gene1

Dale, that is nice & now you can be one of my kids. I do have several kids older than you. I have one son in law over 70 & I call him one of the kiddies.  I get a feeling he doesn't like me.

 I am going to put on a build on my new Imai/ Monogram USS United States. You have to get one of them to go along with your big Connie. They are beautiful & easy to build & a lot of fun. They go together like a Snap Tite kit, but then you get the rigging that is a little harder. 

 

Gene,

   When you start your "Monogram" United States, can you take a few pictures of the parts?  My records on the various United States kits are incomplete and maybe seeing you parts might help me with their providence.

     The kits I know of are:

 Revell 1/96 kit with the correct Quarter deck (Constitution kit with raised poop deck)

 Monogram 1/120 kit about 29-30inches long (Based on IMAI Constitution)

 Revell 1/150? kit which looks like Constitution (Could be 1/240ish Monogram kit as it too has a one-piece hull. Or, could be the "Simplified build" Constitution kit. One source says possibly 22" long.)

 Monogram  1/240ish with a one-piece hull. 16 3/16 inches long-supposedly. 

(Re: 1/240 kit. A noble try at a one-piece hull. apparently Monogram molded a one-piece hull  with "a touch" of tumblehome.)

   Edit:  OOPS... You already started the United States build on

Building a Imai/ Monogram 1/120 USS United States,,, great fun

Dale, I don't have a Revell 1/96 USS United States. Mine is the Imai molds done by Monogram. It is a really fun kit to build as it is very cleanly cast & goes together beautifully.  Keep watching on ebay because they come up often for the Constitution & less often for the U.S. . The guy I bought from had all 3 , a Cutty Sark, a Costitution & The USS United States. He started them at $19 + $30 shipping. I bid & won it at 19. I thought the shipping was high until I got it & saw he paid $38. I'm sending him $10 more. He didn't sell any but mine. A lot of people have them on from $50 to nearly $300. You just have to watch. Mine was still sealed in plastic. Just keep looking.

    This kit is so nice to build & on it I am going sails & kit shrouds as Imai shrouds are really nice & a lot easier for me. I really enjoy building & painting the hull & details. Rigging is getting harder. I have had my time with full rigged ships in the long past.  I always paint the shrouds flat black, even on thread ones

gene , as always , beautifully done , you are about the only one I know who can use that darn , rigging jig . I am a little bit jealous of livit , would love to see your collection of model's , maybe one day mate .

steve

Thank you Steve, my wife thinks you are sweet. I will have to do a thread on using it. Once I had a little sucess I got good at it & even make my own shrouds to fit all models.The secret is glueing. The best I have found is to use a 15 second glue & hit each joint seperately. It only takes about an hour to do 2 big shrouds. I use a wire on a toothpick to apply the glue.

Steve " I am a little bit jealous of livit"    .... Gene showed me that jig and I still dont get it ! I am looking forward to learning more during my next visit. Once I get over the frustration in trying to find the right size deadeyes, chainplate straps etc. I will be doing my own shrouds and ratlines so any assistance in how to do rigging is going to be a big plus for me.

Gene and Gary are the only two guys I've ever heard of who could make that thing work.

Of course they had plenty of time to practice during stopovers on the Lewis and Clark Expedition...

I feel challenged now!  I believe that I will give the shroud and ratline frame a try!

Bill

The big problem is that while shrouds are in pairs on the same side, this gizmo makes them all singles.

GM, How did you know about my trip out west.It was a little slow & we met a nice Indian girl too.I did grow up in St. Louis so I got a head start. I might build a little wooden boat from memory. 

   Now you talk about old , my great grandmother lived thru the Civil War in Nashville & loved Stonewall. She also lived thru the Spanish American war, WW1, WW2 & Korea. She darn near made Vietnam too but gave it up at 105.

   For any one interested I will do a more complete post on the rigging tool for those who might not want to tie ratlines. The shrouds are no problem, even I can do them.GM, the rigging tool makes a left & right at tthe same time. I can measure a shroud in length & width at the bottom & make a set for any ship. 

