Hello all...
I should jump in here to lend my own perspective on the color of the copper sheathing...
In addition to the variation found in the old jar of pennies, I was influenced by some cursory research into the production of copper sheets by Paul Revere. Thank goodness for Google and Wikipedia...
Most of you already know that Revere provided the first copper sheets made in America and used on the Constitution. He recognized an opportunity to launch a new industry and invested in an old ironworks in Canton that could utilize the adjacent river for the necessary power to turn the gears of the rollers. Revere had sent his son to England to glean what information he could on methods for rolling copper. This info combined with his own experience in working with forging of copper and Iron (and of course silversmithing) gave him enough confidence to proceed. Benjamin Stoddert, the Secretary of the Navy at the time, was encouraging domestic sources for vital military materials such as copper sheathing and offered to help fund Revere's initial effort. The US Government provided $10k and the first batch of raw copper for processing into sheets - an early example of federal subsidy of the military industrial complex. There were no domestic sources for large quantities of copper, so England and other overseas sources were needed. These were obtained in various quantities and levels of "purity" which certainly introduced variation in color. Metallurgy in that day was clearly a far cry from what we have today and obtaining the consistency and quality needed for many modern applications would be unlikely.
Secretary Stoddert preferred that Revere use a "cold rolling" method for flattening the copper through a series of heavy iron rollers into thinner sheets. He felt that this would harden the material for greater strength. Paul Revere, however, successfully argued for a "Hot Rolling" method which would anneal the copper as it was flattened through the iron rollers with a final cold rolling pass to add some strength. This approach, however, introduces "mill scale", which is heavy oxidation on the surface caused by the recrystallization of the metal under heat. The final cold rolling would help to reduce the scale problem and give the sheets a better finish. The heating of the metal would further introduce color variation in each batch - especially when a consistent temperature is not applied. Revere used plentiful New England hardwoods to heat his "furnace" instead of coal as used in England. This likely introduced more color variation than the copper sheathing imported from England.
Finally, it was common practice for the shipyards to store the copper sheets in open sheds to allow some natural oxidation that would help flake off any remaining mill scale. This period of "weathering" would also introduce wide color variation as different batches were stored for different periods before use - like the old pennies in the jar.
I think it highly unlikely that any ship of the early 19th century was ever sheathed in shiny copper of consistent color. Even when first applied to a new ship on the ways, you'd have seen a patchwork of color and tone in the underside copper plates. That is essentially what I've tried to depict.
All of this brain dump aside, I readily acknowledge that all of the choices made by modeler's for representing the copper plating is good by me... A nice even coat of copper paint on the hull produces a beautiful effect. The use of copper tape seen in some of the newer builds is also a great approach - absolutely gorgeous stuff. I just prefer the patchwork effect - purely artistic license.
I almost proceeded to apply a final verdigris wash over everything to give that nice weathered effect. But at this juncture I've decided against adding any weathering effects to this representation. No rust, no barnacles, no green copper. My build will be fairly "pristine"... This is not an instance where King Neptune waved his powerful trident and lifted a vessel dripping with moss and salt water out of the blue gray sea, shrunk it down to 1/96 scale , and deposited it on my mantle. Neither will I get caught up in "scale" black and "scale" white... I'm merely trying to represent the design and configuration of the great ship as she appeared in battle against HM frigate Guerriere on August 19, 1812.
Thanks again to all who show an interest in my build and thanks to those who help stimulate deeper discussion on the various elements of this project.
Evan