USS Constitution Tribute Build

[Jim Barry]

Great!  I love wargames too! ww2 almost exclusively and often with miniatures 

[Greif8]

On 10/20/2023 at 1:57 PM, Gazzas said:

Now I know you are insane!  Rigging those little things! 

 

Very cool...   Glad to see you back, Ernest.

 

On 10/22/2023 at 7:09 AM, MikeMaben said:

@Gazzas Yep , that would drive me KooKoo too. 

 

Welcome back Ernie , as long as you're having fun, that's what matters most. 

 

On 10/23/2023 at 4:04 PM, Phil Smith said:

This is magnificent and inspiring. Perhaps I will also get into the wooden model business

 

On 10/30/2023 at 2:50 AM, Jim Barry said:

Great!  I love wargames too! ww2 almost exclusively and often with miniatures 

 

Thank you guys!

Gary and Mike - I felt a little crazy rigging the miniatures, but I had to admit they looked pretty nice when I finished them and I thought the rigging added to the overall look.  My sons thought I was nuts as well, but they also thought the finished product(s) looked pretty sweet.

 

Phil - thank you for the nice words.  This is the Revell 1/96 injection molded kit.  My dad and granddad were wooden ship modelers and they were very good at it.  One of my goals with this build is to approach their level of craftsmanship.

 

Jim - I mostly play hex and counter wargames, but as I said above I do dip my toe into miniatures with Post Captain, Federation Commander and Battletech.  Do you play the the Flames of War WWII miniatures system?

 

Ernest

[Greif8]

Hi friends, after a longer than expected pause, I am getting the build kick started.  I have actually been at the bench for a few nights, but all that was spent either cleaning up parts or thinking through both how to integrate after-market stuff and the sequence to do that.  Below are a few photos of where things stand, and I'll provide some commentary to go along with the photos to try and explain what I am doing during this phase of the build.  I'll also be posting some more of the history of the USS Constitution in later threads as I have done earlier.  

 

The two photos below show the starboard side channels with the molded on deadeyes, chains and sheer poles.  These parts (and their portside brothers) had a lot of flash and took a couple of nights to clean up.  The deadeyes will be removed and replaced with some very nice walnut AM deadeyes.  I plan to use the removed sections as guides to make sure I get the spacing right, though I have another plan if that does not work out.  I will see if the sheer poles are salvagable to use.  If they are not, I will make some out of Evergreen plastic.  I plan to do the starboard side first and use the portside parts to help me angle the deadeyes correctly.  Once I I have seperated the kit parts, I plan to clean up the joints and will then drill holes to insert the lower parts of the AM deadeyes.  Before I do that though, I will have to paint the parts black.  

 

A few of the AM deadeyes with the AM photetch parts that are used for the deadeyes that will be inserted into the channel.  I have test fitted one of the PE parts.  The metal end will be glued into the slot that I will drill in the channel and than each one will be slightly bent inwards to the correct angle.  Once all 48 of the lower deadeyes have been installed in the channels for the port and starboard channels, the channels will be glued in place on the hull.  After the masts have been installed I will start rigging the shrouds and backstays.  Shrouds are the lines that support the mast from the sides, and I am planning to rig them as they were on actual sailing ships.  Most of the shrouds will then have ratlines threaded onto them, using several hundred half-hitch knots (looking forward to that - right!).   Needless to say, this is all new modeling territory for me and I am trying not to cock it up, as our British friends would put it!  So I am spending a lot more time sitting and thinking through how I want to approach each seperate sub-assembly than would be the case for say a WWI fighter.  

 

This final shot shows all the AM deadeye stuff.  As you can see there are three sizes.  Deadeyes are used in several different areas on the ship, for example around the bowsprit or on some of the forestays.  This will all be a lot more work then using the kit parts and I am sure I am going to stumble in a couple of spots while I learn the right techniques for threading  rigging and tensioning it, but I feel confident that I can bring it off in the end.   I will be posrting pretty regular updates from here on out, but there is still a LONG way to go with this build.  Hopefully you will enjoy the journey as much as I am.

 

Ernest

Edited November 3, 2023 by Greif8
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[MikeMaben]

Wow ! that makes me dizzy just looking at it 

'Will' be impressive when complete tho Ern.

[Gazzas]

I'm lazy...   I'd use the kit parts.  What is the actual diameter of your wooden deadeyes?

[Greif8]

On 11/4/2023 at 12:58 AM, MikeMaben said:

Wow ! that makes me dizzy just looking at it 

'Will' be impressive when complete tho Ern.

 

On 11/5/2023 at 2:20 AM, Gazzas said:

I'm lazy...   I'd use the kit parts.  What is the actual diameter of your wooden deadeyes?

 

Hi Mike, it makes me a bit dizzy to.  As you will see in my next post I have had to go down somewhat of a rabbit hole to make sure I get this part of the build right.

 

Hi Gary, you are more right on then you know!  See my next post.

 

Ernest

[Greif8]

Not much had happened at the bench since my last post.  The more I looked at the 5mm deadeyes that are supposed to be for the shrouds and a couple of the backstays, the more I became convinced that they are oversized.  This led me in search of - "what right looks like", and what a journey that has been.

