Three Revell Constitutions on hand to build.

Managed to get pics of my own Connie in a file on my laptop with help from my son. How do they get transferred to here?

Posted more pics on fotki, doing pin rails and finishing spar deck gun carriages. Any suggestions?

when drilling holes for the belay pins should the holes be close to the bulwark or closer to the outer edge of the pin rail?

Started to do the pin rails, got 8 of the 7 piners ready to drill for the belay pins. Been slow working on this, putting a bathroom in the basement while working the Connie.

Got the wheels and quoins on the HiS gun carriages, will fotki pics of those soon.

You vcan go cross eyed with this stuff!

Posted some not so sharp pics on Fotki of the gun carriages from HiS, just one assembled. I saw the color for the carriages on a Connie site and mixed my own to try to match it. It's sort of close. Now I'll complete the guns and post a pic of the spar deck with the kit carriages and the HiS carriages. Putting those wheels on was trying.

And working on the pin rails too.

thanks for the compliment Rick.  Keep at it.  You're doing great.

Bob

Thanks for that. I had some 24 gauge copper but it felt too soft. The pin rails are a little out of scale compared to the kit rails, they are slightly wider than the originals. Getting the belay pin holes in a straight line on the pin rails is proving problematic so far. Those are lined up in a zig zag fashion. I'll pick up some jewelers pins.

I am adding the wheels to the HiS carronade carriages, and will be posting a before and after photo of the spar deck on Fotki when finished. I mixed the color for the carriages, trying to match a color I saw online. I think it's off but am done fooling with it.

I was showing my wife the photos of your build. She saw them and just said, "WOW!!!"

Not as much about the gauge as it is the stiffness of the wire.  You don't want the pinrails to bend up or worse - pull out - once you start adding lines to them.  I used jewelry pins, which are extremely stiff but very tiny.  Drilled through the hull and into the pinrails while they were in place.  Made sure the wire/pin went through the hull and rail.  Pushed them flush with pinrail and left sticking out of hull until they dried (used CA glue).  Then snipped them flush with hull and touched up paint.  Can't even tell they are there.

Bob

The HiS gun carriages are done. I  mixed the color myself to try to match what I saw online. Working on the pin rails now..The new belay pins are fine, but drilling the mounting holes for them in a straight line is a bit tricky. thinking of getting a mini drill press.

what gauge wire would you suggest using to pin the pin rails to the bulwarks?

Got the carronade carriages from HiS and started them. A lot nicer than the kit carriages. I the kit carriages seem to be from a later overhaul. The HiS carriages look like what she carried in 1808 to about 1835.

Having trouble downloading pics to Fotki. 

Been working on the belay pins.

I went back to the belay pins and fortunately they are round...lucked out there, I was not aware they might not be round. Thanks for the warning.

The HiS carriages will not be here till the end of August, seems to be a supplier problem.

HiS will also make a set of furled sails fot the Constitution. I was not aware that he could do that. I saw some he made for the Cutty Sark and they looked pretty good...not to mention all the work that will save.

Finally got my 6mm brass belaying pins (blackened) so I can start redoing the pin rails. I originally ordered 8mm pins but they seemed a little large for this kit.The ones that came with the kit have a tendency towards breaking.The HiS gun carriages won't be here till the end of August, seems to be a supplier problem. The spar deck has been on hold waiting for the pins and carriages.

HiS is making a set of furled sails to use on the Constitution.. I saw some he made for the Cutty Sark and they looked pretty good.

The next area that seems to need improvement is the channels, but the spar deck first.

I have started the second hull while waiting, but will not put as much effort into the gun deck as the spar deck hides everything. Seem to recall you mentioning that.

Some of the "pins" are actually rectangular, and not the round standard belay pins.  Like putting a square peg in a round hole!  

Bob

Finally got my 6mm belay pins to redo the rails, still waiting to receive HiS carriages for the spar deck carronades. Originally I ordered 8mm belay pins but they looked a little out of scale for this kit. So I ordered the blackened brass 6mm pins. These are nice, they should look good. And they are little! Working on them now.

From studying the rigging plans, it looks like not all the belay pins will be used. What is your opinion on not building them in?

While waiting I started readying the #2 hull.

Those pin rails and belay pins that came with the kit suck, to be blunt. Also I painted the bulwarks a dark green while assembling the hull and gun deck, big mistake as the plastic pinrails and glue don't mix well with paint. Time for some basswood. Hope CA works!

I put one of the kit sailors on the spar deck to see how the camboose chimney would look. It's shorter than the sailor. So smoke would hit the sailors smack in the middle of their faces. Rebuilding with sprue to raise the chimney higher.

What size would any of you recommend for the belaying pins on the pin rails?

Any recommendations on whether to rig the stays first or the shrouds?

The channels leave a lot to be desired too.

Several of the books and articles I have read so far on the Constitution indicate a "fighting trim" set of sails when she was engaged. In the paintings I have seen of her, when engaged, she does not seem to any have furled sails on her yards, so I assume those not part of the fighting trim were stowed below. And she shows far fewer sails while engaged, as do her British opponents.

One of the articles claims that the gun port covers were stowed on the orlop deck instead of the gun deck to keep them out of the way, and that they were passed down the line, much like the water buckets in the old fire brigades of way back when, a process that went much faster than one would expect. (?)

(My phone literally caught on fire, which is why there are few pictures on fotki, but that has been remedied. Just glaed it wasn't in my pocket at the time).

