1/96 scale USS Constitution build.

[Iron Mike]

Looking great, real wood is always better than plastic.

 

[Tim A.]

Looking great, real wood is always better than plastic.

Thanks Mike, and I agree

 

[Tim A.]

I still have everything to do on the gun deck, but I wanted to test fit the spar deck, and see how the lower masts go in. Test fitting parts on an old kit like this is must. I'll probably have the masts in and out a hundred times during the construction. They fit loose right now. I saw that the bowsprit set to far above the billethead.
Pictures show it closer. It took just minor filing to change it's angle to be right.
This is a big model. It takes up a lot of room. My fiance donated one of her large drawing boards to the cause. It's

extended my workbench depth a good bit

 

[Iron Mike]

That's quite a shipyard you have there.

 

[moon puppy]

Ship building, tall ship at that, really takes careful planning all the way till the finish. Love to see you work Tim.

 

[Tim A.]

Ship building, tall ship at that, really takes careful planning all the way till the finish. Love to see you work Tim.

Thanks Bob. I know I'm going to screw up something on it along the way. I've done it so much that over the years I've gotten pretty darn good at fixing them

 

[errains]

Hey Tim I just wanted to say your doing a great J.O.B on this iconic ship and I'm looking forward to seeing more as it comes together.

 

[Tim A.]

Glueing up the 24 pounder gun deck cannon. There's thirty of them. The two half moldings are slightly off of each other. I fixed this by shaving off the aliment pins. That allowed me to slide them around a bit when glueing. Less sanding, and won't lose as much detail. Btw every part of the kit that has two halves is slightly off of their mate, so I'm doing them the same way. There's only like another thirty more cannon to do. I don't know whether this is therapy or I'll need therapy afterwards...

 

[Tim A.]

Hey Tim I just wanted to say your doing a great J.O.B on this iconic ship and I'm looking forward to seeing more as it comes together.

Thanks. I'm thinking I need to get one of the ship's boats ready, Incase this whole thing goes down like the Titanic

 

[Tim A.]

The Captain's quarters gallery windows part is the best detailed molded piece of the kit. If I followed the instructions it should already be hanging from the rudder tiller, and ready to glue. A test fit showed it doesn't fit well to the hull. What I've done is left the tiller off completely. The tiller is not seen at all once the gallery is in place. I can pry the deck up enough to slip the gallery over the rudder post. Once glued I'll fill the gaps, making a seamless transition between it and hull.

 

[iambrb]

Wow neat work!

 

[Iron Mike]

Looks good, Tim! I always wondered why the captain's cabin was at the back instead of where he could see where they were going.

 

[Heavens Eagle]

I remember those cannons. And of course they had to stick out. THEN any time one got bumped it would pop loose and I would have to try and reglue it through the gun port. Be sure to scrape the paint from the deck where they glue, especially if they are sticking out from the gun port.

 

[iambrb]

Looks good, Tim! I always wondered why the captain's cabin was at the back instead of where he could see where they were going.

By design, the stern of the ship is wider than the bow, so by locating it at the rear/stern, there is more room

 

[Tim A.]

What the gallery has looked like since The War Of 1812. Captain Hull replaced some of the windows with cannon ports.

 

[Iron Mike]

All the better to shoot at what's behind you.

 

[Tim A.]

I remember those cannons. And of course they had to stick out. THEN any time one got bumped it would pop loose and I would have to try and reglue it through the gun port. Be sure to scrape the paint from the deck where they glue, especially if they are sticking out from the gun port.

I remember my dad cursing about those loose cannons... Lol

 

[Heavens Eagle]

If I had scraped the paint off the deck and gotten a good glue joint to the deck it wouldn't have been a problem. Just a heads up as I noticed your deck was painted.

 

[Tim A.]

If I had scraped the paint off the deck and gotten a good glue joint to the deck it wouldn't have been a problem. Just a heads up as I noticed your deck was painted.

Yep. I've thought about even mixing up some epoxy for the job. Cannons coming loose is a thing with this kit. Seems to only happen on the impossible to get to gun deck though...haha.

 

[Iron Mike]

Adding a brass pin to each gun will keep them in place.