USS Constitution by Glen McGuire - FINISHED - BlueJacket Bicentennial Edition - 1/96 - Repair and Completion of Construction

[Ian_Grant]

The family will be thrilled to see the result, Glen.  Beautifully done!

[Bryan Woods]

Great job Glen, and also a thank you for a great play by play log that helped me follow along on stuff I had no knowledge of:-)

[ccoyle]

Beautiful result!

[Canute]

Excellent work. The family should be proud.

[Desertanimal]

Beautiful work. I’m sure the family will now proudly display her and have fond memories of their father. 
 

Chris

[Glen McGuire]

As this thoroughly enjoyable adventure comes to a close, I’ve got a lot of thank you’ing to do.  First of all, thanks to those directly above for your kind words.

 

I want to give a special thanks to @Keith Black for sending me Carson’s original post on MSW requesting assistance.  It has been a real pleasure working on the Constitution for these past 8 months.  I have loved every minute of it (except for the ratlines 🤪).  It almost makes me want to put down the bottles and do another regular ship model!  But we’ll see about that.

 

Next, I want to sincerely thank everyone in the MSW world that followed along on this build.  Your advice, tips, critiques, corrections, suggestions and good humor made my work better so much better.  So a huge thanks to @Knocklouder, @popeye2sea, @BANYAN, @Ian_Grant, @Coyote_6, @gjdale, @Paul Le Wol, @Bryan Woods, @Javelin, @FriedClams, @Landlubber Mike, @Canute, @SaltyScot, @Thukydides, @tmj, @hollowneck, @JacquesCousteau, @gsdpic, @lraymo, @PvG Aussie, @GrandpaPhil, @gieb8688, @Snug Harbor Johnny, @Bill Morrison, @Desertanimal, @vossiewulf, @ccoyle, @Marcus.K., @CiscoH, @KARAVOKIRIS, @Nearshore, @schooner, @Ryland Craze, @PaddyO, @SiriusVoyager, @DanB, @G.Frost, @eatcrow2, @Auger, @Paryzek, @Jolly Jo, @chris watton, @DanielD, @Zarkon.  Whether you were here for each post or just popped in every now and then to have a look, I greatly appreciated your company.  You helped to make the build that much more enjoyable.

 

Next, I want to thank @xken, @usedtosail, @robnbill, @KurtH for your superb build logs.  I relied on them greatly to help me understand the BlueJacket instructions and figure out some of the trickiest parts of the build.  Each of your versions of the Constitution are magnificent.

 

And finally, I want to thank Carson (a.k.a. @Robert in Austin) for entrusting me with a treasured family heirloom.  His father, Hollye, was a highly skilled ship modeler and I consider it a real honor that the family allowed me to complete his work.

 

 

I’ve posted a few pics below, but I believe it’s hard to capture the magnitude of the Constitution with a few snapshots.  So I tried making a drone-like video tour of the model.  It’s about 4 minutes long and you can view it here if you like.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLITokzun78

 

 

Here are the pics:

 

 

I was truly honored that Carson wanted to include my name along side his father's on the nameplate.

 

 

 

Edited June 3 by Glen McGuire

[Paul Le Wol]

Glen, congratulations on bringing this Constitution back to 100%. You and Hollye have done an outstanding job.

[JacquesCousteau]

Congratulations on finishing! Great job on the rigging, I'm sure the original builder would be happy to see his work completed so well.

[Coyote_6]

Glen - I just watched the video.  Paraphrasing Tom Hanks - "There's no crying in model shipbuilding!!"

 

Just beautiful.  Constitution is magnificent and you guys have represented her just so well.   

 

It would take a ship in the bottle guy to finish her up with all those tight spaces.  Take a bow sir, and thanks for letting us follow along!

Edited June 2 by Coyote_6

[Jolly Jo]

She looks absolutely magnificent! That's (a) top notch craftsmanship, congratulations!

[GrandpaPhil]

Incredible work, Glen!

[tmj]

Carson definitely had the proper person work on this model! Very nice work... very nice indeed! 

[SaltyScot]

Glen,

 

I too just sat and watched your video, quite touching really and a fine example of true workmanship. When one considers what she looked like 8 months ago:

 

 

You have done her more than proud, Glen, and what an honor to have your name on the plaque alongside her original builder. You are a master, sir, and don't let anyone convince you otherwise. As Robert N. Rose once said:

 

"Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made, for somewhere deep in their oaken hearts the soul of a song is laid.” 

 

Edited June 3 by SaltyScot
Image added

[BANYAN]

Mate, you've done a great job with her completion, especially the rigging.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Glen McGuire]

18 hours ago, Coyote_6 said:

Glen - I just watched the video.  Paraphrasing Tom Hanks - "There's no crying in model shipbuilding!!"

 

Just beautiful.  Constitution is magnificent and you guys have represented her just so well.   

