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

[patrickmil]

Bill, Connie is looking like she's ready to punish some Barbary pirates!!! The carronades are looking excellent!

[robnbill]

I started working on the ship's boats today. However, I also wanted to fix something that had been nagging at the back of my mind. I built binnacles for the deck based upon the photos from the ship and the AOS. They were not part of the Mamoli plans. However, when I finished them, I just brought them to a point. The photos have a rounded ball shape on top. I thought last night that I did get 1.6mm ball bearings that were too small for cannonballs, but were just about right for the binnacles. As luck would have it, I also had stained two of them black in my testing of the bearings for the cannonballs. So I used the Foredom to drill very small holes in the top (point) of each binnacle. I gradually increased the hole size until it was 1.25mm. Then I lightly sanded around the hole to level it a bit. Then a touch of thick CA, and dropped the darkened bearing on the hole. I like the way it turned out.

 

I also cut the forms out for the ships launch. I cut some walnut stops into 80mm lengths then split it in half. I put these into an ammonia/water solution to soften while I cut the forms out on the band saw. I took all of the forms and clamped them together so I could true the lines up. Then I glued the ends of the strips in the slots and bent them around the form, cut off the ends and glued the other ends into the opposite slot.

 

My plan is to cut a keel and notch it for the ribs. Then see how planking turns out. I am not betting that my first one will be a keeper, but I do think it will teach me a lot on what I do need to do to make the final boats.

 

Here are some shots of both the binnacles and the ribs in the forms as well as a shot o them all clamped together for truing.

 

Bill

[CPT_D]

I am amazed with the amount of detail you can get from this scale.  Great Job, keep it up.

[robnbill]

I have been remiss in updating my log, but have been actively working on the ship's 34' launch. As you know if you have ready this build log, I decided to build the ship's boats from scratch. Using plans for other ship's boats as a basis, I took the Anatomy of a Ship's hull lines for the 34' launch and used it to create the plans for the boat. I found that printing them at 118.5% gave me the actual size plans I needed. Also, if I printed the hull lines without any magnification, I was able to get the exact size I needed for the shapes allowing for the ribs and planking. So this is what I did.

 

I took .5mm strips of walnut and thinned them down to the rib size and soaked them in a 50% solution of ammonia water before shaping them to the forms and gluing the ends to each. Once all the forms had ribs on them, I attached them to a backing board so I could plank. I used walnut than planked the hull. After cutting it loose and cleaning it up, I added the inner hull details. First the deck strips, then the platforms at the bow and stern. I added the seats and stained the inside details. 

 

I use the enlarged drawing to create the deck rails by cutting it out into two pieces and gluing it to the hull shell. Then I thinned it. I added the strip to create the oarlocks and the curved shaped to the bow and stern. Then I added rings where it seemed like they would be ended to rig the sails. I used forked toothpicks and bamboo skewers to create 14 oars stained them and bundled them into to groups of 7. This would be a full set of oars for the launch. I turned a mast that matched the step I put in the launch and also turned a spar for the lateen rigging. I added rings to the top of the mast for the two halyards. I also banded the mast just above the step and near where the spar would end up when sailing. I painted the ends of the mast and spar black.

 

I used one of the flat bamboo forked toothpicks to create the rudder. For the hinges I flattened brass wire and shaped it into two "U"s that fit the stern of the launch and the lower part of the rudder. I soldered these to a small pin before mounting it onto the launch. For the upper hinge, I used a small strip of flattened brass and soldered a pin to it and bent it 90 degrees and interred it into the rudder before gluing it onto the hull.

 

I did a final touch up of painting to the hull then did a test arrangement of the oars, mast, spar, and coil of rope. Once I was satisfied, I glued everything together and bound the launch to the cradle on the main deck.

 

Now my plans are to work on the chain plates and the lower dead eyes. 

Edited April 8, 2014 by robnbill

[mort stoll]

Very nice, Very very nice.

 

Mort 

[robnbill]

The Mamoli plans had the launch tied down over the main hatch literally with the line just being knotted together at the deck. I did not like that so I created a loop in each end and seized them and used two of the double blocks I used on the cannon rigging to create a block and tackle set with hooks on each end. These then hooked into the loops and cinched the line down. I coiled the remainder of the line up underneath the launch after tying the lines off with two half hitches. I like this better and it seemed a good solution.

