USS Constitution by Model Shipways. - First Build Log

[rturcic72]

Interesting approach vs say, Mustafa's (Mtbediz1) inside/out concept. Might it have been easier to deal with lower sections first? I don't know that I could work comfortably with so much loose line hanging from the masts.

I had bought a bunch of really good rope after getting frustrated with what came in the kit. The lines fall down nicely and they were easier to many than I thought. I was worried they would tangle and I would create a mess, but it seemed to have worked out pretty well so far.

 

[Jeff T]

I had bought a bunch of really good rope after getting frustrated with what came in the kit. The lines fall down nicely and they were easier to many than I thought. I was worried they would tangle and I would create a mess, but it seemed to have worked out pretty well so far.

I like to do as much rigging off of the ship as I can especially on the masts. I will probably do as much of the upper rigging (above the fighting platforms) off ship. Once I need to mount the masts I usually coil the lower shrouds and allow them to hang just under the platforms until they are ready to be tied in place.

 

[rturcic72]

My last update was a little over a month ago. I had no idea that rigging was so tedious. Hunt's Practicum takes a lot of shortcuts which doesn't make it any easier. The amount of prep work is astounding. I've been rigging the yard arms with like a million blocks in it, lol. One of the challenges I'm having is that Bob recommended not attaching studding sail booms on the lower yardarms for the fore and main masts but only to the topsail and topgallant and he gave a reason for it and I've been following it. The rub is, some of the pictures used for showing the location of the blocks on the yardarms have the studding sail booms on the lower yardarm on the main mast, and some don't. It's like trying to solve a riddle because I'm jumping back and forth between the practicum, the plans, and this forum just to make sure I'm understanding what I'm looking at. I am convinced that seizing is a form of punishment, a task designed for elves, lol. Also I noticed getting a shotgun blast to the face when I discover Bob decided to add 12 sets of blocks with eyebolts under the mast top. So this task magically appears when it probably would have been better to do this when building the mast top platforms a couple of chapters ago, and I'm seeing things on the masts that also would have been nice to build and attach to the mast also a couple chapters ago. Anyway, I'm plugging away at it and will hopefully finish in this decade, lol.

 

[JSGerson]

My first encounter with Mr. Hunt's practicums was when I built the kitbashed Mamoli Rattlesnake. I followed his instructions closely, but as the model progressed, I realized he started taking short cuts in order to write the practicum. The results were errors, omissions, and simplifications. I believe at the time, the practicum was sold as a subscription and he had to make the deadlines. It was about that time I discovered there were websites devoted to ship models. That is when I changed the practicum from the "bible" to a guide.

Having said all that, I couldn't have made that model without his instructions so when it came time to start my USS Constitution, I didn't hesitate to buy his practicum again only this time, I knew it to be just a guide, I checked his instructions against what I found other builders were doing. Sometimes I followed his steps, sometimes I followed other builders', and based on that knowledge and my experience, sometimes I followed my own path. If you look closely, you will discover he never finishes his USS Constitution model. There are no pictures of a completed model. He only does enough to provide instruction as to how it should be done.

Jon

 

[Der Alte Rentner]

I'm with Jon on this point. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere with the Constitution had I not started with the practicum. However, I learned about halfway through that, as Jon said, Hunt started taking shortcuts. That he never finished the Constitution ruins the second half of the practicum for me. Thank God I found model ship world and ships of scale. I'm abandoning the practicum for the rest of my build and focusing strictly on the information available through other's build logs at both sites.

I've been sidetracked for nearly a month with the irons for the studding sail booms, and somewhat dreading starting rigging after I'm finished with that - for exactly the reasons you mentioned above.

I'm glad you posted what you did because, fortunately, I have not yet glued in the tops. I'll have a chance to add all of the blocks before anything is glued into position.

Hang in there...

 

[rturcic72]

I'm with Jon on this point. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere with the Constitution had I not started with the practicum. However, I learned about halfway through that, as Jon said, Hunt started taking shortcuts. That he never finished the Constitution ruins the second half of the practicum for me. Thank God I found model ship world and ships of scale. I'm abandoning the practicum for the rest of my build and focusing strictly on the information available through other's build logs at both sites.

I've been sidetracked for nearly a month with the irons for the studding sail booms, and somewhat dreading starting rigging after I'm finished with that - for exactly the reasons you mentioned above.

I'm glad you posted what you did because, fortunately, I have not yet glued in the tops. I'll have a chance to add all of the blocks before anything is glued into position.

Hang in there...

I've only subscribed to SoS and MSW. I'll have to get a copy of my log back into MSW, but I feel they are the best wooden ship and model building forums out there and the founding history is also in both of these forums along with some of the original Plankowners for lack of a better term...I think its really cool. Like Jon, I think using it as guide along the way is helpful, but when I look back at what I could have done differently that's a different story.