Thank you so much, Steve.  I just noticed you have the historic and unique 15-star flag as your profile pic.  Is that a closeup of a Constitution flag?

 

 

 

10 hours ago, SaltyScot said:

As Robert N. Rose once said:

 

"Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made, for somewhere deep in their oaken hearts the soul of a song is laid.” 

I love that quote, Mark!  I had not heard of Mr. Rose so I had to look him up.  And I found the entire poem, which I thought was mesmerizing:

 

Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made,
For somewhere deep in their oaken hearts the soul of a song is laid;
A soul that sings with the ship along through plunging hills of blue,
And fills her canvas cups of white with winds that drive her through.
For how could a nail and a piece of wood, tied with a canvas thread,
Become a nymph on moon-washed paths if the soul of the ship were fled?

 

Her bosom throbs as her lover's arms clasp her in fond embrace,
And the joyous kiss of briny lips is fresh on her maiden face.
No storm can smother the hempen song that wells in her laughing throat—
Small wonder then that men go mad for the love of the sea and a boat.
For the singing sheet is a siren that tugs at the hearts of men,
And down to the sea they must go once more, tho they never come back again.

  

 

  

[Thukydides]

Great job Glen.

[Coyote_6]

3 hours ago, Glen McGuire said:

I just noticed you have the historic and unique 15-star flag as your profile pic.  Is that a closeup of a Constitution flag?

 

That is a crop of a picture of the replica U.S. Brig Niagara in Cleveland, 2010, from an article in The Plain Dealer.  (Photo credit John Kuntz?)

 

It is pretty low res! 😭

 

 

https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2010/06/cleveland_students_help_bring.html

 

The 1812 era is probably my favorite for tall ships.  Currently I am working the 1812 privateer Prince de Neufchatel.  Next up will likely be Constructo's Enterprise (1799), and finally in my stash is the Model Shipways 1:76 Constitution.  

 

I am a little daunted by Constitution, especially after following your efforts here!  The complexity is astounding.  Hopefully completing the Prince and Enterprise will prepare me for what's ahead!!

 

But I mean, c'mon.  Your ship's bell??  That would take me 6 months and still not look as nice.  

 

Beautiful work Glen!

Edited June 3 by Coyote_6

[Glen McGuire]

1 hour ago, Coyote_6 said:

Currently I am working the 1812 privateer Prince de Neufchatel. 

I've been following your build log and you are doing an incredible job on the Prince.  Based on the the work I've seen, I think you'd sail thru a Constitution build just fine.  And speaking of the Prince, I actually have that same kit from Constructo (won it in a raffle).  Sadly, I've been poaching parts from it for my SIBs and some of this Constitution work.  If I do ever get around to building it, your log will be a great resource.   

[usedtosail]

Sorry I missed your build log while you were building, but you have done a magnificent job on your Conny. You should be very proud.

[gjdale]

Congratulations Glen - a truly  magnificent job and absolutely deserving to have your name on the plaque as well.

 

[SaltyScot]

12 hours ago, Glen McGuire said:

And I found the entire poem, which I thought was mesmerizing:

 

I could not agree more, Glen. I had only ever heard the quote and didn't think to look up the whole poem. What captivating words.....

[SaltyScot]

10 hours ago, Coyote_6 said:

But I mean, c'mon.  Your ship's bell??  That would take me 6 months and still not look as nice. 

 

I am with you on that one, Steve. 

[Landlubber Mike]

Amazing work Glen!!  Really well done!  I loved the video too - shows really well what a stellar model this became.  

[FriedClams]

Congratulations, Glen - a very generous act and a fantastic job.

 

Gary

[Glen McGuire]

Closing out the build log here.  My son and I delivered the ship to Carson last night.  All the pressure was on my son as he had to hold the model in his lap and not let anything happen to it while I drove the truck.  We got it to Carson's house safe and sound (whew!) where he surprised me with two very nice bottles of rum - Chairman's Reserve from St. Lucia and Holmes Cay single cask from Guyana.  I thought @BANYAN's Bundy was potent at 37% alcohol by volume but the Holmes Cay is 60%.  Whoa!  Gonna have to be careful with that one.

 

Now I've got rum from dang near every corner of the world!  I just wish I could share a tipple with all of y'all that took part in this fun journey over the past 8 months.  Thank you again!     

[SaltyScot]

44 minutes ago, Glen McGuire said:

I just wish I could share a tipple with all of y'all that took part in this fun journey over the past 8 months. 

 

Never say never, Glen  What a fantastic way to close out that wonderful chapter. 

[Paul Le Wol]

A perfect ending Glen 👍

[tmj]

Lasting memories have just been made. Because of that model... neither you, nor Carson will ever forget one another! Those two bottles of rum are simply icing on a really great memorable cake!   

"Great job, Glen!"

[Keith Black]

Well, that tugs at me ole heartstrings. 

[Canute]

That rates a double thumbs up from this old aviator. 👍👍