USS Constitution by KurtH - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1/96 - First wood model kit

[KurtH]

The lower shroud ratlines

 

This is the first new post of this log.

In rigging these ratlines, I found that the topmast backstays became a serious obstacle, so I undid the lanyards and cast them off.

 

Here are some shots of the ratlines rigged on the lower and futtock shrouds:

 

 

 

Them's a lotta ratlines.  As they say, onward and upward.  T'gallant shrouds and stays to be rigged next.

Edited November 30, 2021 by KHauptfuehrer

[KurtH]

I recently had visitors in, so I temporarily attached the yards to the model.  It makes a nice preview of what the model will look like:

 

[KurtH]

Photo of the upper rigging of the foremast in progress to show that I have not abandoned the build.  A photo of a more finalized version

 will follow.  Tails to be left long until the very last stages of the rigging process.  LInes that remained taut for months are now slack and have to be re-tensioned.  Fortunately, I did not seize these, and debonder will allow me to loosen and redo the hitches.

 

[mort stoll]

Can't thank you enough for your build log. It will be a huge help when I build mine.

 

 

[allanyed]

Kmainguide,

I know I am really late to the party, but for a first build, your work is excellent.  Hope you don't mind a thought on the sheathing.   For future I would find another supplier for the copper sheathing. Assuming the BJ material is to scale (48"X15") or thereabouts, the nail punch marks look to be about 2" in diameter rather than the actual 1/2" diameter which should barely show up at your scale.  At 1:96 they would be 0.005" diameter so maybe better left off.  The overlap is fantastic.  This is the first build log I have spotted where this was done correctly.  My apologies to others that may have also done this correctly and I missed it.  

The real thing below.

Allan

[KurtH]

Thank you so much Allan.  I really appreciate your kind words.  Thanks for the photo.  I will add it to my collection of ship photos. You are quite right about the nail detail.  It is also true that the thickness of the BJ plates is well out of scale.  I am thinking that if I do coppering on my next project, copper tape might be the way to go, now that I have seen the way it really is:

 

 

 

 

 

At the time I did the coppering, I didn't know nuttin' about it.  I am not even sure how I could go about making detail that small at 1/96.  As you say, better to not have it than make a mess out of it.  Thanks for the confirmation about the overlapping.  I have seen sources and builds in which it is done the opposite way.

 

 

 

Edited February 1, 2022 by KHauptfuehrer

[KurtH]

Out of curiosity, I have looked at other builds using ready made sheathing plates and have found, in all fairness to BJ, that all the ones I have seen so far have nail heads that are out of scale.  Of these, the Revell plastic model comes the closest to having the right size nail heads, but even they stick out more than these nails do:

 

 

Incidentally, it seems to me that those of us who, like me, are distressed to see irregularities in their work when photographed super close up, can take some comfort in this photo.

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by KHauptfuehrer

[ccoyle]

11 minutes ago, KHauptfuehrer said:

Incidentally, it seems to me that those of us who, like me, are distressed to see irregularities in their work when photographed super close up, can take some comfort in this photo.

 

Yes indeed. I'm working on a WWII destroyer escort, and in pictures of thin-hulled warships one always sees what looks like sagging skin between every single frame. 😬

 

 

[KurtH]

There. That's better.  All foremast rigging in place.  Tails are still left long and backstay seizings left undone to allow for future adjustments in the tensioning.

 

 

 

Now that all the upper stays are in place, the final appearance of the bowsprit rigging can be seen.  It more resembles the present configuration than it does the more complex rig shown in the  BJ plans.

 

 

[KurtH]

All main mast rigging in place.  T'gallant and royal shrouds and stays are glued in place with a spot of CA, but can be unglued with debonder (acetone?) if need be. Tails left long for now.  Fake eye splices and trimming to be done when I can be reasonably sure that no additional adjustments are necessary.  Hard to know when that will be when I have no prior experience in this sort of thing.  I am thinking that the tyes may affect the backstays, and the braces may affect the fore and aft stays.  Lifts, jeers, and trusses would probably make no difference (?).  Gluing in the fore and main fife rails permanently will make access to the top mast stays and the t'gallant preventer stay eye splices at the deck impossible, so I will need to be sure these stays are stable before beginning the running rigging.

 

 

Edited February 17, 2022 by KHauptfuehrer

[mort stoll]

As long as the standing rigging is firmly set, aligned and you're happy with it you should be fine. The running rigging never effected anything to do with my standing rigging. I am careful when I belay each line and very rarely had a problem. 

Hope this helps.  

Keep up the great work and stay safe,

Mort

[Bill Morrison]

Very impressive build!  Have you considered checking out www.HiSModel.com???  They offer quite a few after-market products for the Constitution in this scale. For example, they just created a new transom that is correct for 1812 based on new research that differs markedly from that in the kit.  Their sails are impeccable.  

