USS Constitution by g8rfan99 - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1/98

[g8rfan]

For comparison, here is a pic of my eyebolt next to the 1/32" supplied eyebolt

[JSGerson]

I have not found any commercially made eyebolts smaller than 1/32", but at my scale of 1:76.8, that was good enough for most of my applications. Anything smaller, might be a waste of time and effort at 1:96 as they won't be easily discernable.  Also at 28 gauge, a few bends and the wire will probably break and getting thread through the eye will be a trick. We are close eyebolts/per gun in the count.  I get the following per gun:

• 4 - recoil rope (2 required per side)
• 2 (or 1 double) - pull-in tackle
• 1 - pull back tackle
• 5 - gun truck
• 2 - gun truck rings

OR you could do what many other builders have done - just install the recoil ropes for a simpler, cleaner look (read less eyebolts). I didn't because I am detail anal and wanted to create a more realistic mess.

 

Here are some drawings that might help in general.

 

[g8rfan]

Hey Jon,

 

Thanks for the feedback. I have definitely considered whether it is worth it to even bother. You are correct, at any distance at all, you can hardly recognize the eyebolts, but to me, the 1/32 just look "clunky" at this scale. The wire is surprisingly strong and fairly easy to work with. You can get away with 2-3 bends in the same place, but any more than that and yes, it will break. My last concern was the thread. As you pointed out, it may be a bit of a hassle trying to get it through these tiny holes, and the hooks are going to also need to be fabricated from wire thin enough to fit in the eyebolts. I'm going to make a few and see how hard this is before thinking about spending the time to make all these.

As for the count, thanks for the drawings. I didn't include the double eyebolts that go on the hanging knees. I made those up separately and am quite happy with how they turned out. I do like the look of the haul in/out tackle and so I wanted to include it. As you may have noticed form what little I've done so far, I am also a bit focused on the little details 

[g8rfan]

I spent a while searching some more for smaller eyebolts without much luck, so I set about making some. Using a small jig I crafted, I could make about 50 in an hour and a half. Not bad, but still a good bit of time. Then I simply posted the question here on MSW and got a great suggestion from @petervisser . Instead of trying to make an eyebolt with the typical shape, he simply twists wire around an appropriately sized needle. this gives an eye that is perfectly shaped and the right size. Of course, the shank is twisted and larger, but it doesn't matter as this will be buried in the wood and not visible, and actually gives a little more grip. This method is really fast and easy. I could make about 1/minute using 36 ga wire and a 24ga needle

[JSGerson]

As "easy" as it is to make eyebolts, it's the shear number of them that is required that makes it a pain to make. I make small parts like this on an as required basis, so I don't go nuts making very large quantitates. I bought a bag of one thousand 1/32" eyebolts on ebay from Model Expo some time ago that didn't last as long as I thought it would. It's amazing how useful those tiny items are for all sorts of things. Unfortunately for 1/96 scale builders, 1/32" eyebolts are still out of scale in many areas. Don't forget, you still need to blacken them as well, because paint will clog up the eyes.

 

Jon

[g8rfan]

Hey Jon,

You definitely hit that eyebolt on the head (or in the eye). It is amazing how many eyebolts are actually on this ship. To save my sanity, I will definitely take your advice. I plan to make enough to take care of the gun deck rigging and wait to do the spar deck when the time comes. For the rest, I can just make them as needed. I got you on blacking them. I did try painting the 1/32 ones at first, but as you pointed out, that does tend to clog up the eyes, even using an airbrush. Also, any that were touching would stick together and once separated, the brass would show. I got some Brass Black and thankfully it works well on the wire I'm using.

