Building a Imai/ Monogram 1/120 USS United States,,, great fun

Gene,

Awesome building skills as always! I really love the scratch built roundhouse. I have this kit in the stash; however, the hull you have for this kit is different  than the hull I have. Your’s looks exactly like the USS Constitution’s hull whereas mine is a single hull, with gun carriages built in on the gun deck. There are actually two decks with my kit. 

After comparing my United States with Monogram’s smaller kit, it looks like Imai/Monogram just scaled up their kit and called it done. Although, it looks like they might have caught some flak for it and just reissued the Constitution as the USS United States. There were photos on thread I posted a couple of years ago were on Photobucket.....

Steve

Gene, when you run out of room and your going too soon unless you do build another hobby room or take over the wifes areas (not happening ) then I would be proud to display the overflow at my house :)  The oops must of been an easy fix, it looks great

 Here are more. 

Dale, my rigging skills are nearly non existant but I can still build. Here are some new ones I just took. What an easy ship to build. I did make aa mistake on the rear deck as it does just barely let the rigging by it. I had to sand the port side down a hair.

The masts are just setting in the holes. 

Gene, correct or not there is not a thing wrong with your rigging skills. I hope my builds look as good.

I hope no one is looking at any of my ships thinking the rigging is correct. I'm lucky to get my shoes tied, but I do love to build ship models. Jim, the rigging plan is not going to help me because it just makes me nervous. I am very happy to get any rigging on, but thanks anyway.There are a bunch of real riggers like Steve5 who will use it.

Gentlemen,

Also, be aware that rigging plans may have changed somewhat between each individual captain, given that they each had different ideas about how ships should be rigged or armed or trimmed, ad. infinitum. Considering this, and given  that there is so little information available on the ship itself, any rigging plan becomes educated guess work.  I would recommend that you stick with plans found in reliable references such as Jim posted rather than with the plans by Revell. As we all know, model companies never seem to get rigging plans correct.

Bill

know what you mean nino , but it's good to have a few different plans to compare , I have built about 6 of these 1/100 ships , and I am still trying to get to know all the terminoligy , and failing . 

 I'm an aussie , my poison is bundy rum . lol .

steve5

Nino, tks for posting that. Your right in your statement of conflicting diagrams/instructions of belaying pins. I am going to add this as another reference source on my Connie build thread. I have both revell plans old/new, the BlueJacket plans and some other reference material and I noticed right off that the diagram you posted shows more pin and fife rails than any of my plans do. It still surprises me the numerous conflicts there are on how the Constitution and other ships were rigged, armed or painted.

One thing to keep in mind is Revell, monogram and other plastic model manufacturers were trying to use the "KISS" method as much as possible, so the models attracted more inexperienced builders.   Dale

Steve,

  Be aware that the  Anatomy of the Ship, Bluejacket, Model Shipways, and various other Rigging books may disagree with that posted plan. I bet you could spend a whole weekend comparing. That's what they make Scotch for.

  It is kinda nice in that the copy is a large file and easily read.  Watch the note reference for P/S (Port/Starboard).

     And take a look at one of my favorite FSM threads on Constitution rigging.  I am still trying to learn all the terms and what it all means but that's why I like it.   

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/7/t/55130.aspx?sort=DESC

   Nino.

nino 

I for one thank you , as I intend to do the constitution again . this is going to come in very handy

steve5

Hi Gene,

    As always, I'm watching intently.  I know my limitations so I've not had anything to add to your awe-inspiring United States construction thread.  However, I had come across a very detailed Belaying Pin plan of the Constitution in my files today.  It was from an old post on Model Ship World. I cannot not post it from my files so I re-searched for it online to post it through the MSW link.  I hope it will help with your rigging of the USF United States.  Perhaps some members can assist you with any differences between the two sister ships.

     Jim (Nino)

Dale, I put as much as I can on a mast or spar before I put them on. Makes it a lot easier. If I am going to use sails I will sew them on the spar before I put them on, & also I put any rigging I can on too. 

Gene, you truly are a model building machine ! As always my friend it looks fantastic. Looking forward to seeing it up close and personal soon.