 

Bill

[KurtH]

Thanks so much Mort for your advice and encouragement!

Thanks so much Bill for the info.  I will check out that site.

 

[KurtH]

Another milestone reached.  All standing rigging lines are in place.  Backstays can still be cast off if they obstruct installation of running rigging.

 

 

 

Yaay!

[KurtH]

Can anyone out there tell me what diameter rope was typically used for footropes?  My instructions do not have it.  None of my books on ship model building have it.  I cannot find it by Googling.  I imagine it would be the same regardless of the size of the ship.  Thanks!

[schooner]

The instruction book for my BJ kit of the ALFRED (same scale as yours I think) lists them as 3/4 inch.

[KurtH]

Thanks!  Dividing that by 96, I get .0078, so .008 size rope should be right.  That's what I thought, but it is nice to be sure.  Very nice job on the Alfred.  It looks as challenging as the Connie.

[MrBlueJacket]

Although 3/4" is appropriate, so is 1/2" (.005" in your scale)

[KurtH]

Thanks for the info!  I did consider .005", but chickened out and am proceeding with .008".  I have done the footrope on the starboard half of the fore course yard, and am pleased with how it came out.  I will post a photo when I have the truss, jeers, lifts, and sling in place. Speaking of which, the instructions give the size rope for the jeer pendants, but not the running component of the jeers.  Do you know what that would be?  I am guessing .025(?).  I have to stop now, as I am preparing for a video job.  Constitution will be in "ordinary"  for a few weeks.

Edited March 28, 2022 by KHauptfuehrer

[KurtH]

I found the size of the jeer falls.  It is 4.5" in circumference.  At scale, that would be .015" in diameter.  I will use Syren's .018".

[KurtH]

I am back in the saddle.  Here is my idea of how to hold a yard while working on it using Quad Hands and a couple of clamps:

 

And here is my first attempt at foot ropes using .008" Syren rope:

 

I did the starboard side first.  I got better at making those tiny loops as I did the port side as you can see.  I have the jeer blocks stropped, and the sling assembly ready to install.  I still have to make up the blocks for lifts, and braces, and reeve the jeer fall.  I will post the result.

 

[KurtH]

Sling, lower jeer blocks, and standing end of the jeers installed on the yard.

 

A view of the fore yard in place with sling installed and jeers rove.  Before I reeve the lifts, I will replace one of the blocks so that they both hang down the same.

 

My first attempt at rigging a truss.  The tackles are at the mast cap instead of on deck because there was not enough room between the topsail sheet bitt knees to accommodate them.  I ended up painting myself into a corner and having to improvise as best I could.

The next one should be better.  Practice makes perfect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2022 by KHauptfuehrer

[KurtH]

Lifts rigged.  This completes the rigging of the fore yard except for the braces which will be added later.  Loose ropes in the background are cast off backstays.

 

 

Now to tackle the main yard.  This should go a bit faster now that I have some idea of what to do, and what not to do.  My plan is to do all the course yards, then the topsail yards, etc.

[KurtH]

One way of insuring that stirrups are all the right length.  There is foamcore under the plan sheet.

 

The stirrups face fore and aft.  I use a small spot of glue applied to the front of the yard to secure the stirrup, then take the yard off the plan sheet and wrap the line around it holding the loop in the correct athwart ships orientation while I glue the line to the yard.  It seems to work well.

 

Edited May 16, 2022 by KHauptfuehrer

[KurtH]

Back at it again after time away to do video.   All three course yards crossed and slings, jeers, trusses, and lifts rigged.  The standing lifts option for the cro'jack yard shown in the Marquardt AOS is employed here.

 

View from aft.

 

A closeup of the cro'jack yard which is rigged a bit differently than the fore and main yards.  Standing lifts used and no jeers called for in the instructions.  Flemish horses also omitted as in the AOS and 

photos of the ship. 

 

 

As before the loose lines in the back are cast off backstays.  I am debating whether to rig the braces before or after I finalize the backstays.  Perhaps I should even wait until I have added the rope coils to the belaying pin racks(?)  At any rate, the next step will be crossing and rigging the topsail yards.

Edited August 4, 2022 by KHauptfuehrer

[KurtH]

Work is proceeding on crossing the topsail yards.

 

Heads Up - The spacing of the stirrups on the starboard and port halves of the fore topsail yard in the plans do not match, and the starboard half of the yard is 1/8" longer than the port half.

 

[SteveLarsen]

Superb.

[KurtH]

Thank you so much Steve!  I so appreciate it!

[wtimlen]

That is simply inspiring to me as a beginner.

 

Thank you.

Bill T.

[KurtH]

Thanks so much Bill!  I greatly appreciate your kind words!

Kurt H.