To Constitution and beyond ...

[JIM BAUMANN]

great works!

... but I may have missed something....

but between Christmas eve and yesterday the hammocks turned form off=white to black...?

I am intrigued !

cheers
JB

[SG1]

Beautiful outcome! Now waiting for the proper nets, with this ones the look's already super. And excellent restyling too. Am impressed to see how simple it's for you to do and undo..and do again without leaving any trace of the past assembly but only improving things.

[dafi]

Thank you Jim and SG!

Very simple Jim, the new black indicates, that it was a refined print, adjusted to fit the installed cranes

And then it was time to really paint those hammocks

Now with the build on hammock net holders I was able to adjust the rhythm of the cranes to the wave of the hammocks. Now gravity could take it´s toll properly, resulting in some more convincing sagging in the print data. After printing I still fine-tuned the new print by hand, so that the hammocks would fit nicely into the holders without any unlogical gaps to the mainrail.

The first step in painting was to apply a white spray primer and then brush on a tinted white to create a uniform base colour. As described above, a lot of effort went into giving the mats a natural disorder so that they would not look like sterile printed parts. Therefore the painting must, of course, support this step.

In the next step, each mat was given its own individual colouring. The paint was mixed fresh on the wet palette and the colour nuances were distributed evenly. In times before the advent of Tide, when there was not enough fresh water to wash with soap, and with plenty of tar and other sources of dirt, I assume that the colour was more of a greyish natural tone, with each roll having a different colour, just like the ropes too.



In the final step, I used a few washes of ink to highlight the structure again and restore depth and life to the rolls. It looks more massive in the close-up than it does to the naked eye. In addition, there will be the hammock netting in front of them, which also contribute to the colour shades becoming less nuanced.

[dafi]

I already used this technic in my small slices, here one can see the end result, as the netting also has to be prepared with some paint to look properly



XXXDAn

PS: Jim, if I am not mistaken, that is the same material as you used for the anti boarding netting on your Mary Rose

[Dan K]

I love that netting. Superb.

[JIM BAUMANN]

>>>>>
PS: Jim, if I am not mistaken, that is the same material as you used for the anti boarding netting on your Mary Rose <<<<


Aye Aye !!

.....and as used for bowsprit netting on 1/350 Sir Winston Churchill....

http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... /index.htm

Thank you!-

-it will find itself being used for the bowspit netting on 1937 Built 3 masted Barque Sagres in 1/350 as well

viewtopic.php?t=412295

[dafi]

Somehow, the sheets and halyards will have to come inboard later, so I should prepare the passages to the battery deck with their rollers, as it will be more difficult once the spar deck is in place. Still working on that, as there are some questions to me ...

Back to another area: In the beginning of my research, I built the cabin configuration according to Marquardt AOTS Anatomy of the Ship, who offers a very free interpretation with elements of classic English frigates and museum ships. Here is a little reminder from 2023.











In any case, it was better than the kit parts

There does not appear to be any precise information available (yet) about the cabin of the Constitution around 1812 or earlier. The closest we have is the plan of the USS United States from around 1820. When comparing this with other plans, one feature that seems to be characteristic of early American ships is the round bulkhead of the aft cabin. This curve is quite similar to the curve of a short tiller, which can be inserted on this deck as an emergency tiller. Here is the source for the drawing; the draughtsman was the sailmaker Charles Ware.



All in all, it's an interesting arrangement that makes you want to try it out. It should be noted that this drawing is not an exact technical drawing, but rather a schematic illustration. So, it's time to try it out and make adjustments. This also incudes to find a good middle to the kit and the historical sources on the Constitution, especially the Hull model.

The Marquardt parts could be quickly remodeled, but after the first fit, I had the great idea of trying to fit the weather deck again, and a loud “SCHEIXX” echoed through the house, because I had completely forgotten how much the hull had warped by gluing in the inner doubling...



4 millimeters! Then, of course, the programmed width of the two bulkheads will never fit, as one could say.

So, two wooden battens were used as an argument for the side wall to kindly move into shape.





With two fitted shish kebab skewers, I was now able to take the correct internal measurements.

To make sure that it fits—both in terms of dimensions and layout—the transom and rail were fitted, and they fit perfectly!









And in the middle of the curve of the bulkward, you can see that there are 2 mm too many, but the rest looks quite presentable

So back to the ones and zeros to change the data.

XXXDAn

[dafi]

Another issue are the hatches. In the lower deck, a good compromise had to be found between the various sources. The main hatch is relatively simple, as are the forward and aft cargo hatches in terms of position. I adjusted the sizes to fit the spar deck. That leaves the other two small hatches/companionways in the bow and stern. In the stern in particular, this hatch has an impact on the pantry.



When you put the spar deck on, some funny details emerge: the main hatch has a spar deck beam in the middle and the forward hatch is half covered. This doesn't necessarily make loading any easier. Accordingly, I will move the deck beams slightly. In the Ware-drawing, the waist opening also goes significantly further forward, so I will probably open it up even more accordingly.



The kit does include stairs. With a lot of effort and sanding, you can definitely make them work, but that is a real challenge. But I'd rather have new stairs, which can then also be adjusted to the width required.



Test fitting in the area of the main hatch …



... and the front hatch with its opposing ladder configuration. Opening the spar deck also would give the side ladders a more logical position.





In the bowsprit area, the side boundaries of the chasing ports always looked a bit strange to me. Until I found the kit part, which didn't make things any better. So I glued in my own patch ...

...

... and cleaned it up and added the eyebolts as to be seen on the port side..



The kit´s part of the bow´s grating is also pretty awful casted. But since you can hardly see anything after installation, I'll try a makeshift solution and sand the structure down until the square holes look sharp again. I think that should work.



It's always amazing to see the two faces of this kit: a wonderful detailed and fine hull and everything else that looks rather awful, as if it were thrown together quickly and cheaply—almost like the historical Hull model

XXXDAn

[JIM BAUMANN]

Amazing, innovative , BRUTAL, but very effective and clever
4 mm ... you beat the hull back into submission!

Bravo
JB

[dafi]

Beaten into submission, yes, that is the right expression!

Yes THAT was fun, pur brutality, blood and gore!


But for you and your usual scales, that would be a 0,3 mm screw thread

I doubt that it would be as impressive

XXXDAn