Blue Ensign

Hi Paul,
 
I didn't coat the plates I wanted them to gain a natural patina over time.  I was careful when handling the model not to touch the plates with my bare hands.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.

For those who may be vaguely curious about the face behind the model, here's yours truly posing with Pegasus before she is cased.

 
B.E.
 

Cheers mobbsie,
 Whatever the limitations of the Proxxon machines I have are, at my skill level I doubt I will ever test them.
 
Best wishes to you and yours for Christmas and the New Year.
 
B.E.

.....and necessary I think Michael to support the hull whilst working. I will end up with three different supports, the one above, one that holds the keel, stem, and stern in a fixed position, and a third that supports the hull inverted.
I used the Band saw because the material was quite thick at 9mm but the curves were relatively gentle which the Band saw could handle. I also find that the more rigid blade allows me to cut straight lines freehand better than the scroll saw.
The downside is that the Band saw is quite noisy compare to the scroll saw.
 
B.E.

Thanks Martin, been 2013 since we had  any significant snow in my small area of England, an area that would no doubt slip into a corner of Oklahoma and not be noticed for weeks. Great for taking seasonal pictures of William, but it's all gone now.
Been busy in the shipyard this morning making an additional support cradle for the Cutter.

3927
Haven't used it for months but the Band saw came into its own today, I so love these bijou Proxxon  machines.

3932
Set the supports for bulkheads H and 8.

3933
Rough and basic from a bit of scrap 9mm mdf, but it will serve the purpose.
 
Winding operations down now for the Christmas break.

2659
Not before time for some of the Dockyard  workers.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.
 
 

Thanks Tom, but it's only for my personal interest, and I know who I am  
 
Hi Dirk, I paid £72.00  for the maximum number of pages (120), the basic album is (24 pages)
It would have cost me not far short of that in printer ink to do it myself on my inkjet, and without the professional binding.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.

I’m late to this party Peter, not quite sure how I missed it. 
You’ve taken on quite a beast, and made a lot of progress in what seems to me to me a very short time. 
Nice idea to use ‘false port’ gun carriages, will give a far more authentic look. I’m not a fan of dummy plug in gun barrels.
 
 
B.E.

Thanks Martin, been 2013 since we had  any significant snow in my small area of England, an area that would no doubt slip into a corner of Oklahoma and not be noticed for weeks. Great for taking seasonal pictures of William, but it's all gone now.
Been busy in the shipyard this morning making an additional support cradle for the Cutter.

3927
Haven't used it for months but the Band saw came into its own today, I so love these bijou Proxxon  machines.

3932
Set the supports for bulkheads H and 8.

3933
Rough and basic from a bit of scrap 9mm mdf, but it will serve the purpose.
 
Winding operations down now for the Christmas break.

2659
Not before time for some of the Dockyard  workers.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.
 
 

.....and necessary I think Michael to support the hull whilst working. I will end up with three different supports, the one above, one that holds the keel, stem, and stern in a fixed position, and a third that supports the hull inverted.
I used the Band saw because the material was quite thick at 9mm but the curves were relatively gentle which the Band saw could handle. I also find that the more rigid blade allows me to cut straight lines freehand better than the scroll saw.
The downside is that the Band saw is quite noisy compare to the scroll saw.
 
B.E.

Thanks Martin, been 2013 since we had  any significant snow in my small area of England, an area that would no doubt slip into a corner of Oklahoma and not be noticed for weeks. Great for taking seasonal pictures of William, but it's all gone now.
Been busy in the shipyard this morning making an additional support cradle for the Cutter.

3927
Haven't used it for months but the Band saw came into its own today, I so love these bijou Proxxon  machines.

3932
Set the supports for bulkheads H and 8.

3933
Rough and basic from a bit of scrap 9mm mdf, but it will serve the purpose.
 
Winding operations down now for the Christmas break.

2659
Not before time for some of the Dockyard  workers.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.
 
 

Thanks Martin, I can't make out  the signature on the plan but this is what I know.
 
Cheerful (and Surly) were designed by Sir John Henslow, Surveyor of the Navy, who had served as a young man as draughtsman to Sir Thomas Slade; The Cheerful Class were the last of a varied class of ship designs produced before he retired in 1806.
The plans were produced in The Navy Office 16/4/1806, approved by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty 17/4/1806 and a copy of the draught sent to the Merchant Builders James and Joseph Johnson, Dover 30/5/1806.
The keel was laid in June of that year, the vessel launched in November, and commissioned in January 1807.
She was sold  on 31 July 1816 after 9 years service.
Surly her sister ship was commissioned at the same time but had a much longer and more exciting early career, finally sold in 1837 after some 30 years.
 
