Ainars Apalais

the anchor continued, thank you and best regards.

Thank you all for your opinions and likes, I am very happy that you like my work.
 
Buchty, or so-called suns, I made on adhesive tape, attached the rudder (4mm blocks) and finished the rope railing.
 
Greetings, Piotrek
 
 

Hey all,
 
Thanks everyone for the likes!
 
I have been moving up the gun ports.  I had thought I finished them until I tried to plank the strake above the gun port.  I noticed the top gun port planks don't line up at all with the curve of the planking. I have some pictures below. 
 

 

 
Its the top second planks you see.
I'm not sure the best way of fixing this.  Would it be to take the strake off and make a new one? Or to try to sand down the top of the strake to try to re create the line of the planking?
 
Any suggestions would be helpful.
 
Also, here is an overall pick of my planking so far.

 

 
Thanks!!
 
Jeff

Hi Druxey - yes, finally finished.  I plan to start a new build log during January.  In the meantime, here are some photos of my completed Dunbrody model.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Small update, many thanks to Glenn, for allowing me to shamelessly borrow his remodeled bowsprit bits on his amazing Lady Nelson.

sorry about the photo quality, I probably need to turn the flash off.
thanks for the likes and comments, 
till next time, 
Cheers 

Continuation. 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Pawel 

Hi all,
 
planksheer continued and timber heads in process.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
those parts are laminated from 3 layer of 0,5mm pear wood:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
then the planksheer and timber heads are painted black and installed:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Regards
 
Alex

Once the artillery was finished, I mounted the rudder and started the shroud holders:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The breeching ropes, material is 120 Gütermann poliester.
 


















 
To be continued.
 
Alexander

What goes well for yesterday photos set up, strangely it is easier to take deep inside photo without flash, only with LED lights.
Today's photos, again the key factor is  the LIGHTING more than the camera. For interior photos of today, a smaller camera was used.
 
Which of these camera will gives the better result:  a phone, or one action camera? Action camera is the good answer. I have been experimenting for years "small cameras". The first one was a Microsoft 1080p, up to the last one in 2020, a 4K Yi camera. Today the small camera used was a Go Pro. As with every camera, there is a learning curve, and I am still learning this one, but the results look like promising.

Hello modeling friends.
I wish everyone a successful 2021.
Most of all, stay healthy.
Karl
 
Update
 
   
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely amazing.  

The rigging looks great.
 
 Well, I hope that is a New Year's wish that is not to be held to. Happy New Year! Happy modelling! Stay safe from COVID!
 
(We have a friend aged 60 who was begged by her daughter to come over for Christmas as she'd cooked so much food. The daughter on the day said her food tasted weird, so didn't eat much. The daughter then had a raging temperature and it turns out she had COVID. Our friend rang this morning to say she herself had just been tested positive. I am pretty sure that there will be stories from all over the UK that will be similar).
 
Tony

This was fun. I’ve scratch built a few things here and there in my modeling but Cheerful’s winch is the first ‘complex’ thing I’ve made from nothing but some wood and a set of plans. As I’m prone to do I thought I’d share how I made it - once again acknowledging there are many ways to do things, this is just mine…and it was my first.
 

 
The mini-kits available for Cheerful are great little projects in and of themselves, however in the case of the winch Chuck elected to leave us to fend for ourselves. So I gathered up the material I’d need, two thicknesses of wood strip, one of wood sheet and two basswood dowels I had in stock along with some brass rod and brass micro-tubing and off I went.
 

 
First I cut square pillars from 7/32 stock and the crossbar from 3/16, thanks Byrnes saw. I cut out the pillar supports from a copy of the plans, rubber cemented them to 1/8 sheet wood, then cut them out using my scroll saw - cutting right along the line through the paper while keeping my fingers.
 

 
Then it was to the mill. I learn a little more each day about how valuable and useful the Proxxon MF 70 can be. I’m still fumbling a bit maintaining consistency with the X,Y.Z axis control, while they can be very precise the knobs are be a bit tight. Stating the obvious, t’s important and a bit of a challenge to get zero set. I used a piece of paper between the bit and the wood. When I could barely pull the paper between them, literally scratching the paper and not the wood, I set the knob for that axis at zero.
 

 
I used the mill to cut the notches in the cross bar and a more shallow notch in the two pillars, so that the cross bar sits out from the pillars when connected. I also used the mill as a drill press, drilling a hole through both pillars together for mounting the winch drum. Again the obvious, it’s critical for the milled parts to be level and square top and back. The Proxxon vice accessory makes this easier, I cut various spacers from scrap MDF to help with the alignment.
 

