Hi All,
I was doing a bit of research into the USS Constitution and came across this; I’ll probably add it to the pile. I hadn’t seen it before.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591142504/ref=sr_11_1/102-1906134-4941728?ie=UTF8
Right now I’m doing something a bit different with my “Constitution”, I decided what my new den really needs is a 1/96th. scale half hull of the of Old Ironsides. It’s rather simple as the hard work was done at the factory. The hull is already in “half”. I just measure and “split the decks down the middle with a scribe and #11 blade. On the centerline details, I’m a bit careful with a new #11 blade, a “parts” chopper and sandpaper. To support the Gun Deck as well as the Spar Deck. I’ve placed a few ¼” x ¼” square balsa supports from the keel up, and a lot of ACC. I did not bother to add the Capt. and Officers staterooms as there would be no light to see anything. I’ll just black out the “glass”.
I did not want to trim off any of the largest Jolly Boats' starboard side that sits just over the centerline on the main hatch so I’ve fudged a bit with the boat chocks and shifted them a bit closer to the port. The smaller boat that sits dead center, I’ve halved by cutting with a fine coping saw. “Charlie Noble, and the masts were already halved. It’s looking very good. I’ll add some pictures to the Webshots album this weekend.
On the colors, I used Floquil Antique White for the gunwales and Testors Medium Green for the bulwarks. The black and armor sand to the decks as well as a black wash Also, most modelers miss this, but the large “open sides" of the Frigate does not have that troublesome netting and hammock set up it’s all wood so I replaced with a piece if cut bass wood that looks better than styrene “grain wise”. I have not seen any research that states one way of the other of this so I did the "current 1812" version. The gun carriages are painted with Floquil Boxcar Red, which in (my own humble opinion) is a perfect match for the dull oxidized red that have on the real ship. I’ve truncated the mast and bowsprit so they will fit in the baseboard. Just need to order the brass plaque/legend and hang it.
I’ve done this type of model before and was writing a “How-To” book on the subject. I’ve got to get started again as I’ve lost all of my notes and chapters from the flood.
Jake