Stern of USS Constitution ?

Hello Robert,

I am excited to see the progress on your build of the Revell USS Constitution! 

With regard to the stern decorations and the appearance of the transom during the War of 1812, no one knows exactly what the stern looked like at the time, as there was no photography available, and the details present in contemporary paintings is somewhat conflicting regarding many details, such aas the colors of the decorations, and even the number of windows present. There are many threads in this forum that deal with this question.  

The Revell 1/96 model's stern is based on the 1/48 scale model of the Constitution in the Smithsonian Institution, based on plans created by George Campbell, who in turn based those on the famous "Hull Model" built by crewmen and presented to Captain Isaac Hull after his victory over the HMS Guerriere. 

A few things are certain. One, at the start of the War of 1812, the spar deck had no gunports on the stern. On the gun deck there were stern windows that may or may not have doubled as gunports, but contemporary paintings show 5 or 6 actual windows. During the "great chase"early in the war, before Old Ironsides was involved in any battles, in which USS Constitution escaped 5 British warships in light winds through superior seamanship, Captain Hull had his carpenters cut holes in the stern at the spar deck in order to bring some stern chasers to bear on the pursuing ships. These ports may or may not have been covered back up during subsequent repairs. It is not known if they existed during the battle with the Guerriere,  but significantly, the Hull model, which is by and large regarded as the best primary resource for the ship's appearance, does not include any spar deck stern ports, and it was built by the crew after the battle.

In general I think the Revell 1/96 stern is a good representation of the stern as it appeared at the start of the War of 1812, and the smaller Revell 1/196 stern represents a post 1830's overhaul stern, which is close to how the stern appears today.

Cheers!

Jose

Jose - I want to thank you for your response and the information you've included in this post. I kept comparing my two-part stern to the photos in the AOS book and the only way I could see of adding gun ports would be to cut into both parts and destroy some of the trim. After sleeping on it, and then reading your comments, I'm going without on mine. 

Also, thanks for sharing with me the difference between Revell's two models and time period. I added some eyebolts to my stern to attach some rudder chain later on, but I think they are too low. It looks like I should have placed them just under the 1st upper trim white line. I think it may be back to the drawing board. Once again, thank you for your all of your help on this. Say 'hello' for me to my sunny California. I'm a native Calif. but recently moved here to Atlanta. My wife and I have a wedding to attend in San Diego in October of 2017, so I plan on visiting the Maritime Museum and taking lots of photos! Cheers and a Good Holiday Season to you!