 
I now had the easy part done. The winch drum, a small thing, was more problematic. It consists of the drum, raised spacers, and sprockets. I thought about using the lathe, I mean I have it and all, but the crown, the raised portion of the drum (like a spool of thread) had to be equal to the sprockets which I had no clue how to make. So I used a larger basswood dowel, sliced off two pieces, then used my chisel to cut notches around the dowel, painted that bit Ironwood Black, dusted it with Rusty Brown weathering powder, and sliced off two sprockets. I glued all 5 together for a completed drum.
 

 
With this done I had all the major components. Time for a little dry-fit test. Following the plans proved important, as it always does, since the overall width of the winch supports have to fit between the deck ring bolts and stove pipe hatch.
 

 
Then it’s back to the mill to shape the pillars. I went through a lot of practice attempts, and despite great advice from others I just wasn’t happy with my attempts to cut the angled top consistently on eight sides (two pillars). I know how now, I  just need more practice - it’s a surprising small angle as it turns out. So I opted for an alternate approach, I cut in the top 1mm from the top and 1mm in with a 1 mm bit, yes you can be that precise, creating the cap. I moved in 5 mm and cut a .5mm slice to form the base of the cut in. That was it for the mill. I thought about going ‘fancy’ on the crossbar but it’s not shown that way on the plans so I just rounded off the edges by sanding.
 

 
I used my freshly sharpened (I know how to do that now too) Veritas Chisel to slice in the angle using the .5mm cut as a stop and finished it up with needle files and sanding sticks. I was able to create the eight consistent sides this way, something a proper use of the mill could have done faster (well, maybe not by me), but I venture to say not better.
 

 
After painting the assembly and adding in the drum using brass rod inserted into both sides the last step was the handles.  There are of course numerous ways to go about this. I chose to create the handles using small boxwood strip shaped and sanded, drilled holes into both ends, make the handles from brass rod with small micro tubing glued over it, the other end added to the brass rod on the drum then the rods cut flush. Of course it being ‘metal’ I first painted them Ironwood Black and added the weathering powder, it makes a difference even on these small handles.
 

 

 
And I now have a completely scratch made winch, it goes on the shelf with other deck items until later. I’m kinda proud of it, obviously since I devoted a post just to it. I offer this to those considering building Cheerful: It has presented me with the opportunity to try so many new things I’d not done before despite having built nine kits. I’m treading new ground with each step.
 
At first I was kinda wishing for another mini-kit for the winch but now am quite happy with the opportunity to build it on by own. I also once again thank others for their help and inspiration and can only hope I can provide a little inspiration myself for others take on this great model.

Carl, I'm not denying the history or suggest to remove Cromwell from all the books. I just don't want him anywhere close such a intimate thing like a model that you put hundreds or hours and elbow grease into   In the same way as I would never build a model of Herman Göring's yacht.
And, as Brian mentioned, I am lucky to have a choice - the ship was captured, slightly modified and renamed, it's not too late to pick the version to build. 
 
So back to the modelling!
 
Roughly 1200 holes were drilled, the Buzzr did its job perfectly with zero broken bits! 💪

 
Bamboo treenails were glued in

 
Resulting in a pretty satisfying sight  

 
Pointy bits were cut off and most of the glue was removed with a dremel with nylon bristle brush. The hull was covered in plastic since this process is quite messy, small bits of glue are statically charged a bit and stick to everything.

 
Now the best part - sanding and fairing. I really love this one, turns an ugly uneven surface into a neat and clean one (unless there are gaps)  
 
Hahn jig is really convenient for such work, since you can actually lean on it and rest your hands on it without damaging the model. That allows you to work precisely and for a longer periods of time with elbows resting.  I can really recommend constructing support like this even if you do not use Hahn's method. 
Nevermind my corona haircut

 
 
Wide gauge chisel (Pfeil #7) came in handy for removing the remaining glue residue in hard-to-reach areas, as well as fairing the planks. It's surprisingly easy to control, can definitely recommend this tool.

 
The rest was done with a combination of sanding, scraping and chiseling. Final sanding grit was just 400 instead of a usual 600-1200.
 
Here is the end result. Notice how the treenail color is quite different, even though they were all cut from the same wood that looks identical from the outside. I know the the nail pattern is not entirely correct, as an excuse - it was marked up a year ago!  





