USS Constitution by robnbill (Bill) - FINISHED - Mamoli - 1:93 kit - First Build - Bashed

[Landlubber Mike]

Looking great Bill.  Thanks for the tutorial on making the small boats.  I'm thinking of doing the same on all my builds from now on, rather than using the kit resin or cast metal hulls.  Results look much nicer!

[robnbill]

Thanks Mike. I am enjoying building the boats. Adding the details even though I know most of these things will never be seen. These boats are teaching me to build on a smaller scale. The second boat will be faster than the first. I hope to have more photos to post tonight.

 

On another note, I have ordered the glass and LED lights for the case. So I should have everything I need to build the case and table except the hinges and the wood. Since I have ordered the legs, I will wait to get them to match the walnut at the hardwood shop. I debated on glass or acrylic and finally decided on tempered low iron glass. I will have a hinge built into the back side to gain access to the ship so weight is not an issue. With the low iron glass it is really optically clear. 

[robnbill]

I completed painting the hull white. I will have to retouch once the boat is completed. The interior must be painted prior to installing the deck stringers since I want the deck to be stained. After it dried, I glued the deck stringers into the hull. The seats are arched. To do this, I took 3mm strips and carved the seats arch with the rotary tool and a dancing cylinder. I fitted each seat into the hull notching as necessary for the ribs. After the seat was glued I added the center support post. I made the posts using a 2x2mm square strip and rounded the middle of the post before cutting it and staining it. Then I glued it between the middle of the seat and the top of the keel.

 

Next I took a .5mm strip of walnut and filed round radius into the end and created the shear planks I added these then the two rings that are glued directly to the keel.

 

 Tomorrow I will add the fore deck and stern decks as well as the deck rail. 

Edited January 6, 2015 by robnbill

[robnbill]

Today I completed the hull of the fist whaleboat. I still need to make the rudder, oars, and various items to be placed in the boat. The next one should be easier since I was forging ground on this one (at least for me). One lesson learned it to add the shear planks after the rail and oarlocks are done. They are easy to fit into the boat where they mount and FAR to easy to break when focused on shaping the rail.

[robnbill]

I finished the starboard ship's boat today. I will not create the accessories until the remaining two boats are completed. Soldering the hinges was an interesting task. I did these like I had made other fittings out of brass sheet. However since these were so small when I hit it with the micro torch, the solder pulled the hinge strips all sorts of ways but not the correct way. I figured what was happening was once the torch melted the flux and the solder, the brass and the solder were attracted to each other. Since the fittings were so small their mass was much less than the small amount of solder so they came to it. What I ended up doing was cutting new strips with one long leg. I put these in the helping hands and placed the two parts in position. Then it was easy to get the solder in the correct place.

 

After trimming the legs and some sharpening with the rotary tool, I  blacken these even though I figured I would still want to paint them. I think the blackening makes the paint stick easier since it has more "tooth".  

 

I cut the rudder out with the scroll saw then shaped it and it's handle with the rotary tool. After painting and adding the hinges I mounted it to the whaleboat.

 

While the rudder paint was drying I decided to tackle the flags. I used a 50/50 PVA and water mixture to soak the flags and shaped them by laying them out on aluminum foil. This worked great for the two ensigns (??) but when I pulled the US flag off I left several of the white stripes on the foil. Obviously the fabric did not fare well over the last two decades. So I looked up Modelr12's thread on how to make flags and was off to the stores to pick up the necessary supplies. I put a detailed description of how I did it in Jay's thread here -  http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/89-making-cloth-flags/. It worked like a charm. I used the opportunity to change from the 1797 flag to the 1812 flag. I used a combination of DeltaCad and Preview to create the necessary transfer.

 

By the time I got the new flag mounted on the ship, I was able to temporarily hang the starboard whaleboat. Currently the lifts are just bundled and sitting in the boat's cockpit. I will start working on the remaining boats tomorrow. I do not plan on working on the accessories until all the boats are completed since they all have many of the same ones.

 

Here are a few photos of the ship sitting in it's temporary berth. 

 

The parts have started to arrive for the case with the LED channels arriving today. Hopefully soon, the ship will be sitting safe and sound in her new home.

[GLakie]

Some great shots of her Bill. Nice work on the flags and boats. Make sure and put a new card in your camera for lots of pics of the finished product when she's done. 