 

The bad news is that the deadeyes are indeed too big.  The good news is twofold, first I can use some of the deadeyes for other rigging tasks as they are the correct size for those.  The other part of the good news is that I have not mauled the kit parts to get them ready for the 5mm deadeyes and can use the parts with no issues.  I could order some more 3.5mm deadeyes as those are very close to the correct size, but that would mean more time waiting for them; and of course more money spent on something that I can probably make look pretty good just using the kit parts.

 

My plan of attack now is to install the kit parts that attach to the hull, but not the shrouds/ratlines that came with the kit.  I think I can rig the shrouds and the ratlines to look decent, and hopefully better than the kit ones.  I should be finished assembling the parts and attaching them to the hull this weekend and plan to start rigging the shrouds and backstays after the parts have cured.

 

Stay tuned as this adventure continues!

 

Ernest  

[Gazzas]

6 hours ago, Greif8 said:

Not much had happened at the bench since my last post.  The more I looked at the 5mm deadeyes that are supposed to be for the shrouds and a couple of the backstays, the more I became convinced that they are oversized.  This led me in search of - "what right looks like", and what a journey that has been.

 

The bad news is that the deadeyes are indeed too big.  The good news is twofold, first I can use some of the deadeyes for other rigging tasks as they are the correct size for those.  The other part of the good news is that I have not mauled the kit parts to get them ready for the 5mm deadeyes and can use the parts with no issues.  I could order some more 3.5mm deadeyes as those are very close to the correct size, but that would mean more time waiting for them; and of course more money spent on something that I can probably make look pretty good just using the kit parts.

 

My plan of attack now is to install the kit parts that attach to the hull, but not the shrouds/ratlines that came with the kit.  I think I can rig the shrouds and the ratlines to look decent, and hopefully better than the kit ones.  I should be finished assembling the parts and attaching them to the hull this weekend and plan to start rigging the shrouds and backstays after the parts have cured.

 

Stay tuned as this adventure continues!

 

Ernest  

 

I can only imagine the trouble you would have had with the deadeyes in those confined spaces.  Eventually it's a battle of desire for a certain look, and the capabilities of my fumble fingers.

[jep1210]

Woo hoo!!!! Back at it. 

[Greif8]

On 11/12/2023 at 11:28 PM, jep1210 said:

Woo hoo!!!! Back at it. 

 

On 11/10/2023 at 8:27 PM, Gazzas said:

 

I can only imagine the trouble you would have had with the deadeyes in those confined spaces.  Eventually it's a battle of desire for a certain look, and the capabilities of my fumble fingers.

 

Hi Gary, if the wooden deadeyes were scaled more accurately I think I could have done it.  And I just don't think the overscale deadeyes would have looked right.  You are correct that it is a balance between getting the look you want and what can reasonably be done.

 

Jep - thank you man!

 

Ernest 

[Greif8]

Hello friends, though I have not posted anything for a week, I have been working on the next step of the build.  This is one of those phases that all of us know well; a lot of thinking about how do a decent job on a subject one is not overly knowledgable about.  When I started this step I knew nothing about shrouds, chains, deadeyes and backstays that ignorance has really slowed things down while I got up to speed on the subject.  My original plan was scuppered and I had to come up with another one, but I think I have it worked out now.  Below are some shots of the progress with some comments.

 

The starboard side parts.  I ended up having to carefully scrape each of the lanyards (the ropes that run between the deadeyes) as everyone of them had some fine flash one both sides.  I had previously cleaned up the chains (the parts at the bottom of each channel).  Needless to say this took several bench sessions to accomplish and I am very happy that task is now receding in the build's rearview mirror!  I took my time as there was a lot of opportunity to break something which I mostly avoided.  In the end the parts turned out pretty decent.

  

The deadeyes and sheer pole (the section just above the deadeyes) have two parts that are glued together.  This leaves a join on the sheer pole that has to be filled.  Below is one of the sections after the filler had dried and I sanded it smooth.  The small openings are where the shrouds or backstays will be threaded through. 

 

A couple of the parts after I painted them black.  You can't really see it well, but I managed to get all steps, gaps and join lines taken care of and all six parts look

decent now. 

 

Detail painting underway, the first coat has been applied.  I mixed colors to represent walnut for the deadeyes and hemp for the lanyards.  I did not worry

about trying to get a perfect match as both materials are natural and will vary in color somewhat as they weather.  This step will take several bench sessions

as there is a lot of paint work to do here.  I think they will look good when finished though.   

 

Below is an example of how a shroud line will be run.  I practiced this quite a bit as I will have to thread each of these line with the parts cemented on the ship.

My wife watched me practicing and asked what I was doing. When I explained to her what the practice was for she grinned and said, "This sounds like one of those, Let's see how many bad words Ernest can say in one breath times!"   Very cheeky my wife!!

 

Photo of a page out of a book I bought that covers rigging.  I want to do at least the end and middle seizing; I don't know if I can bring off the throat seizing

at this scale.  You can also see how the lanyard line is wrapped and threaded on the shroud line.  I am still working out if I will be able to do this given that the

deadeyes and lanyards are moulded plastic and I have to figure out a way to make an actual line look like it is integrated with the plastic one. 

