1/96 USS Constitution revisited

Nov 02, 2004 5 Replies
W

After about a year or so of not doing anything in any way, shape, or form regarding models; I have picked up where I left off on the Constitution.



During my absences, the main mast snapped at a rather strange point: lower mast segment right below the first look-out.



I have decided to look at alternatives such as dowel etc, but I was wondering if anyone has a url to a site dedicated to building the Revell



1/96 Constitution?

I have looked for the book "How to build plastic model ships" with great despair, even looked for a OCR version on several P2P networks. Does anyone know if it will ever be re-printed?


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A

As I recall, the lower mast is hollow. I would drill out the hollow part, on both sides of the break, and insert a tight-fitting section of brass rod to align and strengthen the broken part before regluing. (You may have to re-do some of the standing rigging on that mast if you have progressed that far.)

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W

That is what I have done so far. I inserted a brass tube, but it is still a weak point.

Originally, to strengthen the lower segments, I trowelled in some of Tamiya's putty. Unfortunately the upper segment did not allow enough space to fill.

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A

If the standing rigging is done correctly, the lower mast should be under compression strain only, that is, pressure going straight down to the deck. The stays and shrouds should take up the fore-and-aft and side-to-side strain. Because of this, do not use the preformed ratlines. You can't get them tight enough or even enough. You might want to use brass eyebolts in the deck, to anchor the standing rigging.

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Z

Give me your email address. I have a copy of "How to build plastic model ships" if you are still interested in that one.

Zac

W wrote:

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