USS Constellation - 1797

C

CO Jaybird

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Ahoy from landlocked Colorado, USA! This is my first post. I have been building ship models for 15 years and am slowly switching from plastic (1/350) to wood. I have built 4 wooden ships - AL U.S. Virginia, AL Scottish Maid, MGS Prince de Neufchatel and Corel HMS Unicorn. My next project will be the AL kit US Constellation - 1797. Well, if you have hung out here for a while, you know that the "1797" kit is really the 1852 re-build. This kit has been a shelf queen for the past 6 years, but after having read Ian Toll's book "Six Frigates", I have become motivated to attempt to build the Six over time. Part of why we love this hobby so much is the research we pour in to our models. I overcame my disappointment that the bargain I got 6 years ago will cost me more money; but hey, what a great way to flex my scratch-building muscles!! I was pleasantly surprised at I already had Chapell's "The American Sailing Navy". I found the original plans in the book (USS Congress), blew them up to AL kit scale and started to work. I will be attempting to modify the kit's false keel to fit the plan set. First step is to reshape the bow lines to the more clipper-shaped bow of the original. I will then figure out how the existing kit slots line up with the plan frame marks.
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Jaybird,
Welcome from a fellow Coloradan! I landed in Loveland, after modelbuilding for 3 years in our 5th wheel, while touring the USA.

I built the kit you are starting on, several decades ago. It has withstood moves from Hawaii to Monterey, CA, to Bahrain, to San Diego, and finally to Loveland, without breakage. A cleaner here managed to wipeout the bowsprit and dolphin striker while dusting, so I have some minor repairs to make.

I hope you enjoy your build as much as I did and if you're ever around Loveland, let me know and you can tour my new shipyard.

Brad
 
BradNSW said:
Jaybird,
Welcome from a fellow Coloradan! I landed in Loveland, after modelbuilding for 3 years in our 5th wheel, while touring the USA.

I built the kit you are starting on, several decades ago. It has withstood moves from Hawaii to Monterey, CA, to Bahrain, to San Diego, and finally to Loveland, without breakage. A cleaner here managed to wipeout the bowsprit and dolphin striker while dusting, so I have some minor repairs to make.

I hope you enjoy your build as much as I did and if you're ever around Loveland, let me know and you can tour my new shipyard.

Brad
Click to expand...
Hey Brad,
There are a few of us shipbuilders in our state. I belong to the Rocky Mountain Shipwrights club that meets in Denver on the 3rd Saturday of the month. There are about 20 - 30 of us that meet regularly. We meet at 9:30 at the Rockler Woodworking and Hardware shop at 2553 S Colorado Blvd #108, Denver. Stop on by when you have a free Saturday morning!
 
I have spent the past few days attempting research on the subject of "the first Constellation". There are lots of dead ends. I even "found" a set of ship plans from a company, which claimed that "these are plans of the Constellation launched in July 1797". I paid $50 and promptly received them. When I opened the tube, the legend did state that "the Constellation was launched July 1797", but the actual plans were of the 1853 Constellation. The sellers were gracious to refund the purchase money, so no harm no foul. It seems that the original plans for Constellation and Congress were lost, stolen, misappropriated...gone. So, I'm left with the Chapelle plans and the 1853 parts. I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased some tracing paper and began to line up the existing false keel slots with the plans that were blown up to scale. The first Constellation had a shorter keel and a wider beam than the second generation Constellation. I've got to account for that. Also, it seems that the bow lines of the original were less "bluffed" than the second. The aft section is very different, but that's another problem for another day. Below is a sampling of the kit 9th Frame, which lines up with the plan set Frame D. The additional scrap wood needed will be attached at the outer sides, and the Gun Deck and Keel sections will be tapered with my scroll saw. I just have to this 17 more times...:eek::oops:
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CO Jaybird said:
I have spent the past few days attempting research on the subject of "the first Constellation". There are lots of dead ends. I even "found" a set of ship plans from a company, which claimed that "these are plans of the Constellation launched in July 1797". I paid $50 and promptly received them. When I opened the tube, the legend did state that "the Constellation was launched July 1797", but the actual plans were of the 1853 Constellation. The sellers were gracious to refund the purchase money, so no harm no foul. It seems that the original plans for Constellation and Congress were lost, stolen, misappropriated...gone. So, I'm left with the Chapelle plans and the 1853 parts. I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased some tracing paper and began to line up the existing false keel slots with the plans that were blown up to scale. The first Constellation had a shorter keel and a wider beam than the second generation Constellation. I've got to account for that. Also, it seems that the bow lines of the original were less "bluffed" than the second. The aft section is very different, but that's another problem for another day. Below is a sampling of the kit 9th Frame, which lines up with the plan set Frame D. The additional scrap wood needed will be attached at the outer sides, and the Gun Deck and Keel sections will be tapered with my scroll saw. I just have to this 17 more times...:eek::oops:
View attachment 420669
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I strongly recommend visiting the USS Constellation website. They may be able to provide help and useful advice and recommendations.

Bill
 
You have a long hard road ahead of you.
That kit has nothing in it that has anything to do with the frigate Constellation, and other then being sort-of shaped like the 1854 Sloop-of-War, has nothing to do with that either. The kit is basically a model of the abomination Baltimore was trying to pass off as the frigate Constellation. Gilbert McArdle wrote a book on his model of the ship, said model being in the ship's dock-side museum today. It's a decent book on making a model, but useless if you want an accurate model of this ship, unless you want to build her as she was around say, 1975 - then just built the kit out of the box.

The only commercially available "plans" I know of are Mr Potter's done in 1940 or 41, and they are of the sloop-of-war as it existed then despite being referenced as the "frigate" Constellation.

BTW: the besides significant differences in the shape of the hull, the sloop-of-war was something like 11 feet longer than the frigate.