[g8rfan]

Well, I spent about an hour last night putting up a post of my recent work, only to find it wasn't here today. I'm guessing I must have forgotten to hit the submit button. Oh well, here goes again. After spending a while making a bunch of eyebolts for the gun deck, I realized I had forgotten a couple things on the outside hull, namely the boltheads around the gun ports (actually the backings for all the eyebolts i was getting ready to install). At first, I assumed these would be the same size as the bolt heads on the inner bulwarks, but after making a few comparative measurements on a few photos, it appears these are actually about 3.5" in diameter. At first I considered using pinheads, but these were a bit too large. Then I remembered the TichyTrain rivets and ordered some of the 0.035" size. The first time I tried to use these, I had a terrible time. If you try to cut them off one at a time, they tend to fly off like tidly-winks never to be found again, and even handling them with tweezers was not easy, if squeezed too tight or too close to the end of the tweezers, they again would fly off into the room somewhere. I found though that if I taped the entire piece to a piece of masking tape and cut them all at once with a sharp blade, the tape would hold them in place and allow me to pick them up one at a time fairly easily. I then simply inserted them into pre-drilled holes. I first tried using CA glue, but found that the glue did not want to adhere to the plastic, probably due to some mold release agent. Instead, I used slow curing two-part epoxy (J-B Weld) which worked really well. I just made a nice puddle of mixed epoxy and dipped the end of the rivet into this. Here's how things went, I left the rivets brown for the photo so they would be easier to see, but of course all this will be painted black

 

[g8rfan]

I also installed the sheaves at the aft end of the deck. At first I tried to fabricate these using the sandwich method, but at this scale, I had a hard time getting all the pieces lined up well. i was able to manage the ones at the top of the bulwark. For the ones further forward that are embedded in the wall, I chose to just use a solid piece of wood. I drilled holes where the lines would feed through and then used a very fine engraving bit on the Dremel to carve out between the holes. This at least made the pieces look more like a sheave and not just two holes.

 

[JSGerson]

You were smart. You didn't attempt install the hundreds if not thousands of pseudo bolt heads on the bulwarks at 1:96 scale. Robert Hunt's practicum used the rivets from Tichy Train Group for those boltheads which I thought were out of scale even on the 1:76.8 scale MS model. It's the reason I made mine smaller using a punch. However, it looks like plastic rivets were perfect for the larger eyebolt bolts showing on the hull. Well done.

 

Your sheaves worked out nicely as well. Both the hull boltheads and sheaves will meld into the hull and hide when they are painted black. The reason why I don't mind this is because I want the viewers to see more detail the more they look, and the closer they look. The viewers should not get bored.

 

Jon

[g8rfan]

Thanks alot Jon,

a few of my bolt heads are a little out of position, but from any distance at all, they all look the same. I'm totally with you on the details. I find alot of personal satisfaction putting them in and I know if anyone looks at this model, i will have the opportunity to invite them to look closer. I've been thinking alot about my next steps. Although originally, I planned to get started on the gun deck, I am now considering working on the stern, followed by the bow heads. Working on these structures, I am sure I will want to manipulate the entire ship at times, and it seems to me that having alot of stuff on the gun deck while handling the ship that way will not be a good idea. I've been dreading the stern, as it seems like an incredibly complicated assembly, but at some point, I know I have to do it, so it may as well be now. Stay tuned.

.

.

.

 

[g8rfan]

Well it has been a while, but I have not been idle. I've spent a lot of time pondering how to do the stern. When I set out on this little adventure, I wanted to build the ship as she was in 1812 when she battled Guerriere. As most of you know, that comes with it's own set of issues, as I don't think anyone knows what she really looked like. The PE transom that comes with the kit is definitely not correct. It is a sort of blend of a few time frames, and although it would probably make things easier, I decided to not use this. When I started, I purchased the Revell 1/96 model as a reference. After looking at it (I believe based primarily on the Hull model), photos of the Hull model (thanks Jon) and the paintings by Corne, I finally decided to use the Hull model as my primary source.

Having finally settled on that little detail, I turned to the transom and tried to figure out how I was going to handle all the fine details. I thought about using the 3D printed transoms available on line ($$$$) but my wallet said no. The idea of making anything reasonable by hand was just not happening. I turned to the Revell model. I had hoped to sell this model once I was finished to recoup the cost, so I tried to see if I could make a mold of the transom. After several attempts at this, I've gotten close, but not as good as I had hoped. I'll probably try a couple more times, but at this point I think I may end up just using it and forgoing the later sell (at east as a complete model).

