The Constitution Escapes, July 1812 - The Project

No diorama expert, and post your question there, but...

One model. against a backdrop is good.

Go on, you know you want to get 3ft long a plank and build them scale distance apart- It's something you never see in sailing ship dioramas.

Will

I agree! Get the three ft plank and go for it!  Afterall, there are individual models longer than that. And, it was my pleasure to get you the kits.

Bill

Somehow, the three foot plank idea is starting to stick with me.

The whole "is it a diorama or is it a model" thing strikes me as odd. In this case, it's probably safe to call it a diorama. However, when I built miniature sailing ships, they were almost always waterline and underway; with a waterline model, any flat surface becomes an ocean, but placing them in a sea of acrylic paint and gel brings the vessel to life. Frequently, though, people called these models "dioramas", including the local modelling groups for whom a 1/700 (or for that matter 1/1200-1250) vessel displayed the same was simply a "model".

For now, I'm going to take a two phased approach. The models will be treated individually as models. When diorama time approaches, we'll change tack.

Vagabond...

A depiction of the famous chase is ambitious... You could show some boats out front kedging the anchor and/or towing both vessels.  Lots of sails to rig!

Good luck!

Hi Force,

I'm not one to shy away from sail, but yeah, this is ambitious for me as well.

Both kits are very simple, very basic, and rather old. That could be a liability, but for me a kit has to be viewed in the same way that a sculptor views a block of marble; somewhere in there is the finished product. Sometimes it is easy, sometimes it isn't. If the model has enough of the basic form, it is usually worth the challenge. 

And so we begin with the Constitution.

Constitution Hull Modifications - 

Enough of the basic shape is there, what is needed is the elimination of some of the erroneous details. The height of the bulwarks is too high, the bow is solid and the deck detail coarse. I marked the basic modifications that were needed to the starboard hull half. Before the actual cutting began, I decided to keep the waist bulwarks, since there were canvas covered ones in the same location during that time period.

The area below the waterline would be cut deeper then seen here.

After all the cuts were made, the deck would be wiped of detail, with some cut off for use later. Another deck layer would be added to raise it up. The mast steps were marked and re-drilled and the waist hatch cut out. With the new deck, the hull is assembled.

The prow opening would be blocked out with styrene.

Early on, a new prow would be cut from sheet styrene and doubled.

The prow was attached and a headrail assembly pieced together from styrene strips. The trailing board was made from Evergreen .060" channel stock. There is still some trimming needed.

With that, the hull is ready to be finished.

I have been following your posts with interest , the only correction to the above is that it was not Shannon that fired at Constittution but Belvidera, all of her shots falling short. [ It was Belvidera who on 23 of June 1812 escaped from an American squadron consisting of the frigates ‘President’, ‘Congress’, ‘United States’ and the sloops ‘Hornet’ and ‘Argos’.]

 Theres a good review of the " race " in,

Broke & The Shannon  by Peter Padfield.

I like your approach to modifying the kits! I can't wait to see what you will do with HMS Shannon!

One editorial note . . . manufacturers please take notice of this thread!  We need greater representation of ships of this era, particularly Royal Navy ships!  It is strange that so few ships are represented for an era in which the Royal Navy changed the course of history! I wish we had a larger kit of Shannon.

Bill

shannonman

I have been following your posts with interest , the only correction to the above is that it was not Shannon that fired at Constittution but Belvidera, all of her shots falling short. [ It was Belvidera who on 23 of June 1812 escaped from an American squadron consisting of the frigates ‘President’, ‘Congress’, ‘United States’ and the sloops ‘Hornet’ and ‘Argos’.]

 Theres a good review of the " race " in,

Broke & The Shannon  by Peter Padfield.

With a screen name like "Shannonman", I yield to your expertise! Actually, I forgot to correct that (and will do so  momentarily); glancing through history is not the best approach.

Thank you!

Thanks, Bill!

To be honest, even with the work that has been done, the models are still very simple; what I am aiming for is capturing the event. 

And, yes, more 18th-19th warships in 1/200 and up would be very nice.

Looking good Rob.

I like the way your correcting the bow.  I'll be watching your progress & looking forward to your work on the Shannon.

Adrian

The two starboard gunports under the waist were off compared to the more accurate port side. The old ones were sanded off, new ones made from thin scrap styrene sheet and then positioned in the correct locations.

The transom had to be trimmed down and two ports opened up so as to match the prototype's in 1812.

On to the Shannon. The dies to this model have better than a decade on the Pyro kit but still looks fairly like a Leda class frigate. Again, the cutting guidelines are drawn onto the plastic.

The Shannon - Basic Hull Work

A new deck was cut from styrene. Once the lower hull halves were removed (again, a few scale feet below the waterline), the hull and deck were assembled. The bow had to be handled differently than that of the Constitution; removing the molded on headrails would affect the structural integrity of the kit too adversely, so I chose to imply the headrails as opposed to open up the area. The end result was more than sufficient for our purposes.

The two hulls at this early stage.

This was done for curiosity's sake; the Constitution is quite deserving of the classification "super frigate" by bulk alone.

The gunstripes were masked and the models spray painted in flat black. Please note that the davits have been removed from the Shannon, as they were too flimsy.

I'm loving this. Simple modifications make these look very worthy models. Will you be modifying the upper deck of Shannon. Built in the first decade of the 19th century she should have a fairly wide, semi-integrated gangways, showing a slight step up to the forecastle and qtrdeck. There is a good example of the type here;

http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/displayRepro.cfm?reproID=F5815%2D002&picture=2#content

Will

Rob,

I love what you are doing!

Will,

Thanks for the link! It will come in handy in the near future.

Bill

Billyboy

I'm loving this. Simple modifications make these look very worthy models. Will you be modifying the upper deck of Shannon. Built in the first decade of the 19th century she should have a fairly wide, semi-integrated gangways, showing a slight step up to the forecastle and qtrdeck. There is a good example of the type here;

http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/displayRepro.cfm?reproID=F5815%2D002&picture=2#content

Will

Morning Billyboy,

Yes, that is the plan. Thanks for the image, excellent reference material!

Cheers,

Rob

Sounds good.

I took some photos of some admiralty board models a few years back. I will try and dig them out and see if there's anything that might be relevant to Shannon. That 36 gun frigate model pictured above is actually quite unusual in that it clearly depicts a late 18th century frigate but with the modifications you'd expect to see in the first decade of the 19th century. Most board models of course show ships 'as designed' or even 'as built or rebuilt.' 

Trying to work out what individual members of the Leda class looked like at any one time, they being so long-lived a design, is a nightmare really. I've seen the original draft for Leda (1931 / J4079 / ZAZ4909) and it is covered with annotations and dotted lines to depict all the modifications incorporated in both new builds and repairs, including the 1817 radical addition of a Seppings round stern. Very confusing little notes usually say something like 'barricades- gt. repair, 1813', but are frustratingly vague. (I say this all from memory because the NMM doesn't allow you to take photos of doucments yourself)

'Frigates of the Napoleonic Wars' by Gardiner is more or less the definitive source on the matter. It can be quite good fun trying to reconstruct how a frigate would have looked after modifications.

Will

Thanks for that information, Will. I am discovering that the decorations on the ships of this period were also a bit more austere, and not sure about the Shannon on this. Since the Airfix kit is a bit simpler, I may need to go that route, since we are talking 1/450. 

The waist  gangway has been opened up on Shannon, and painting continues. Pics soon.

Rob

Will,

Will the NMM provide copies of documents that they themselves have made?

Bill

"The waist  gangway has been opened up on Shannon, and painting continues. Pics soon."

And this is why pre-coffee writing for me is a bad idea. It should read "The waist  has been opened up on Shannon, and painting continues."

Sheesh...

warshipguy

Will,

Will the NMM provide copies of documents that they themselves have made?

