HM Cutter Cheerful 1806 by Stuntflyer (Mike) - FINISHED - 1:48 scale

[Stuntflyer]

Over the past few days I managed to get the seats shaped and the channels installed.

 

The holes for the seats were drilled using 5/32" O.D brass tubing. After placing the tubing in a hand drill, a #11 blade was used to taper and sharpen the inside of the tubing to a sharp edge. The tubing was placed in a drill press for drilling. Both sides of the seats were drilled at the same time for uniformity. Making them and fitting them was time consuming and a bit fiddly, but worth the effort. The seats will be spray painted off the ship along with the other inboard stern details.

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I'm going to notch the channels after double checking the angle of the chain plates in relationship to the hole markings in the wales. The eyebolts were formed from black 22ga. wire. To avoid having to use oversize holes in the channels the eyebolts were made by a simple shaping of the wire. A tiny notch was filed into the channel to allow the eyebolt to sink in a bit. Since the wire was not twisted, I used 3 hour Epoxy to glue them in.

 

 

Edited April 10, 2016 by Stuntflyer

[dvm27]

Outstanding, Mike! Chuck has unleashed some pretty awesome Cheerful on this website.

[rafine]

Lovely work Mike.

 

Bob

[Stuntflyer]

Today's post is the result of the last two weeks work. A little embarrassing perhaps since it seems that little was accomplished. Still, I'm pleased with the result so I really can't complain. 

 

The eyebolts and ringbolts were made from 24 gauge dark annealed wire. For consistent positioning I made a simple jig. The wedge shape allows the jig to angle so the ledge on the bottom can sit tight against the gunport. The small piece on top is a handle. I was a bit nervous about using CA here for fear of messing up the paint so I used slow drying epoxy. I placed a tiny bit onto a pin and worked it into the hole. The cleats along the bulwarks are all 7mm from Chuck. They were pinned and painted. Again, they were glued in with slow drying epoxy.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2016 by Stuntflyer

[Stuntflyer]

I was just advised by Chuck to pull those eyebolts with the rings from the bulwarks. Its easier to seize them to the ends of the breech line first and then insert them into the holes.  Otherwise it will be impossible to seize the rope to it while its in the bulwarks.

 

Update: Luckily, I was able to use my old monokote heating iron to heat an eyebolt and easily remove one. Only 27 more to go. Aaaargh!

Edited March 14, 2016 by Stuntflyer

[druxey]

It is possible to rig to those bolts in place but, having been caught in that trap once, I wouldn't recommend it! Your work is lovely and clean. That is a first-class model on the way.

[Stuntflyer]

druxey, Thank you so much for the kind words.

 

Chuck, I read your post #667 on making the breech rope after I had installed all the ringbolts. Funny thing though, I never made the connection that I would need to take them out. Anyway, they are all removed with no damage to the hull or the ringbolts.

 

Thanks for the tip,

 

Mike

Edited November 15, 2016 by Stuntflyer

[Stuntflyer]

I was able to complete the inboard stern details today. The knees with 5mm cleats, 9mm cleats on the stern frames, 22 gauge wire horse, false stern post and seats were added. There are tiny washers at the base of the horse made from 28 gauge wire. After forming them they were flattened with a plier. The outside diameter is only .065 so they are quite small. Being very hard to handle a few did end up as a permanent fixture in the carpet.

 

Edited March 16, 2016 by Stuntflyer

[Chuck]

Looks good Mike.....

[druxey]

Clean and ship-shape work as usual, Mike. Very nice indeed.

[Stuntflyer]

Thanks guys!

 

My plan is to tackle the timberheads and boom crutches next.

 

Mike

[albert]

Very nice.

[Stuntflyer]

I've been busy over the past few days with the timberheads, those pesky boom crutches and painting. The timberheads proved to be not too difficult as long as I was careful while filing them to shape. The boom crutches proved to be another story as making these put my patience to the test. I only had to make three to get the required two though the process took the better part of a day. I was relieved to get them glued on the boat. The cleanup painting continues. . . .

 

Viewing the boom crutches from this angle distorts the symmetry of the two pieces but you should be able to get the general idea of how they look.

 

[wyz]

Mike, it's coming along nicely.

 

Tom

[rafine]

Really well done Mike.

 

Bob

[Stuntflyer]

A milestone was reached today along with a a few small updates. . .

 

Not surprisingly, it was pointed out at the last club meeting that the starboard side boom crutch was leaning a bit outboard compared to the other one. I was able to correct this after removing it and re-sanding the bottom surface to a slightly different angle. The back of each crutch was also sanded to mimic to the overall curve of the transom. Maybe not perfect, but overall I'm satisfied with the result.

 

 

I quickly found that making the strops for the deadeyes (those attached to the chainplates) were going to take some trial and error fitting in order to determine the proper length. A small change and they would rise above or fall too far below the cap rail fancy molding.