 

The kit supplied transom covers the entire stern, whereas the Revel transom (and the hull model) only cover a portion, with the topmost planking showing on either side. before I took the plunge and started working on the actual model, I thought I would make a mock up to see how everything was going to come together. I used a piece of 2x4 and after shaping and planking here is what I ended up with

 

The darkened areas are where the PE brass transom windows would have been and where my current transom timbers are located. After making a template of the Revell transom and placing it on the stern, I realized that the outer most frames are going to need a little modification. Next, I turned my attention to the quarter galleries. I've read that the bow is one of the hardest parts of building a ship, but for whatever reason, the galleries intimidate me a lot more. The kit supplies the galleries as a 5 piece puzzle made from cast metal. Everal other builders have lamented on how difficult it is to use these pieces and I won't waste time reiterating. I decided I would be better off building them from scratch. Fortunately, for a previous project, I had purchased a laser engraver. Nothing fancy, a little 5watt unit I got for less than $100. Using this and teh plans from the Museum website, I cut out the four major pieces that make up the galleries:

 

I also made up the "wings" where the transom hangs over the outside of the hull. (note self, do this before planking the stern).I only bothered doing one side, since if that works out the other side will simply be a repeat. The whole exercise was just to see what I could accomplish, learn where I was bound to make mistakes and not trash my model by having to rip everything off and start over again. The side was marked off where the gunports, gallery opening, gunport sill and gundeck would be. then I glued on pieces "A" and "B"

 

So far so good. My first realization was that I was going to need to resize these pieces just slightly to account for the planking on the inside of the transom piece. next was the finish piece on the bottom of the galleries. I could never quite figure out how this transitioned to the transom and the counter. The piece supplied by BJ is a little half moon shaped thing that I could never get to fit quite right. I wanted to use this piece, since it has the scalloping detail. After looking at a lot of other builds and the best angles I could get on the ship itself, I convinced myself that the counter on the stern doesn't end at the side of the hull, but actually extends a little and transitions up and into the transom, which provides a little filler piece for this bottom finish on the gallery. I had saved the pieces I cut off the original solid hull and used these to carve out the support for the bottom finish piece. Here's what I ended up with:

 

Of course, as it is, its just roughed in and would need a little filler and some sanding/smoothing, but overall I was pretty pleased with it. My question all of you (or anyone looking) is whether I am correct in how the finish piece terminates at the outside edge of the transom and the space in between  is covered by the "filler" piece?

 

[g8rfan]

It's been a month and a half, but I'm back. I'm sure some of you out there thought "well, another newbie bites the dust", but I'm still hangin' in there. After mocking up the transom and getting a good idea of how I was going to tackle the whole stern, I realized that before getting started on the quarter galleries, I needed to have the transom in place so I could get everything properly aligned. Using two part silicone, I made a mold of the Revell transom

This part was fairly easy and the detail is amazingly sharp. I tried several different materials to then make the actual part starting with something called Resincrete. This plastic-like material is a dry powder that is mixed with water to produce a hard resin. It pours very easily and produced very nice details with no bubbles, but the part was very brittle and difficult to work with. A thicker piece would probably hold up much better. I then turned to two-part epoxy. This made a very nice part that was surprisingly flexible after hardening and was easy to sand down. However, great care had to be taken to insure that the epoxy flowed into the deeper details like the crowns on the window pillars. No matter what I did, there were always bubbles. Since I went to great lengths to allow the epoxy to slowly flow into the deeper parts of the mold, I believe the problem was actually being generated as the epoxy cured. It does heat up a bit during the process and was likely forming bubbles. Here is a photo of the part being made with two-part epoxy that had been reinforced by the addition of carbon powder:

