USS Constitution scratch build at 1/700 scale!

[jimkrauzlis]

Looking great, difficult task at that scale for sure...Just some clues which I hope will help, check the gun placements, particularly in the waist area, and the number which she has on the quarterdeck areas (the after part of the main deck). When you start rigging the shrouds to the masts you need to be sure the guns are not placed in such a way as they might blow away the rigging.

Keep at it mate, I love this design and build!

Cheers!
Jim

[Draco]

Thanks, jimkrauzlis.

I'm using this pdf http://manuals.hobbico.com/rmx/85-0398.pdf as a guide for the number and placement of guns.

About the rigging, there will be some, but I'm still deciding how much. The ship have two levels of dificult, the first without riggings and the boats glued straight to the deck, and the second one the more detailed I can.

Mmm... I see what you mean... I was seen the wrong page, I needed to see the 22... ok, ok, where is my knife?

[Draco]

Well, thanks to Jim I discovered that I was using the drawing of the lower guns deck instead of the upper guns deck. What a mistake!

Well, Here is the corrected deck in the prototype ship. Today or tomorrow will fix the drawings and print the corrections to the black and white test ship (you can see her after the 1rst prototipe, the unfinished hull)

As you can see, the crow's nest are already placed. soon the boats and sails will follow

By the way, I lost my camera, so I'm using a very old model that I'm unfamiliar with it, so... unfocused pictures, but pictures at least.
The mast are parallel and tinner up than down, but the closinest (this word exist?) of the camera distorts the perspective. Once I learn to use the camera I'll take better pictures.

[jimkrauzlis]

Looking good!!

By the way, those are fighting tops, not crow's nests...they actually mounted some canister guns to rake the decks of the opponents during battle, as well as provide a perch for the sharpshooters to try and take out the helmsmen and officers on the quarter deck..nasty business!! LOL!!

Cheers!
Jim

[Draco]

After assembling a Beech Bonanza F35 at 1/72 scale and continue the assembly of my HMS Belfast at 1/700 scale, I continued drawing the USS Constitution.

Part of the slowness is due to when I instaled Windows 8, I lost my Photoshop CS3 instalation key and my old Photostyler almost almost stopped to work.
So I'm learning to use GIMP. I had no idea how to do straigth lines, I just searched the interned and found that you must hold the shift key down. Would I liked to know before

Anyway, the ship is moving again.

[elliott]

The drawing looks good Alejandro. It appears that you're getting a good handle on the basics of Gimp. Good for you!

[Draco]

I decided to finish the first prototype without sails and a sinplified rigging. The pictures, as always, unfocused. Once finished I'll borrow a better camera.

Anyway, the drawings are advancing, the masts, boats, guns... I think all the parts are drawn, except the sails. They will go on a second page, with the instructions and the rigging.

I like the ship. The second prototype will have sails and more detailed rigging. The third one will be the first production ship, just from the plans, previous to its distribution.

By the way, the ship behind the USS Constitution is the destroyer HMS Onslow, at the same scale

[Draco]

Placing the 15 spars, including the one under the bowsprit. In the picture are only 14 in one and 13 in another.
The reason? they are very fragil. So fragil that this is the only one that will have them naked (I hope this word wont bring me censure problems). The rest of the prototipes will have the sails instaled to reinforce the rigging and improve the look.
The three boats are made but not instaled, and there will be some cordage in the ship.

As I said, this first prototipe was mainly to do the parts of the drawings. The next one will be better, and the third and four will be "from the box" models.

[VinceM]

Originally Posted by Draco

My fiancee asked me a copy of the Constitution for her house, so I'll do two ships. Jeje maybe I'll end with a shipyard?

You know, if you just hurry up and marry her, you'll only have to make one ship!

[Draco]

Good idea, Vince! :-)

I asked for a phone camera and downloaded some pictures.
Here is the first prototype, with just the jigs and some rigs to do, the hull of the second prototype, using just printed pieces but still hand painted, and the HMS Onslow at the same scale for comparation.

I'll do two sets of sails, one simple and the other needing booms and more skills.

I'll like to send the plans to some volunteer to test the model before releasing it to the public. Somebody interested?