Blue Ensign

Post Nine Faffing and fiddling to the finish line The rudder is completed with straps and the tiller and can now be set in place. 9919(2) I used thin black card for the purposes of the straps. I decided to make the oars using Boxwood as the brass etched versions lacked the looms, and you can’t get away from the two-dimensional aspect of brass etch. 9943(2) The kit supplies two sweet little etched grappling hooks, I silver soldered the arms rather than use ca which would have been detrimental to the blackening process. The boat hook was fitted in a Boxwood handle rather than use the etched version. The grapnel as provided by the kit lacks the benefit of a ring, easily rectified, which is needed to attach the classic Fisherman's Bend hitch for small anchors, where the line needs to pass twice thro' the ring. Steel gives a grapnel rope circ for ships boats as 3"-3½" I used .30mm ø line for the purpose. 9944(2) The completed set. 9927(2) Wipe-on-poly is used to enhance the natural colour of the timbers, I decided not to use paint on the model. 9928(2) It was necessary to use Light oak wood stain on the keel, which would still have been the case had I used the supplied Pearwood. 9930(2) 9932(2) An enjoyable little interlude to occupy myself during the Bathroom re-fit which looks to continue for a few days more. 9949 A better appreciation of the relative size of this bijou build, I think it will be a cutter for a cutter and join Alert in her display case. As I finish this project Chris has issued his replacement, enhanced, 18’ cutter. Having a Pearwood keel is a good improvement and the use of thinner 0.6mm strip is more scale appropriate. The build sequence is also more logical and I like the inclusion of Pearwood oars, something else I feel is preferable. I have decided to rename this log as 18th c ships boats – 1:64 scale - Vanguard Models, as today I received another of Chris’s little gems, this time the 22’ Yawl. This build will continue in this section. B.E. 19/01/21

Hi Chris, The new cutter looks a big improvement on the original, I like the inclusion of the Pearwood keel, and thinner planking, also the inclusion of the wooden oars. Fitting the wash strake as part of the normal planking before the Rowlocks are cut is a much better approach. The text at Instruction 28 needs amending from anchor to Rowlock. I look forward to making your Yawl mini kit which should be arriving today. Cheers, B.E.

Post Eight Sheer strakes, Gunwales and Washboards. These terms can be a little confusing in relation to cutters. David White- The Frigate Diana describes the upper strake as the Wash Strake and below this the Upper Strake. The Gun wale is shown as running inside the framing. Peter Goodwin – The Cutter Alert describes the upper strake as the Gunwale (wash strake) and below this the sheer strake. Brian Lavery – Arming and Fitting describes the upper strake as a thicker piece of timber known as the Gunwale, fitted with thole pins or rowlocks. After the mid-eighteenth century a removeable wash- strake was fitted on many boats, above the gunwale. For the purposes of my build I will use the terms Gunwale and Wash strake. Gunwale 9872 I used 0.7mm x 1.8mm ebony strip for the purpose, ca’d level with the top of the bulwark. Wash-strake These are likely to prove tricky to fit because there is little effectively to support them inboard. 9863(2) The knees that fit to the thwarts should run up to the top of the Wash strake, which they don’t on my build unless they are fitted with the long end upwards which I did as I couldn’t face making replacements of these tiny items. 9864(2) With this arrangement there will be support for the Wash-boards but before these are fitted it is necessary to consider the Rowlock positions. The kit seems to indicate three sets of rowlocks serving the forward three thwarts. This would suggest that it is set up for double banked rowing, and the oar length would support this There is a plan for an 18’ cutter in the Cutter Alert book showing this set up. However, there are plans indicating offset rowlocks for 18’ cutters which would indicate a single bank arrangement. There is a plan for an 18’ cutter in the Frigate Diana book (David White) which has this arrangement. I am using 1.7mm x 0.7mm Boxwood strip for the wash strakes. The strakes need to be heat bent to fit atop the bulwark without tension which will greatly assist a successful result. The kit blurb suggests gluing strips of wood along the bulwark leaving 1mm gaps for the Rowlocks. 9880 My approach is to fit the strake as a whole which has the advantage of maintaining a better round to follow the hull. I used spots of ca on the brackets and the strip to secure the strake. 9879(2) A micro-saw is then used to cut the rowlocks. I use an Airwaves etched stainless steel saw blade that has incredibly fine teeth and fits into a Swann Morten scalpel blade. Anything coarser would inevitably break the glue bond or the wood strip. 9887(2) This finishes the basic construction, but the macro’s I took show up areas requiring further cleaning up before the final finish is applied. B.E. 17/01/21

That was six years ago and several builds down the line, and the moment has passed. However, I like Chris Watton designs, and I know Amati kits and what to expect. Were the inclination to build Revenge come again it would be that kit. B.E.

Yards looking good Tim, 👍 Re:- I'm also pondering how to do the topsail brace. There is a block setup in the AotS book and the instructions, but its a little unclear where the tie off on the bowsprit would be (and a closeup of the bowsprit in the AotS book doesn't show the tie-off point, but that isn't the only inconsistency in the book unfortunately). I'll keep thinking about it, but if anyone has any thoughts I'd love to hear them. I belayed mine at the pin rail above the windlass. B.E.