 

I also started putting in the chain plates. First I enlarged the chain plate channel holes to be large enough to accept the chain plates. I did this to all of them. Then I installed the chain plates for the port side foremast. I have the starboard side inserted but not yet mounted to the hull. Progress is good.

Bill

[robnbill]

Today I completed the chain plate installation. Now I will turn back to the remaining spars. I was able to turn the 4 lower stud sail booms that will be mounted to the hull. I painted them black and put the rings one end per the plans, however, I am planning on modifying the mounts to be 90 degree rods per the AOS.

 

I put the four anchors together today. I used 1/16 black stripe tape to add the banding on the anchor stocks.

 

A funny thing happened today. Periodically I rummage through the kit box to see what parts are still in there. I do not believe they were sorted originally. A few weeks ago, I sorted everything using small tins to separate everything. As I am approaching the rigging, there are fewer and fewer parts remaining in the kit, other than blocks and deadeyes of course. In early February when I was working on the capstan, I did not see anything in the plans that indicated that there were any parts other than the spindle supplied in the kit. This is a running issue with the kit. The instructions are vague at times and it is difficult to see if I am supposed to make something or it is supposed to be supplied in the kit. So I pulled out AOS and cut the parts to complete the Capstan. Today, as I was rummaging through the box, I found all the small pieces that were suppled in the kit to make the capstan. Oh well, I enjoyed building it without them and it turned out pretty good.

 

I have a number of days to go to complete the remaining spars. I currently have the foremast and spirit sail spars completed. I will work on the main mast spars tomorrow and work sternward from there.

 

Bill

Edited April 11, 2014 by robnbill

[robnbill]

Today I created the swivel stun assail boom attachments and attached them to the ship. The plan called for using rings on the end of the stun sails and to mount them on hooks attached to the hull. The real ship has pins in the stun sail booms bent at 90 degrees and these stick through mounts attached to the channel. It also needs to have a bracket made to hold the end of the boom for the forward booms. The rear booms tie to the channels. I used some brass channel pieces and some small brass tubing. I cut the channels to length to mount on the forward side of the chain channels. To these, I soldered the small tube pieces. Then I ground the assembly down to shape it nicer than the raw channel. I sloped the sides of the channel down to the width of the tubes at the outer ends.

 

I used some brass strips to create the brackets to hold the forward boom ends. I soldered 1mm brass rods on the end of the upper bracket to insert into matching holes I drilled in the hull just above the wale. The lower bracket brace I bent upward and glued to the hull. Since the rear booms end up straddling the midships and stern channels, I just tied the stern end of the boom to the channel. I did not feel that a hook would be seen at all. Also, since these are painted black they tend to blend in with the hull. However, I do like the way the booms look attached to the hull. I think the brackets came out like I wanted them to. 

 

I also have attached a photo of the four anchors sitting on the forward deck. Ready for installation.

 

[CaptainSteve]

So THAT'S where they kept the stud-sail booms !!!

Damn, you've just given me something else to add to my build !!

 

Very nice work, Bill ... I'm learning more and more every time I check your log.

(Still can't get over the work you've done with rigging your cannons !!)

Edited April 15, 2014 by CaptainSteve

[robnbill]

Thanks, it was not readily apparent from the plans. There was a detail of the 4 spars themselves, there was a part on the full size view that showed them installed down the sides. The AOS showed the typical connections, which is why I decided to use the pin and not ring on the booms. I fought the instructions on the MS version (that available for free on line)  pointed only toward having a set only on the foremast, The Mamoli Plans clearly had sets for both the Fore and Main. 

 

I also found other ships with a set for each mast mounted on the sides. If you look at the following link for a youtube copy of a History Channel story on the Victory,  at the 5:29 mark you will see a drawing of the HMS Victory with her stud sail booms deployed. This shows it very clearly how they were there and rigged. 

 

History Special on the Victory

Edited April 15, 2014 by robnbill

[Geoff Matson]

Just found your log. What a nice job you are doing. Everything looks great and really like your oars.

