Hey guys.Am about to restore a mates 1/96th Revell model of the U.S.S. Constitution.He was going to throw it out but I thought I could redo it better than new.Masts have been broken off,rigging and sails missing and don,t have a clue how many small parts have been lost over the years.I am after the models plans and rigging diagrams plus measurements for the sails .Please help give this old girl a new lease on life as any help would be appreciated.Email me at ROSS[the at sign]MYALL.NET for any info or plans…cheers.
Hey! I am building a new 1/96 Constitution (Check out the post for some pics http://www.finescale.com/FSM/CS/forums/572180/ShowPost.aspx) I can take pictures of the instructions for you with my camera and send them too you…and measure the sails. Ill send them to you at Ross@MYALL.NET …if that doesnt work, which my email sometimes doesnt, than I can post them on here. Do you have any pictures of the model? It will be an interesting tradeoff…I can get tips from the old model on what I have yet to build while you restore restore with the brand new directions. Honetsly, I do not plan on using the sails so who knows maybe I can mail them to you! Why not…Old Ironsides lives on one way or another! I just made that post I sent you a few minutes ago so send any reply there. Thanks mate good luck!
-Andrew Sergi (ajssurg25@yahoo.com for anything else you need)
heres a few I just snapped off…
you can read in the paint instuctions (lower left) which mast is which…also their are two rigging booklets, so just specify what you need and its yours[8D]
Asking for plans may well be going about this the hard way-- it sorta implies that you are looking to scratchbuild all the lost/broken parts.
My first thought is that this may well be more work, and take longer than just starting over with a new kit. (But maybe the fun of the challenge is what you’re after.) These kits have been in essentiually cointinuous production for over 40 years, so it isn’t like you’re restoring an un-replaceable antique.
If you are set on restoring the original model, I suggest looking for partially built kits. I’ve seen a lot of kits that were started by people, who built the hulls, but never moved on to do the masts and rigging, as they had either lost interest or were overwhelmed by the complexity. I’ve seen partially built kits for sale on Ebay for a fraction of the cost of a new kit-- sometimes the original hull has been lost, and all the seller has is a box of masts, sails, and other rigging and detail parts, which might be perfect for you. In general, incomplete kits sell for pennies on the dollar, and they’d make perfect parts sources for a project such as this.
Hope this helps…
Cheers mate,was planning on replacing the broken masts with something a bit stronger like brass.Replace the rigging,fabricate real sails(unfurled) and scratchbuild most of the missing parts…thats if I find out whats missing.I know there was a lot of cannons rolling around on the lower gun deck that I had to fish out with tweezers.Most of the railings were broken off as well.I only just survived building the Victory for my youngest son so I feel I havebeen blooded in ship building that way.Built WW2 Aircraft and Armour mainly with a couple of cars thrown in,but always had a soft spot for tall ships and Men of War.Also got a big project going on at our local Aviation Museum.Thanks for the replies guys.