Glad I could be of service. Good luck with your build! We want to see pics.
Bob
I found a Model Shipwrights Club here in the Chicago suburbs. Talked with the club president and plan on attending their meeting next week. As a bonus, it is their annual pizza party, so I get to meet new people AND eat pizza. Perhaps I should bring a single malt with me? [:D]
Anyone else attend these meetings?
Bob
All the gun doors have been set in place and rigged. Final rigging to cleats will happen after I install the gun & berth deck combo.
Power hook up wires added to inside of lower hull, and final circuits added.
I will test all circuits one last time, then install the gun deck.
Just caught up with your Build. Beautiful work so farâŚCheers Mark
Thanks Mark! Almost forgot to add the windows to the Captainâs cabin. And the rudder, stern piece and tiller. Almost got ahead of myself. Bob
SHEâS FINALLY IN!
Hull already feels about 10 pounds heavier. Will mount to temporary board tomorrow and test the lighting. Hopefully all is well. I quadruple checked everything. I hope.
Bob
really like what you are doing mate . wish I had the talent to do it too [:)]
Super impresssive, Bob!
I canât wait to see how the lights look!
Dave
Merry Christmas Bob,
Those are a lot of wires to keep track of and its looking very impressive. Your deck is also very striking. I am in the final phase of rigging (mizzen braces) on a 1/96 Constitution and I could not have thought of tackling a lighting project.
Good work,
Scott
Love the lighted effectsâŚjust wonderful.
Merry ChristmasâŚ
Rob
Steve, Dave, Scott & Rob,
Thanks for the compliments, guys. Not as complicated as it looks. I kept track of what lights went where when I was building the circuits on the board. At assembly, all I had to do was hook them up. Decided to solder everything for security. Only complicated parts were the cabin lights, as I have 4 lights per circuit. Since I didnât want them to flash in unison, I purposely mixed the wires around so it looks random (similar to the cannons).
Both my wife and father-in-law suggested I do a YouTube video of the basic wiring circuits so that others can benefit. Itâs a little more complicated then that, and math is involved when it comes to choosing a power supply, but I am pretty sure most can add. Hardest part is soldering the micro-circuitry to the board.
I will take a few photos or a video of the lights and try to post. Probably thru YouTube, since Postimages doesnât do video.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and a Happy New Year.
Bob
Been busy installing all the walls in the Captainâs quarters and day cabin. Also began installing all the knees on the gun deck. I need to hide some of the wiring for the gun deck lighting, and all of those wires will be hidden in a channel in the knees.
Also started rigging the tackle for the cannons. If ANYONE has a simple way to rig up the single and double blocks with the hooks and rope, I am all ears! At this rate, it will take me until next Christmas to get all these guns rigged.
Bob
Bob - Your work on the Constitution is Fantastic - Especially the wiring!!! I hope you follow thru with your wifeâs and father-in-lawâs suggestion on making a video about using lighting and circuit boards. I am lucky to be doing some basic wiring of lights with my build. I admire your work on your build.
So here are a few shots of the knees and cannon rigging. Four down, twenty-six to go!
Also a shot of one of the officerâs head.
Thatâs all for now.
Thanks Fright. I will do that in the near future. Have to get another board so I can take more shots. Depending on your skill level when it comes to soldering, there are some fabulous new miniature current limiting chips out there which makes it practically âidiot proof.â Only trouble is the size - the darn things are nearly microscopic! Need a steady hand, a very fine soldering tip, and a soldering rig that you can control the temperature. Probably show both ways, since the old way is pretty easy to do with a small board, some resistors and diodes, and a basic soldering iron. Bob
That is some beautiful work Bob. I love itâŚCheers mark
So I have been very busy at work, but finally got the starboard gun tackle all rigged. Still deciding how to tie up the loose rope. Probably coil and lay on guns on the starboard side. Port side are the guns rigged to âfire,â so those will have gun crews on them and the ropes left loose and cut a bit shorter.
On the port side, guns were already in place due to running the fiber optics, but loosely sitting on deck. So I rigged all the breach ropes on the guns by seizing both ends, then securing to the bulkheads via a pin dropped through the rope and then through an eyelet (drop of gorilla glue to hold in place). Then I secured the guns to the deck in the firing position (one gun in loading position on each side). I used a small brass nail glued to the bottom of the carriage, pressed it into the wood deck to mark, drilled a pilot hole, then glued in place with gorilla glue. Also added a drop to each wheel before securing. Guns are rock solid. I will get to the tackle next, then finish up the deck furniture and add some crew to âman the guns!â
Bob
Bob - your time spent on building this ship is well worth every minute. Your talents and mastery to detail AND your wiring skills are amazing!!! Thank you for sharing your talents with us on this piece of art.
Thanks Robert. I truly appreciate the compliments. This is really just my way of relaxing and âunwindingâ my mind - and it keeps my hands busy as well.
So I have been working on the details of the gun deck furniture. Biggest headache was the messenger cable. Had to add a pulley to the main timber in the manger. That would have been no big deal if I hadnât already installed the chain stopper bits. But I got it in there somehow. Second headache was trying to keep the messenger cable close to the deck - kept wanting to ride up. Finally got it all squared away.
Did some puddening on the first anchor while watching a bit of golf.
Shots of the Captainâs quarters:
