USS Constitution Tribute Build

[mozart]

Enjoying the build Ernest, you’re making a thoroughly good job of it so far but I know there’s a loonnnnggg way to go!
 

I’m another Patrick O’Brian fan, I have all his books including his unfinished one “The final unfinished voyage of Jack Aubrey” which in its own right is fascinating. Read them all twice! O’Brian was a complex character as revealed in his biography written by Dean King. His family originally came from Germany with the surname of Russ, but Patrick adopted the name of O’Brian following a messy divorce case followed by marrying a new bride ten days later in June 1945.  His son 8 year old Richard by his first marriage wasn’t even told his name had changed! 

 

Edited May 7, 2023 by mozart

[Model_Monkey]

Looks great, Ernest!  Really excited by your model.  And a wonderful tribute to your father.

 

Your workmanship is superb.  This is one of Revell's best efforts of the time.

 

Love the yellow ochre gun deck stripe, perfect for her fight with HMS Guerriere.  You are also correct about the replica weapons on Constitution today: they are a mix of true "carronades" and 1840s "gunnades", not quite right for 1812.   You've done your homework!

 

Revell did their homework, too.  Their kit's transom and forepeak decorations are based on the "Hull Model", a very historically significant model made not long after Constitution's battle with HMS Guerriere (more on that below).

As you have probably learned, Constitution's transom's true 1812 appearance is very tough to pin down.  Part of the problem is lack of surviving documentation, part is that Constitution's appearance changed frequently including throughout the war, and part of the problem is that the transom was nearly destroyed in her battle with HMS Java. Java was able to stern rake Constitution during the battle - twice.  Since the transom damage was severe, and initial repairs were made at sea, her post-battle, rebuilt transom probably looked different than her pre-Java battle transom. What changed and how much changed is not known with any certainty. Some have suggested that the number of windows changed during repairs either at sea or in repairs in port following this battle.

 

The best references for her War of 1812 fight with Guerriere appearance are most likely the "Hull Model" and a set of 4 paintings made by an artist named Corne - photos of each below.  Constitution's pre- and post-Java battle appearance was probably a bit different than painted by Corne for reasons stated above.

 

1.  The Corne paintings were made by artist Michel Felice Corne, commissioned to create a series of 4 paintings to commemorate her battle with Guerriere shortly after Constitution reached her home port. The artist was given considerable access to the ship and his work was supervised by the ship's purser, Thomas Chew.  Corne made detailed notes in preparation for making the paintings. Thus, Corne's paintings may be the best references for the ship's coloring and appearance during and shortly after that fight.  Note that at that time, Corne recorded that she had a yellow ochre gun stripe, not white, just as you have chosen. He also painted the lower masts yellow orchre, not white  Corne recorded that some of the decorations were indeed white, but not the stripe or lower masts.  Corne painted the ship's transom's window framing and side gallery window frames red. He also painted the inner sides of the gun ports red.  Corne depicts the ship with 5 transom windows.  He painted the ship's boats at the stern green.  All 4 paintings are today located at the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts.

Corne, or a student of his, made another painting of Constitution a short while later. The latter painting is the first image shown below.  That painting was featured on a US postage stamp.  Again, we see a yellow ochre gun stripe and yellow ochre lower masts, not white, and red window framing.  Unlike the earlier paintings, in this latter painting, the gun deck stripe extends below the lower edge of the gun ports.  In both early and late paintings, the forward edge of the gun deck stripe ends in a curve, aft of the anchor rope hawsepipes.

Although the 15-star, 15-stripe US flag was the official US flag at the time, lasting until 1818, Corne's Guerriere paintings show the ship with an unofficial 16-star, 15-stripe flag with stars in three rows, 5-6-5. The latter Corne painting shows an unofficial 17-star, 15-stripe flag, with stars in three rows, 5-7-5. (Tennessee became the 16th state in 1796, Ohio became the 17th state in 1803, Louisiana the 18th state in 1818.)

 

Here are some details of Corne's post-Guerriere battle paintings.