 

Cheers 

[robnbill]

Thanks George. Rest assured with an iPhone and Macs, everything is pretty automatic.

[CaptainSteve]

Just inspirational, Bill !!

[patrickmil]

The whaleboat looks good Bill. Heck, the entire ship is looking amazing. I'm hoping for half as good when mine is done.

[HIPEXEC]

Very nice detailed work on your longboat.

[Modeler12]

Great work Bill. You worked hard and did a beautiful job in one year or so. Now you can enjoy the results by stepping back and recall all the details. I am sure your family and friends all admire this piece of art.

[robnbill]

The last few days have been busy ones. I decided the stern ship's boat will be the 25 foot gig. I wanted to have a different look than the two whale boats. Like the whale boats I pulled the details from the AOS and converted it all to CAD. This insures that the scales remain the same as well as forcing reconciliation between the various drawings in the AOS.

 

I have developed the CAD drawings for the 25 foot Gig and have glued the mold shapes to the mold material and will cut it out today. I will also work on the second whaleboat today.

 

Over the last week, I worked on the case design in CAD and am pretty happy with it. I still need to devolve the various parts into cut sheets. For the design research I purchased Wes Marden's book as well as the compilation by Peter Vissar on this site. After reviewing these designs I drew up my list of requirements.

 

1) It needed to be large enough to adequately display the ship. There were a number of recommendations on the sizing of the final case. I used these to develop the interior dimensions of the case. The ship is 39x28x14in. The interior case will be 2" greater on all sides of the ship, so 43x30x18in.

 

2) The case would be a wood frame

 

3) The case will have a top hinged back to allow for access to the ship. Since the case is so large, the prospect of lifting it and setting it down over the ship is extremely accident prone. Also, since I plan on lighting the case, I would need access to the lights and want the wires to be hidden.

 

4) The case will have glass sides - I debated on this quite a while. First the front and back sides of the case are quite large. This means a very heavy piece of glass. The alternative is Acrylic. It is light, would have to be slightly thicker, but it also has very specific cleaning requirements. It also still can break and would break into large pieces. The deciding factor was the hinged back. Once I decided on the hinged back, glass was back on the table.

 

5) Glass - During my research of glass or acrylic there were a number of factors that I looked at.

          a) The medium must be optically clear

           The medium must be very strong to resist breakage

          c) If broken, the glass should break into small pieces to minimize danger to the ship or others.

          d) Weight was not a factor - other than a heavy case would protect the ship from bumps better than a light case.

 

After discussing this with a local supplier of both, I settled on Low Iron, tempered glass, ¼" thick. The low iron glass is optically clear, it can be tempered, and will offer the most resistance to scratching. It will be strong enough that it will be safe from breakage.

 

6) Lighting - I wanted lighting to enhance the ship while still being low maintenance and produce low heat. Lights like halogen were not desirable since they produce large amounts of heat. In the enclosed space this would result in baking the ship. Florescent lights have very poor color and would detract from the overall ship impact. LED was the  desired type, but finding the correct color temperature and fixture required much more research. I found a number of very good articles on LED lighting for museums. This allowed me to settle on what I was looking for which was 2700 - 3000k temperature and bright. While CRI can be subjective, the recommendation was for a CRI of >90. These needed to be dimmable as well. The lighting was to be inset into the top frame so to be unobtrusive when viewing the ship. 

 

Market research led me to the conclusion that I would have to do a custom install of the LED's. There were no off the shelf products that would meet my requirements. 

 

I found a vendor, Flexfire.com that offered a high CRI, bright LED strip. These could be cut on 1" increments so could be sized for the case easily. They recommended these be installed in a metal channel as a heat sink since LED's do produce some heat. Without a heatsink, the life of the LED is greatly reduced. They helped me find channels made by KLUS which could be inset into the frame and had a flat diffuser. These can be cut to length and soldered together with connecting wires. The wiring can be channeled through the side corners of the case to the power supply and dimmer mounted under the table. 

 

7) I wanted to use an inlay in the base of the case to enhance the look of the ship. I looked at numerous inlays, from very complex to very simple. I decided on a very simple strip ¼" strip of a white wood with black stripes on the outside.

 

8) The case should be made of black walnut to match other furniture near by.

