On the subject of gunport lids:
Capt. Martin’s A Most Fortunate Ship, Revised Edition, gives a description of manning the guns on page 76. “Operating a 24 - pounder weighing about 6,500 pounds was a backbreaking labor. First, the tackle securing it tright against the ship’s side was cast loose and the gun hauled inboard by means of a tackle affixed to the inner end of its carriage; then the gun port lid halves were removed and stowed.”
In Lawrence Arnot’s U.S.S. Constitution, 1812 - 1815 on page 22 he states “The CONSTITUTION had several types of gunport lids during her career. At her launching she carried the single, top-hinged lids familiar to many model builders. In 1803, Preble changed them to split lids, with one major variation on her presently-fitted port lids. The port lids during the 1812 - 1815 period were not hinged at the top or bottom, but were held in place by fore and aft bolts and were removed in battle.”
On page 33, Arnot goes on to state “The current split gunport lids, hinged at the top and bottom, date from the 1927 restoration. In 1803 Preble had split lids fitted but they had no hinges. Fore-and-aft slide bolts held them in place, flush with the sides. This prevented them from being damaged in battle.”
On Capt. Martin’s web site, The Captain’s Clerk he posts some of the logs of the CONSTITUTION. A couple of entries: 23 Aug 1803 “Armorers making iron work for securing the half ports over the guns.” 31 Aug 1803 “We put in all the half ports and secured them”
On the subject of Capt. Martins criticism of Campbell:
Capt. Martin wrote a section on the appearance of the CONSTITUTION in Arnot’s work. On page 5, Capt. Martin writes: “The Campbell plans of the ship are open to endless criticism based on documentary evidence. Don Turner, Director of the USS CONSTITUTION Maintenance Facility, and I (and others) reviewed a set of the Smithsonian plans soon after I took command of the ship in 1974 and came to the conclusion that there were many more details in it relating to the CONSTELLATION than to CONSTITUTION.”
Arnot follows this with his own remarks. “*Author’s note: In a letter from George Campbell to me 10 Oct., 1985, he stated that he created his drawings while he was a resident in England and that he never heard of CONSTELLATION and didn’t even know that it existed. Campbell stated that Howard Chapelle and Philip Lundeberg provided copies of “every piece of recorded information in existance about CONSTITUTION.” Campbell maintains that since he drew these plans in 1963, they couldn’t have benefited from the work of CDR Martin (A Most Fortunate Ship). Campbell also states that he went by Chapelle’s information.”
Parrels are available from Model Shipways/Model Expo. Or, as noted, they can be made.
I agree with the notion that if one were able to rig the Revell CONSTITUTION with all the standing and running rigging, the rigging would overwhelm the model. The historic accuracy would actually detract from the appearance. Therefore, one has to draw the line somewhere.
I do not claim to have experience with various model manufacturers, but it does seem to me that Revell put a lot of effort into CONSTITUTION. And it does seem that they had someone there that knew something about sailing ships. Perhaps if they were doing it today, they would change some things.
I would think that if the ghosts of Preble, Hull, Bainbridge and Stewart could be brought together to view a Revell CONSTITUTION built and rigged straight out of box, they all would recognize the vessel. And then a discussion would follow along the lines of: “Well, when I had her, she had…”.