6 Attachment(s)
USS Pennsylvania (1837)-Kitbash WIP
I expect many folks here know about the Naval Act of 1794, or at least they know of the six frigates that were authorized by the US Congress on March 27th of that year. Many of us are waiting anxiously for the USS Constitution from Ares, which is the most famous of the original six. What I didn't realize was that on April 19, 1816 the US Congress also authorized the construction of "nine ships to rate not less than 74 guns each"; basically ships of the line. Most of these ships were never launched remaining 'on the stocks' because of cost and the fact that the US Navy could more effectively rely on heavy frigates like the Constitution.
Just recently I saw an old Currier and Ives lithograph of the USS Pennsylvania, one of the 'nine' that actually did get launched and thought it might be fun to kitbash a version of it. From what I've read the ship never was fully fitted out and only sailed once, to Norfolk Navy Yard. It remained there until it was burned to the waterline to prevent it from falling into Confederate hands. Certainly a less than glorious career, however, the Pennsylvania was still the largest sailing warship ever built for the US Navy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Pennsylvania_(1837)
Here's a wiki link to the List of ships of the line of the United States Navy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ed_States_Navy
Another bit of information I never knew was that two of these ships were under construction in Sackets Harbor, New York (USS Chippewa and USS New Orleans) on Lake Ontario.
USS New Orleans
Attachment 12045
The Ares ship I'm going to use as a basic sculpt for the Pennsylvania is the Commerce de Marseille 1788. It's not an exact match, but I can make it look like a four decker fairly easily, and at a distance it may not matter? Also, it was one of the 1st Rates I received with a broken foremast. http://www.aresgames.eu/games/sails-...ps-of-the-line
Attachment 12040Attachment 12041
So, starting from this:
Attachment 12043
I hope we'll end up with something that looks like this:
Attachment 12042
Ship model at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum http://hamptonroadsnavalmuseum.blogs...-line-uss.html
Right now the Ares model is soaking in alcohol to remove paint and decals.
Attachment 12044
More pictures and progress forthcoming. Cheers!