My Introduction

[Ferrus Manus]

I am new here, and i guess this is a rite of passage. I am seventeen years old, from California, USA. I have been making model ships since the eighth grade, but still have a world to learn. My introductory model will be the 1/96 scale USS United States, by Revell. Wish me luck!

 

 

[Ian_Grant]

Ferrus, welcome to MSW!  I, along with many members here, built the Revell models at about your age. Fond memories. Good luck and looking forward to reading your build log!

 

Best Regards,

Ian

[Jim Lad]

Hello Ferrus, and a warm welcome to the forum from 'Down Under'.

 

John

[Dave_E]

Hi Ferrus - Welcome to the forum.

[Jaager]

Some random thoughts on your project:

in 1799 three super frigates were built using the same plans as the starting point:  United States, President, Constitution.

The United States started life with a round house.  The first captain of each ship had some say about how their new command would be built.  It was a wild hare of an idea and the resulting poor sailing quality caused the addition to be removed.

A round house is a tall deck at the stern - in the 17th century it was were the poop deck would be but a round house is a lot longer.

 

The United States lasted until the US Navy's base here in Norfolk was captured by Confederate forces.

The ship would have likely undergone topside cosmetic changes about every 20 years as the then current fad changed.  I would not be surprised if United States did not gain an elliptical stern at some point.

Since it is a sister, the AOTS monograph for Constitution may help with masting and rigging and deck details if the era of your model is the same as the monograph's.

 

Plastic masts and yards at 1:96 might prove to be a bit bendy or fragile.  You might give a thought to replacing them with wood.  And also a thought to upgrading the kit supplied line,

 

@rwiederrich has some 1:96 clippers with exquisite masting and rigging - to give you something to shoot for.

USS  was not part of the official name for US Navy vessels until TR decreed it early in the 20th century.

Edited March 18, 2022 by Jaager

[Wawona59]

Welcome to the MSW forum Ferrus.  I'm a new member of MSW as well.  this is a great place to share ideas and advice.  When I was a kid over 50 years ago I built several of the Revel 1/96 ship kits; Constitution, Cutty Sark and Thermopylae.  These models were my introduction to rigging my own ratlines and also taught me the nautical names of many of the lines; halyards, braces, clew lines shrouds, etc. etc.  

 

You made a good choice in model subject.  Good luck with your build and enjoy the journey.  Hope to see some in progress shots of the United States build in the future.  I should be posting my first build log on the forum later this year.  John

[allanyed]

Welcome to MSW Iron Hands.   Hope your touch is lighter in actual practice when working on your model😀

You may very well be the youngest member here and it is great to see.  I hope you can deal with over 40,000 new teachers and maybe half as many different opinions at times.   Truth is we are all still learning, even though many of us have run the guantlet many times already.

Allan

[ccoyle]

Welcome aboard!

 

Many of us, myself included, started in this hobby by building plastic models in our teen years. Good luck with your project!

[druxey]

Ave, Ferrus! Welcome aboard.

[Gregory]

10 hours ago, Ferrus Manus said:

Wish me luck!

See my signature!  😁

 

Welcome aboard!

[Baker]

And good luck with the USS United States

[mtaylor]

Welcome to MSW, Ferrus.  

[Tomasz B]

Very welcome aboard Ferrus.

I wish you best with your build. 

[Ferrus Manus]

On 3/18/2022 at 2:40 AM, allanyed said:

Welcome to MSW Iron Hands.   Hope your touch is lighter in actual practice when working on your model😀

You may very well be the youngest member here and it is great to see.  I hope you can deal with over 40,000 new teachers and maybe half as many different opinions at times.   Truth is we are all still learning, even though many of us have run the guantlet many times already.

Allan

Hahahahaha! Warhammer is something i would very much enjoy if i could afford a 3d printer. I used to buy and paint the models until they became too expensive for sustainability. 

[Ferrus Manus]

Thank you all for your kind words! The only bit of "luck" here, it would seem, is the insane find of this gem on Ebay. You can't get the kit anywhere else, at least from here in the States, i found. I look most forward to asking nagging questions and advancing my knowledge in model shipwrightery. 

[Louie da fly]

Hi Iron Hands, and welcome to MSW from the Far Side of the World. I started ship modelling when I was maybe 10, starting off with the tiny Airfix models and graduating to Revell and the big Airfix Victory at about 17, before I moved over to wood.

 

I'm sure you'll enjoy your build, and I'm equally sure there'll be times you want to throw the rotten thing at the wall- don't worry about it. We all do. You'll make mistakes along the way - don't worry about that, either. The more experienced of us just make more interesting and complicated mistakes.

 

And yes, ask LOTS of questions. The membership here is almost embarrassingly willing to help. And if you don't understand an answer - ask another question!

 

God luck with your build, and have fun with it - that's the whole purpose of doing this stuff.

 

Steven

[Ferrus Manus]

Of course you're so good at scratchbuilding wood. You switched from plastic to wood at my age. I won't be seventeen for long, mate. Even at my age, you were proving yourself to be the best. 

A list of places that may want your ships: https://www.historyhit.com/guides/maritime-museums-to-visit-around-the-world/

Edited May 7, 2022 by Ferrus Manus

[Ferrus Manus]

On 3/17/2022 at 9:36 PM, Jaager said:

Plastic masts and yards at 1:96 might prove to be a bit bendy or fragile.  You might give a thought to replacing them with wood. 

I was very impressed by the masts and yards in this kit- They bent and refused to break! overall, the plastic quality is top notch, something heller could use to learn. 

[Louie da fly]

19 hours ago, Ferrus Manus said:

Of course you're so good at scratchbuilding wood. You switched from plastic to wood at my age. I won't be seventeen for long, mate. Even at my age, you were proving yourself to be the best. 

[Blush].

 

Still learning, mate. But at least I'm now making more interesting mistakes nowadays.

 

On the other hand, I'm totally awestruck by some of the other guys on this forum , who are really good at this stuff . . . (you know who you are).

 

Steven

Edited May 8, 2022 by Louie da fly

[Ferrus Manus]

Check out Woodrat, his scratch builds are truly museum quality. He's the best i've ever seen at that. 

[Louie da fly]

Oh, yes. But he's by no means the only one. We have some really stellar modellers on this forum. I won't mention their names for fear of embarrassing them, but they're the kind of ship modellers I want to be when I grow up . . . 

 

Steven

[popeye the sailor]

hi there!  I was looking for your log.   I quite agree.........it's good to see young blood flowing in this old hobby    I was around 35 when I built the United States,  and even younger when I built the Constitution for my mother.

she's a grand vessel..........and not a bad kit either    welcome to the forum!

[Ferrus Manus]

I saw your Constitution log. Very impressive! It looks like you hadn't installed the trysail mast yet.  As of yet, i am working on the mizzen shrouds. All i have left to do in terms of hull work is a couple pinrails, cleats, ladders, and the ship's wheel. After that, it's time for sails!! I hope your "friday" is going well!!