USS Constitution by Flyfisher - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:96

[GGibson]

Nice work on the gunports, Jim.  Looking good so far!  I will be watching your stern transom work with great interest.  I am just beginning my Model Shipways 1:76.8 scale Constitution build, but I have the BlueJacket instructions as another reference tool, so am interested in watching your build progress, as well.  In fact, I have looked in depth at @KurtH's transom work on his Constitution build, as he did a great job with his.

 

Carry on, sir!  Keep moving forward! 👍

[Flyfisher]

The kit-supplied deck is made in two pieces. I cut a template from the plans and discovered some surprises. My model is narrower than anticipated, no doubt because I didn’t exactly get the bulwarks thinned to the 5/32nd depth overall. They’re close, and only cost a few planks to get the fit right. 

 

 

I also cut the openings for the berth deck and masts. 

 

The only thing that bugs me is the obvious split down the centerline where the deck halves meet. I tried some obvious solutions, but it was of little benefit. If anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears. 

 

All this happened about six weeks ago. Since then I have been trying to fabricate the quarter galleries and stern. Oh Boy! Has that been a headache. But, it’s almost finished so I should have a post soon. 

 

Semper Dienceps

Jim

 

[schooner]

Hey Jim,

 

I had to deal with the same issue with the scribed decking on my ALFRED, OLYMPIA and SEGUIN builds. 

 

Assuming you have not already glued the decking down you can reduce or eliminate the seam. What worked best for me was to place the 2 pieces side by side on a piece of white paper (to improve visibility), mark with pencil on each side where the gaps are between them and then carefully sand outside of the marked areas, i.e. where there already is contact. That decking material sands fast so only do a little before rechecking by erasing your previous marks and making new ones. As long as you are careful to ensure your sanded surfaces don't get a bevel in them it shouldn't take too many repetitions to get a tight, invisible seam. If you want you could do the above on only 1 of the sides but you might end up with a seam that is tight but not parallel to the keel.

 

Your gundeck won't be very visible on the finished model due to limited light and sight lines so the seam will pretty much be out of sight, out of mind.

 

Edited October 19 by schooner

[g8rfan]

Hey Jim

I would second everything Tim said. However, I'm guessing you already glued these down. In that case, I would suggest very carefully filling the gap with DAP plastic wood. its a pretty good product that takes stain well. Once you fill the gap, you can go back with a scribing tool or toothpick and scrape out the scribed lines that accidentally got filled in (there will be some) Once the DAP material dries, a very light sanding followed by another coat of stain and the gap should all but disappear. Of course, you can just live with it. As Tim said, the gun deck is mostly obscured and what looks like a glaring defect right now, will hardly be visible later.

 

Good luck with those galleries

[Flyfisher]

It has been a trying time for the past few weeks, as I attached the transom and quarter galleries to the model. The instructions are vague and I think I had a mind block on solutions. 
 

I had removed the machine-carved galleries at the beginning of the build,and now I had to replace them. I started with smoothing the edges to make sure it fit  I intended to use as much of the original Britannia metal form as I could. 

I cut the lower deck portion with a saw and glued the metal seashell and railing to the piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately the deck assembly was too big and cut into the gunport. You can also see the disaster that I made with the windows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So it was necessary to remove the assembly and start over.

 

This time I reached out to other BJ modelers, especially @g8rfan for some advice, as well as rereading the logs describing these parts. 

That meant trimming the deck, and reapplying the seashell and rails. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So,the windows are funny looking, the trim looks out-of-scale, and the shape is shortened. 
I’m going to keep these as is for now, warts and all. 
If there are any tweaks you can suggest, please feel free to chime in. 
 

Semper Dienceps

 

Jim

 

Edited Thursday at 02:58 PM by Flyfisher

[Flyfisher]

It was much easier to make the transom. I stuck with the instructions and I’m fairly pleased with the results 

 

In summary, this thing is getting tougher. It humbles me to see the fine work that others are putting in, and realizing I’m trying to eat an elephant. 
 

Semper Dienceps

 

Jim