 

9) The case should be incorporated with legs. While I could turn the legs, I really wanted fluted legs and would rather buy them if I could find a good design in the correct wood. Tablelegs.com has just such legs. So I ordered the legs and apron from them. This means I just need to build the table and case to mount on the base.

 

10) The case should allow for a small amount of air exchange. Studies by the US Navy found that outgassing from the glues and paints, caused model deterioration over the years when kept in an airtight display. Since the LED's will produce a small amount of heat they will cause the air in the case to gently rise. The top glass will be flush mount to the top and the felt around the frame will allow a small amount of air to escape. Small amounts of air will be able to enter the case around the edges of the hinged side.

 

So everything is on order. I have not purchased the wood for the case yet since I am waiting on the legs to arrive. I want to match the wood as close as possible.

 

Here is the design of the case. I decided on a top hinge. A number of cases on the market have bottom hinges. Fo a case this size, I was concerned that when the side is opened, it blocks access to the case since you would have to reach around it, and two, since it is heavy, about 30 pounds, a bottom hinge would require a positive locking mechanism to insure it does not accidentally fall open when bumped.

 

I still have not decided if I want to remove the ship from it's current mahogany base and mount it directly to the display case base. That will depend on how it looks with the Walnut. If left on the current base, it will be secured in place to the display base during installation.

Edited January 12, 2015 by robnbill

[CaptainSteve]

You cover some very pertinent points regarding case construction, Bill. I'll be sure to refer your post to my brother in three years to five years time when my own Connie is nearing completion.

 

I just hope your table will be strong enough to hold everything !!!

[robnbill]

Thanks Steve. I discussed this with the leg manufacturer. These are dining table legs and should be more than substantial enough to hold the ship and case easily. The glass will weight in at right at 100 pounds (45 Kilos). The wood I have not calculated yet, but it will be substantial. This case is not going to move easily once installed. That is very desirable to protect the ship from bumps.

[CaptainSteve]

I look forward to seeing the final photographs, Bill !!

[Tuffarts]

Great looking case for an American ship, I love the idea of flutes drawing the eye up and banding inlays will frame the model inside the display nicely.

[fletch944t]

I like your plans for the case. I think the research you've put into it reflects the effort that you've put into the model (which certainly shows).

 

Just my two cents on mounting the ship directly to the base of the case. Assuming that there isn't a drastic difference between the current base on your model and the base of the case, I would make every effort to retain the current base and secure it to the base of the case as you've already proposed.

 

My reasoning would be that it would greatly simplify things down the road in the unlikely event that you should have to remove the model from the case for repairs or cleaning. Also, no matter how careful you are, removing the model from its current base and attaching it to the base of the case increases the likelihood that the model will get damaged.

 

Again, just my opinion but, the difference between the two bases would have to detract greatly from the display to make the risk worth the reward.

 

All that being said Bill, I'd just like to add that your work on this model has been nothing short of inspirational - at least it has been for me.

Edited January 13, 2015 by Captain Silver Beard Jones

[robnbill]

That makes great sense. I can see having a separate base would be much safer. All of that aside, I still may need to switch it out with a new base if the colors of the mahogany clash with the stand. However, it still would be easier to switch it out in the controlled environment of the workshop than trying to screw it onto the base of the display cabinet.

 

I still will attach the base of the ship to the base of the cabinet but that wil be easier and safer since the ship would be stable on it's base as I do it.

[HIPEXEC]

The last few days have been busy ones. I decided the stern ship's boat will be the 25 foot gig. I wanted to have a different look than the two whale boats. Like the whale boats I pulled the details from the AOS and converted it all to CAD. This insures that the scales remain the same as well as forcing reconciliation between the various drawings in the AOS.

 

I have developed the CAD drawings for the 25 foot Gig and have glued the mold shapes to the mold material and will cut it out today. I will also work on the second whaleboat today.

 

Over the last week, I worked on the case design in CAD and am pretty happy with it. I still need to devolve the various parts into cut sheets. For the design research I purchased Wes Marden's book as well as the compilation by Peter Vissar on this site. After reviewing these designs I drew up my list of requirements.

 

1) It needed to be large enough to adequately display the ship. There were a number of recommendations on the sizing of the final case. I used these to develop the interior dimensions of the case. The ship is 39x28x14in. The interior case will be 2" greater on all sides of the ship, so 43x30x18in.