Hi Richard, I can’t for the life of me remember where I got the non Proxxon vice. It opens to 65mm and jaws are 75mm wide. A quick online check shows a few that look like it. The Proxxon has the same jaw dimensions but has the advantage of extra height and the angle swivel, very useful when working on small projects such as this cutter. The Proxxon is quite heavy and I’ve never felt the need to fasten it down. The Proxxon 24260 Bench Vice you mention last I do have, it is much smaller and designed to fit on the MF70 Mill where I use it exclusively. For hand holding small stuff I tend to use an engineers clamp as shown in my first post. Cheers, B.E.

Hi Richard, The boat looks ok from about six-inch viewing, even better from 12”; 😉 the macro lens is brutal, but it will allow me to clean up some of the rougher spots. I’ve yet to finish the rudder which I have left long for final fitting. I think Chris was right to withdraw this mini kit, it is not up to the standard of his newly released boat sets, presumably he will eventually add a new cutter to the set. B.E.

Post Seven A question of rudders I am not too keen on the rudder arrangement whereby a formed Pearwood carcase is faced by brass etch which albeit contains the details of the rudder straps. 9788(3) I replaced this with rudder cut from a 1.3mm Boxwood sheet offcut. 9800(2) The rudders of Cutters and other small boats had a different arrangement to the usual gudgeon and pintles set up. Rudder fitting on one of the Victory’s cutters. Note also the tiller fitting. The lower pintle was fitted to the sternpost, it was longer than usual for ease of location. The upper one was fitted to the rudder. This arrangement was to facilitate ease of removal and re hanging whilst the boat was in the water. 9795(2) On the model a small eyebolt with 0.35mm ø brass wire silver soldered into it made for the pintles, and eyebolts for the gudgeons. 9803 Rudder hung but not finished. Finishing the bottom boards. Having given the etch a base coat of Humbrol 93 I applied a thin streaky coat of Humbrol 94, followed by a dry bushing of sand yellow weathering powder. They were then glued into to the boat using spots of ca. The surface took a little wear during the fitting process and this will need fettlin’ once the rails are fitted. 9813 The internal rails that support the thwarts and provide some rigidity were made from 2mm x 0.7mm strip. These were pva’d to the ribs 3mm below the bulwark. 9817 I always find this a tricky little exercise getting the rails level each side, and I use temporary thwarts to eye along the boat. When it came to fitting the stern sheets the pre-made parts were not a good fit to my hull. 9828(2) In the end I decided that 1mm thick thwarts were a tad overscale and I replaced them with Boxwood strip of 0.7mm. 9826(2) I asked my Fifie Skipper to test the thwarts for height and level. The wash boards have yet to be fitted. B.E. 14/01/21

Liking what I see Tim. 👍 B.E.

You're making good progress Eric , this is not an easy build, but there is a deal of satisfaction to be had from its completion. The Pinnace kit makes a great looking model and I think you will be pleased with the end result. Regards, B.E.

Thank you, Eric. It can be a little disheartening for the less experienced to see nothing but perfectly planked and finished work so I think it is important to show that what hopefully turns out to be a nice looking model has its less than perfect stages along the way. I’ve always adhered to the adage that a model is more than the sum of its parts, and what we perceive as imperfections don’t necessarily detract from the overall effect. That doesn’t mean I don’t aspire to do better on my next build, and learn from those whose work I admire, and there’s more than a few of those on here - thank goodness.🙂 Regards, B.E.

Post Six Internal fittings The kit provides brass etched gratings and bottom boards which are beautifully reproduced and of a finer scale than I could possibly produce using timber strip. 9777 Having thoroughly cleaned the brass using soap, acid, and fine wire wool the parts were chemically blackened to provide some bite for the finish. 9778 The next job is to apply the internal ribs to the hull which run down from the gunwale to meet the bottom boards and gratings. My view is that there are too few ribs indicated in the kit so I fitted one against each of the frame bottoms and one in between. Using etched bottom boards raises the question of getting a realistic natural wood look. 9786 I laid down a base coat of Humbrol enamel (No93) 9783 A dry fit of the parts confirms an excellent fit, no filing or fiddling required here. As I arrive at this point I read that this little kit has been withdrawn from service, presumably ahead of something better in the offing to match the just released small boat kits. No matter we will carry on regardless, but that Yawl kit does look rather tasty. 😉 B.E. 11/01/21

Post Five A problem area arose at the transom relating to the fact that the Lapstrake planking refused to make a good fit to the kit part. 9753 This necessitated the kit part being removed and replaced by a Boxwood version. 9754 A fair bit of trial and error to get it to fit anywhere near right but got there in the end. The next job is to remove the internal frames, but I felt very chary about using the suggested twist approach. 9756 However, having cut the central bar and tentatively tested the twist I found that they came away without damage to the outer planking. 9766 Some tidying up inside, but the fittings will cover a lot of the internal planking. 9762 Starting to fine down the Lapstrakes towards the bow and stern, the strakes will be cleaned up using fine sandpaper. 9760 More fettlin’ required on the replaced transom and fining down of the Lapstrakes. B.E. 10/01/21

Thanks Erik, a great find, I hadn’t seen it. Some great detail shots of equipment and how it was used, and of the scale. The warp rollers along the rail slotted into sockets are something I pondered about, altho’ I did fit the sockets. I note the relative sizes of the Cran baskets and net floats to the crew. 👍 B.E.

