USS Constitution by Tuffarts - Mamoli - 1:93 Scale - Cross-section

[Canute]

Well done! Looks great.

[CaptainSteve]

Nice job on the knees, Tuffarts !!

 

As for additional stuff to be added, I imagine the list is near endless: tables/benches/buckets/ropes/tools/chests/hessian bags/cannon-firing equipment of all kinds ...

 

For just one example which springs to mind, check out the Victory build by Dafi (search "Dafi" in the Kit-Build forum). I'm sure there are others.

 

Sorry I can't provide a link for you ... I'm currently on a work computer (with the dreaded, bug-heavy version of IE installed).

Edited January 10, 2015 by CaptainSteve

[HIPEXEC]

Nice work!

[Tuffarts]

 

My old Dremel had a major failure, it is very old model, so I went and bought another    

[Canute]

Ouch! Looks like my black case one; which is quite ancient. Another good reason to upgrade the old piece, since it won't fit or work with any of the newer accessories.

I got one of these kits as a surprise Christmas present, so I'm closely following. Can't do much else with a rotten head cold. Making dust in my wee "shop" aggravates it.

[Tuffarts]

I found replacement part for $10.00

 

Now I have 3 from different decades

 

the broken one is the oldest, it is model 396 bought sometime in the mid 90's still working strong at last use, the part that failed was 20 years old, rest of dremel seems good even the bushes are hardly worn.

 

The second one is model 398 (4001 digital) bought sometime around 2005.

 

And now the new purchase is model 3000, bought last week.

 

I thought fixing the old one worth it as the bearings are big and plentiful it always seems the steadier of the dremels I own, And  I plan on buying aftermarket drill press it will fit in.

[Tuffarts]

Made some progress on the fire station.

 

 

 

It is not installed yet, so all the pipes are not in the picture.

 

 

Here is a picture of the reference I used.

 

 

 

nearly got the next deck beams finished also, waiting on some ladders to replace the kit provided, then I can get into making the hatches that need to be installed before I can really progress onto the next deck.

[Tuffarts]

Got the hatch started.

 

Cut a neat hole in the deck,then made a frame to fit it.

 

 

 

It fit so well that I just left it in position after test fit, no glue used.

I then had to scrape a rebate to get the next part to sit flush.

 

 

I then made a frame to fit on top of the opening.

 

 

 

 

 

It still needs a coat of polly but I think the fit is nice, still waiting on ladders.

 

 

I think I have come up with a way to improve the mamoli barrels. It involves little bits of string

 

I will get some photos of the process and make a mini tut on the process I am using.

[CaptainSteve]

I really like that hatch-way, Tuffarts. Nice and neat jointing.

 

Dunno if you are going for an aged look, or not ... but I soaked some barrels I bought in vinegar for two days. Apart from needing to repaint them, the grain opened up a bit, which gave me the look I wanted.

[Tuffarts]

I really want them to look cooper d, individual planks and the tops to look like the wood is the right thickness

 

This is the test unit, I will post some pics of the process when I have a few done.

 

 

There's still issues with this one but they should work out.

 

[Tuffarts]

Just a small update;

 

I am still working on the barrels and will tell of the whole process when they are finished.

In the meantime I have made a barrel rack to go in the hold.

 

 

These barrels are still not finished yet.

 

 

And it fits in here.

 

 

The barrel rack balances out the look of the lower hold nicely, it looked a bit bare on one side without it.

 

 

Delivery arrived as well this week from RB Model in Poland

It included extra barrels, better cannon barrels, and little tiny ladders.

 

 

The Cannon fits well and should blacken up with acid better than the kit supplied cannon, it is much better looking shape on both ends, the tulip end looks like a tulip.the only problem was the trunnion is centered but should be easy to file the hole to correct position and fill with solder. I hope this looks ok with the blackening process, I have got 2 spare cannons to practice with 

 

 

I had to put a ladder together to check the fit and try out some stain, which came out too dark. But the fit was perfect somehow, strait out of the little kit from the other end of the world this ladder fits without any trimming or even sanding, it is a snug fit in the hatch and the length is as precise as I could get with a sanding stick or a scalpel. The angles of the ladder rails are lining up with top and bottom like it was built specifically for the spot that I had prepared.

Apart from the wrong stain it is a perfect fit, and I have another 7 spare.

