Ian B

Yes, this in the kit is a bent bit of wire!!!!  Well that will have to change....

Well I know I set the expectation of the kit low but this next bit did make me laugh. Here is a blown up section of the picture of the rudder shown on the  model on the box . I thought I would build this before painting the hull. I looked for the parts on the plastic spurs, no not there, then thought oh good they are metal parts--no not there , surely not wooden parts?  no not there !! when all else fails read the instructions......

Well I spent a day making the hull, it was very straight forward and the planking did not require any help to follow the curves of the hull. I gave the hull a quick coat of white under coat so I could see what needed filling and sanding etc.  I think if you built this kit straight from the box with no mods or changes then a couple of easy weekends would see it from start to finish. 

I love following these types of builds on this forum and the weathering on your build is especially amazing -- true art

1 hour ago, yvesvidal said:

Beautiful work. Great idea for the stands.

 

Yves

yes I agree , what a great idea-- I shall steal -- sorry I mean be inspired by this idea  

And here is the start-- construction is in 2 halves. The instructions now say to plank them before joining them up. But for better or worse I am going to join them and plank them as a complete hull. The hull on the actual boat is heavily painted in gloss paint and almost all the planking definition has gone so having to fill my planking and rubbing it down poses no problems.

I intend to tweak it around to make it a model of the Steam Pinnace 199 from the National Maritime museum in Portsmouth.  Not to much of a kit bash I know,,

tWell I have almost finished my Cheerful build after a few years and wanted to start something that I could build relatively quickly and more importantly relaxing before embarking on my next 'big' build. I bought this kit a year or so ago as a cheap bargain. Now we all know the anticipation and exictment we get from opening the box for the first time-- well you aren't going to get it from this  

Another milestone reached, on to the final chapter, just the yards to make. For some reason I ran out of 18 and 25 gauge dark brown rope. So just awaiting a delivery from Chuck's Syren.

Not a great picture, but when I was building my Cheerful I did solder the chimney after cutting the sides from thin brass. I could then file the joints flat.

PS- the windlass is only placed there around it and not badly fitted LOL

Thank you both, this is a really leap into the unknown. I plan to do the Airfix HMS Belfast 1/600 with White ensign PE as a trial. A ship I have visited but think I will do in the grey all over and not the disruptive camouflage scheme she is currently in.

Hi

Can someone point me to a suitable thread (I did try and find one!) or advise me as to some basic tools for cutting, bending etc P.E. I am hoping to embark on my first plastic ship with P.E enhancements and my main concern is cutting and shaping, I assume CE glue is OK for the actual sticking?

Sorry if this links sounds stupid.🤡

Thanks for making the time to share the build with us, I wonder how many 'Cheerfuls' there are in the world fleet now?

This is an original hand coloured print dated 1804 showing cutters of South sea island, they all appear to just tow their Jolly boats.

And so ends chapter 12 in the Chuck Cheerful Saga

I'm pleased with it even if the dog is well unimpressed that I am concentrating on the boat and not her

Just a simple 'Thank you' , a great resource and well worth your time doing this 

Just a thought , perhaps the cannon was not there to fight but just to fire low charge warning shots to frighten ships to heave too?

The port bow chaser puzzled me too when fitting it, I would worry where the crew stood to keep out of the way of the recoil...let alone place the tools, rounds and powered need to work the gun.

Thanks all and especially Chuck, I know I am not quick, as work and family take 99% of my time. Without your blog and those of the other truly superb builders also making Cheerful, PDF's and plans plus those extra bits you produce there is no way I would have tackled this project and the inspiration of what is possible drives me on   

As a UK west country man I so wish there was a kit or a set of scratch built instructions for this wonderful ship, it seems such an over sight that this subject has never been tackled.

Just a passing thought

Ian

So another month passes by, and my 'Chuck' serving machine has arrived along with some rigging goodies. I now have a bow sprite and a main mask (only placed in position). I have now served my first ever ropes and cracking on with the other spars

More progress, the winches etc are just placed on the deck so don't panic I know they are not quite in the right position and I still need to finish rigging the cannons. I am now awaiting more goodies in the post from Chuck so I can start the rigging. I also ordered his serving machine and can't wait to try my hand at it for the first time.

Super Picture, My great uncle served on Calypso in WW1 as a signaller, he must have the most nautical name in the whole world and yes this is his real name 'Plimsoll Drake'.  

After work and Family pressures have eased away I am pushing to get my 'dark Cheerful ' finished. I have changed the deck features colours around but I hope it does not offend any historical accuracies too much  I already have Chucks cannons, winches,pump etc which I cant wait to start on in the next few weeks.

Chuck, are there any plans to produce a 'rope/pulley' kit for this for when I getting around to the rigging?

Hi

I know everyone quite rightly are praising your building skills. I would just like to say thank you for taking the extra time  photographing and documenting it so well on here... I always looked forward to dose of Kaiser updates ...