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A few months ago, I was asked to complete a model of the above-mentioned ship, the part-built model itself was certainly built to a high standard. The work so far was mostly done to the hull along with a few of the lower yards. The first task was to carefully study the drawings in order to work out exactly what had already been completed, once this had been done work could begin.
I decided to start work on the deck detailing which included some of the deck fittings along with detailing the cannons as well as some deck details and inner bulwarks etc. Once this work had been completed, I then moved onto the outer hull detailing this included the anchors plus work on the channels and the rear side windows along with the finer details on the transom. With the hull now 90% completed I moved onto finishing off the masts before making and detailing the remaining yards which were then very carefully fixed into place using the correct rig on the lifting blocks etc. Once all the yards were in position and checked for alignment the very complex work could begin with the ships rigging.
With regards to the rigging I firstly studied the several sheets of drawings to make certain of the correct procedure required to complete the rigging, the first job was to attach all the very detailed Fore and Aft stays as well as the top gallant shrouds in order to secure the mast positions. With the stays etc in place the yard lifts could now be very carefully put into position and fixed in their appropriate positions on the belaying racks etc, as you can imagine this task took quite while to complete due to the complex and detailed nature of the rigging. Now all the yard lifts were in place I could now move onto the yard braces these again took some very careful handling due to the complexity of the rigging but when completed certainly enhanced the overall finish. With the rigging now finished I then moved onto adding the finer details of the rigging by adding rope coils etc where ever necessary thus adding to the overall effect.
Now the rigging had been completed I moved onto making and adding the three ships boats to go either side and rear of the transom before adding on the ships flags thus completing the USS CONSTITUTION, the only remaining task would be to very carefully check the model all over to make sure everything is perfect prior to handing back to the customer.
At the customers request we then made and supplied a bespoke display case, so the model could be safely admired for years to come and kept dust free.
Overall this project proved to be both very satisfying and challenging at the same time.
