USS Constitution by lambsbk – Revell – 1/96 - PLASTIC – With Fiber Optics

[lambsbk]

Thank you Evan. Given my lack of experience in the rigging area of this build I decided to follow the Revell directions and bring the main sheet and tack lines through the gun deck bulwark. But...I really hated those pathetic nobs to secure the line so I removed them and placed some spare cleats instead. It does look better. Accurate? Only if I lucked out. I did not look into this matter much since these items will be barely visible.

 

 

A little closer...

[Guest Tim I.]

On frigates often the eye bolts for the breaching ropes would pierce the exterior of the vessel so they could be secured with a bolt nut. That would provide extra reinforcement for the cannon recoil.

 

- Tim

[lambsbk]

Thanks for stopping by Tim. Yes, I found the same thing to be true. Those guns had to pack quite a wallop.

[popeye the sailor]

facts like that are nice to know........but hard to duplicate in a model of this scale.   I too agree about those annoying stubbles  for the breech ropes.   if it was decided not to add thickness to the bulwark walls,  they could be filed flat and eye bolts installed.  then again,  I'm not a fanatic about doing major detail where it won't be seen.........but it can be seen along the opening at the spar mid deck.   I've done a lot of extra stuff in the past..........I found that it aggravated me more than it made me feel good.   I know that it's the choice of the builder,  and I respect that...........I enjoy seeing it done.....but unless it's an admiralty,  I won't do too much.

 

love what your doing Dave.........it looks fantastic!

[lambsbk]

I just looked at the pic again above and realized one of the single blocks is rigged incorrectly...that sailor is going to be fired!

 

I have a bit of a dilemma. The Revell directions call for the sheet and tack line to be 'medium' diameter line. That is the 0.018" kit included line. That works out to 5" circumference line at 1/96 scale. That is pretty close to the online tables for rigging 44 gun ships which show the line as 5 1/2". My dilemma is this: Syren Ship line is really a much, much nicer quality but the Revell line has a better color - more 'hemp like' (slightly greenish hue). So, if it can be done, can the line be tinted? If so, how?

Edited June 3, 2014 by lambsbk

[russ]

Ask Chuck.

 

Russ

[popeye the sailor]

yea....chuck would know better.........but I've done it with stain.    not much on the rag though.....you don't want to soak it.

[lambsbk]

I sent a PM to him just a few minutes ago. Thanks guys. I'll let you know what the plan is after I here from him.

[lambsbk]

Chuck said the rope can be tinted. The 'stain' is a correctly chosen color of herbal tea, soaked hot until the desired color is achieved. This should have been intuitive to me as I have used tea to stain and antique other non-modeling projects in the past.

 

Sometimes I just have a 'duh!' moment. 

 

Next up: Tea Time!

Edited June 3, 2014 by lambsbk

[lambsbk]

Not much progress this week. I am waiting on some replacement rope to replace the Revell sheet and tack lines. I liked Evan's (force 9) idea of gun deck stowed sea anchors so I experimented with making the paint more realistic by adding wood grain to the stocks and rust patina to the anchor. I kinda' like how it turned out and will apply this to other parts in the build.

 

 

Hopefully I will get to try dying the rope this week. That will have implications for the rest of the build.

Edited June 7, 2014 by lambsbk

[russ]

The anchors and stocks look very good. The paint job is realistic. Very good work.

 

Russ

[augie]

Very, very nice on both the anchors and the stocks.  Well done, mate!

[Littlebob]

Great work, very impressive details on this kit.

[Guest Tim I.]

Anchors look good.

 

- Tim

[lambsbk]

The new rope has come in and I have been trying to find a green herbal tea to give it a slightly more green ('hempish') look. So far I have had no luck in finding the right color tea. So, I am off to the a place called Southern Seasons (lots of herbal flavors) for a re-try.

 

I suppose if worse came to worse food coloring might work but I suspect it will be tricky to keep consistent through the rest of the build.

 

Dave

Edited June 14, 2014 by lambsbk

[lambsbk]

Rope staining: take 2.

