Great job on the rigging. Those ratlines are very time consuming. I wish I would have done this kit before doing the Constitution. It would have explained how do a lot of things.
USS Constitution Cross Section - Model Shipways MS20245 - 1:76 - by JeffT [COMPLETED BUILD]
Your thoughts are my plan.
All of the yards for the mast have been completed. Lots of construction to make these four pieces, including drilling lots of holes for the jackstay eyebolts. I used 28 gauge black wire twisted around a drill bit to make the eyebolts for the jackstays. I will work on getting the footropes to hang better once the yards are placed.
Great job on the yards.
Great job on your crossection Jeff, especially all those details are looking splendid
You might have seen my hammock nettings in some of the previous pictures. Here's what it looked like before adding the netting and mounting on the rail. The brass pieces are very delicate and bend very easily. I recommend not adding them until you have to; probably about the time the shrouds are set in place. I ended up gluing the netting in place with CA. I tried tying with thread but didn't have any success with that technique.
My replacement/additional chainplates arrived. The upper piece is what was supplied and the lower bunch is the replacements; enough to do 3 or four of this kit. The replacements are just a bit different in size, so I used 6 for the unfinished side and not the 2 I had left from the original piece.
Port and starboard sides of the hull with chainplates, deadeyes and shrouds in place. The tape is holding some rectangular wood in the hammock "cage" to help protect the pieces until near the end of the build.
Shrouds from the stern looking forward. The next job will be to tie the ratlines to the lower shrouds.
My replacement/additional chainplates arrived. The upper piece is what was supplied and the lower bunch is the replacements; enough to do 3 or four of this kit. The replacements are just a bit different in size, so I used 6 for the unfinished side and not the 2 I had left from the original piece.
Port and starboard sides of the hull with chainplates, deadeyes and shrouds in place. The tape is holding some rectangular wood in the hammock "cage" to help protect the pieces until near the end of the build.
Shrouds from the stern looking forward. The next job will be to tie the ratlines to the lower shrouds.
I have (finally) finished the ratlines for the mast. This took me much longer than it should have since I had a bad back episode (unrelated the tying ratlines) during the process.
Good afternoon Jeff. Wow a lot of fine detail work on the rigging and masts since I last checked in. You are building a fantastic cross section. Love all the detail. Cheers Grant
Thanks, Grant. The mast may be the most difficult and time-consuming part of this build.
Jeff just ready the log and loved your methods and ingenuity overcoming problems. I have never look a cross section model and am now thinking I may try one.
Kurt Konrath
Kurt Konrath
When you do a full size ship you get this work times 2 or 3 plus the bow sprint and boom in back depending on the ship.
Nice work on your ratlines and rigging.
This my second cross section. They make for interesting builds. I probably get more interest on my other cross section than on full ship builds. If making and planking the hull is not your favorite part of building a ship model, then a cross section may be the way to go.
One of the nice things about a single mast cross section - not too much of any one task.
Next up is the Bentinck shrouds that anchor the topmast shrouds. They are not shown by Marquardt in his Old Ironsides book and may have been added to the Constitution later in life. This model has diagonal (Bentinck) shrouds that pass through the main shrouds and down to the deck/bulwarks. I like the look of the Bentinck shrouds so am adding then per the instructions for the kit. The rings that the instruction used were too oversized for my liking and the ones around the shrouds that attach to the bottom of the platform just don't look like the way the actual ship looks in available pictures. The instructions have the modeler add multiple bullseyes at the point where the shrouds pass through the main shrouds. I simulated these by using CA glue to form a loop and attach five pieces to each ring along with the Bentinck shroud. Hooks were seized to extensions for attachment to the bottom of the platform.
After lashing everything together the parts seemed the be in reasonable scale and not so cumbersome. Bullseyes were use and tightened near the deck.
After lashing everything together the parts seemed the be in reasonable scale and not so cumbersome. Bullseyes were use and tightened near the deck.
An interesting detail!
Question for you about the deck and fife rail stain? I've had trouble staining basswood in the past have you used other types of wood to get such a clear stain without the basswood dark spots?
It is really looking amazing.
It is really looking amazing.
Nothing special used. First a coat of Model Expo Wood Conditioner (MS4973) followed by a couple of coats of Model Expo Natural Stain (MS4980). Both are acrylics. I suspect a regular sanding sealer would work as well as the MS4973. The MS4980 seems to be more of a buff paint than a stain.