The moral of this tale if anything, is, if longevity is your goal, it's better to be surly than cheerful.

Happy Christmas to you and Mrs W. 
 
B.E.
 
 

Post 4
Attending to the stem
 I am grateful to Chuck for the laser cut parts that make up the stem and keel, saves a lot of time faffing around with the scroll saw; nice Boxwood and need for very little fettlin', the most time consuming part is removing the quite heavy char on the pieces.
I did this mostly by scraping with a sharp blade.
I followed Chuck's  example of filling the treenail holes rather than use dowel pegs.

3772(2)

3609
They are very small, he suggests a #76 drill equivalent to 0.508mm Ø I used a 0.6mm Ø drill.

3603
Once I was satisfied with the fit the two stem pieces were  glued together.

3608
and then to the Rabbet strip on the false keel.

3772
All went together very nicely.

3774
The two keel pieces were then added.

3779
Impressed by the fit of the stern post and rudder, although these will be put aside for much later in the build.

3776
There seems to be a slight kink in the forward section of the keel, I hope this doesn't prove to be troublesome, the false keel looks true sighting along from stem to stern.
 
To complete this part of the build, a light sanding and sealing with wipe-on-poly.

3786

3783
Note:
Chuck makes reference to the use of Minwax wipe-on Poly to seal the Boxwood finish of the stem pieces once they have been fitted.
For those in the UK Minwax products are horrendously expensive (£36) for what is essentially a thinned down oil based Polyurethane Varnish.
Normal oil based Poly is readily available in the UK. Thin it down 50/50 with White spirit to make your own wipe-on.
I used Blackfriars satin poly - 250ml cost me £8 effectively 500ml once diluted.
There is loads of stuff on making your own w-o-p on the internet.

3771
Finally as with Pegasus I obtained the Admiralty plan for Cheerful and Surly which now sits above my workbench as additional inspiration.
 
Next up fiddlin' with my Bulkheads.
 
B.E.
 
 
 

.....and necessary I think Michael to support the hull whilst working. I will end up with three different supports, the one above, one that holds the keel, stem, and stern in a fixed position, and a third that supports the hull inverted.
I used the Band saw because the material was quite thick at 9mm but the curves were relatively gentle which the Band saw could handle. I also find that the more rigid blade allows me to cut straight lines freehand better than the scroll saw.
The downside is that the Band saw is quite noisy compare to the scroll saw.
 
B.E.

Gotta love Proxxon!  Their tools work seriously, and they fit in a small space.
 
Nice progress on the bulkheads -- they look good and square.
 
And Hooray for William!  There's nothing like having a dog to help out with the technical details.
 
Happy holidays to you, BE, and to Mrs W of the Shires, and to WW himself.
 
Cheers,
 
Martin

Thanks Martin, been 2013 since we had  any significant snow in my small area of England, an area that would no doubt slip into a corner of Oklahoma and not be noticed for weeks. Great for taking seasonal pictures of William, but it's all gone now.
Been busy in the shipyard this morning making an additional support cradle for the Cutter.

3927
Haven't used it for months but the Band saw came into its own today, I so love these bijou Proxxon  machines.

3932
Set the supports for bulkheads H and 8.

3933
Rough and basic from a bit of scrap 9mm mdf, but it will serve the purpose.
 
Winding operations down now for the Christmas break.

2659
Not before time for some of the Dockyard  workers.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.
 
 

Don’t know how one can fair those fragile bulkheads without bracing strips, but once in place you can proceed with confidence.
 
Still need soft hands tho’. 😉
 
B.E.
 

This thing is so flimsy without the reinforcements.  It feels much sturdier now and when I start fairing the frames I am going to feel much better having these things in place. 
 
 

I’m late to this party Peter, not quite sure how I missed it. 
You’ve taken on quite a beast, and made a lot of progress in what seems to me to me a very short time. 
Nice idea to use ‘false port’ gun carriages, will give a far more authentic look. I’m not a fan of dummy plug in gun barrels.
 
 
B.E.

