Building a Revell 1/96 Kearsarge

   Jim & Bill, those are great posts you all just made. Keep trying. I wanted to tell Bill that I got Semmes book Memoirs , I picked up a nice use hardback for $13 + shipping. I wanted a hardback for a little bigger print.Paperbacks have tiny print. I haven't got it yet, but it's due now. I am using Bills colors mostly. 

  Got another question,, How can I blacken brass chain without painting. I know there is an easy way. Help. I told Jim I glued the Alabama hull together & put my 1x2 in. 10"" with about 8" between pedestals. I used the kit deck as I am doing this pretty much out of the box. I will take pictures, but I forgot today. I will close the rear openings & rake the the masts as much as possible. Got something in mind as the kit masts do have a built in rake & I only need about 6 to 8%. . I will start a new thread soon.

Gene,

A belated but sincere Happy Birthday to you. I hope your day was productive  at least modeling wise!

I am looking forward to seeing your Alabama build. I have been researching this for a while to say the least, just wish I could afford a copy of the Anotomy of the Ship book. But I have pictures and papers and now I guess I’ll have to join the party. My biggest concern I see is with raking the masts. I have the ScaleDecks wood replacement deck and the photo etch, as well as the Cottage guns and propeller. I would highly recommend getting the guns at least. The rings on the masts could easily be scratched from styrene tube or ModelExpo might still have them.

There was also an article in FSM a couple of years ago about fixing some of the issues on the Alabama. I’ll see if I can find them, if you think they would help you. There is also a picture online that shows a model of the Alabama in a British museum that if I remember correctly was built by Lairds. The color on the bulwarks was a Yellow Oxide/Buff color, although this could have been repainted after Semmes took command.

Bill, I wish you would figure out how to post pictures because I would love to see what you’re up to with your Alabama.

A very Happy New Year to one and all,

Steve

Steve, thanks & I would appreciate the FSM article. I might have it as I have a bunch of my old FSM's. Do you know about when it was?  On the mast rake, I thought of filing a small amount from the rear of the stub that fits into the deck. It already has a slight rear slant the same as the kearsarge. It only need about 7or 8 degree slant. The way I do my standing rigging & shrouds, they do hold the mast where I put it.

  We all hope that Bill will put his pictures on soon. I plan on doing a second Alabama & will use more aftermarket on it. I loved doing the Kearsarge, a beautiful model. Better than Imai in a lot of respects.

Gene,

I used to use Blacken It which I gather from a cursory search of the internet is no longer available. Here are a couple of links that I hope will help:

http://www.modelboatyard.com/blackening.html

https://www.amazon.com/Jax-Pewter-Blackener-2-Oz/dp/B00KI21DW4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1514737656&sr=8-3&keywords=jax+pewter+black

Happy New Year to you and yours.

Hi Gene!  I thought you might like the info below posted rather then only PM'd to you so...

Gentlemen,

Here is a question that well-deserves discussion.  What was the external color of the ship? I have seen black. I have seen gray. I have seen white trim and no off-setting color on the trim.  What are your thoughts?

Bill

   Jim, as soon as I get an Alabama post on, please put anything you have on it. You seem to have more pictures & info than any of us. Those last pictures & all like them should go on too.

If all else fails I will spray the chain black. I got some nice meter long chain from Omni Models for about 2.50 + shipping. Best price anywhere. My kids sent me an abay gift card & part of it went for the Cottage guns today.  

   Does anyone know how they measure eye bolts. Whether it is inside or outside the eye? I don't use the plastic ones hardly at all. I have copper & brass ones I used on the Kearsarge

  Bill, I am sure not an expert & I listen to you all. I think the Alabama was black just from what I have read & one fairly Knowledgeable modeler used a dark metal color on the waterline. I painted the hull with Floquil Copper & from all I have used of that it should allow an oil/ spirits wash of green & black after. That's what I did on the Kearsarge. On the inside I mixed an Olive green for the "bulwarks" & will do the pin rails in wood tan & datk brown pins. Most of the furniture will be a German Gray, because black does loose detail. The masts will be wood tan & black & the lifeboats wood inside to save detail & black outside.

    Please , all of you tell me where I am wrong. The guns I will do in a semi gloss  gun metal with a gray green carriage. I do a lot of things to bring out detail better because dark colors on a model loose detail.

Gene,

I believe that the black exterior looks better than gray. But, there is one famous photo showing the Alabama in port somewhere showing her port side. It looks like a dark (or light in some prints) gray rather than black.  There are many models of her in museums showing both black and gray.  I have found no references either way other than paintings and models that show the ship in both schemes.  It's a toss up. 

Bill

Gene, I think you can go with a black that’s not jet black and have an attractive result.

Currently my favorite is Testors NATO black. In the past I’ve used Floqiil or Pollyscale Grimy Black, Steam Power Black or Engine Black. Since there’s something “black” on this ship in just about every material imaginable, it would be good to mix it up.

I know you like to model without weathering, so it’s important to modulate what you do to avoid any somewhat toylike appearance.

GM, My wife always said my train layout looked like Disneyland.

