Repair Constitution plastic bow sprit

Modeling Subjects Ships
1

I have an old model of the Constitution that my father built. The bow sprit broke before and I glued it back. I don’t recall if I used plastic cement or super glue. It was brokeN again during our last move. How can I fix this again and make it more sturdy?

Thanks,

Glenn

2

You will want to locate some fine brass or steel wire. Copper or solder will be too soft & flexible. Also find a matching drill bit.

Drill into each side of the broken piece & insert the wire stiffener. Glue with CA You want the holes to ideally be about 0.25 inches in depth

Hint drill one piece Insert a length of wire slightly longer than the hole depth - or use a pin cut to length Bring the pieces together and align Press the wire/pin into the undrilled piece to mark the location to drill the second hole

3

Cut one of the legs off of a heavy duty paper clip. They’re plated so it won’t rust.

4

Thanks. I drilled the holes. And used a small paper clip and glue to mend the two sections. This model is about 24in. Not sure of the scale. It isn’t the 1:96 nor 1:146 Revell Kits.

But with the bowsprit repaired, I can glue on some other small pieces. The. Begin re-rigging the ship. The old rigging was covered in dust.

5

Okay ;

Take a photo you may have of her Before the injury . Then do this from the first Fore-Stay back , put a number flag on each piece of rigging . Then remove the stub .Go to a kitchen supply store and purchase a set of medium skewers . They are Beechwood I think . Cut one to size , sand to a taper first , then install .

Before you install it soak it in HOT Strong Coffee .That will tone it close to the color it should be .By numbering the Forestays etc. you’ll know what goes where. Install and enjoy her for more years . Tanker - Builder

6

Well, this is as good as I could get her with what’s left of her original parts.

  • Thorough cleaning.
  • Repaired broken Bowsprit.
  • Broke and repaired Jib boom.
  • Re-attached Sprit sail hard.
  • Re-attached head timbers.
  • Repaired Dolphin striker.
  • Repaired broken Lower Main mast.
  • Broke and repaired top Mizzen Gaff
  • Re-rigged the ship. My first rigging job. Probably spent 8 - 10 hours over several nights on it.
7

I don’t know why my photo link did not work. Here’s a link to photos of the repaired USS Constitution. https://flic.kr/s/aHsmoThAAm

8

Welcome Glenn, That was a lot of repairing.

It sounds like your Dad built the Revell “Simplified Build” Constitution kit. It was 22" OA with a 17" hull. It scales at about 1/159.

The other possibility is the IMAI or Monogram kit listed as 1/120 and is 29"OA with a 19 inch hull.

In either case they are both great kits.

Can you post some photos of the model? I would really like to see pictures of your Constitution.

Since you recently joined and have probably not posted any pictures yet, there is a bit of a learning curve to post pictures. The Technical Assistance Forum and also the Testing Forum have some photo posting information. However, the best resource is Just Ask.

Nino

9

I think it was the Monogram. Hull is measuring 18 to 19 inches. And from jib boom to Mizzen boom she is about 24”.

my last post contains a link to public pics I posted to FlickR.