Good to see some progress Martin, I found drilling the hawse holes a testy moment in the build, something that stuck in my mind even tho' the detail of my approach had faded, and I had to refer to my log (page 3)
This is what I wrote at the time:
Hawse holes and bolsters
This is a good time to attend to this job before other stuff gets in the way .
The Hawse holes are 10½” ø equating to 4mm at scale (ffm). The anchor cables are 13” circ = to 1.65mm ø.
A formula exists for determining the size of the hawse holes; diameter of cable x 9/4 = 3.7mm. Always best I think to start small and work up.
The task of positioning the hawse holes and bolsters proved quite tricky and somewhat tense with the risk of a slip with the Minicraft drill.
Even so little bits flaked off from the surrounding planking, and I could feel my stress levels rising until I had the four holes completed.
Not too sure about the kit arrangement or the shape of the Hawse bolsters (120). I don’t want them fouling the lower/ekeing rails and I suspect that the kit set up is too far in towards the stem, and that the two holes are too far apart.
 Hope this helps rather than confuses.
B.E.
 
 

No progress to report -- I'm trying out some decorative carvings for the head, and going even more slowly than usual.
 
Mrs W (of the Prairie) and I are heading off to upstate NY for the holiday, so I would like to take this chance to thank everyone who's checked in, andoffered advice and encouragement, over the past year. 
 
Happy Holiday to all, and Happy Modelling! 
 
Martin

Thanks Martin, been 2013 since we had  any significant snow in my small area of England, an area that would no doubt slip into a corner of Oklahoma and not be noticed for weeks. Great for taking seasonal pictures of William, but it's all gone now.
Been busy in the shipyard this morning making an additional support cradle for the Cutter.

3927
Haven't used it for months but the Band saw came into its own today, I so love these bijou Proxxon  machines.

3932
Set the supports for bulkheads H and 8.

3933
Rough and basic from a bit of scrap 9mm mdf, but it will serve the purpose.
 
Winding operations down now for the Christmas break.

2659
Not before time for some of the Dockyard  workers.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.
 
 

Thanks Martin, been 2013 since we had  any significant snow in my small area of England, an area that would no doubt slip into a corner of Oklahoma and not be noticed for weeks. Great for taking seasonal pictures of William, but it's all gone now.
Been busy in the shipyard this morning making an additional support cradle for the Cutter.

3927
Haven't used it for months but the Band saw came into its own today, I so love these bijou Proxxon  machines.

3932
Set the supports for bulkheads H and 8.

3933
Rough and basic from a bit of scrap 9mm mdf, but it will serve the purpose.
 
Winding operations down now for the Christmas break.

2659
Not before time for some of the Dockyard  workers.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.
 
 

Thanks Martin, been 2013 since we had  any significant snow in my small area of England, an area that would no doubt slip into a corner of Oklahoma and not be noticed for weeks. Great for taking seasonal pictures of William, but it's all gone now.
Been busy in the shipyard this morning making an additional support cradle for the Cutter.

3927
Haven't used it for months but the Band saw came into its own today, I so love these bijou Proxxon  machines.

3932
Set the supports for bulkheads H and 8.

3933
Rough and basic from a bit of scrap 9mm mdf, but it will serve the purpose.
 
Winding operations down now for the Christmas break.

2659
Not before time for some of the Dockyard  workers.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.
 
 

Thanks Martin, been 2013 since we had  any significant snow in my small area of England, an area that would no doubt slip into a corner of Oklahoma and not be noticed for weeks. Great for taking seasonal pictures of William, but it's all gone now.
Been busy in the shipyard this morning making an additional support cradle for the Cutter.

3927
Haven't used it for months but the Band saw came into its own today, I so love these bijou Proxxon  machines.

3932
Set the supports for bulkheads H and 8.

3933
Rough and basic from a bit of scrap 9mm mdf, but it will serve the purpose.
 
Winding operations down now for the Christmas break.

2659
Not before time for some of the Dockyard  workers.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.
 
 

Thanks Martin, been 2013 since we had  any significant snow in my small area of England, an area that would no doubt slip into a corner of Oklahoma and not be noticed for weeks. Great for taking seasonal pictures of William, but it's all gone now.
Been busy in the shipyard this morning making an additional support cradle for the Cutter.

3927
Haven't used it for months but the Band saw came into its own today, I so love these bijou Proxxon  machines.

3932
Set the supports for bulkheads H and 8.

3933
Rough and basic from a bit of scrap 9mm mdf, but it will serve the purpose.
 
Winding operations down now for the Christmas break.

2659
Not before time for some of the Dockyard  workers.
 
Cheers,
 
B.E.