To build the frigate, your best bet is to go with Chapelle's drawings and look to research done on Constitution in her earliest form to her War of 1812 form to get some idea of the style of finish of US frigates at the time you want to represent the ship.

There's a couple of decent models of the frigate Constellation around. I attached what images I had of two, I'm still looking for more.

You should be able to get Chapelle's drawing in 1:48 scale from the Smithsonian Institution*
Plan #55 Constellation Frigate USN 1797 (plan:8 HASN)
You might call them at: 202-633-1933 to see what it'll cost now, as my catalog's from 2009.
* I got the drawing of Macedonian (plan 14 HASN) from them digitally back in 2012ish and had it printed at Office depot. I rescaled it to 1:36, you could scale yours to 1:85 (AL's kit) or what every you like.

click pic to see full-size
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Some pics of another Constellation model

In just three models you see there's a lot of "artistic license" at play, such as adding an arbitrary capstan behind the foremast on that "yellow" model in the prior post which was in the Fells Point Maritime Museum in Baltimore a while back.

usf_constellation1.jpg usf_constellation2.jpg usf_constellation3.jpg usf_constellation4.jpg
 
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JerryTodd said:
Some pics of another Constellation model

In just three models you see there's a lot of "artistic license" at play, such as adding an arbitrary capstan behind the foremast on that "yellow" model in the prior post which was in the Fells Point Maritime Museum in Baltimore a while back.

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Jerry! Thank you so much for supplying the pictures! They will certainly assist, especially in the aft section, which seems to contain the greatest mystery.
 
After a few weeks of cutting out templates, I am in the beginning of checking the dimensions to, at least, make the frame transitions consistent. Below are photos of frames in place, but not secure. Before putting in the blocks on the dry dock, the false keel was rambling around like my spine ROTFROTF. It's not perfect, but it will work. I'll be working on the camber, making sure that the lateral measurements are consistent across each frame. I think I'll be removing frames 2 & 3 at the bow and substituting with filler blocks. I'm not even thinking about the aft frames yet - not until I solve the bow.

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I've done some cursory searches and I need mukali wood strips to make both features similar. Does anyone know of a mukali wood source? Kit strips are 0.5mm thick, I'd like to use 1 to 1.5mm thick strips.
 
CO Jaybird said:
I've done some cursory searches and I need mukali wood strips to make both features similar. Does anyone know of a mukali wood source? Kit strips are 0.5mm thick, I'd like to use 1 to 1.5mm thick strips.
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www.channelveneers.com

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Mukali Quarter Cut. Plainness is the best quality of this wood veneer, reason why it is a very good choice for rustic or countryenvironment.
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Mukali, also known as Aningre or Anegre, grows in the East and West of Africa.
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Anigre Raw Wood Veneer Strip 3.5 x 36 inches 1/42nd thick 7628-44 | eBay

Anigre Raw Wood Veneer Sheets 5 x 37 inches1/42nd thick.
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wisewoodveneer.com

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Sizes: 4x8 Backers: FlexVen™ 10, FlexVen™ 20, 3M™ PSA Add-Ons: sequence matching
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Indeed, it seems like this is a challenging project that lies ahead. However, it seems that you know what you want and that is good! My advice would not be to veer off your chosen course - stay focused and don't accept compromises. The best of luck - I will follow along!
 
JerryTodd said:
You have a long hard road ahead of you.
That kit has nothing in it that has anything to do with the frigate Constellation, and other then being sort-of shaped like the 1854 Sloop-of-War, has nothing to do with that either. The kit is basically a model of the abomination Baltimore was trying to pass off as the frigate Constellation. Gilbert McArdle wrote a book on his model of the ship, said model being in the ship's dock-side museum today. It's a decent book on making a model, but useless if you want an accurate model of this ship, unless you want to build her as she was around say, 1975 - then just built the kit out of the box.

The only commercially available "plans" I know of are Mr Potter's done in 1940 or 41, and they are of the sloop-of-war as it existed then despite being referenced as the "frigate" Constellation.

BTW: the besides significant differences in the shape of the hull, the sloop-of-war was something like 11 feet longer than the frigate.

To build the frigate, your best bet is to go with Chapelle's drawings and look to research done on Constitution in her earliest form to her War of 1812 form to get some idea of the style of finish of US frigates at the time you want to represent the ship.

There's a couple of decent models of the frigate Constellation around. I attached what images I had of two, I'm still looking for more.

You should be able to get Chapelle's drawing in 1:48 scale from the Smithsonian Institution*
Plan #55 Constellation Frigate USN 1797 (plan:8 HASN)
You might call them at: 202-633-1933 to see what it'll cost now, as my catalog's from 2009.
* I got the drawing of Macedonian (plan 14 HASN) from them digitally back in 2012ish and had it printed at Office depot. I rescaled it to 1:36, you could scale yours to 1:85 (AL's kit) or what every you like.

click pic to see full-size
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I am a die hard for original research when building my models. When modelling this ship, realize that the kit in no way resembles the original frigate. Nor does it resemble the Sloop-of-War.

In fact, back in the late 1980s-1990s, there was an outstanding article comparing and contrasting both ships. Unfortunately, I forget the name of the magazine. It ceased publication soon thereafter. The cover of that issue showed line drawings of both ships overlapping each other that well-illustrated that the Sloop-of-War clearly showed the length differences.

Good luck!

Bill
 
I have finished most of the gun deck planking. Fortunately, the gratings on the spar deck are smaller, and there is no open waist. I'm working on solving the transom and how the aft hull strakes meet the transom. It seems from other period American ship builders, that there was a gentle slope of the planks that meet the transom. Less severe plank bending. Do I add LED's to the hold below the gun deck?? hmmm... Here are some pictures...

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