 
It's definitely not perfect, there are a few tiny gaps and dings, but it's good to practice on an internal planking (that would be barely visible afterwards), to build up skills for the more exposed areas.
 
Now it's time to apply some finish (at least to get an even treenail color), but I have no idea which one to use - these planks are actually the first boxwood parts on the model! All my finishing experiments were on pear, cherry and walnut, and the results are very wood-specific. I definitely do not want to turn this boxwood dark green-ish or dark yellow, ideally want to keep the color as light as possible. My guess is that oil is not the way to go, but some kind of sanding sealer would be better. Will make some samples and try all the main finishes I have before using them on the model.
 
Feels a bit wasteful to spend quite a lot of boxwood for these experiments, considering its price and availability... But I wasted less than budgeted on whoopsies and redos, so there is a bit of a reserve  
 

Hi there
Finally finishing all outside works on my model.




 

Hi all.
I decided make quick update about my cross section last time this year.
I done rigging for gun carriages. Looks good for me.
But next model i definitely will be made without any rigging:)
 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 
Thanks to anyone.
And HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
 

small advances:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continuation. 
 



 
Pawel

Hello,
 
between the holidays I was able to spend more time on model building.
Unfortunately there is nothing spectacular and new to report:
 
Continued: Ratlines - Enfléchures
The last ratlines knots on the port side lower shrouds of the foremast have been set. Now all lower shrouds of La Créole are equipped with ratlines.

The preparations for the missing futtock shrouds on the foremast are already in progress. I am currently making the corresponding rigging elements.
 

The deck build out.
 
Happy New Year!
With the holidays and family work is going slow on Cheerful. I’m off book from Chuck’s monograph, choosing to do some random small projects that I could do independently as I found workshop time. I don’t plan to glue stuff to the deck until I have most of it built and ensure everything fits together. So nothing shown below is mounted, just temporarily sitting in their future homes.
 

 
Having first built the stove and mounted it below decks I then added the galley stove pipe (ok, so I didn’t build a stove:-D). The stove pipe is straightforward, I took the dimensions from the plan and cut the four sides from 1/64 yellow cedar sheet then painted with Admiralty Ironwork Black. Though not on the plans I also added a .025 piece to the bottom to simulate the lead sheet that would have sealed the pipe between the deck and the stove below. I rounded all the edges quite a bit and also applied Doc O’Brien Rusty Brown weathering powder to the outside and Smoky Black powder to the inside to help simulate it being metal. I had acquired some thin lead sheeting for this galley pipe but it just looked clunky, so out it went. The weathering powder looks great in combination with the Ironwork paint.
 

 
Next up was the extension of the stern post into the deck. I like how Chuck accounts for historical accuracy but remembers it’s a model and not the real thing. This small post starts as an overly large laser cut piece from the starter kit that I shaped to fit. Though small, it took quite a bit of time to shape and fit properly, there are more angles than you’d think. The photo shows the starting point (from the included extras) and the final result which now looks like the stern post was cut through the deck as a single piece - no way to know the difference. A small thing but kinda cool.
 

 
Part of getting the stern post to fit is matching it up with the rudder. It requires some shaping to taper it from top to bottom on the trailing edge and a different taper on the leading edge. The plans are very clear so I used my various sanding tools to get what I liked, painted red the portion that goes through the deck, and applied multiple coats of WOP to the rest (probably a few more coats yet to go). Its’ a nice and proper look I think.
 

 
Since I was working on the stern I also cut and shaped the tiller from some scrap boxwood. I was mindful of the shape necessary to peg into the rudder and curve it to "hand height" above the deck at its end, mini-me verified the height and length were ok. Nothing is glued, the tiller is just sitting temporarily pegged into the rudder, it will be better aligned once glued. I used the lathe (really I was looking for an excuse to use it) to shape from a square straight piece then my plank-bending station to create the curve. I cut some subtle grooves in the “handle,” I wouldn’t want a hand to slip off the tiller during a storm.
 
I don’t know that my method to build the tiller is one I’d repeat - I put dry heat wood bending to the test with the thickness of this tiller, it took multiple times to slowly get the wood to bend to the needed curve. It may have been smarter to rough cut it the curved piece with a scroll saw and shape it from there. But hey, I got to use my new lathe so… It’s possible I may make this again, I’m not completely sure I like it.
 