 

 

 

 

 

2.  The famous "Hull Model", shown below, was either built by members of Constitution's crew, or commissioned by them, and presented to Captain Isaac Hull as a gift after he left the ship to command Portsmouth Navy Yard at Kittery, Maine.  Her crew and captain obviously knew what the ship looked like and the model was built according to that knowledge. The model survives and is preserved at the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts. The model differs from the Corne paintings a bit.  The gun deck stripe, lower masts and fighting tops are white and the model depicts the ship with 6 transom windows with what appears to be French blue framing. The other decorations are very similar to what Corne painted.  The model is significant enough to be used by the Navy as a source to determine Constitution's rigging configuration during a recent refit. Source:
https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/browse-by-topic/ships/ussconstitution/ConstitutionDryDockMediaBackground.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

Note that neither the "Hull Model" nor the Corne paintings show Constitution's name on her transom. Also note that the "Hull Model" shows green inner bulkheads, fife rails, and hatch and capstan trim, probably the same green color Corne chose to paint the ship's boats at the stern.

 

Neither the "Hull Model" nor the Corne paintings show any gun ports cut through the transom. That modification came later, under Bainbridge.  Also note that the only hinged gun port lids are the 4 lids at the bow.  It is believed that Constitution's gun port covers were removable at the time, not hinged, and were stowed below during battle.  Hinged gun port lids came later.

 

The classic Revell 1/96 scale kit's transom is based on the "Hull Model".

 

Hope these references will help.

 

Edited May 7, 2023 by Model_Monkey

[mozart]

Brilliant MM! Thank you for all that background. 

[LSP_Mike]

Great discussion, and valuable history. How big is the model? It is well crafted for sure.

[Greif8]

On 5/6/2023 at 9:14 PM, LSP_Mike said:

It looks good. In the mid '70s Revell released a 22" simplified kit, with boxart showing bare poles in harbor, with just the waist ports open. I want to replicate that in my build. The base looks good. Will the stern or bowsprit overhang?

 

Hi Mike, both the bow and stern are going to overhang the base.  I have heard that the smaller version of the Constitution is a nice kit as well.

 

Ernest

[Greif8]

Thank you again to everyone for both your interest and taking the time to follow along.  

 

Mike, I have to measure the hull as I don't know off-hand how long it is.

 

Max, I really appreciate your support and comments.

 

Model Monkey, great information and thank you for the kind words!  I have looked at most of the paintings, including those you wrote about; as well as the Hull model.  Unsurprisingly there is not complete agreement with what the ship looked like when she fought the HMS Guerriere.  I plan to show the ship as she may have looked as she was about to engage the HMS Java.  You can go down a very deep rabbit hole with the Constitution when it comes to historical accuracy, and even then you are probably going to get a few things "wrong"; at least in someone's eyes.  The goal of my build is really to achieve a high level of workmanship.  I am going to try and get the ship's look generally accurate, but I am also going to take some artistic license.  For example, you are correct the the name of the ship was not on the transom during time frame I will be showing her in, however, I am going to leave it there as that was how my dad and I built the model many years ago.  Many believe that the lids for the gun ports were not installed, but I am going to install them; again, because that is how my father and I built the ship 30+ years ago.  This is not to say I don't appreciate the historically accurate information you have provided, I do in fact appreciate and agree with the facts you took the time to research and write; but on this particualir build historical accuracy is going to take a back seat to memories - if that makes sense.  Thank you again and I look forward to recieving and using a few of your great products on this build!

 

Ernest    

[Greif8]

Just a short update as I have been testing some ideas and those are not ready for photograpy just yet!  I have installed the wooden deck on the gun deck.  Before installation I sprayed it with two coats of matt varnish.  The deck fit very well, I only had to make a couple of very minor adjustments.  I used a slower drying glue to fix it to the plastic deck and it went down quite well.  The AM deck is a huge improvement over the plastic deck and I like how the colors I sprayed the areas not covered by it look with the deck in place. 

 

Not the best photo, but the various sub-assemblies for this build are taking up a good deal of space.

  

A closer view.  Again I think this AM deck really improves the look of the gun deck.

 

I should have more to post on my next update, and I'll continue with the history as well.

 

Ernest

[LSP_Mike]

Ernest, deck lookz great. I was not clear, I wonder at the size of the Hull model in the museum. 

[Greif8]

Back with an update, but before I get into it some more history of the Constitution.  As the flagship of the squadron sent to deal with the ruler of Tripoli her captain, Edward Preble served as a commodore.  The two previous squadrons that were supposed to be blockading Tripoli, as well as conducting active operations actually spent a lot of time in port.  Preble meant to be more aggressive with his command.  Things got off to a poor start when the USS Philadelphia, a 36 gun subscription frigate, built after the original six, grounded just outside the port of Tripoli while chasing an enemy ship.  The ship and crew were captured, with the ship being towed into Tripoli's harbor and the crew being detained.  The Philadelphia's captain William Bainbridge seemingly lived under a crossed star.  He had previously commanded a ship that was forced to surrender to a more powerful British ship.  Later he was required to transport high ranking Barbary officials, his ship having to haul down the stars and stripes and fly the flag of one of the Barbary rulers.  You would think with this disaster his career would be finished, but as we shall see he was a survivor.