[robnbill]

Thanks. Coming from you, that means a lot! Your Connie is setting the benchmark. I am working on completing the spars. I was able to finish turning them all yesterday. Today, I will start adding the various fittings and blocks to them in preparation for painting them. It will be interesting to see how the rigging goes. I followed the Mamoli plans and assembled the masts completely. Then I watched as you and Modeler12 rigged each section of the masts prior to putting them together. 

 

We shall see.

 

The oars were easy to do. I used bamboo in both the skewer and olive fork flavors to assemble them. I turned the skewers on the lathe and sanded them to the proper diameter. Shaved the ends on two sides very slightly to allow for inserting into the slot of the fork. I cut the fork the correct length for the blade then glued them up. Once dried, i used the disk sander to shape the blades and the oar handle ends. I like the bamboo since it is very strong with small diameter wood. The downside, is some of the skewers are not round, or splinter when trying to sand them down. Luckily, I have a lot of skewers.

 

Bill

[robnbill]

I have completed the turning and shaping for all the remaining spars. The lower main mast spar is completed and fit out (other than painting), the next one is nearly complete. The progress on the spars should speed up once the shipyard reopens. I tested various stains on the rigging I will be using for the standing rigging and really like the India Ink best.

 

I was hoping to finish all the pars this weekend, but did not have the time to dedicate to them. Now Rob and I are headed to Florida to catch a real ship for a transatlantic cruise. We are planning on a visit the Naval museum in Lisbon as well as Amsterdam. So I get to see the exhibits shown in "Message in a Model"!

 

So it is off to Florida. I will be back on line the latter part of May. 

 

Bill

[robnbill]

Hey all. I am back from our trip and am looking forward to picking up where I left off. I was able to visit the Naval/Maritime museums in Lisbon as well as Amsterdam. I also was able to go through the Rijksmusuem so was able to look at the gorgeous work that Ab Hoving has done. So I am newly energized and ready to tackle completing the spars and jumping into the rigging!

[mort stoll]

Welcome back. Glad you enjoyed the trip. I look forward to more posts.

 

Mort 

[robnbill]

Sorry for the lack of posts. The shipyard has been suffering under a work slowdown. It appears I might have torn my rotator cuff so this is slowing things down a bit. However, I am slowly working my way through the yards. I completed the spars for the main and fore masts today as well as the lower spar for the mizzen. The remaining spars have been turned and fittings, rings etc (other than rigging blocks) have been attached. I hope to have these completed in the next day or so then painting them.

 

At that point, I will have no excuse but to start working on the rigging. This makes me a bit nervous since  other than the cannons I have had no experience in this. I continue to read the AOS and the Rigging Period Ships as well as reviewing the plans. I do have the masts assembled and most of the rings attached. I am open to suggestions as to the directions to start with the rigging. Should I start putting the bow spirit assemble together, or work on the top ratlines etc before I put the masts on the ship. I will not be gluing the masts in, but could start with the lower standing rigging first if that is the best method. 

 

It seems most of the logs start forward and work backwards (other than Modeler12 who is putting sails on his).  However, having all of the standing rigging attached and looped prior to actually assembling them seems to be beyond my experience and asking for much redo.

 

Regardless of the order, I do plan on fully serving the forward standing shrouds and that of the other shrouds where running around the mast. Otherwise, I am going to be leaning very heavily on those here who have gone before.

 

Thanks in advance!

[robnbill]

For a slightly different subject, for those of you following my build, I have been thinking about "the next one". If I built a kit, I was thinking about the MS Charles Morgan, but recently found the practicum and dissertation on the USS Brig Eagle scratch build. It looks like it would be a great step toward scratch since it is not too overly complicated and has, on the first scans, great instructions in the practicum and dissertation.

 

It does not seem to be a boat that is often built. I like the history of it and the fact it was a contemporary of the Constitution. She was built in a hurry of green wood and was completed in 19 days. I daresay, if I do build her as my next one, it will be considerably longer. However, her role in the battle of Lake Champlain does also make her an attractive build. She has also had extensive underwater research done on her and was found remarkable intact given the manner she finally sank into the mud. SO there is a great deal known about her construction. 

 

Thoughts? 

[robnbill]

Today I completed the installation of the blocks on all of the spars with the exception of the 4 blocks that I still need to attach to the end of the gaff spar. I will do that then paint them all tomorrow. This will complete this stage of the construction. Other than the rigging, I still have to install the port and starboard ship's boat davits as well as the hammock cranes. I have left these off intentionally until I complete the rigging, or most of the rigging so they will not get in the way.