Bill

Yup. http://www.nmm.ac.uk/contact/buy-ship-plans/

You do need to be reasonably well informed before your try and enquire the collection. For example, to find anything relating to Shannon, you would have to know she was a Leda class. Similarly, if there are any drawings related to the later life of a ship in the class, they'd be kept in the contemporary place in the records- i.e if a ship was built in 1790, but modified during a great repair in 1810, the drawing for the great repair should be amongst the 1810 records. Drawings relating to ordnance, for example, will be in a seperate series again, and so on. I am sure the NMM will happily conduct this sort of research for you, but it can make the prices jump pretty quickly!

Finding these last sorts of drawings can be almost impossible unless you know the very specific details. What you need is a good book, like the Conway books, which give specfic references to drawings. Gardiner's 'frigates of the napoleonic wars' for example, gives catalogue reference numbers for some very obscure drawings you'd struggle to find without looking in the card indexes in person.

Like any research institution though, the more you can provide them with, the more they can help.

Will

Will,

Thanks.  The reference books and background knowledge are not problems.   But, I am always looking for as many primary sources as I can get.  That is where NMM can be quite useful, as well as any insight you possess into working with the NMM.

Bill

The interior bulwarks of both ships have been painted, green for the Constitution (Humbrol 30) and red for the Shannon (Testors Flat Red).

Decking was drawn onto cardstock using a hard, sharp pencil. Folk Art acrylic color "Barn Wood" would be applied by wiping the paint on with a rag.

The Pyro/Life-Like/Lindberg Constitution has no stern detail. So, I pieced together a gallery from painted paper, cardstock and vinyl tape. A printed "Constitution" (originally part of a far more elaborate printed piece that did not work) was also added. White glue was used to attach everything, and the whole thing was sealed with acrylic varnish.

A view of the Constitution with the cardstock deck, the starboard gallery and the base copper paint below the water line.

While out of focus, the two copper strakes on the port side are visible in this shot. Since the ship would be modeled doing a slight roll, it was necessary to add this detail.

The Shannon kit has a fairly simple paper gallery with quarter wraparounds. It was attached with white glue.

The Shannon with deck and port gallery. The bow detail was decorated using painted paper and vinyl tape.

Since the waist was now opened, it was necessary to make a small section of the maindeck from styrene and glue it into place. This would visible under the details yet to come.

Both models on their building blocks. Next - deck details.

Wow! You are certainly improving the basic models!

Bill

First, I'd like to apologize for the blurry pictures. Starting on the next phase, I will be switching cameras.

The hatches are assembled from styrene, painted green with paper grating white glued on top. I made this grating by using a stock image, reducing it and then taking the reduced image and copying it to make a larger grate pattern. The main hatch is the original from the kit with the ship's boat removed, grating added with vinyl tape details.

The fore and main fiferails were made from styrene and also painted green.

The fiferails glued into place. Also note the grating added to the head.

Somewhere along the way I managed to lose the kit's ship's wheel, so I made another from photoetched wheels leftover from another project. This photo does them no justice.

The capstan was made from sprue from the actual kit. I made the galley stack from 20 gauge steel wire. Once these details were painted, they were all glued into place. Again, this blurry photo does this no justice at all.

Another blurry shot. At least, though, the model is looking better.

Next, we move back to the Shannon and detail that vintage kit.

Very fine work indeed. Getting to the point now where people would not easily be able to guess the provenance of the kits!

Will

Thanks, Will.

I've been working on the Shannon and have discovered that the Leda class are figurative snowflakes... 

Vagabond_Astronomer

Thanks, Will.

I've been working on the Shannon and have discovered that the Leda class are figurative snowflakes... 

Ah yes, but if you're anything like me, I bet you've enjoyed reading all that reference material!

The way I see it is the Leda class was like a successful fighter aircraft in 1945- i.e. the designers of late 30s aircraft never anticipated that continued development of the basic 'airframe' would be necessary due to a regional war turning in to a world war. Having experienced some costly mistakes in the form of several single-ship frigate classes (usually by slavishly accepting French models were better), it became clear in the 1800s that sticking with a tried, and fundementally very fine frigate design was a compromise that ensured a whole lot of ships could be put on the water. I think the parallels to what happened with the Supermarine Spitfire as it developed between marks I and 24, are quite marked!

Will