Revell 1:96 USS Constitution build log...attempt at my first model ship

That is a very nice Blog Sean.

  I read thru to your Rudder installation and your use of bees wax on your thread and I did a quick review of your mounting of the hull.  I am not quite up to making a model of a large scale sailing ship yet but I have been given the advice to trim a large block of wood and glue it into the bottom of the hull for extra support for the nut that is set into the wood.  Other modelers have used just Epoxy to ensure the Nut is held tightly to the plastic hull. These make for easy and tight installation of the pedestal screws. Your method with a small piece of wood to on top to hold the nut in place may not be enough.

 Your pedestal mounts have a groove cut in them that will allow the keel to rest in the groove.  That makes for a very secure mount. You have chosen wisely!

   Nice work so far.  Good idea on your supports for the 3-piece deck that had the bad warp.  

   I don't recall if the Revell Constitution decks have camber built in but you may want to add some curvature to your decks in the future. Only a few Model companies sailing ship kits seem to have camber in their models plastic decks.  Real ships have it to get the water to run off better. It does make the model more realistic IMHO.

  Thanks for sharing.

      Nino

Great work Sean on both the ship and the pics. Will follow you as you complete the ship.

Jim  

Question, is thhis to be an OOB (Out of the Box) build?

That will affect advise we give yyou here.  Some.

Can help with some things, though.  The breeching line around the end of the cannon needs to be long enough to stop the cannon so that the barrel is clear of the inner bulwark in full recoil.  It's slack when the guns are run out.

Which gets to an OOB issue.  The kit hull is about 3mm thick, shy of 1/8".  The actual hull uses frames close to 18" thick with 2-3" thick interior planking and 4-5" outer planking (8-10" at the wales).  So, the hul need to be closer to about 1/4" (6-7mm) thick.  And, it's rather late in the process to fuss with that.

Tiny point of order.  Woodne sailing ships, despite being in water were dry as tinder, flammable stuff was kept under close supervision.  Powder was keep deep i nthe hold, and through a number of pass-throughs.  Powder was not loose but bagged in linen or silk bags

The other issue is that, sailing ships were, to pick a simple word, "tippy."  As in enough to tip over a standing barrel unless that item were very securely lashed down.

Now, there is a legitimate, and scholarly, debate on whether the spare spars wer actually carried lashed to the bottom of the boat beams i nthe hatch. 

One of the things that Revell does not tell you about the ship is that the anchor lines do not merely cros over behind the forepeak, but, instead, travel aft along the hatch coamings to go below to the cable flat about even with the main mast.

Those lines out to be a hair strong on 1/8" (4mm) diameter.  There should be another line, just shy of 1/16" (2mm) which ought to have three turns around the lower capstan drum (also neglected by Revell) which is the line actually heaved in to bring the anchor line aboard.
(That smaller line ought to run through a pretty big single sheave block well forward, which would be near-impossible to see, making a continuous loop.)

Dagnabit, I meant to keep this simple and short.

Oh, an if you want an option for the decks, they were made from different kinds of wood.  Oak under the guns, and pine for the rest (I think)  Even today, ther eis a two-tone effect.

Thanks, Nino I appreciate the feedback.  Yeah, I'm hoping the groove in the brass pedestals will be sufficient to "stabilize" the ship.  I don't think this model version has camber, or if it does it's extremely light.  Maybe I'll drop a tiny level on the spar deck once I get her installed.  Thanks!

CapnMac82 you have tons of useful advice here.  I think Out of Box Build means I don't use any outside pieces?  I'm new to the lingo still.  If that's the case then no it's not.  I'm adding a few "extra" pieces here and there like the "gunpowder barrels" as they're called on the packaging.  Maybe I can have those barrels represent another type of cargo in them rather than gunpowder?  I'll do a little more research on what those barrels could be used for in that location.  My next update will show them tied down with thick "rope."