Post Four The planking is completed, it’s Lapstrake Jim, but not as we know it. Pictured here in its rough finish once fettled I hope it will at least look the part from normal viewing distance. 9732(2) 9736 Before removal from the building board. 9746 The boat is released by inverting the base board in a vice and gently tapping the lugs. 9750 9751 Before I remove the frames, I will attend to getting the outer hull as ship shape as I can. B.E. 09/01/21

Thank you Guys for your supportive comments.👍 Postscript to the build Those familiar with my logs know that I use my build photo’s to produce a hard copy photo book recording the model build. I have now received my latest edition covering both Fifie and Zulu models. 9723(2) 9718(2) 9719(3) 9720(3) 9723(2) Once again I used Vistaprint to produce the book, and a superb job they have made. Regards, B.E. 08/01/21

Thank you dunnock, I’m pleased you found it of use, and best wishes for your new project HMS Diana, she is a fine frigate. A build log log is the way to go to gain information and assistance with your build. Regards, B.E.

Probably a wise decision, carvel is relatively straightforward, this is making it up as you go along.🙄 B.E.

Post three. I have continued to apply the planks, tapering and heat forming to shape the strakes. I decided for me that any thoughts of using a tick stripping method to gauge the run was not going to work given the small size, even the thickness of a pencil point would quickly throw it out. 9705 A degree of edge bend was required to fit the first planks against the Garboard. 9707 I use the provided 2mm Pearwood strip to mark the overlap, and applied a simple taper to bow and stern. 9711(2) 9708(2) Still no idea how it’s all going to end up, what d’ye think Gromit. 9714 RUFF Give it a chance Gromit, it should get better. 🤞 🤞 🙄 B.E. 06/01/21

I had better hope it goes well then Tim 😉 Post 2 A little fairing is required to the bulkhead frames, which with this method of construction are held firmly on the building board. This is small scale stuff; the boat is a mere 80mm long but at least the base board provides a reasonable purchase to work on the frames. I have also added a grip to the bottom of the building board to secure in the vice. 9692(2) My first action is to make some suitable sanding sticks to carry out the task. I am using P240 paper pva’d to strips of varying widths. 9653(2) 9690(2) Once fitted the bow fillers need further chamfering to meet the plank rabbet in the bow. Planking The kit provides 2x1mm Pearwood Strip for the purpose of carvel planking. It is a simplified form with some tapering and allowing the strakes to sit where they run and infilled with stealers. I have decided to Clinker plank her with 0.7mm thick Boxwood strip. This means that the planking will start from the keel and run upwards to the gunwale. Despite my aversion to the stuff I will use thick ca to apply the planks given the small width and length of the strakes, and the need for a rapid grab. I start with the Garboard plank using 3.4 x 0.7mm strip. 9688 Garboards are tricky and I have shaped it purely by eye, bringing the forward point terminating on the first bulkhead. 9695 The boat is dwarfed by the clamps. 9697(2) Garboard planks in place. From this point on I will use card templates to determine the run and overlap of the planks. B.E. 04/01/21

Very neat work Erik, all looking good. B.E.

Good advice from Chuck, all you need to visualise is that the Garboard Plank will run along the bottom of the frames and into the rabbet. One piece of advice I would offer to avoid all that agony is to glue some securing strips along the top of frames to hold them rigid before you start the fairing process. These things are quite delicate and will snap off in a heartbeat without it. B.E.

I've just had a look back at my Pinnace build and the centre bulkhead didn't extend below the top rabbet line Are the others ok? B.E.

I think you may have got me there Tim, 😃 I don't think anyone else has charted building one of these, so it may assist others , providing I make a success of it. ps it would look good trailing behind Alert. 👍 B.E.

My basic issue is your assertion that modellers got things wrong because they had no experience of sailing vessels similar to the ones they were modelling, which is a somewhat sweeping statement. In the case of the Longboat there were valid reasons why they modelled it that way, other than ignorance. On the wider subject of rigging it is true that certainly some mass produced kits have glaring errors that those new to rigging may not spot, but there is no magic shortcut to the knowledge so fervently desired by those new to ship modelling. I have a huge collection of books on the subject, built up over many years, no one book covers all subjects or vessel types, but most derive from the works of David Steel who remains my go to source for 18th/early 19th century methods. His works are online and noobies could do worse than have a read of them. Realistically the best approach is to target your reference sources to the vessel type you are modelling, but this does incur extra costs. There is one free source of valuable information - right here on MSW. Read thro' the logs of experienced builders doing the vessel type you are interested in, and learn the abc of the technical terms. B.E.