 

Another photo from the book showing how the shrouds, deadeyes and ratlines should look as a whole.  What I have not shown is the way the shroud lines are

run, that will come later.  Well that's where I am with the build and my plan of attack for this job.  The backup plan is to use the kit shrouds/ratlines if it turns

out I am not able to do a decent enough job making this assembly myself.

 

[Gazzas]

That's a crazy amount of detail, Ernest.  I'm sure you can make anything you want.  I'm curious about the deadeyes...   were they always walnut?  Or is it that your AM deadyes are walnut?

 

I remember reading about Peter the Great's navy.  They didn't have the hardwoods available in Russia, so the ships were built from wood available there.

 

I would dread the ratlines...  I think I would try to get each one to have the correct sag...  and mess it all up.  Not even sure which material i would use.  I hate having stuff that looks conspicuously over scale.

 

I salute your dedication.

[Greif8]

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF), still nothing to show, <sigh>.  Work is interfering with bench time right now, so my build pace is very plodding, though the project I have been assigned to work on is fun in its own right.  Rest assured that I am still plugging away on the build as time allows. 

 

Below will be TMI for many of you, so please feel free to ignore all of it! 

 

For those of you interested, I am currently researching and writing what in the military is called a "white paper".  Though I have been retired from the U.S. Army for going on 5 years now, the work I currently do keeps me close to the military profession.  I have been tasked to study what was known the 1914 Battle of the Ardennes and write a paper for review by the other historians that work in the same firm I do.  The project will also include several Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) 1:50,000 map sections (in electronic form) made by the Army Map Service (AMS) between 1935-37, as these will show the battlefields close to how they looked in 1914.  I will put graphics on the maps showing the course each of the battles took.  I have spent a lot of time in various archives in both Germany and France over the past 6 weeks gathering primary source material and organizing it. 

 

Now I am at the writing stage of the project and anticipate the paper being 40-45 pages in length.  After I am finished writing I will start work making the maps with graphics. When the entire project is complete, I will send it to my boss and the other historians for review.  We will collectively make a decision whether to include what I am developing into our staff ride program.  If approved for further development I will than spend 4-5 days on the ground where the battles took place finding locations that groups can be brought to so that a historian can explain what happened at a particulair phase of the battle for later discussion.  This task is probably several months away if it is decided to move forward.  I have selected four of the eight meeting engagements that occured on 22 August 1914 for development.  For any of you that are interested in such things PM me and I will be happy to discuss which battles I picked and give you further details about them. 

 

Ernest       

[MikeMaben]

Do what you must Ernest. We'll be here. 

[lawman56]

On 11/26/2023 at 5:01 AM, Greif8 said:

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF), still nothing to show, <sigh>.  Work is interfering with bench time right now, so my build pace is very plodding, though the project I have been assigned to work on is fun in its own right.  Rest assured that I am still plugging away on the build as time allows. 

 

Below will be TMI for many of you, so please feel free to ignore all of it! 

 

For those of you interested, I am currently researching and writing what in the military is called a "white paper".  Though I have been retired from the U.S. Army for going on 5 years now, the work I currently do keeps me close to the military profession.  I have been tasked to study what was known the 1914 Battle of the Ardennes and write a paper for review by the other historians that work in the same firm I do.  The project will also include several Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) 1:50,000 map sections (in electronic form) made by the Army Map Service (AMS) between 1935-37, as these will show the battlefields close to how they looked in 1914.  I will put graphics on the maps showing the course each of the battles took.  I have spent a lot of time in various archives in both Germany and France over the past 6 weeks gathering primary source material and organizing it. 

 

Now I am at the writing stage of the project and anticipate the paper being 40-45 pages in length.  After I am finished writing I will start work making the maps with graphics. When the entire project is complete, I will send it to my boss and the other historians for review.  We will collectively make a decision whether to include what I am developing into our staff ride program.  If approved for further development I will than spend 4-5 days on the ground where the battles took place finding locations that groups can be brought to so that a historian can explain what happened at a particulair phase of the battle for later discussion.  This task is probably several months away if it is decided to move forward.  I have selected four of the eight meeting engagements that occured on 22 August 1914 for development.  For any of you that are interested in such things PM me and I will be happy to discuss which battles I picked and give you further details about them. 

 

Ernest       

This type of historical work is precisely why I'm currently using my VA Voc-Rehab benefits to get my Bachelors Degree in History, (and also why my builds and interaction on this forum has decreased dramatically!). Living in the Hudson River Valley, north of Albany I have plenty of history to enjoy, from the French & Indian War up through the US Civil War. With any luck, I'll be able to secure employment at the Saratoga Battleground, or any number of forts and/or historical societies in the area. Although I am a bit jealous of your subject as WWI is fascinating to me. My dream vacation is to spend weeks roaming the trench lines and battlefield in general. Give me a shovel, trowel and a team of archaeologists to dig for, and I have found Utopia!

 

On a side note, my girlfriend gifted me with a new coffee mug last year that says; "History Buff. I'd find you more interesting if you were dead" 

 

Joe