Fixing unwanted hull bowing?

Question

I am finally at the point of installing the gun deck on the 1/96 USS Constitution, however during a test fit, the hull bows outwards thus leaving no where for the middle section of the deck to rest on.

So far using a hot water bath has not corrected this, nor has using a hair dryer.

If I fix the middle section of the deck to the supports, I could accoumplish the above, but is there another method that can be used that allows natural movement of the plastic without damaging it?

Something I have noticed, during warm weather, the plastic expands, during cold it contracts - this has sometimes caused glued seams to split.

Jessie C · Accepted Answer

I presume you mean that the sides of the hull each bow outwards away from each other? You could securely glue some lengths of sprue athwathships to keep the sides of the hull parallel and support the deck from underneath. This helps to make the hull more solid and resistant to the warpage from heat you mention.

Ron Smith · Answer

Not an uncommon problem on that kit but usually not too severe. Best bet is just glue the snot out of it with Testors old type liquid cement and clamp it overnight.Wayne wrote:

Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman · Answer

When I built my Constitution back in early 1970 I had the same problem, minimal bowing but it was there. What I did then was to place the decks (all three of them) where they went, then I ran some twine between the gun ports and kinda weaved the two halves until the bowing was eliminated. I took out the decks and glued cross members from starboard to port - or was it port to starboard - anyway, from one side to the other. I did this to all of the parts of the inside hull where there were knees, from stem to stern. These acted as the beam that supported the deck, they were even painted matte brown. When all of the gun deck was completed, I applied a thin bead of tube glue to the "beams" and glued the decks in place.

Cheers and happy modeling,

Ray Austin, TX ===

Don Stauffer · Answer

This is quite common on model ship kits, not just that kit. While people have suggested adding beams before adding decks, one can also just squeeze the hull when adding the decks. Yeah, it puts a lot of pressure on the joints, but modern glues seem to take them well as long as the plastic at the joints are clean (any and all paint scraped away).

For smaller and less warped kits I wrap the hull with masking tape while the glue sets for a day. For larger hulls, like that one, I have some of those bar clamps. Don't put a LOT of pressure on with them- only enough to get the decks to sit correctly.

novice1 · Answer

I completed this model a few months ago and had a similar problem. Ifound that just using clamps and rubber bands fixed it (so far atleast!). I also ran a bead of Alene's Tacky Glue around the joints. Itmakes a great caulk and you can paint over it.

Wayne · Answer

Thank you very much for the replies. I am going to attempt adding supports by way of left over sprues, and also using twine to bring the hull into shape.

For the spar deck, I am contemplating doing something similar, but more in line with the style of supports shown on the homepage for the Constitution.

Fixing unwanted hull bowing?

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