 

 

 

There is still stanchions to hold up the deck beams to work out, but I am considering some sort of small stanchions attached to the ladders as hand rails.

They may be just some nicely bent blackened brass wire.

 

 

The ladder also fits exactly in the 'folded' position, so I may consider having it moveable in the completed model.

[Tuffarts]

Got the barrels from the kit finished.

I will go through the process I came up with for 'fixing' them up.

 

I started with the supplied barrels. I did not like the smoothness of them not showing up the separate pieces of wood, and the bands or hoops were blended into the barrel not giving a clear margin to paint up to. Also there seemed to few hoops with just 2.

 

 

I had lots of barrels to do.

 

 

 

First I played around with pencil lines and pieces of card for hoops but did not like the results so I decided to 'caulk' the barrels the same as I have been doing with the decks, using dark cotton to show up the edges of the wood.

This needed grooves cut into the sides of the barrel, I used a miter box and razor saw to start the grooves.

The pegs on the bottom of the miter box worked well, but the pegs shown in the photo used as clamps proved to be too complex to reposition each time. It worked out quicker to just use my thumb.

 

 

The miter box and razor saw got the groove started but still needed to be finished of 'freehand' with the razor saw. It was important to make sure that the grooves were deep enough and that they carried through around the top and bottom. This was to make the barrel look like it was individual pieces of wood but also to make sure that there was a space to hide the fuzzy end of the cotton when it is cut of.

 

 

 

Next was to file off the original hoop and most of the stain while I was at it.

The 'wall thickness' of the originals was varied and mostly too thick, so I evened up the thickness with a file.

 

Next was to sand all the barrels ready for staining.

I then had to freehand all the grooves again with the razor saw to make sure that they were deep enough and cleared of saw dust.

 

 

Then the barrels were ready for staining various colours and fitting cotton into all the grooves.

 

 

 

The cotton is 'glued' into position with the first of many coats of Liquid Poly. the cotton must be soaked with polly but the overall coat must be thin as there will be many more coats.

Also the cotton must be pulled up into the groove at the top and bottom while the first coat dries, it is then partially pulled out of just the end of the groove, so it can be clipped of cleanly and pushed back into the groove with a cotton bud soaked in poly.

 

 

After getting all the grooved filled with cotton I needed hoops.

I again used cotton

The first wind of cotton around the barrel was held in position with tiny drops of CA glue, it was then easy to keep winding and finish with another tiny drop of CA glue. Then I used a cotton bud to soak the cotton hoopin liquid poly , I did 1 hoop at a time letting it dry between coats of poly. (sticky finger prints look bad)

 

 

I still have some detailing I want to do to individualize them even more, I want to fit some with bungs and corks stopcock etc. But I want to label some of them. Flags of origin pics of contents etc. if this sort of thing was done or not I am not sure, other than the XXX lable on rum barrels. Any Ideas?

 

 

Oh and I made a half barrel as I am doing a cutaway model. Going to 'fill' it up with resin, the blue is just coloured marker to show through the resin.

 

 

Next is the barrels I got from RB models in Poland

 

 

I have done a few trial things to them so far.

I will stain them different colours etc.but I really want to work out a way of fixing the ends of the smaller ones.

The hoops are done with a 2B pencil.

 

 

I am making more barrels than I need, but I will just choose best of the bunch to go on the model.

[Jimz66]

WOWOOWOWOWOW

[CaptainSteve]

You've gone to a great deal of work for those barrels ... but the result is just stunning.

Great job, indeed !!

[CaptainSteve]

 

Any suggestions of 'Stuff to lay around on the lower decks would be appreciated.

 

Tuffie (Tuff-Guy ?? That's MR Tuff, to you ??),

 

Have a look at this post (and the following one), and the cutaway model. I know it ain't Connie, but you may be able to pick up some ideas.

Edited January 26, 2015 by CaptainSteve

[robnbill]

Everything is looking great. For the small hoops have you thought about paper or card stock? I used glued up card stock for the mast hoops on the Connie. I started with brass, and did not like it, string would have been bumpy. Mort Stohl suggested card stock. It worked like a charm. Anyway, you are doing a fantastic job on her.

 

Bill

[Tuffarts]

I tried cardstock and brass sheet but they both had the problem of not meeting at the ends properly because of the taper at the end of the barrel.