I finally tried using good old automotive Bondo. The down side to this is that it tends to harden fairly quickly and so I had to be quick about filling the mold and making sure the material flowed into all the little crevices. The upside was it did not produce bubbles like the standard epoxy did. it took a couple of tries to get a piece that I was satisfied with. The transom of course is slightly convex, so the finished part is thick in the middle. Using the Dremel with a combination of engraving and sanding bits, I thinned out the middle until the windows were clear and the part was fairly uniform in thickness. Once thinned, the piece was fairly flexible and it was easy enough to get it to conform to the contour of the stern. I planked across the stern, leaving enough hanging over the edges to allow for the transom. Before doing this though, I had to do a little adjusting to the window openings. I had originally used the PE transom as a guide for the framing, and the Revell widows are spaced just slightly different. After painting the transom, i glued on some thin cellophane for the window panes and then attached the transom using E-6000 adhesive. Here's the final result:

As you can see, I went with the same color scheme seen on the Hull model. In the photo, you can make out the nameplate lettering. I didn't bother removing this from the part, as it is not accurate to the time period, but I did leave it black. From about a foot away it is not really visible. I had to add some additional planking to the stern counter to even everything out after adding the transom, which I hadn't painted yet when I took the photo. All this will get taken care of when I finish the quarter galleries

[JSGerson]

I've have never molded anything, but I'm sorry, nothing is "fairly easy." There must be a bunch of details that must checked everything must be set just right to obtain the optimum results. You did good. You proved casting the part is an art and the painting of the part's fine details was wonderfully done. You sir, are an artist! How did you do get those painting results? Your brush must of had just one hair😁

 

Jon

[g8rfan]

On to the quarter galleries. As I mentioned before, this is the one part of the ship that i find the most intimidating. Trying to put together the 5 part puzzle of cast metal pieces supplied in the kit was for me like trying to play 3D chess without looking at the board. After playing with my little mock up of the stern, I thought I could frame out the galleries using the Navy plans and just fit the pieces onto the frames. This didn't quite work out, and probably has something to do with the kit being based on the 1812 ship and the plans being based on a later restoration. In any event, a little tweaking of the dimensions of the framing and a little trimming of the metal parts and i had something I thought would come together nicely. My original plan was to get the counter in place, attach the side scroll piece, then get the roof attached and finally be able to frame up the windows in the space remaining. That was the plan anyway.

So, I started off getting the floor and the side frame attached. I used some left over pieces of the scribed decking that I had to "plank" the floor and the entranceway. This was stained with a mix of minwax golden pecan and gunstock. Of course I had to include the seat, complete with toilet for the captain. Once all that was in place, I attached the scroll piece for the bottom counter. That piece was back filled with epoxy putty (KwikWood by JB Weld) that was shaped to fit snugly against the hull. All of this was attached using CA glue. once all was firmly in place, any gaps, etc were filled in using the same epoxy putty.

[g8rfan]

Thanks Jon,

I will admit, I didn't get it perfect on the first try (thus the six week lapse) but the silicone is pretty easy to use. The main thing one has to think about are the edges, and how to build up the putty or clay to hold the silicone while it sets. Flat pieces aren't too bad. Making a 3D part would be a bit more of a challenge. As for the paint, I did use a pretty fine tip brush. The biggest secret is cleaning the brush frequently to keep the paint from drying out on the brush - and using 5X readers to see what you're doing

Thanks for the compliment

[g8rfan]

Satisfied with the bottom half of the gallery, I moved on to the roof. I attached to ceiling (part C in the plans) and used this as a guide to attach the shingled portion of the roof. Of course, with such a fine toilet, I just had to add the sconce light to the wall. This was fabricated from a piece of brass wire, and some clear styrene sprue that I had heated up and stretched to give the glass on top. it's just a little out of scale, but I thought it gave a decent look

 

[g8rfan]

 

After getting the roof in place, I had planned to actually frame out the windows with wood, but first thought I would check the dimensions by placing the kit supplied windows in the space to see how they fit.