 

I still need to address the order I rig in. My current thinking is do the upper shrouds, then start on the bow spirit and work my way aft. Any thoughts? This is new territory for me.

[mort stoll]

Hi Bill,

 

I completely assembled all of the masts - bow sperit, fore, main and mizzen - with  all of the attached yards with their blocks off of the ship. I also attached as much of the standing and running rigging as I could - lifts, hallards, sheets, etc... whatever I could and labeled each line so I could attach them to the proper belaying pins after the masts were stepted. 

 

The rigging plans I thought were clear and easy to follow, and I did.  I labeled each and every one of the blocks and lines with their dimensions on all the various plans diagrams as this I felt was easier than looking at the part numbers and referring back to the glossary for their sizes, This also helped to familiarize me with the actual rigging and really took no time at all to accomplish.

 

I installed the ratlines last as this enables one to access the deck easier than if they were installed earlier. I prefer to work from bow to stern - another of my NJ Club members swares by stern to bow - and bottom to top.

 

Hope this helps, if not do not hesitate to contact me,

Mort  

 

PS

Call me crazy but I thoroughly enjoyed rigging this ship, as I am sure you will.

[robnbill]

Thanks. I am looking forward to it. It is just new so I don't have anything to go by. I enjoyed rigging the cannons. I am sure I will have questions as I move on. 

[Guest Tim I.]

I hope you feel better! Looking forward to when your shipyard spins up again, and the updates.

 

- Tim

[robnbill]

So I completed the spars today! Now on to the rigging. Sorry the photos did not come out better but I arranged them on the butcher paper that I used to paint them on. Starting top right is the Spirit Sail Spar, below that are the forward mast Spars. The main mast spars are the set in the middle. The left most set are the mizzen mast with the two spanker spars above them.

[mort stoll]

Forgot to include in my last post that when you attach the blocks and eyebolts to the deck make sure that any standing rigging schrouds  and running rigging lines are attached to them  before they are glued onto the deck.

Rigging is like hull planking and coppering. It is one day at a time and just try to do a little each day.

I also had my copies of Lever and Peterssen at my side for reference.

Once you finish rigging this ship there will be no ship you will not be able to rig.

 

Mort

[robnbill]

Thanks Mort. I have been reviewing the AOS and Period Rigging as well as the Mamoli plans. I am sure as I delve into it I will have numerous questions. I know I feel much better knowing I have everyone's assistance should I get into a jam. I plan on starting on the bow and working my way aft. I have already made some changes to the Mamoli rigging plans based upon the AOS and Peterssens books. 

[Auvergne]

Beautiful work and the paint job was immaculate. BTW what kind of spackling did you use on the hull prior to airbrushing?

[robnbill]

I purchased a can of Tamiya White Primer from our local model shop. That seemed to work pretty well. My biggest concerns were 1) differing types of wood, 2) mix of metal, wood, epoxy, etc, that all had to prime to a consistent level. I was happy the way the paint performed.

 

The main paints used on the ship were from Model Expo. They had a set specifically for the Connie. I had not issues mixing the two brands. I never mixed colors, but I would use the Tamiya thinner to ad to the Model Expo paint for air brushing, or to thin it enough to brush it on small spots.

 

I also used Tamiya from some specially colors I needed to make the gangway boards look like wood instead of the metal they wee supplied in.

 

Bill 

[robnbill]

Just a quick update to let everyone know I have not dropped this build off the face of the earth. I have been making a bit of progress. Currently my time in front of Connie is limited by my rotator cuff issues - I am working on that. In the mean time, I get downy to the Connie  sporadically. I decided to use the beeswax/turpentine mixture to wax the shrouds. I decided on the wax turpentine mixture since this allowed the wax to fully saturate the shroud rather than just wax on the outside. I saw where some use an incandescent blurb to melt the wax into the shroud but I think this allows me a bit more control over the amount and consistancy of the wax that gets into the rigging.

 

I have cut the shrouds for the lower foremast and stained them using India Ink. I tried a number of different stains from dark brown to India Ink and liked the latter best. 