The tapers were to varied to get the brass or even the card to sit flush on both edges. As I had filed the ends of the barrels the tapers were not even, so a new shape had to be found per hoop.

 

I plan to rub 2B pencil over the hoops this will even out the colour and somewhat the 'lumpiness' of the hoops, as well as giving a metallic look.And I want them to look a bit lived in.

 

I plan on using cardstock for mast hoops, the tapers there are going to be almost negligible, and it does look a lot cleaner.

[robnbill]

Yeah that would be a challenge. Perhaps breaking out the old solid geometry formulas. When I did the masts, I used the Xacto knife to slice the ends at an angle thickness wise, so instead of starting or ending with an abrupt end wheich had to be matched, it ended with a taper. This allowed me to easily come back with sand paper after it was dry to do a bit of final shaping and it showed no ends once done.

[Tuffarts]

I have got all the  barrels done now.

 

I used coloured markers to 'stain' the sides and tops of barrels and used a 2B pencil for the hoops. The hoops came out well because of the precise turning done on the barrels from Poland.

 

 

 

Then I added some stanchions to the ladder. I will add some cotton or maybe wire to finish them of before I mount the stairs.

 

 

 

 

I will paint the brass black I think, maybe leaving the brass balls for style.

[robnbill]

Looking good. Be careful with the use of Sharpies, if those are the ones you are using. They do not hold their colors and have been a source of angst for any of us who have used them. Also the stanchions would probably be alighned more closely along the vertical. You are doing a great job on this and are setting yhe benchmark for future buillders!

[dgbot]

Great work Tuff. Very realistic.  

David B

[Canute]

Tuff, love the barrels. Well done! 

 

A question: would real thin plastic strip work for hoops?

[Tuffarts]

A question: would real thin plastic strip work for hoops?

 

Plastic strip would have same issue that the taper on the barrel does not let the strip sit flush on both edges, or meet without an angle.

 

Plastic may be able to heat with hot air to shrink into place.

 

But while writing this I thought of shrink wrap for electrical applications, it could be cut into rings and shrunk on with hot air. Fixed in place with varnish. might be worth a try. But I have finished with barrels for this model. Next time I will try. 

[robnbill]

I would still try paper strips. Once you cut them to near length, and soak them in somewhat diluted white glue, then they would be pliable and moldable in wrapping around the barrel. Card stock would be thick enough. Once cut into the tiny strips you would need, they would soak up the glue pretty quickly. They almost work like paper mache at that point. Once the glue dries, you can do any final shaping with xacto blades and rifflers.

[robnbill]

If you are going to look at shrink tape, you could also use the line/chart tape. It comes in very small sizes and is adhesive. You can find it in arts and crafts store, or Amazon.

[Canute]

I read on Augie's  current thread where he used shrink wrap on his elm pumps as the iron strapping. Looks good.

[Tuffarts]

I took a few photos today while test fitting some barrels.

 

I am going to treenail the barrels together into groups and then pin the groups to the model with brass pins.

 

Layout a few ropes in storage/laying around. and get some buckets scattered on the deck

 

 

Then I should be ready to install the gun deck.

Edited January 28, 2015 by Tuffarts

[usedtosail]

That looks terrific, Tuffarts. May I call you Tuffs?

[Tuffarts]

Tuffarts. May I call you Tuffs?

 

 

I usually get called Tuff, plural is not necessary  

 

But my name is Scott in Real Life.

 

I took the plunge and decided that all was ready to install the next deck. I had to trim the ends of the beams to squeeze them into the tight fit, I have filled most of the gaps this left.

 

 Then after I had installed the deck, I discovered I had forgotten the little porthole windows 

 

 

I managed to get the holes drilled by getting a pin vice inside the hull and drilling a small hole in the the correct position, which allowed me to drill from the outside of the hull. This gave me some tearout on the painted surface, but I will be able to hide with the small brass tube that is rounded over provided with the kit.

 

 

 

I am now trying to decide which horizontal knees if any I am going to install. if any at this time. They will be difficult to fit. And I worry about getting them looking consistent with the limited tools and wood that I have.

They would look great but the work involved may be too much, and the whole model would be delayed for too long.

I may just fit horizontal knees in the 'easy' positions where the smaller beams do not interfere with the fit, this would at least show the idea of horizontal knees, even if they were not all there.

[dgbot]

Scott your model is really shaping up.  Keep the good work.

David B