Revel 1:96 USS Constitution by 11320 Titanic

Tomorrow, will add the rudder and glue the HIS deck down,maybe repainting the transom. After the deck is glued down, will let it sit for 48 hours.
MGYSOS said:
Built mind in 1978; still sailing...well kind of for a static model. This was prior to a good cleaning and completing some misc. repairs.
A 'Star-30' in the background and my next R/C build a
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MGYSOS said:
Built mind in 1978; still sailing...well kind of for a static model. This was prior to a good cleaning and completing some misc. repairs.
A 'Star-30' in the background and my next R/C build a CR-914.

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View attachment 462816
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What material did you use for the sails? I am considering furled sails for this one.
 
On building the Constitution, a question just popped into my mind concerning the transom. The Connie was a warship. I am using Testors "make a window" to glaze the transom, but glazing is glass...on a warship? Would the Connie have had glazing on her transom during her war years? Back then glazing was hand made and expensive, so the war department would have considered this expendable, not that economics bothered the early government (some things never change).
I am going to add the glazing because it looks good on the model.
I am working on the Captain"s quarters now, and the HIS deck fits just right between the new waterways. I will salvage the gun deck carriages from the "wreck", which should save some time.
Also not using the gun port covers.
.
 
11320 Titanic said:
On building the Constitution, a question just popped into my mind concerning the transom. The Connie was a warship. I am using Testors "make a window" to glaze the transom, but glazing is glass...on a warship? Would the Connie have had glazing on her transom during her war years? Back then glazing was hand made and expensive, so the war department would have considered this expendable, not that economics bothered the early government (some things never change).
I am going to add the glazing because it looks good on the model.
I am working on the Captain"s quarters now, and the HIS deck fits just right between the new waterways. I will salvage the gun deck carriages from the "wreck", which should save some time.
Also not using the gun port covers.
.
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It seems like the Connie only had glazing in the middle frame to allow light in, and the rest were "faux" windows built by the carpenters. However, I think she looks better with the glazing, so being a landlubbet captain, I will go with the glazing, just not on this particular transom.
I am surprised that the six frigates did not use more red, as at that time, red pigments were the cheapest, one of the reasons all you old barns were red...those farmers were more frugal than the Navy!
 
these are some of the broken items to be repaired that were missing from the kit I obtained, 1st pics, both items broken and gleus back together, second pis is of the wheel, one post good, one broken, cut piece off second broken post and glued it to top of broken post, repaired. fourth did not come out

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You have to love your cat. Several HIS carriages were broken and repaired, wheels missing, finishing repairs on those now, several guns off the carriages...the cat is still enjoying her new home!
 
11320 Titanic said:
I am surprised that the six frigates did not use more red, as at that time, red pigments were the cheapest, one of the reasons all you old barns were red...those farmers were more frugal than the Navy!
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It is true to say that the ochre pigmented paints used to paint traditional barns were cheapest, but 'proper' bright reds like cinnabar (a mercury ore) or cadmium red (by product of zinc mining) were way more expensive than black pigments like lamp-black (soot) combined with black tarry stuff as a binder - like Stockholm tar boiled with turpentine. So bright reds would be used sparingly except for deliberately ostentatious ships like royal yachts or admiral's flagships.
 
11320 Titanic said:
It seems like the Connie only had glazing in the middle frame to allow light in, and the rest were "faux" windows built by the carpenters. However, I think she looks better with the glazing, so being a landlubbet captain, I will go with the glazing, just not on this particular transom.
I am surprised that the six frigates did not use more red, as at that time, red pigments were the cheapest, one of the reasons all you old barns were red...those farmers were more frugal than the Navy!
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I have many references that show glazing for the windows. Certainly, warships did use glass windows and also used dummy windows as well. You can check with the USS Constitution Museum in Boston. They should have up-to-date information on fitting out the frigates after each refit. Also check out any paintings in which the artist attests to actually seeing the ships in question. Other printed sources can also help. Good luck!

Bill
 
11320 Titanic said:
I am building the Revell 1:96 USS Constitution from an unfinished kit. Reworking a hull that some else has started presents some difficulties, missing parts, painting that has been done so far, broken parts, a lot has to be reworked. I had ordered decking from HIS, never got it, so ordered one from Scale Decks which I used on my wrecked Connie before. After those decks were finished, my HIS order arrived so I will be using that on this build.
I have pictures on my phone, loaded them to my pc but did not save them to my pc, will try that again. Also have to figure out how to drag then to SOS.
It seems that most of the missing parts, including the rudder, can be salvaged from thr wreck.
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Can I ask you a question?

The original Connie instructions call for three “ropes” coming through the hull,on each side at mid-hull elevation.

I have mostly finished the build but there are no details of where those six total lines go to.

Any thoughts or help?

Thank you

Carl
 
Sorry, just now noticed your question about the sails on my build. Those are the original sails supplied by the kit. At the time, I had read where 'tea' could be used to stain the plastic to give the sails a 'weathered' look. It takes a little practice to get just the right look / shade by wiping on or off as much as you want.
 
Pagecarl said:
Can I ask you a question?

The original Connie instructions call for three “ropes” coming through the hull,on each side at mid-hull elevation.

I have mostly finished the build but there are no details of where those six total lines go to.

Any thoughts or help?

Thank you

Carl
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Those are back stays, and they go to the masts, port and starboard, and are part of the standing rigging, they help support the masts. You will need them so take care of them. Do you have the standing rigging and running rigging instructions?
 
11320 Titanic said:
Those are back stays, and they go to the masts, port and starboard, and are part of the standing rigging, they help support the masts. You will need them so take care of them. Do you have the standing rigging and running rigging instructions?
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Yes, I actually have two different sets of both standing and running rigging but can’t seem to identify those particular lines. It must be my inexperience.

All six lines remain in good condition and in good shape, just not connected to anything.

Thank you!
 
Finish the hull first before tackling the standing rigging. The standing rigging is considered a part of the hull structure, and is a real dark brown or black. The running rigging is what the tars manipulate the masts and sails with, and are usually brown or tan.
The staunchions are enough to drive you crazy, are very fragile and snap easily so be forewarned. If you snap one or two (I snapped 6), to repair, lay down a sheet of waxed paper, glue the snapped ends and lay the glued pieces on the waxed paper. Glue doesnot like wax paper.
If you get frustrated, grab a cup of tea, or tease someone, relax, then go back to work. What ever you do, don't work in a frustrated manner, it causes mistakes! Good Luck
 
11320 Titanic said:
Finish the hull
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Yes, I have actually finished the entire ship, sails included. Only those six lines remain unconnected, lying about forlornly. Nowhere in my instructions can I see where they attach so I kept on working through, figuring that at some point somebody would help me with their connection point. The ship actually looks fairly good, regardless, given that it is my first effort. I learned lots but those unconnected lines eat at me.
 
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