 

I also ran a test of the serving machine and worked that process out. Originally I was going to use a black fly toying line for serving. However, I found that not only could I not see the serving, I could not see it underneath a magnifying glass. The line was too tiny. So I went with a small diameter thread (I think it is #100). Anyway, with the thread the serving is just enough without adding bulk to the shroud. I did not see it anywhere, so I judged that 4 inches of serving for the center of the shroud would be enough for wrapping around the mast. I still plan on fully serving the forward most shrouds on each set. I have started serving the shrouds. Once I have done a few, I will serve the forward most shrouds. I wanted to work out the feel for these before I did something that would be really visible.

 

Anyway, that is the update on the Connie.

 

On another note, I have decided to pursue building the Brig Eagle. I obtained the raw information, i.e. the book, the dissertation, the practicum and the overall ship's plans, to allow me to start working on the lofting plans. Once I am a bit more along, I will start a build log for that. It will be a scratch built PoF build in a fully rigged admiralty style. I have started a personal log to capture everything and will put everything on the on-line log when I get further along with the plans.

 

Thanks for following my logs. When building with wood, it was easy to see I need to take photos and update the log. When working on the rigging, I forget that I need to do this. I promise to update more consistently as I go along with the rigging.

[JagMkV]

Hello Bill and Mort.  Like you, my Connie languished for about 25 years.  I built and planked the hull, then put it aside.  It was kept in a box all that time.  About two years ago I took it out and started to work on it, thanks to help and pictures from Mort.  I now have the hull, deck furniture, cannons etc., all completed.  I have fashioned the masts and spars and painted them, and am ready to put the blocks, etc., on them.  I have a couple of questions.  How do you tell from the plans that a single or double block is required?  Is it just from the drawing? For example, on the plan sheet the center block on the spar clearly has two holes.  Are all the rest single? 

 

I am also building the Syren from Chuck's excellent plans at our winter house in Florida, and he clearly said to put every piece of hardware (blocks, rails, etc.) on masts, spars and tops before putting the masts and spars on.  The Mamoli plans make it really difficult to see where everything goes, you have to check individual plan sheets, the big sheet, etc.  Is there any easier way?  Oh well, just venting!

 

Bill. I will be following your progress carefully and hopefully you can keep me on the straight and narrow, and from making some really stupid mistakes.  Many thanks for a great build log.

Craig

[mort stoll]

Hi Craig,

 

Here is what I did. To use plan #15 diagram #7 as an example......look at block #276. It looks like it is a single block. Check the table at the bottom right of the plans. Look for #276. The first # is a 4. That means you need 4 blocks to rig the boats 2 per boat. The 1x4 means it is a 4mm single block.

 

For Block #356 in Diagram #242 - bottom left -  on Plan #15 look on the tables at the right of the plan sheet until you find the sheet with #356 listed. In this case it is sheet # 10. A 3mm single block.

 

What I also do on my plans is to label each and every block and line on each sheet. I find it saves me time when I have to rig the line or spar and gives a me a mental picture of the rigging and really does not take that long.

 

Hope this helps. If not do not hesitate.

 

Mort

[robnbill]

Thanks Craig. Mort's directions are great and that is what I followed. Now that my spars are all done, I plan on working the foremast first. After looking at all the rigging, AND the advice to do as much as possible off the ship I realized that it is not all or nothing. Like you, this is also my first attempt at a complex rigging so what I decided to do was rig the shrouds on the foremast and work from there. I have also put on as many blocks and rings as I have identified. What I have not done is spool the lines through the blocks as some modlers have done. I am afraid that I would either end up with too much, or not enough line, or have the blocks rigged left when they should be right etc.  If I find that my current approach is too restricting, I will change my strategy. Hopefully by then I will have enough experience that I can support the change of strategy.

 

Also, there are three books that I use to augment the Mamoli plans that Mort reccomended. First is the "The 44-Gun Frigate USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides" (Anatomy of the Ship)", the second is "Rigging Period Ship Models: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Intracacies of Square-Rig" and lastly is "Ship Modeling Simplified", by Frank Mastini.  The latter has a nautical Italian to English dictionary which I have found to be better than looking up words on Google.

 

I rarely start another step in the model without reviewing all of these as well as tapping into Mort and the rest of MSW.

 

Have you started a build log? That is a great way to get feedback and let the rest of us learn from you!

Bill