 

With that in mind I made a simple jig to make uniform strops at the proper length. 22 gauge wire was bent around .045 music wire (Photo 2) and formed to the proper length (photo 3). After inserting a 5/32" dowel into the hole (photo 4) the wire is crisscrossed and pulled tight against the dowel (photo 5). The wire was then ready to be cut and wrapped around the deadeye.

 

 

Prior to attaching the chainplates and a number of eyebolts, the wales were lightly sanded, taped off and given final spray coats of Grumbacher "Mars Black" Acrylic paint. I have switched over from the W&N acrylics since having difficulty getting their "Mars Black" acrylic paint to brush on evenly and dry thoroughly. The outer hull details are now completed other than some weathering detail on the plates.

 

 

Moving to the inboard details, I drilled out the inboard scuppers and made the catheads.

 

Edited April 14, 2016 by Stuntflyer

[Stuntflyer]

My thoughts in making the gun carriages is to do as much as possible before assembly. I'm using Chuck's laser kit.

 

I wanted to come up with a way to make the round axle other than using hand tools. In the photo below, you can see where I slotted the axle to create a 90° shoulder. While in the drill press, 3/32" i.d. brass tubing was filed on the outside to get a sharp edge for cutting. As the brass tubing cuts into the axle the excess wood is parted away. The brass tubing needed a slight sharpening between cuts but the process was very quick.

 

 

 

 

I used the plan drawing glued to one of the side brackets to mark each hole location for drilling the holes for the eyebolts and pins. At each location a jig was used to hold the brackets in place while drilling. A few pins were installed as well.

 

I haven't forgotten about the three pin rails or some necessary weathering. I figure that I can work on that if the guns start to get too tedious.

 

 

Edited April 21, 2016 by Stuntflyer

[druxey]

Looking very nice, Mike!

[Stuntflyer]

The 12 gun carriages are now assembled and painted. I really enjoyed making them. The breech line ring bolts will be attached later as a completed breech line assembly. Rather than spray painting the carriages, I decided to try brushing them. The goal was to achieve a more natural look. I was quite worried about the paint starting to look blotchy. Using the right brush, thinning the paint and taking your time seems to help the process go smoothly. The Quoin handles were made from 8mm belaying pins purchased from Model Shipways (also sold by Amati) and will be added after the gun tackle is completed. The handle length is only 1/8" and less than 3/64" wide and they could break off easily. I'm quite pleased with the results and will try to brush paint more often in the future.

 

 

Quoin holding jig for drill press

 

Edited May 8, 2016 by Stuntflyer

[Stuntflyer]

Hello everyone! While waiting for some gun paint to arrive I made the pin rails and started on the belaying pins. Earlier photos show that I used the WeCheer to hold the Quoin handles. Well, after only a few months of use it seems that there is some kind of loose connection in the wiring. I switched over to the Dremel for the belaying pins.

 

 

 

Edited May 14, 2016 by Stuntflyer

[KenW]

Hey Mike: Good looking pins. How long are they?

Thanks.

[Stuntflyer]

Thanks Ken! They are 3/8" long or 18" real world.

 

Mike

Edited May 13, 2016 by Stuntflyer

[KenW]

WOW. That's small. So at 3/16" scale they should be about 5/16.

[Stuntflyer]

You got it!

Edited May 14, 2016 by Stuntflyer

[mati]

Mike,
What a neat work! Beautiful... surgical precision. Great attention for details
Keep going

Cheers,
Matt 

[Mirabell61]

Well done Mike,

 

a beautiful built ship...

 

Nils

[Stuntflyer]

Thank you Matt and Niles for your kind words and for all the "Likes". Very much appreciated!

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

Edited May 14, 2016 by Stuntflyer

[Stuntflyer]

All of the parts for the carriages, guns and gun tackle are completed. I assembled the first of the carronades to see how the breech rope looks. If something is not right, please let me know before I get started on the remaining ones.

 

The guns where first given a spray coat of etching primer. As it is not recommended to place the paint directly to the etching primer, the guns were then sprayed with Krylon Gray primer before spraying on Badger "Model Flex" Engine Black paint. Final color was achieved using Doc O'Brien's Rusty Brown weathering powder. I deviated slightly on the capsquare simulated hinge arrangement. I used 24 gauge wire instead of 28 gauge. The wire is placed up against and behind the capsquare making for easy placement of the wire. Although slightly thicker, you really can't tell since the capsquare thickness makes it look smaller than it is. The quoin handle will go on later.

 

 

Edited October 28, 2016 by Stuntflyer

[Chuck]

Nicely done!!!

[Stuntflyer]

I made a little progress over the past week. Managed to get the carronades on the deck along with the breech ropes. I decided to go through the process of pinning the rear trucks to the deck with 24 gauge wire. I really took my time here for fear of making an unsightly mistake. Though not necessary to do this, the process was an interesting one and I learned a few tricks along the way.

 

Edited October 28, 2016 by Stuntflyer