Have you or anyone else here ever tried rigging as much of the mast you can before mounting them to the hull ?  Dale

  Bill, this is the nicest to build ship model I have ever done. Everything fits  well. Of course all kits with the imai name on the mold fit well. This one seems even better. This afternoon I sanded,filed & put together all 3 masts & bow sprit.

  I built the little house or skylite for the rear deck. I built it too tall first & had to cut it bown to look right. I don't know what was on there but who does. You are the only one that seems to have found pictures. I likes the Scaledeck add pictures. I seem to still be pretty good at building & painting. I don't go crazy till I start rigging. Thats why I figure out ways to make it easy. It works.

Very well done Gene.

The poop deck really looks odd on such a well balanced design for a ship, no wonder captains complained about it.  

Scott

 Thank you Bill. Was there a little structure , house, on the rear deck? Revell's kits in a way have better detail, but no kit fits better, has nicer castings, or has less flash than Imai kits of any make, Ertl, or Monogram. They are just a joy to build.

    My little pea brain got it in my mind that the deck guns had a long rigging tie rope & I did them all that way & looked at a real picture of the Connies guns & redid them twice more. I had to drill out each eyebolt to get the glue out. Heaven forbid & really tie a knot & not glue. 

   My deck does look super on this one. I painted the deck with Tamiya wooden deck Tan & pencil lined the grooves with my real sharp pencils. Then I put a raw umber wash , & then used a very, thin black wash. Then I did part of the planks with a heavier raw umber. I am going to send you and Jim more of my earlier RR layout pictures. I am real proud of them. They are about 1/2 scratch built. 

Gene,

I love it!  I'm amazed about how fast you build these ships while still doing a wonderful job!  I really like what you did with the roundhouse!

Bill

She's looking Great!  That glass tabletop makes me that your model would look great on water.  

Now to deck details & then masts. The sails are beautiful & I think will make a beautiful model.  The only trouble I have had has been my fault. I had to tie the deck guns 3 times ??? I jus couldn't get them right & also had bad thread the first time. I think I have tied hundreds of guns & a lot better too. 

  I just took some new pictures of my progress on the United States. It is coming along nice & clean. A joy to build. I just got my newest Imai/ Monogram Susquehanna in the mail today, another beauty. 

More next post.

I for one , very much appreciated it too bill .

Or better, the Imai set.

If anyone ever builds the Heller victory, I've been handing out the Imai set for years.

Scottrc, What ship kit are you looking for plans for? I missed what you said, unless you meant the Heller Amerigo.

I hate that when it happens. I do it all the time with decal sheets.

I remember my kit "had" a very nice instruction booklet and rigging plan, which I somehow misplaced.  I last remember the instruction booklet hanging on a bulletin board next to my workbench in an apartment I was living in 1989.

And the kit has a gazillion parts all colorfully molded in clear, white, orange, brown and black.

I put some feelers out on locating another set of instructions.  

I assume the United States instructions are similar Gene?

One thing, Scott. In my limited experience with Imai reboxes of Heller kits, Imai redesigns the instructions and they are a whole lot clearer.

Gene,

All your talk about how nice this kit is makes me wish I had one.  I have built, or currently in the process of building, the Revell kits, which in my opinion, lack in surface detail and a getting long in the tooth for fit.

I once got to look inside the Monogram kit at the hobby shop a few decades ago and my impression was that is was a really nice, simple looking kit.  

I do have an Imai 1/150 Amerigo Vespucci in the stash, but its a Heller mold and very bleak in details.  

I have built the small 1/196ish United States and the Cutty Sark by Monogram and they were a lot of fun.  

Scott

Gene,

The problem with building any model of the United States is that there is little real information available.  I have never seen or been able to find plans or reliable references. All we can state with reasonable certainty is that neither the Revell quarter galleries or transom look like any of the drawings or paintings done by contemporary artists.  I'll look deeper to see if I can find anything.

Bill

Dave, Thank you, these Imai decks take a real nice finish on the plastic. Are you using a wood deck on your Cutty Sark? What are you doing now on the ship?