this evening after work, I tore out the floor-boards of my whale-boats. Instead, I intend to trim the card template-based parts I made and re-fit them into a single layer. This decision was made as I think my risers should have been made with thinner strips of styrene.

Essentially, I'm running outta room !! 

Pics coming when they are repaired.

Edited April 22, 2013 by CaptainSteve

[CaptainSteve]

So is under that panel where the captain keeps his stash of rum?

Nice work CaptainSteve, it is always sad when the layers cover beautiful detail, but thats why having a build log is nice. You could also put a photo album together to have with it displayed showing the build.

 

Mad,

I'm actually considering marking panels on the the whale-boat floorboards to simulate storage areas.

I guess I could try hiding my rum under there, but, Jeez, dude, at 1/76 scale, it's gunna be an awfully small bottle !!

(Hardly seems worth all the effort)

[CaptainSteve]

A question from a couple of weeks back came to mind today ...

What would I do different with the boats if I were starting over ??

 

Definitely one thing I would do differently would be to NOT paint the outer hulls until much later.

The main problem being that you will do a lot of handling of the boats with all the detail work.

And, no matter how careful you are with hygiene 'n' cleanliness, scuff marks do appear ... especially on white hulls.

 

Aside from that, over the weekend (actually, from about 2am when I got home this morning), the next layer has been installed on the pinnace and captain's gig (not quite finished).

Styrene-capping for the benches seemed like a good idea at the time ...

 

BTW, when I say "layer", I mean that I have come to look at constructing my boats in layers.

First, the floorboards ...

Second, benches ...

Third, cap-rails/spray-rails/bulwarks ...

Fourth, furniture (rope coils, oars etc), rudders.

 

In the second pic, the open hatchway is visible. 

 

More work needed to finish the bench at back of the gig and also the two whale-boats.

Edited April 28, 2013 by CaptainSteve

[Geoff Matson]

Steve

 

It is great to see your boats developing. They are looking great, and show a lot of attention to detail. I agree with you about painting the hulls. The white paint will show everything!

[JeffT]

Thanks for tip. I'll wait and paint the outer hulls after finishing the interior.

[CaptainSteve]

Arrr !!!

 

Tonight was a perfect example of what I was saying about being my own worst critic.

 

Too late to stop me.

The white bench-trim has gone from the Captain's gig. It was too over-powering.

As well, the pinnace benches have been stripped out. The capping on these will, however, be replaced with the same sized strips, but painted red.

 

Pics to come.

Edited April 29, 2013 by CaptainSteve

[Geoff Matson]

Thats the one nice thing about wood and plastic, don't like it , take it out and redo it. Don't woory steve, you soon have it the way you like it.

[CaptainSteve]

They are coming along nicely, Geoff.

 

I was actually working towards having not only the two whale-boats looking identical, but also having the pinnace and captain's gig stick to a pattern/colour scheme.

Floorboards for the whaleboats are to be light-coloured wood, the benches will be dark, and the cap-rails will be the same light wood used for the flooring. With the pinnace and gig, the flooring is dark, the benches light wood, with the capping to be dark.

Also, I have made three gratings for each of these two (pinnace and gig). Essentially, these accentuate the flooring, with one plate at the back of each, another floor-plate at the bow, and one also at the front, but higher up just under the cap-rail level.

Pics to come when I get home (snuck onto a work computer for the last half-hour of my work day) ...

Edited April 30, 2013 by CaptainSteve

[CaptainSteve]

Jeez ... sure hope the boss doesn't read that last post.

 

(cough)(cough)

Anyway, back home now.

 

Personally, I prefer the red capping.

Here's the latest pic.

 

[trippwj]

Very nice work, Sir.  Enjoying this build!

[Geoff Matson]

Steve

 

I like the new look of the boats. Great job

[Modeler12]

Steve, I like what you are doing with the different types of wood and colors. Are you using stain or actually different woods?

I am taking notes because sooner or late I will have to tackle those little guys and it looks like a lot of fun.

 

Some time ago I picked up various pieces of wood from McBeth, in Berkeley. They specialize in exotics and have a scrap bin where you pick out what you want and pay by the pound. Some of it included ebony, walnut, mahogany and some blood wood. Below is a nativity scene I made for our grand-kids. It is actually a puzzle with different joints that take some time to figure out and assemble. There is no glue, just dovetails, dowels and sliding parts. And, no, I did not carve the figures.