Gene I've delayed responding to those photos of your Alabama and Kearsarge together because I couldn't, and still can't, find the right words to express my admiration. Let's just say my eyes are out on stalks and my bottom jaw is on the floor. What stupendously magnificent examples of two of My Three Favourite Models Of All Time, (the third being the Harriet Lane/Blockade Runner which I seem to recall you once said you had in your stash, and which I can't wait to see you build). No doubt this board should give you the honourary title of Grand Master Of Sailing Ship Model Building. I'm sure the late Mr Tilley would concur. Also looking forward to your Susquehanna build.

Robert, thank you very much for the very kind words but I am just a crazy 87 year old man that loves to build models & will cheat a little if it makes it easier. I have been building models since Pearl harbor was bombed. This Imai / Monogram is a real fun model to build . I will try to get to the Harriett Lane soon & will put all 3 together for you. I really enjoyed the Kearsarge & Alabama. I still have a little to do on the Alabama, but I just love to do the hull & details on a model. I get tired of rigging & want to get back to painting & glueing.

   Bill, please get with me & try the shroud rig. I have figured out a lot of things on it & will keep you from going crazy . They really are fun to do if you do them right & there are a lot of things no one has put in print. 

Gene,

Your work is awe inspiring! I'm 10 years your junior and would take 5 x longer than it takes you to complete one of these great 1/96 ship kits but my end result wouldn't hold a candle to your magnificent results.

On to my question. You said:

"For any one interested I will do a more complete post on the rigging tool for those who might not want to tie ratlines. The shrouds are no problem, even I can do them.GM, the rigging tool makes a left & right at tthe same time. I can measure a shroud in length & width at the bottom & make a set for any ship"

Well, you have several people interested .. I'm certainly one. I can't recall which jig/loom you have or if it came with the kit. I have a Heller Le Glorieux that has a jig for the shrouds in the kit and, although I don't want to drag my Heller HMS Victory down from the top shelf of one of my closets just now, I think it may have one too. When will you publish your tutorial?

Another question ... Is the Micro Mark Loom A Line any good?

If I could get one of those jigs working for me it might save me a whole bunch of time and end up looking better than if I'd used the "by hand" method.

All your posts are inspirational.

Mike, I wrote you a PM & I will get to work on a post about the rig for shrouds. I have both a Heller & 3 Airfix rigs. I like the Airfix best because it is adjustable. There are just a lot of little tricks I have learned with rigging these. I did post a fair post on doing it a while back, but I think I have learned more since then. This is one I did for my Imai Mayflower.

The Airfix 1/72 Golden Hind , a great, great model. Airfix's best.

Gene,

Got your PM. Thanks.

When I have questions (when I begin to build another sailing ship) I'll email you with them.

I do have a Golden Hind in my stash but it's not Airfix's, it's ERTL's (née Imai's). Since I have no Airfix kits, no loom/jig/rig of theirs.

[quote user="gene1"]

Gary, that is a shame about the hull on your Alabama. Why don't you hold on to them & if I need any I will yell. I got the Imai Pirate ship without the masts & railings, so right now I have an extra pirate hull & decks. I wonder what those 2 would look like mated. I still have that Model T ford 1/16 kit if you want it. 

   Just got back from the ear doctor & since , like 3 ear docs told me, I use a few drops of a mix of 70% alcohol & 30% white vinegar in each ear & they stay clean. Just in & out  & now I am giving medical advice

So you recommend both a deck wash and an ear wash? Hope I don't get them mixed up. LOL

One suggestion: I built the Alabama back in High School, thinking about doing another one. One thing I remember is the separaton between the rudder and hull looked like a plastic molded kit. Any way to separate & reattcach or use paint shading detailing to hide the molded together look? Would add a lot to the distraction of the molded all together look. 

Looking at this Biuld makes me think of two things. Number 1 is I would love to get my Hands on this Kit and Number 2..You are doing a sweet Build of her.....Cheers Mark