The Good,Bad and Ugly. Now Its Done!(Constitution Model)

Beautiful Leftie.  You may have written something about this already but as I remember from this kit the deck was in three sections.  How did you go about matching the seems.  It looks great.

Dave

Hey I think you missed something.

 Hmm. Gun ports?  No there have been posts on the forum suggesting that these were removed in clearing for action so that isn't it.

The Bad?  Maybe? But some might say it is one bad ship meaning that it is very good.

 I got it, you are missing Ugly!

 Nice work Leftie, lots of Good; however Bad and Ugly have gone AWOL.

Very,very nice.I like the coloring of your deck.What did you use?

Rod

Weebles And Millard:

   The  deck sections were glued together before adding them to the hull. Each section's mating edge was sanded square so it would be flush( this shortens the lenght a bit so at the rear I added a small moulding to add what I lost). Add reinforcement sprue on the bottom side. Glue the sections together noting to line up the planks correctly. Of course some putty had to be applied and some careful sanding done. After painting, I restored the panel lines using a well sharpened lead pencil. Also added matching 'grain' lines. The end result is actually quite good. No seam lines are visible unless you hold the light to cast long shadows...I think you know what I mean.

   As I remember the paint I used were Tamiya Rattle cans. First flat black, then Sand followed by a Grey. Light Camo Gray? I'm not sure. It was over a year ago. Then I highlighted some planks with pastel chalk applied with a microbrush.

   I wished I used a darker grey but then I couldn't see the plank/grain detail as well.

Leftie you have done a super job on a super ship.. Nice, Nice, Nice!

Paul 

The proof is in the pudding that you took reference and instruction very well.  I have not seen a finer representation of the this model for some time.  I too have built this model, and in fact am building one right now and your pictures help with my ambition.

Scott 

Leftie,

otstanding work! I have the Constitution in my stash and will start building it as soon as my new apartment is furnished. Hope it will come out half as good as yours...

SD 

What color did you use for the Gun carriages. I like the deeper tone of wood color. That color has been hard for me to reproduce to get a good dark wooden color. So please let me know.

thanks and good work. I have a 1/96 Coney that is waiting in the ranks to get done too.

Donnie 

Donnie: The paint I used was Model Masters Enamel Burnt Seinna. After dry I added a watercolor Black wash. It looks a bit redder in the photos than it does in person...which is a good thing.

   Also I used RLM (25?)Green on the bulwarks with the idea I would add a wash to darken it. I never did and regret it. Maybe I'll carefully do it later.

All I can say is, if this is your FIRST ship model, what are the next ones going to be like? In 41 years of building plastic sailing ship kits I have yet to achieve a standard anything like yours. It is mind blowing, especially the deck.  

Mosiercar,

    I'm sure there are others here who can guide you better than I can but I will tell you how I did it. But I'd like a more specific question.

   Let's start with the lanyards/deadeyes. I saw at someone's site a simple tool to make all the deadeye/lanyard lenght the same. Just a wire bent to let the deadeyes pop into place. Then thread the lanyards.

hey lefty, GREAT JOB. i am also building the constitution as my first ship build.  is there any pointers you can give me about the rigging. i would be in your debt........thank you

As Leftie pointed out, the Deadeyes are a must to rig.  The plastic ones that come in the kit are very weak and will cause you many problems such as breaking and bending when attaching the shrouds and ratlines.  By making the wire jig as Leftie shows and attaching this arragement to a alligator clamp, you can rig up the required 86 sets in an evening.   I did use the plasitc deadeyes as a guide.

Also, plan on rigging the ratlines from scratch, there are many threads here in FSM where we discuss these in detail in addition to the pictures Leftie has shown us.  Again, it is much easier then messing with the ones supplied in the kit.

Scott