 

2) The case would be a wood frame

 

3) The case will have a top hinged back to allow for access to the ship. Since the case is so large, the prospect of lifting it and setting it down over the ship is extremely accident prone. Also, since I plan on lighting the case, I would need access to the lights and want the wires to be hidden.

 

4) The case will have glass sides - I debated on this quite a while. First the front and back sides of the case are quite large. This means a very heavy piece of glass. The alternative is Acrylic. It is light, would have to be slightly thicker, but it also has very specific cleaning requirements. It also still can break and would break into large pieces. The deciding factor was the hinged back. Once I decided on the hinged back, glass was back on the table.

 

5) Glass - During my research of glass or acrylic there were a number of factors that I looked at.

          a) The medium must be optically clear

           The medium must be very strong to resist breakage

          c) If broken, the glass should break into small pieces to minimize danger to the ship or others.

          d) Weight was not a factor - other than a heavy case would protect the ship from bumps better than a light case.

 

After discussing this with a local supplier of both, I settled on Low Iron, tempered glass, ¼" thick. The low iron glass is optically clear, it can be tempered, and will offer the most resistance to scratching. It will be strong enough that it will be safe from breakage.

 

6) Lighting - I wanted lighting to enhance the ship while still being low maintenance and produce low heat. Lights like halogen were not desirable since they produce large amounts of heat. In the enclosed space this would result in baking the ship. Florescent lights have very poor color and would detract from the overall ship impact. LED was the  desired type, but finding the correct color temperature and fixture required much more research. I found a number of very good articles on LED lighting for museums. This allowed me to settle on what I was looking for which was 2700 - 3000k temperature and bright. While CRI can be subjective, the recommendation was for a CRI of >90. These needed to be dimmable as well. The lighting was to be inset into the top frame so to be unobtrusive when viewing the ship. 

 

Market research led me to the conclusion that I would have to do a custom install of the LED's. There were no off the shelf products that would meet my requirements. 

 

I found a vendor, Flexfire.com that offered a high CRI, bright LED strip. These could be cut on 1" increments so could be sized for the case easily. They recommended these be installed in a metal channel as a heat sink since LED's do produce some heat. Without a heatsink, the life of the LED is greatly reduced. They helped me find channels made by KLUS which could be inset into the frame and had a flat diffuser. These can be cut to length and soldered together with connecting wires. The wiring can be channeled through the side corners of the case to the power supply and dimmer mounted under the table. 

 

7) I wanted to use an inlay in the base of the case to enhance the look of the ship. I looked at numerous inlays, from very complex to very simple. I decided on a very simple strip ¼" strip of a white wood with black stripes on the outside.

 

8) The case should be made of black walnut to match other furniture near by.

 

9) The case should be incorporated with legs. While I could turn the legs, I really wanted fluted legs and would rather buy them if I could find a good design in the correct wood. Tablelegs.com has just such legs. So I ordered the legs and apron from them. This means I just need to build the table and case to mount on the base.

 

10) The case should allow for a small amount of air exchange. Studies by the US Navy found that outgassing from the glues and paints, caused model deterioration over the years when kept in an airtight display. Since the LED's will produce a small amount of heat they will cause the air in the case to gently rise. The top glass will be flush mount to the top and the felt around the frame will allow a small amount of air to escape. Small amounts of air will be able to enter the case around the edges of the hinged side.

 

So everything is on order. I have not purchased the wood for the case yet since I am waiting on the legs to arrive. I want to match the wood as close as possible.

 

Here is the design of the case. I decided on a top hinge. A number of cases on the market have bottom hinges. Fo a case this size, I was concerned that when the side is opened, it blocks access to the case since you would have to reach around it, and two, since it is heavy, about 30 pounds, a bottom hinge would require a positive locking mechanism to insure it does not accidentally fall open when bumped.

 

I still have not decided if I want to remove the ship from it's current mahogany base and mount it directly to the display case base. That will depend on how it looks with the Walnut. If left on the current base, it will be secured in place to the display base during installation.

Bill...have you thought about putting the hinge at the bottom so it just opens down and can be restrained to open to the horizontal by a light chain? Also, think about making a drawer so you can save your plans, notes and other construction history?