 

 

I have several pieces of that wood left over and can use that for the boats.

[CaptainSteve]

(Late shift this week, so I'm on the work computer again)

 

Thanks for the support, Guys.

 

Jay, I use a variety of woods, but for the very dark pieces used on the boats, I have used a wood-stain.

After the stain has dried, I use the steel-brush attachment on my engraving tool to rough them up a bit ... it makes the wood effect look more natural.

 

I have tried a number of businesses in Perth to source the small woods that we ship-modellers need, and have drawn a blank. The story is always the same ... "... we can't get a reliable supplier".

 

I'm kinda lucky in that I have one and a half kits from Davy Jones' Locker that I use for salvage, but am seriously considering sending away when the time comes that I need a particular wood.

Following your build, I figure I am going to have to do this for the smaller blocks etc that I have seen you list ... 

 

By the way, the boats ARE a lot of fun !!

 

PS: Nice Nativity scene ... pity it wasn't a little closer to Christmas time (Arrrr !!)

Edited May 2, 2013 by CaptainSteve

[CaptainSteve]

I use playing cards for the templates, as I find the card is stronger and cuts fairly clean with a razor knife.

The planks are 1/8" wide strips of ayous, darkened with a Walnut stain.

Let the glue dry properly after planking, then create a 'distressed timber' look using the wire brush attachment.

 

Here's a couple of pics taken during one of many attempts at making platings for the whale-boats ....

Edited May 4, 2013 by CaptainSteve

[CaptainSteve]

Unfortunately, not a whole lot of progress so far this weekend - although it is only Sunday morning.

Last night saw numerous (well, three) failed whale-boat plates, until I ended up with the two in the above picture.

 

The gangway board on the Gig has been trimmed with red styrene, but I chose not to line that boat's benches like the pinnace, as the effect is just too much red. Mast holes drilled and painted and fitted (no pic at the mo').

I also went a little OCD (Obsessive/Compulsive) early this morning and rigged up a mast thwart clamp for the deck pinnace. It's the tiny red-lined semi-circular piece of wood hanging down from the second bench ... just in front of the 'loose' grating panel.

It's rather hard to see properly in this pic (seriously have to work out the settings on my camera), but I'm kinda chuffed with it - and it only took 2 hours to make !!

 

Work continues on the whale-boats to get them the way I want. This may involve stripping out the riser rails and replacing with slightly thinner styrene strips.

Edited May 4, 2013 by CaptainSteve

[JeffT]

Those little boats sure are a big project.

[trippwj]

Nice piece of work, sir.  Very clean and detailed!

[CaptainSteve]

Momentum was more backward rather than forward this week ...

 

At last posting, MrCritic was just about to remove the risers from the pair of whale-boats.

Whilst he had his knife handy, he took to the fore gratings in the two "swan" boats.

 

This pic is prior to the surgery ...

 

 

 

 

 

[CaptainSteve]

Despite the football season, some progress was made today ...

 

First to go was the old mast-clamp. Two re-builds later, and I gotta say, I'm chuffed.

Shaping the painted styrene strips around this piece turned out to be easier than I thought. Just clasp with the needle-nose tweezers and bend around the tip. The shape holds long enough for super-glue to set.

The locking straps are simply thin strips of wet'n'dry sandpaper trimmed and glued in place.

 

Following this, the bow grating plates were removed in favour of step boards.

Edited May 11, 2013 by CaptainSteve

[CaptainSteve]

One more step was added and then, as if the straps on the mast-clamp weren't OCD enough for you, a HB pencil added the final touch.

Edited May 11, 2013 by CaptainSteve

[CaptainSteve]

The bench plates built for the whale-boats (at top of pic) have been trimmed down somewhat, and new, slimmer, risers fitted. Currently, indecision reigns as to how these two boats will eventually look ...

Edited May 11, 2013 by CaptainSteve

[themadchemist]

Moving along nicely, Isn't it amazing how the little boats can consume so much time. It really worth it to have them OCD'd though. Great work!

[themadchemist]

Oh, one other thing. Pardon my lack of the slang from Oz, is "chuffed" good or bad? Thats a new one for me. I actually have a Slang from down under book that a friend from QLD sent me, but I have no clue where I shelved it ATM.

[Geoff Matson]

Nice progress Steve.