 

Much to my disappointment, there was a huge gap along the bottom sill. Since the top seemed to fit OK, I knew that the curve was correct. After studying it a bit, I came to the conclusion that the scroll piece below the windows was tilted outward too much and needed to have a little less angle to it. not sure how this could be since I used the Navy plans to create the frame piece that the scroll leaned up against. I decided the best thing to do would be to rip everything off and start over again. not an easy task since I had used extra CA glue to reinforce everything. After soaking everything with debonder, I managed to pull off the scroll piece and the frame without too much damage. I redid the frame piece with a little less outward curve to it, so the scroll piece would fit tighter and not have as much outward angle. Meanwhile, I decided that it was going to be easier to use the kit supplied windows than trying to frame this out myself. I wanted to have the windows open, so that meant thinning out the piece and carving out the individual windows. I thinned out the backside as much as possible with the Dremel and a sanding wheel. After that, I drilled a hole in the middle of each window andd then moving outward, I used a #11 X-acto blade to slowly carve out the metal. The Brittania metal is surprisingly soft and can be carved easily if you just take a little at a time. Once the windows were more or less carved out, the edges and corners were finished off with files. Before attaching them, I painted them and then glued on the cellophane for window panes

 

I filed in the gaps with epoxy putty,  got everything smoothed out, and then painted, including some touch up to the windows. Once painted, they didn't look too bad, at least not to me. Considering how much I lamented over this little portion of the project, I was satisfied

 

Now onto the bow, which I have decided to tackle before moving on to the gun deck

[KurtH]

Amazing work!  This kit demands great resourcefulness and creativity which you have shown.  Congrats!

[Flyfisher]

I’m in awe. That’s amazing work on an area that already has been giving me the willies. 

[g8rfan]

Thanks guys. Really appreciate (and need) the encouragement. This ship is more than a challenge, but so far, still having fun.

[KurtH]

I thought it might be a good idea to give you a heads up concerning the pitfalls I encountered when doing the bowheads in case you are not aware of them already.   The plans given on page 48 of the instruction book represent the restoration which was done in 1978 and is the current configuration.  The scale is not given, but I was able to figure out that it is 1/96, and so can be used as is for the model.   This configuration conflicts with the elevation plan in two ways: the cathead emerges from the hull at the forecastle deck level in the plan and in photo 24 on page 50, but does so just below the caprail on the real ship.  Consequently the photo shows a "squashed" version of the bowhead structure compared to the real thing.  The deck plan also shows the position of the catheads forward of their present position.  I did not catch this until after I finished the build and saw that I had a foreshortened version of the structure.  Here is a build photo of a superb model by Herb Ebson showing the simpler version of the bowheads shown in the Campbell plans:

This is the configuration of the bows that the Revell model uses.  The Model Shipways Constitution uses the current appearance.  Perhaps one of the many builders of that kit might be willing to share the measurement from the stem to the cathead if you decide to use the plans given on page 48.  By the way, the Ebson model uses real trennels, not simulated ones, and there are working brass sheaves in all the blocks.

In case you do not already have them, here are some photos of the real ship you might find useful:

Note the complex curves and variable beveling of the outboard edges of the bowhead timbers.   Whenever I see a model of the Constitution, the first thing I look at is the bowhead.  That is the most difficult part of the build in my opinion., and the Constitution bow is the most complex and challenging of any ship I have yet seen.  The most successful rendering of this that I have seen is a build from the MS kit by Jerod Matwiy:

One more thing.  The cast metal trailboard provided in the kit is different from the current version, so some creative fettlin' will be needed to integrate it into the current configuration.

 

[JSGerson]

Kurt, where may I see more pictures of Herb Ebson's and Jerod Matwiy's models?

Edited Thursday at 03:36 PM by JSGerson

[KurtH]

I have been unable to replicate the search that turned up those photos, but here is one more that I downloaded at that time.

[JSGerson]

Thanks for trying

 

Jon

[g8rfan]

Hi Kurt,

 

Thanks for the heads up and all the very useful info and photos. I have already been a bit perplexed by the position of the catheads. The "simplified" version definitely looks like it would be easier to do, and I am trying to be true to her appearance in 1812, but esthetically, I feel compelled to stay with the current configuration. The way the second rail fairs into the cathead, although complex (and intimidating) looks so much more elegant. I'm curious if this version was actually a quick fix after the damage suffered in the collision with USS President that didn't get changed until a later restoration? 

 

Jon, you are the man with the photos. Do you have any that show a pretty good view of the bowhwead on the Hull model?

[KurtH]

Here is one:

Hope this helps.