 
The mast cap was next, along with the chance to use my mill (Cheerful has been my excuse for a workshop upgrade or two). I have left the inside edge intentionally a bit small and the bottom not sanded, I’ll sand it out to fit the mast and the deck once I make it up later on. Here’s the final version (maybe) with WOP added. As Chuck points out a real cutter would probably just have tarred wrap at the base of the mast, but where is the fun in that.
 

 
This technique comes from @DelF who was kind enough to explain to me how to go about making it. I’ve made about seven or eight “practice caps,” improving a little with each one. One thing I’ve learned is how fine the measurement on the mill X,Y, and Z axis handles are, it’s easy to set measurements at .1mm difference once you get the hang of it, and not so easy if you haven’t.
 
I started with a square boxwood blank glued to a wood dowel then tightened the dowel into the Proton dividing attachment with the mill bit above and centered. I moved it out 10mm then cut the outside and back in 4.5mm to cut out the center. It’s key to have the piece fully glued to the dowel (I learned).  I used my recently acquired Proxxon router bits (not shown) to shape the outer edge and then a small bit to cut the top ring.
 

 
To be clear the attempts in the mill photos are not the one shown as the final product. I kept learning how to apply the various bits and managing the three axis of the mill, rejecting copies until I finally got one I liked. It’s pretty incredible what the mill with the dividing attachment and various bits can accomplish.
 

 

 
Back to the mill for the ladders combining techniques learned from Derek and @Rustyj. I cut the 5 rungs in a single sheet of yellow cedar, used the plans to determine the angle, cut the struts, shaped and sanded it all and added the steps. Since I’m at it, aside  from @Chuck obviously, I also give credit to @Blue Ensign for the help I get from his Cheerful log.
 

 
Paint it red and I have my bulwark ladders. Making one wasn’t as difficult as making two exactly alike and adjusting the angles to the ships bulwarks. There are lots of ways to scratch build ladders, this was yet again my first attempt having only had to assemble kit ladders before so it’s the way I did mine. It was kind of fun.
 

 
And then it was building the Bowsprit Step using one of @Chuck mini-kits. The design of these kits are amazing. In this case the uprights are composed of three layers, by doing so the notch for the pawls is created when the three are glued together. I shaped the tops with needle files and sanding sticks. 
 

 
I simulated the bolts by cutting the stem off an eyelet and gluing it over the wire that passes through the post holding the pawls (fun fishing that wire through) then snipping the wire flush with the eyelet and painting it Ironwood Black. The pawls, like all metal simulating wood, were also painted Ironwood Black and dusted with Rusty Brown weathering powder. The pass through strips are left long and loose, they will be cut to fit once assembled with the bowsprit.
 

 
I had build the windlass from Chuck’s mini-kit a long while ago, it was finally time to match it up with the bowsprit step, at least temporarily, on the deck. I won’t glue any of this until I have the bowsprit made, all three have to be in alignment and fit together - so its off to my storage shelf for both items.
 
I’m off to other deck projects, I’m thinking the winch next, but we’ll see.  There are bowl games to watch today.

I finished planking the hull.  Woohoo!  Feels kind of weird to not be adding a plank or two after work every day.    I also added the stern post, and did a more thorough sanding of the planking on both sides of the lower hull, paying close attention to getting rid of any high and low spots.  I still need to do more work where the planking meets the keel and the stem.  Also, the black paint on the wale has taken quite a beating.  I'll fix that later.  I was hesitant to include the bow shot, since the planks on either side don't line up at the stem too well.  Figured it was still an interesting angle for a photo though.
 
Erik
 

I based the length of these trusses on a drawing  in Alan Bates book This drawing was in the first few pages of the book but I can't say what page or figure number as i don't have it with me right now. That is to say no real reason other than his drawing ( i may shorten the middle one a bit) . I built a jig from which I'm building the boiler deck handrail so i'm wanting to complete it and a few other things before i go back to the chains.

I finished the chain trusses but i think i'll wait to install the chains themselves until some other things are completed. I may shorten the center truss but i'm going to wait to make that decision.

Thanks Dirk, Mark, Eric and OC. Also for all of the likes.
 
Well this project is now declared completed! It was a fantastic build and I had a lot of fun doing it.
I listed it as a scratch build but it was less scratch and more build. As this was a Syren Ship Models product
I wanted to try out as many of the laser cut products Chuck made available. From the bulkheads
to the windlass to the anchors and to all the rest of the "mini kits" I did not find fault with anyone of them.
They were very well made and each a pleasure to build. Of course the plans and instructions were
first rate too!
 
Well here are some pics of the finished model.