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

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. 

[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

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.

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,

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.

   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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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

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

Bill

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...

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.

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.

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

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

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, 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. 

The way Gene and I have spread the word on the 560 you would think we owned stock or maybe we should of.

I visited with Gene last week and got to see his builds up close. These pictures really do not do it justice.  I hope when I grow up  I can achieve his level of building.

I did some of my Kearsarg & Alabama together. They get a little confusing with all the rigging, but you can compare them.

No Bill, I didn't see the article on sails. I will have to look at it. That 560 glue is super for more things than I even realized . I just glued all my small copper eyebolts inside the bulwarks of my new USS United states. I am going to do an article on it. I also have nearly final pictures of my Alabama that I will post now.

 I have some more I will add on my next post.

Gene,

Sorry for the delayed response, but, yes, I will have to move them aft.  I have already filled the mounting holes of their original locations and will drill new ones as soon as I am ready.  Also, I tried the "560" glue on my rails for the pivot guns. It worked great! Thank you for recommending this glue!

I have been continuing work on the hull. I fixed the painting fiasco on my bulwarks, but it took awhile sanding them down for another attempt. I have replaced detail that was inevitably lost after sanding off those molded-on gun port lids. And, I filled in that forward-most long gun port on both sides for the pivot gun that was never carried.  Two gunport lids from an incomplete USS Constitution kit did the trick on each side with much sanding and filling.  I know that it's taking awhile, but I am really enjoying making the corrections necessary for a reasonably accurate model of the Alabama! This is fun!

Also, did you see the article in this issue of FSM about making sails for plastic ships?

Bill

Bill, will you move the shroud tables/ channels , or just aim the tiedowns a little more? I am really looking forward to seeing your pictures .I am still working on the spars & running rigging. 

   I put a picture of my wood Constitution on a Conny thread yesterday to show my hammock netting. I had all kinds of parts & pieces when I had Orange Blossom Hobbies to get things from. I had this fine netting that I could use for that. I still have a very small amount of it. I don't know what it was for.. 

Gene,

I have already planned around that issue. You are right; I will rig my own shrouds and ratlines.  But, that is far ahead of where I am with the model.  But, I have that painting mishap pretty much corrected and can now proceed. Pics will follow soon.

Bill

Gene, I am going to tie my own on the Connie build. My first attempt at this. GMorrison posted some great suggestions on how to do it right. My BlueJacket Constitution build manual will be here tomorrow, plus I ordered another book on how to rig model ships. Forget who it is bye but it is one that is highly suggested to get. Both of them should be a big help for me.

Bill & Dale, You both should think about how you are going to do your shrouds & how to tie them in. The different rake changes the angle of the shrouds & slants the ratlines forward. Also there is really nothing to tie the shrouds too in the kit. The top block is way too small & I had to glue mine to the whole upright piece. I would think about getting a larger top block & drilling in the block to thread your shroud into. It would probably be easier than what I had to do. I did use the Airfix rigging tool again to make my own shrouds off of a pattern I made. It relaay is not hard. 

   Bill & maybe you too Dale will probably rig & tie your own ratlines. I am tooooo old for that. I am going down now to do the spars & predrill them for all the rigging & to run a wire thru the spar to attach it to the mast. That plastic pin & loop will last about 30 seconds. 

   What I did on the Kearsarge was to AC glue little brass rings to each top block & drill a thread hole in each one & run my own premade shrouds thru it. Worked great, better than the Alabama.

Gene, thats beautiful. Those shrouds look great. I like your ingenuity in making your rake gauge.

I was shopping around on ebay and was hoping to find a deal on a Kearsage and possibly a 1/100 or larger ship of the line plastic model. I was shocked when I seen people asking $200-$300 for Kearsage and Alabama kits. 

Gene,

It's a beautiful job so far! I am most impressed!  Please be patient for my update; I had a painting mishap that I am fixing. I will send photos soon.

Bill