I have ordered some silkspan and am thinking of having her in fighting trim since on the kit her guns are run out, making a fighting trim seem more feasible.

The masts are inserted but not glued in, as a trial fit. (Scale Deck is down on the spar deck.) The fore mast is fine, the main mast needs tweaking, but the mizzen mast needs some work, It leans back towards the stern.

I'm waiting for the spar deck carriages from HiS as well as the silkspan. I scratchbuilt a Brodie stove and galley and water caskets for the gun deck, but with the spar deck on you can't see them. 

The Scale Deck is laid down on the Constitution. The mizzen mast is problematic as it leans noticeably towards the stern.

Pic on Fotki. The fore and main masts line up well.

Having problems with the spar deck. The hull seems to be bowed out from amidships to the transom. The glues I have tried do not seem to be able to hold the spar deck in place against this tension, even super glue. I used the thin super glue. Have not tried epoxy yet.

I am clamping the hull by running 12 gauge copper wire under the hull and up the sides and twisting it to pull the hull tight between every other gunport. I let the glue dry for 24 hours. Other than this the spar deck fits very well when clamps are on it.

I do have notes on this build with suggestions to do some things differently on the second hull I have. Time for another Guiness!

Thanks, Bill. I'm also rereading "Jackstay", and hopefully can get the spar deck in place.

Great description, GM.  Only way a jig works is if you leave off the bottom few rows of ratlines and add them after you get the shrouds all in place.  And you have to leave the rest of the mast pieces off.  If mast is fully assembled, you have to do it as GM stated.

Might I comment on the rat lines?

They are tied to shrouds that are installed in a particular fashion.

Starting at the forward lanyard/ deadeye, the shroud is looped around the deadeye and seized to itself.

Then the shroud goes up through the "lubber hole" in the top, goes around the top of the mast (not around the topmast as well), crosses the crosstress on the far side, goes back down through the top and is seized to the next deadeye back on the same side.

Following that, starting on the other side, the shroud again comes up from the forward deadeye/ lanyard assembly, loops around the mast in the opposite direction and neatly stacks on top of the first shroud, comes down on the same side it began on, and is seized off.

Back and forth. Only if there are an odd number of deadeyes on each side does a shroud (the last or rearmost) shroud come up from one side of the ship and go back down the other.

The Revell kit has the big advantage of the way that the deadeye/ lanyard assemblies are put together provides a true groove around the upper one, allowing line to be wrapped around it.

I can't imagine how that could be preconstructed on the bench, and it's actually not at all hard to do on the ship model.

The footropes frankly can be ommited and it's not a big loss, compared to a messy installation.

Or, they can be tied on, using a card with correctly spaced parallel lines on it tucked in behind the shrouds. Or threaded through the shrouds with a needle (never tried it).

Or tied at each end and glued in the middle.

I haven't had the opportunity to do this in a few years, but once you get going you'll be able to do a set in an hour or two. And it gets easier as you go up.

I've also seen models with thin wire used for the footropes, but that's beyond my abilities. It does allow for a nice little sag to be added to each segment.

Bill

I have the gun deck finished and am trial fitting the spar deck. I can see the wisdom of not putting too much effort into the gun deck. After the spar deck is on you can see very little of the gun deck.It seeems that time would be better spent on the spar deck and on the rigging.

The spar deck aft section is slightly warped, and the hull seems to be bowed out from amidships to aft. I am thinking about this problem now. (there is a lot of resultant smoke escaping form my ears.)

I got a refurbed phone so am back in business with Fotki, haven't added much yet, deleted all the plans shown as not necessary.

Also ordered a pair of flush cutter nips for taking the copper pins off the outside of the hull that tha guns are rigged to, those diy eyebolts.

And am making a jig to make the rat lines on.

Got another phone, returned, tried a pic on Fotki.

The guns are mounted on the gun deck and breeched. The water barrels are in place,, the stove and anchor lines are finished, the gun deck capstan is in place, all is ready for the spar deck. and there in lies the "oops!"

We have a fit problem. The hull is spread out more than it seems it should be and the deck doesn't quite line up properly. The masts fit properly (so far, nothing is glued in place). It looks like some slow setting crazy glue might be called for to secure the hull and deck.

Has anyone else run into this problem and how was it handled?

Ouch Bill!

Mine started smoking then flamed up. Glad it wasn't in my pocket! It's been acting up for about a month before burning up.

Mine went through a washer/ dryer cycle. Didn't come out well.

I got a nice iPhone 7+ for about $ 500.

My phone caught on fire a bit over a week ago. Saving for a new one. They got expensive. Does anyone know if the Jitterbugs are good to use with Fotki?

On Fotki. I know it isn't a pic of the Connie build...still putting breech lines on the first hull gun deck...but it is one of the projects done to keep the little lady happy so I can continue with the ship builds. In that respect, it's related to the Connie build.

I am using my copper eyebolts to mount the 24 pounders, instead of running a line from the eyebolt in the captains quarters around each gun then tying it off at the bow, each breeching line is separate. I ran out of bluing agent so some of my eyebolts are gun blue and some are plain copper. Seizing the guns separately is time consuming. It does look better and the practice seizing should come in handy while rigging.

I hope you are all well and enjoying your hobby. Stay well and God bless.

I know, that's one reason I cut those little bobbins off, it will make building up the bulwarks simpler. I printed pics of your Victory to use as a guide to do the bulwarks. Thanks for the info and ideas.