The ‘ShipCraft’ series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warships. In general these cover plastic and resin models of 20th century subjects but, like the previous volumes on Nelson’s Victory and Captain Bligh’s Bounty, this is a radical departure – not only a period sailing ship but one for which kits are available in many different materials and scales. This requires some changes to the standard approach, but the main features of the series remain constant.

Now preserved in Boston harbour, USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship still afloat. One of the original building programme of 1794 for the newly established US Navy, the ship would enjoy a stellar career beginning with the Quasi-War with France and the campaigns against the Barbary states of north Africa. However, it was the War of 1812 that established the fame of the ship that became known as ‘Old Ironsides’ following her victories over two British frigates and a number of smaller warships, a potent symbol of national pride that kept the ship in commission until the 1880s.

In the course of this long service, the ship’s appearance was altered significantly, and many of the features of the ship as commonly modelled are actually the product of later, and not historically consistent, reconstructions. A major achievement of this volume is to detail these changes as accurately as evidence allows, and to reconstruct the probable colour schemes carried at the most significant stages of her career. The modelling section reviews the strengths and weaknesses of available kits, lists commercial accessory sets for super-detailing, and provides hints on modifying and improving the basic kit, including the complexities of rigging. This is followed by an extensive photographic gallery of selected high-quality models in a variety of scales, and coverage concludes with a section on research references – books, monographs, large-scale plans and relevant websites.

Following the pattern of the series, this book provides an unparalleled level of visual information – paint schemes, models, line drawings and photographs – and is simply the best reference for anyone setting out to model this famous frigate.