 

Several attempts to bring the rope into a shade of green have met with limited success. The photos below show where I am at in this process. I used a green tea powder ($$$) called Matcha. It has the exact tint I needed. Getting it onto the rope in the correct proportions has been tricky. Also, larger size rope tends to swell and change the diameter. Wet rope swells (should have seen that coming). So...I am not sure I want to continue with tinting the line. There is not much difference and the line colors may not matter that much in the end. Since the line colors do not match the Revell kit I will need to replace the line with Syren Ship line (Chuck's gotta be smilin') but 1) the line is MUCH nicer and 2) I can vary the diameter more with Syren ship line which comes in more size selections. That WILL be noticeable and will add to the build. 

 

I suppose I will just have to enjoy the rest of my Matcha green tea in a few well savored cups.

[HIPEXEC]

I'm about to tackle my anchors, so I'll refer to your build from time to time.

[texxn5]

Hi Dave, thanks for the BD wishes. I see the storm is not being kind to Charleston. Be safe and hope you do not encounter any damage.

Take care, John & Diane

[lambsbk]

No damage. Barely saw anything from this one. Cat 3 and above and we are outa here...I am taking my model with me 

[lambsbk]

I have been reading other member posts about pinning pinrails. Does that apply to plastic as well? I suppose a metal pin could be blackened from the planking side easily enough but is it needed?

[texxn5]

Hi Dave, glad to hear all is ok in Charleston. If you are referring to using brass pins for the pinrails, from my point of view I would replace them with brass. I had too many of them melt when trying to get the rigging lines taut. I would then have to either put CA on them or move to an adjacent pin or both. It is one thing I would change. Don't know if that meets what you're looking for, just my 2 cents. Tell Fran hi for us....Happy 4th.

[lambsbk]

I am going to change the pins. But I was referring to mounting the rail to the bulwark. Is extra security beyond glue needed?

[augie]

On a wooden model, it is a good practice to pin the pin rails, channels and usually the fife rails so that one doesn't let go during rigging.  I'm really not sure if it's necessary on plastic joints.  Somebody must know !!

[lambsbk]

Thanks John and Augie. I suppose I will cross that bridge when I come to it. I have a spare hull and have decided to use it to strength test the rails.

Edited July 5, 2014 by lambsbk

[texxn5]

Hi Dave, when I glued the pinrails to the hull I used regular Testors plastic glue. When I first started tying to them they came loose so I CA'd them to the hull and didn't have any future problems. As for the pins themselves they were so thin that the cement melted them which is why I would drill out and replace them if doing a plastic model again. On mine also the molding was so bad that many of the pins just weren't there as if they never filled up the molds. I also had 2 kits and both were equally as bad.

[popeye the sailor]

the most I've had with that, is that I didn't scrape away the paint enough, and a pin rail came loose on the inner bulwark. if you've done that, you should be fine. usually, if I know that associated parts are to be the same color, I will assemble them first, then paint.

[lambsbk]

It has been a long time since I was able to work in the yard but started back again today. When last I left my ship I had replaced the Revell knobs for the fore and main Tack and Sheet lines with cleats. Today I tried securing those lines to the first cleat - it broke clean off - urghh. So what to do. I decided to secure the cleat with wire. The cleat was carefully drilled out for a bit of brass wire and then superglued. The bulwark was again violated with a drill bit and the cleat pulled through and again secured with superglue. Finally the wire was clipped and the outer hull repaired. Although it was a lot stronger I think I accidently twisted the cleat upside down when installed. C'est la vie.

 

 

 

  So - I have 1 cleat and line secured - not as much as I had hoped for.

 

 

[augie]

That must be as strong as the Rock of Gibraltar now!  As far as the cleat being upside down, I can't see it.

 

Good to see you back soldiering on!

[lambsbk]

Yes, thanks Augie. I was amazed at the strength of the repair - the wire really made a difference. I think I could hang the entire ship from that line and cleat. 

[md1400cs]

Dave,

 

Nice to see that you are back at work. Looking good.

 

The Connie will be in dry-dock for the next 2 years, as I'm sure you know. I hope to visit her when she returns to her museum. She looked great out for her last cruise.

 

Michael