The breeching line around the end of the cannon is going to be a problem...I glued them in place just before you posted here and I did not leave slack in the line.  The guns are obviously run out so I'll see if I can make modifications to create slack somehow.

The hull thickness is definitely wrong with the model.  I saw a great post here http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/7/t/146977.aspx where the builder "thickens" the hull walls with styrene.  I'm still a beginner here and think I'd do more damage than good with this modification haha.

I will definitely look at your advice on the anchor lines when I get to that step.  Thanks so much!!!!

Sean,

Bold move picking the Connie as your first ship build.  You are doing quite well so far.

I wouldn't change your breach lines at this point.  As you stated earlier in your blog, it will not really be noticeable.  But keep that in mind for the spar deck.

There is a very slight camber only to the spar deck on the Revell kit.  However, since most of us have experienced the "warping effect" and have to result to some extreme measures to get the deck looking halfway decent, I am not sure how much is left!  Sean, you were pretty lucky with your spar deck, so you most likely have the wee bit of camber still present.

Adding a few "points of interest" such as barrels, extra crew, etc. would still be considered OOB.  Essentially you are following the plans that came with the kit.  Now if you go completely off script and only use the plans to reference the part numbers, and are scratch building over 50% the kit using a myriad of different materials, then you are no longer OOB.  I see you have already visited Force9's build.  Lots of useful and highly accurate build info there.  My build is very similar to his in that I have been working almost 9 months on my Connie, and just now finished the gun deck.  This is probably not typical for most builders of this fine historic ship, but I had already built it once OOB and wanted a more accurate and realistic representation of her in 1812.  I have been told I have gone a little overboard (with the inkwell on the Captain's writing desk), but since I have installed tons of lighting, I hope at least some will be visible.

Keep up the good work.  Some of Revell's choices can be frustrating (as you have seen with the guns on the gun deck, or the warped parts), but in the end, she is a beautiful model which you can be proud of.

Bob

"Luvspinball"

Well, in order.

The link to Force9's post would be hard to go through, but yes the thickening of the frames at the sides of the gun ports would be a good thing to do the next time you build this model.

I did mine with wood, but styrene works too.

Barrels? Better to look at all of the columns that should be visible, At least two per weather deck beam, at all openings or companionways. That's hard to describe, but think of where the weather deck has a hole, and there's a beam that comes up to it, there would be a column.

Re: tippy ships, the phrase "loose cannon" comes to mind.

A pocket battle ship frigate like this one had 10-15 crew per gun. On a rolling sea, a loose cannon could maim or kill twenty men and boys.

Never modeled but "should be " are the tackle that retrieved the gun from it's outer most position.

You will see that in some photos from the fifties of Victory, but these are now taken away so that the tourists don't trip on them.

But in the normal course of things a gun was never handled by shear man power, but with tackle. So if the guns were inboard, as they usually were, it was because they were run in with tackle and lashed down wtith a double tackle on the back of the gun carriage, and a pair of single or double tackles on the carriage forward to the bulwarks. 

That breeching rope was a shock absorber, not tackle.

Where does this retracting tackle anchor, you ask?

Big eyebolts on the gun deck beams.

You start to get the picture where the ship's frames are a genius of design. The gun ports are between frames, the shock absorber ropes are bolted to them, the eyes for the retraction tackle are on intermediate beams.

Great work on a very difficult choice for your first model!  I have used the hot water method to correct warped parts. It works well, especially when you work a little at a time. In other words, heat the warped part by placing in the water for a few minutes, press out a small section, reheat, then press, until  done to your liking.  I have done the same to provide camber to ships' decks.

I agree with the recommendations I have read from others here. I would recommend discussing deck painting techniques with Gene1, who is quite expert at the art. His work is phenomenal!

Bill Morrison

I have great diagrams in various publications showing the rigging of ship's cannons when run out, fired and run in, and ssstowed securely that I am willing to share. Please sen me an email address and I will send them on the same day.

Bill Morrison