[robnbill]

Thanks Rich. I thought about hinges on the bottom and as an alternative on the side. I settled on the top hinge because gravity would tend to keep it closed and it could be lifted out of the way while I worked on getting the ship in place. There are obvious issues with hanging a heavy frame from the side, so that was a non-starter.  If it hinged down, I would have to be reaching around the large side to get to the interior of the case. The side is approximately 45" wide by 30" deep, so it really would be in the way. The glass is heavy - about 26 pounds for each front and back, so hinging it from the side would require an extremely strong lock at the top, or screwing it into the top frame to make sure it did not open accidentally, or some one accidentally bumps it and cause the top to fall open. I could use a chain to restrain it when open, but I do not plan on going back into the case other than the extremely occasional dusting, if required, and the chain would show. The top hinge will be hidden and it will appear like a solid case. It will be a two person job to put the ship in the case, but that is okay. A second set of eyes when maneuvering the ship into position will be welcome. The piano hinge I plan on using at the top will allow the top to raise to a horizontal position so it will be out of the way.

 

I thought about a drawer but nixed the idea. A drawer in the foyer would be an attractive place for keys etc, and the movement of the drawer, even on glides, would jiggle the case. This could impact the ship over a number of years. Also, someone might be careless and shut the drawer hard. Not something I want to happen. 

 

There will be room underneath the table and I may mount a permanent box to contain the plans, as well as the build log. It would be removable, but would not have the issue of a useable drawer.

[fletch944t]

Absolutely Bill. That makes all the sense in the world. I know walnut can get pretty pricey but, if you're building the case out of walnut to match your décor, the additional walnut to construct a new base shouldn't significantly increase the overall cost of the project.

 

As much time, effort, and attention to detail as you've put into the model thus far, I don't think you'd be completely happy doing anything less.

 

You can always use the mahogany base for the next build.

[robnbill]

Thanks. I did get a notice that my legs and apron shipped today, so soon I will be headed to the hardwood store to get the case and table top wood. I made a roll-top desk out of walnut a number of years ago and and finished it with tung oil and really liked the color. It is sitting just around the corner from where the ship will be in the foyer. I am getting excited to see the ship in the case. I tried the LED's last night and think the kelvin temperature will look good on the model. Now, I just have to finish the ship's boats before I can start on it.

 

I did make progress on the boats and was able to complete the planking on the second whale boat today. Still a bit of shaping/cleanup to do on the bow and stern but the planking is out of the way. I also cut the mold forms for the remaining 25 foot captain's gig that will be hanging from the stern davits. Given the small size of the strips, I used the bending iron and thick CA to attach the planks. This worked well on the first boat and since I was fresh off the first boat, the second one was as well. 

 

I will get some photos of the new ship's boat tomorrow to show the progress. Following Bainbridge's manifest, this one will be painted green.

[HIPEXEC]

Bill,

Are you putting sails on her?

[robnbill]

No sails. The kit had an option for them, but everything I read said for the first ship, not to think about it. SO her rigging is complete except for rigging the three stern ship's boats. I am almost done with the second whaleboat and I have drawn up in DeltaCAD the 25 foot captain's gig for the stern.

[robnbill]

I like the look of her bare poled. I am not tempted to put sails on her. I have loved building her, and will always look proudly on her, but once the Captains gig is mounted on her, she will be done! FYI, next Friday will be the 1 year anniversary of my restarted build. She will almost be done by then I think.

[CaptainSteve]

Each to his own, Bill. As they say, you're the Captain, so you get to say when to hoist the main-sail.

Your Connie is stunning and will only look better in the case you are building for her.

 

For myself, my two builds to date have both been fully-rigged. That had as much to do with a preference for sails, as well as to help hide a plethora of sins.

Next time, who knows ... ??

(I do have a particular liking for the six (I think ??) sail set-up as done by modeller12 ..)

Edited January 18, 2015 by CaptainSteve

[robnbill]

I completed the second whaleboat today. Now I just have to build the 25 foot captains gig and accessories, and the ship will be ready for the display case. I have the mold ready for the gig, tomorrow I will start cutting the keel and strips to plank it. I will be painting it similar to the starboard whaleboat, white. I have photos of the two whaleboats and the gig's mold below. I also hung the green one in the starboard davits to see it on the ship. It will actually be on the port side. Again, I decided to have the rudder in place since my cannon are all run out, I would think the ship's boats would be ready to go. 

