John Builds a Case for A Constitution.

by John

Of course that is a perspex/acrylic case for my 1:93 model.

Constitution lies comfortably on its side. The rigging makes the spars and masts strong enough to take the weight without causing distortion or movement, although a couple of long guns flopped about. (loose cannons). The almost finished case behind.

My requirements for the case were that it should keep out dust, be light enough for one person (me) to carry with the ship inside, should not be too ugly, that the two big panels could be removed and replaced fairly easily,

I also decided to use acrylic rather than polycarbonate because it is said to be more resistant to scratching, is slightly more transparent, and is much less expensive.

When I explained my job to the local supplier he recommended 4.5mm thick sheet, and that it be laser cut so the edges looked polished. He also guaranteed that the panels would be cut very accurately.

So I drew up my plans, and decided to use aluminium 10x10mm square section rod inside the corners and around the top, and 16×16 angle on the outside of the corners to cover the panel edges and the square section. The aluminium was my solution for the requirement to be able to remove the big panels if required. (It was required. I must have removed and replaced panels at least 20 times!)

At the planning stage I had not finally decided how to fix the ship to the base. I was probably going to use forms shaped to the keel and lower hull, and so allowed about 25mm extra height of the case. I did not use the forms. See my final method later in this post.

The model just fits in the case with 2-10mm to spare. Here it is sitting on the forms which I have subsequently changed. The 1812 US flags will be fitted later. The base is glossy black acrylic which gives a nice reflection of the coppered hull and rudder. I will also raise the case about 25mm on a black acrylic semi hidden base. I am not planning to use LED lights, but the final recipient of the model will have that option.
Just a bit of reflection from the window behind. It almost gives an impression of the ship afloat?
The transparency is quoted as 93%. I don’t particularly like the appearance of the aluminium. One of my friend has suggested having the alu sand blasted. I am considering that option.

Oh yes. Fixing the model to the base. I cut a 7mm deep groove into a piece of 20x25mm rectangular section acrylic bar almost as long as the keel, and the groove was wide enough to accept a brass strip as a gib. Then drilled and tapped x3 3mm grub screws to push against the gib, holding/trapping the keel into the slot. The bar was screwed to the base through the bottom of the slot.

That slotted bar seems to hold the ship quite securely in place. And the tight dimensions of the case interior around the spars would stop it from moving too far even if it did shake loose during transport.

This is a magnified shot of the bow end of the keel sitting in the slot and the brass gib screwed firmly against the keel. Also shows how reflective is the black acrylic. Next time that I have the case open I will polish the ends of the slotted bar.