Walt's wife always said Disneyland looked like a train layout.

I have a great book titled something like Disney's Railroads. It's in the train book collection out in the barn.

warshipguy

Gene,

I believe that the black exterior looks better than gray. But, there is one famous photo showing the Alabama in port somewhere showing her port side. It looks like a dark (or light in some prints) gray rather than black.  There are many models of her in museums showing both black and gray.  I have found no references either way other than paintings and models that show the ship in both schemes.  It's a toss up. 

Bill

 

 Bill,

  Your memory is on the nose.  I recalled the picture but I did not know when/where the picture was taken till you mentioned it. I had to locate the original links again. It took me awhile but It's New Years and I was up anyway. There are several versions of the 1863 Singapore visit  photo.

  The B/W one:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VmndOmHAAIo/UAcZ1vfLXdI/AAAAAAAAAqY/InfxU3VZU5Y/s1600/AlabamaSingapre2.jpg      

A Sepia toned one:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uCJXSFDVwOs/UxVIu8_snEI/AAAAAAAACh8/OhhD-fyH6Z4/s1600/alabama_lee_photo.jpg

And a slightly larger image (below) at  https://civilwartalk.com/threads/css-alabama.26286/

And a "painted" one:

http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/watermark/picas_data/tn_pcd/19980005825-8106-3181-7915/img0071.jpg

       Happy new year.

                 Jim

Jim,

That's the one!  One thing seems clear; she was not a light gray.  But, black & white photos are problematic.  I agree with the other Bill that the best approach might be a subdued shade of black, perhaps a very dark gray. I will experiment on mine.

Bill

     Bills,

     Yes I agree. I have quite a collection of picture files of the model, in wood, plastic and scratch, by some excellent modelers.  Only a couple used grey.  Most went black.  If doing an "As Sunk" model, my feeling is that since the ship left Singapore in Dec 1863 and ened up in Cherborg in June 1864, that there would have been heavy wheathering.  I doubt any sailor went over the side to scrape and paint back then. So if no anchorage is mentioned in the memoirs, then NATO black, Rubber black, Gunship grey, perhaps German grey (Panzer grey)  or a really nice "Lighter Shade" of Black, might be the most appropriate.  When I build my 1st Alabama I will do my best to emulate whatever Gene does.  I will want to make it look different from Kearsarge, otherwise they are tough to tell apart to an untrained I.   ( yes, I mean me...)

     Regarding "As Sunk": Supposedly the copper plates were in terrible shape at this time, (although I had read that the plates above the water-line were cleaned up while in Cherborg), so it could be safe to assume the hull was weathered to a salt-sea exposed wood effect- a beautiful deep Grey with texture. I guess color depends on the time frame chosen.

         Nino

Edit:  I added/changed a few words for clarity- The Paint colors I mentioned are Tamiya Spray can colors. It's good that English is my primary language- but it didn't help much after a few Corona's. It was a long New Years eve...

 Additional note... The French Authorities refused Dry-dock facitities to CSS Alabama so no major refit to Alabama was done before the battle.

There are a lot of colors which will render grey in B&W photos.

Which invited, to my mind, healthy speculation on just what color might have been used.

As a merchant raider, it seems apt that a less-military color might have been chosen.  I have seen speculation that the ship might have been a lavender or periwinkle color--that seems unlikely, if possible.  A brick red also could be possible, but, I like the speculation on green.  Green is a merchant's color; rich, but easy to upkeep.  A non-threatening color until the first shell flies across your bow.

But, that's all speculation, whihch leaves us free to model what we want.

Hence, the question. There are no references of which I am aware that speak of her external colors, only her black deck furniture.  Your point that there are many colors that render in grey in B&W photos is my point. There are many models and paintings available, all secondary or tertiary sources, depicting the Alabama in different colors, all of which show up gray in B&W photos.  Green is a distict and intriguing possibility.  Hmmm . . .

Bill

 Bill, I am going with a mix of black & German gray for the hull & the thin water line,according to one builder who did seem like he did a lot of research,a metalic gun metal ,my inside bulwarks is olive green mix that I got from you & like. dark gray for the furniture. It will sit next to the Kearsarge & I wanted as much difference as possible.

 We know what colors the Kearsarge was pretty much & it is done (nearly, the boarding steps.) On the Alabama, I painted the waterline & masked it so I could brush a line above in the black mix . I want to glue all the things on the outer hull before I paint the rest.

I found the photos I was speaking of earlier. They are from the Williamson Art Gallery and Wirral Museums in England but was originally in the offices of the Laird’s Shipyard.

It shows the bulwarks painted in a Yellow Oxide/Buff color with the hull completely in Black. I plan on using this as my “prototype“ on my Alabama build. Which I think someone is going to have to start a thread on.... also note that the framing of the false stern windows is Gold.

Steve

A naval officer and marine detachment aboard the U.S.S. Kearsarge, Photo taken in 1864.

Library of Congress collection.

Happy modeling    Crackers  

The pictures we are getting are great. On the rake of the masts on the Alabama , as far as I can measure it is about 8 or 9 degrees. The kit has a built in rake, just like the Kearsarge has. I want to try filing the rear of the stub that fits in the deck heavier at the top to create a rake angle to the rear & put a wedge in the front to hold it.My standing rigging & shrouds do hold the masts well.

  I will put a temp base on my Alabama today & try to get a new post with pictures today or tomorrow.I might go with mostly black on the furniture . I change as I go along. I think the buff interior bulwarks is real good.            

So you touch on another general issue with the big Revell kits. Putting tension on the backstays, shrouds and such all relies on the integrity of the end point anchors. 

The plastic eyes are completely worthless. The pin rails really can't be depended on to stay simply glued to the bulwarks. And even the shrouds depend on how well the channels, which the deadeyes attach to on most ships, and attached to the outside of the hull.

The eyes on the decks are best replaced with either wire or photo etched parts, the tails bent over under the deck if possible.

I like to drill and pin the pinrails and the channels to the hull, with pins that go all the way through. If that shows, it can be covered up pretty easily.

On a whim I also measured the rake from a drawing, 8 degrees seems about right.

Can you run a rod from the mast down to a block on the keel? It'd be much more reliable.

Steve,

Those are excellent photos of the model!  I like the colors and may repaint mine accordingly. Also, Mike and Steve5 are helping me to learn how to post, so I might start my thread on the Alabama in the next day or so.

Bill

I've been searching through my stuff, attempting to scratch a nagging itch.  You see, I have this memory of a scholarly essay on the color of Alabama.  The author made quite a case for an all-over yellow ocher with black bulwarks and furniture.

Which would make a dramatic model.

Such a color is not without precedent, Constitution wore an all ocher paint scheme with a red gunport stripe for a circumnavigation cruise.

Naturally, I'm not finding the article.

But, it would be a dramatic pairing next to the staid, conservitive, frugal USN paint scheme on Kearserge.

     Does Anyone have any pictures of the Kearsarge model which was in the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath?  It is supposedly a very good representation of the original Plans of the ship. 

     A point of interest on color regarding a contemporary of Alabama, the Confederate States Ship Florida.  I recall reading the Hull above the water line was "lead colored".   I will look for the reference. Sloop CSS Florida had 2 Stacks. 

        Nino

gene1

Steve, thanks & I would appreciate the FSM article. I might have it as I have a bunch of my old FSM's. Do you know about when it was?  On the mast rake, I thought of filing a small amount from the rear of the stub that fits into the deck. It already has a slight rear slant the same as the kearsarge. It only need about 7or 8 degree slant. The way I do my standing rigging & shrouds, they do hold the mast where I put it.

  We all hope that Bill will put his pictures on soon. I plan on doing a second Alabama & will use more aftermarket on it. I loved doing the Kearsarge, a beautiful model. Better than Imai in a lot of respects.

 

Gene,

The articles are in the July and September 2012 issues of FSM. If you do not have them, let me know and I’ll scan them as best I can and send them to you. The articles are really a teaser, just enough information to wet you ur appetite but not thorough enough to answer all my questions.

Steve

CapnMac82

I've been searching through my stuff, attempting to scratch a nagging itch.  You see, I have this memory of a scholarly essay on the color of Alabama.  The author made quite a case for an all-over yellow ocher with black bulwarks and furniture.

Which would make a dramatic model.

Such a color is not without precedent, Constitution wore an all ocher paint scheme with a red gunport stripe for a circumnavigation cruise.

Naturally, I'm not finding the article.

But, it would be a dramatic pairing next to the staid, conservitive, frugal USN paint scheme on Kearserge.

 

Capn, 

You are correct, that would be a rather dramatic model. I’m almost tempted to pick up a Revell 1/196 scale Constitution and paint it in those colors!

Steve

Thank you Steve & Jim, but I am a little far along to change anything. My hull black & dark gray is sort of a tradeoff that will vary from the Kearsarge. have put on all the belaying pins & am on the shroud tables. They are really different & you want to leave them on the tree until you are ready to glue, or at least leave thieir numbers on them.I am glueing them with CA as I left everything unpainted & that is the only way I use CA. 

  GM, I have always done everything the way you ddescibed & you are right. I use metal eyebolts, beef up or pin anything that takes a strain, I use a lot of 560 white glue as it is super strong.

U.S.S.KEARSAGE picture of her Civil War appearance. This illustration might be of some help.

Happy modeling     Crackers   

Come on Bill get us a thread on the Alabama, we are all anxious to see your Alabama. After hearing you say you were going to paint your bulwarks oxide yellow, I decided to do it too. I masked the deck with thin strips & brushed Tamiya Buff on it. I do like it better as the green I mixed was a little dark, & would have lost detail. I think it will turn out a lot better. 

 Have you put the shroud base parts on yet? I added a 1/32 sq styrene strip along the bottom blocks to tie the bottom block down better. Gm posted about all that & I have always disliked anything to do with the strain of rigging on plastic ships. I have always tied things down that take strain.I cut the eyebolts off that are cast on the bowsprit etc & replace with brass or copper. I used al metal eyebolts on the Kearsarge deck & everywhere.