 

 

I will have to make a few more blocks before I can rig the boats to the ship, but I will wait until the gig is complete and I have all the accessories made. 

 

I also was refining the joints for the display case construction last night. I was still wrestling with the top mounted piano hinge for the rear access door. THe glass for the rear door weighs in with the frame at over 30 pounds. Putting it on the bottom is not something I want since it puts the door in the way of anything being done in the case. Having it on top though also presents issues. Raising it puts pressure on the entire case to move away from the door as it is being raised. I think that given the weight of the entire case, this would probably not be a problem but it also would cause stress on the doors framing. The frame is thin so it could blend in with the other sides. I planned on gluing the glass into the frame so this would give it strength. However, if the glue ever failed, the door could bend resulting in the thin mortise joints to fail and the frame separate. This would just not be good since the heavy glass would end up either crashing to the floor or into the side of the case. Either way would be a disaster.

 

So I looked at using a drop in door. The bottom and top would be slotted allowing the door frame to be pushed up in the deep top pocket, the bottom would swing in then set down into a shallower pocket in the bottom. This would mean no hinge, and the door would virtually disappear when it is closed. However how to handle the door to perform the shutting and unshutting has to be tackled. The answer is the suction handles used by glass and granite installers. These would adhere to the glass allowing the door to be positioned then removed and stored away once the door is shut. So this is the direction I will go with the case.

 

I also ordered the engraved name plate last night. I will mount it on a stand made from some of the real Connie's spar material. I have used this material in the ship's boats as well. I would have used it in the ship, but the hull was completed by the time I asked for the wood. Oh well, it is still in the model.

 

Next Friday will be the one year anniversary of starting the build where I left off. She has come a long ways and the finish line is within sight.  I have also included two photos from the day I uncrated her. The previous time she had seen light was 21 years before. Just as a reminder I have a photo of how she is now.

 

Edited January 20, 2015 by robnbill

[robnbill]

I was able to get a good start on the 25 foot captain's gig today. As I did on the previous whaleboats, using the mold I made yesterday I created the keel assembly and planked the hull. This boat is slightly narrower than the whaleboats and the stern curves into the transom. Once it was planked, I inverted it to glue the ribs into the hull. I used walnut strips to make the ribs. I found the easiest method was to cut the strip a bit longer than the required ribs, Then use the Xacto blade to cut the thin ribs. Then I used the handle of the blade to press the thin rib into the workbench and curve it slightly. This curve allowed me to add thick CA then press the rib into position along the keelson, then press it in place with the bent tweezers without breaking it.

 

Once all the ribs were in place I sprayed the hull inside and out with primer then coated it with white paint. Tomorrow I will start working on layering the decking and assorted fittings into the hull. 

 

While the ribs were drying in the hull, I was able to take a thicker strip of walnut and make single blocks out of them. These will be required to rig the boats to the ship. I also pulled together the bamboo forks and skewers that will be made into the oars. I still need to decide how many oars I want to add to the boats. I know from the 34 foot boat, a full set of oars will obscure the interior of the boats. So I might put fewer oars than the full sets. I will make them and decide how many to use. 

 

 

 

[robnbill]

I completed the ship's boats today. This concludes the major builds of the Connie. I say these were major since each was a scratch POF that ended up with approximately 160 pieces each. These were a fun project in themselves. I pulled the boats lines from the AOS, then did the scaled drawings based on those in DeltaCAD. 

 

So tomorrow I will be an oar making factory. I need 6 - 19mm oars and 24 - 20mm ones. I will make these like I did last time. Here are some photos of the fleet, minus the 34 foot launch which is on it's cradle over the main hatch.

 

 

 

[robnbill]

Today I completed the ship! Almost a year to the day of when I restarted the project begun in January 1992. It has ben a lovely ride and could not have been done with out the great help and inspiration this board has given me. Now I have to put her safe and secure into her new dry dock - but it is still to be constructed. Hopefully in a few weeks she will be safe in her new home. I will feel better once she is behind glass so I can't accidentally catch a spar as I go by. Her Bowsprit seems to grow longer.

 

Anyway, here are a few photos. I will wait to close this build log out until she is in her new case.