 

The Philadelphia was later burned in a daring nighttime mission led by Lieutenant Stephan Decatur who would become famous for the action (and be promoted to Post Captain, skipping a rank).  Preble ensured that pressure was kept on Tripoli; keeping most of his squadron on station for very extended periods and conducting several bombardments of both the defenses and the town.  The Constitution fired quite a few broadsides and recieved heavy fire on several occasions her rigging being hit frequently and hull less so.  Though the blockade and bombardments, as well as a couple of other schemes, only meet with limited success; the pressure and dogged preserverence of Preble and his command greatly influenced the ruler of Tripoli to agree to a new treaty on favorable terms to the United States.  One get the impression that Tripoli's ruler just wanted the Americans to go away and leave him alone.  

 

A final tidbit of information about the Constitution came about during this timeframe.  While sailing in station with one of the other frigates,  of the relief squadron (either the USS United States or the USS President, I forget which) the wind shifted suddenly and the two ships collided.  The Constitution suffered significant damage to her bow area, all of which was repaired - with the exception of her figurehead.  This was a carving of Hercules dressed in a lion's skin holding the constitution of the United States while standing on the "rock" of independence.  The figurehead was totally destroyed in the collision, being replaced by a Billethead with scrollwork which is represented by the kit and is correct for the War of 1812 time period.

 

The build -

 

I have spent a fair amount of bench time working out how to "copper" the rudder.  The kit's rudder resembles wood.  Most sources agree that most of the rudder also had copper plates sheathing it.  The challenge for me was to figure out what material to use to replicate the sheathing and the straps holding the rudder together.  I looked at and tried a few different materials including some extra Photo-Etch material I have and a small piece was actual copper sheet.  Both those turned out to be too hard to work into plates with a consistient size - for me at least.  I finally settled on an old standby, Evergreen strips and sheets.  After a lot of measuring and trial and error (lots of error) I finally developed some plates - and hopefully some straps that could be used to make a reasonably decent replication of the sheathing on the rudder.

 

First up the kit part.  I did not glue the side that will attach to the rudder post as I plan to carefully spread the join and snap it onto the rudder post.

 

Then I took the plunge and sanded off the molded on straps and most of the wood effects.  At this point I was feeling a bit like I imagine Hernan Cortes' crews felt after he ordered the ships that were their only way back home destroyed, ie. "Gosh, I hope this is a good idea and works out!" You can also see some of the soon to be copper sheathing and straps in raw form.  

 

 

 

A macro of one of the "copper" plates.  I cut several pieces to size from a sheet of .25mm Evergreen sheet and than used a rivet maker to emboss the "nails". The "straps" are .5mm X 1.5mm Evergreen strip, which will be cut to their final length and shaped after the sheathing is finished.  

 

The next two photos is were the rudder stands right now.  Sheathing it has turned out to be a fairly slow process as each piece has to be embossed and many of them require some minor shaping work.  Though not perfect I think the sheathing will look ok once primed and painted.

 

[mozart]

It all makes interesting reading Ernest, both the history and the build. Bravo……and you’re whetting my appetite for a third read of the O’Brian books…..all 23 (I think) of them! 

[Greif8]

11 hours ago, mozart said:

It all makes interesting reading Ernest, both the history and the build. Bravo……and you’re whetting my appetite for a third read of the O’Brian books…..all 23 (I think) of them! 

 

Thank you Max! I am glad to hear you are considering a third reading of the O'Brian books, they are both enjoyable and instructional at the same time!

 

Ernest

  

[mozart]

47 minutes ago, Greif8 said:

 

Thank you Max! I am glad to hear you are considering a third reading of the O'Brian books, they are both enjoyable and instructional at the same time!

 

Ernest

  

Instructional not only in the nautical and historical sense but also with Stephen Maturin’s natural philosophy! Who knew that you would learn the origin of the enigmatic phrase “That cuts no ice with me” in O’Brian’s book….but then perhaps that’s exactly what you would expect! 

[Greif8]

Some more history before I show what I have done with the rudder.  

 

Edward Preble departed for the United States in early November 1804, turning command of the Constitution over to John Rodgers.  Preble recieved a warm welcome by both the general public and elected officials, including President Jefferson, for his efforts while commanding the force in the Med.  As I stated in my last post, the new squadron kept the pressure on Tripoli  until it signed a new treaty.  However, it was decided to leave an American presence in the area for the time being to ensure the treaty was honored.  The Constitution ended up remaining on station for another three years, not returning to Boston until mid-October 1807.  Rodgers turned over command to Captain Hugh Campbell in late May 1806, and the Constitution continued to patrol the Mediterranean.  Senior leaders were aware that the Constitution's crew was disgruntled as they had now been serving well over two years past the expiration of their enlistments and ordered the USS Chesapeake to relieve her.    

 

It ended up taking over 6 months to ready the Chesapeake for sea; she had been placed "In Ordinary" for a few years prior to her being refit for sea.  For several years friction between the United States and Great Britain had been growing over the issue of Britian's impressment of seamen from American merchant ships.  A British squadron was operating in the Chesapeake Bay near Norfolk, Virginia and several British sailors deserted.  It was known that very often deserters from the Royal Navy either signed on as crewmen on American merchant ships or as crewmen on American warships.  Impressment and desertion were very complex issues during that time, and beyond the scope of my little history, but what applies here was that, while British warships stopped, searched and impressed seamen from merchant ships, they did not do so when it came to American warships.  Information was obtained by the British that several deserters had signed on as crewmen on the USS Chesapeake.  The British senior officers in the area had had enough of this sort of thing and the British admiral in command ordered the Chesapeake to be stopped and searched when it put out to sea (He also specified that if the senior American leader wanted to search the British ship that stopped him for American deserters he was to be allowed to do so.)

 

In late June 1807 the Chesapeake encountered the HMS Leopard, another frigate, and recieved one of that ship's lieutenants aboard.  The lieutenant read out the admirals orders and tried to convince the American captain, James Barron, to allow the search.  He refused and the Lieutenant returned to his ship, where upon its captain Salsbury Humphreys, hailed the Chesapeake and said he would open fire if Barron did not allow the search.  As the Chesapeake was not cleared for action Barron played for time to get his ship ready to fight.  However, the British were not about to allow the Americans that time and opened fire, hitting the Chesapeake with at least two broadsides which killed three and wounded eighteen including Barron.  The Chesapeake only fired one cannon and struck.  The British conducted their search, taking four deserters, refused to accept the surrender and sailed off.  The Chesapeake had to return to Norfolk for repairs and to get hospital treatment for the wounded. 

 

While what became known a the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair caused much outrage in the United States it was essentially a temptest in a teapot as after some posturing the United States government basically backed down, though the affair would be remembered and come to a head again five years later.  This event impacted the Constitution as it further delayed her relief and the crew became more than a little mutinous.  They refused to sail unless the destination was the United States and Captain Campbell threatened to fire a cannon loaded with grapeshot if they did not obey his and his officers orders.  This had a calming effect and fortunately for all involved the Constitution was ordered to return home shortly afterwards arriving in Boston on 14 October 1807.

 

Ok, I was long-winded with the history and hopefully I did not bore anyone. 

 

The build - I have finished the copper sheathing the rudder.  This little project took some thought and time, but I think it was worth it as I am much more satisfied with how the rudder looks now. 

 

The below photo shows the rudder fully sheathed.  I only photographed one side though.

 

   

Retaining straps have been made and added.

 

This "in progress" shot shows how the join between the plates on the sides with those on the end.  I carefully sanded the areas to shape them to get a smooth and almost seamless joint.  I did the same thing to the bottom of the rudder, but did not take a picture.

 

After I smoothed and cleaned the rudder's surface, I primed it.  I was pretty happy with how the primer seemed to blend the areas.  You can see I added "bolts" to the retaining straps prior to priming.  These were made using a .5mm punch and .25mm Evergreen sheet.

 

Finally, I masked the areas that were to remain black and airbrushed the copper color.  It marches the hull copper quite well and - again - I think the rudder looks more accurate and pleasing to the eye.

 

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by Greif8

[Greif8]

12 minutes ago, mozart said:

Instructional not only in the nautical and historical sense but also with Stephen Maturin’s natural philosophy! Who knew that you would learn the origin of the enigmatic phrase “That cuts no ice with me” in O’Brian’s book….but then perhaps that’s exactly what you would expect! 

 

True that Max!  So many common saying and phases of today come from the time period of sailing ships, and not a few from the land as well.  As an Englishman I think you may be interested in my historical commentary of my latest post.

 

Ernest

[Gazzas]

Ernest,

    Excellent job on that rudder.  And some great history, too.  Keep it up!