tkay11

I've heard that NMM has shut its ship model gallery for the moment and is moving a lot to Chatham. So it would be a good idea to check. Chatham has nice displays but is dimly lit for the models and does not allow photography at all. One thing I intend to do is to contact the Science Museum to see if it's possible to look at their collection of models which I believe has several cutters. I'm sure you'll be very satisfied with the plank bending once you get the feel of it. Tony

You should try macro photography on some of the models in the National Maritime Museum -- I am sure there were a few modellers of those days who would have been very happy not to have macro shots to display alongside their models. Your solution about the deck planking sounds fine -- just make sure there are no implications for the intersection of pieces that have to be added in the future. Tony

OK, Kester, I'll wait till I see how you do yours, then. Anyway, I'm still finishing off my gun carriages and their rigging, then I have to consider the belaying pin issues which you guys also foisted on to me. I'm beginning to feel like Preserved Killick, as in "I'm coming, I'm coming (mutter, mutter)". The trouble with subversive thoughts is that they stick in the mind, and I'm already thinking of how to build a jig ... oh, no, Preserve me! Tony

I do wish you guys would stop making my life more difficult. Now I have this choice to keep me up at night worrying over whether I'll try it or not. Grrrrrrrr! The challenge is a nice one but I have a feeling this is one too many for the likes of me. Hmmm. Ponder, ponder ... Tony

In that case, it looks as though the planks shouldn't stop at the end, but indeed should curve round. If you fill in the space with balsa or lime or some wood that's easily sanded, and remove the planks that have been cut 'short', it shouldn't be too hard to bend the planks over the sanded filler wood (which you can apply glue to). You could also put in an epoxy putty, or some other wood filler which would help hold the planks. To bend the planks you just have to soak them until they can bend with gentle hand pressure, and curve them round a bottle or shape that's similar to the one you want. I seem to remember about 20mins in warm water does it with the kit strips. There are all sorts of methods of bending planks, but most depend on water. The one I prefer is to soak them then dry them on or round a shape using a hair dryer. Others use low wattage soldering irons to bend their planks on, or hair curling tongs. Some prefer just to use a dry heat, but I haven't tried that myself. You can also buy plank bending tools but they depend on nipping the wood on the inside curve: which works, but can make the wood split more easily if you are not careful, and more difficult to sand. If you know all this, then I apologise -- but that's all I can suggest for the moment. Tony

I don't understand what the problem is at the stern, John. There's another build (in German) at http://www.modellboard.net/index.php?topic=30870.0 which is slightly past the stage you are at -- so you might pick up a hint from the photos there. Could you explain the problem a bit more, or maybe show what the plans suggest?. There's also a low res picture of the stern at http://www.model-boats-ships.co.uk/commission-restoration/kit-model-ships.html. Tony

I believe the downward pointing bowsprits were only on the whaling boats of the period, and then only when chasing larger whales in rougher seas. Tony

Milliput superfine epoxy putty may be the kind of thing you are looking for. It has a few advantages over chewing gum. Conversely, I suppose I wouldn't chew Milliput after it had hardened. Tony

Airplanes? I thought rails were for trains. Which reminds me of a question I forgot to ask. What size wheels did the Sherbourne have? They're not in the plans and they weren't in the kit. Tony

I can pretty much guarantee that Tony is not right. Tony

I think everyone is confused, but Kester's on the right track as to height. In fact it should have been set to about 3 feet high as the 'horse' was in fact a clothes horse on which the sailors would hang out their clothes to dry after their daily wash and shower in the bathrooms below (which unfortunately were not shown as such in the plans of the time). It was only later that they discovered this was also a convenient way of managing sails. Tony

It's great that you're doing this model, Frank, as I don't recall a full log of that having been made on this forum other than the few pictures provided by Dirk. Dirk did post a full range of photos of that build on another site, Part 1 of which you can see at https://plus.google.com/photos/+DirkKarsten/albums/5092241937714554929?banner=pwa&authkey=CMDJmoPsx8ns0wE but again without a written description or discussion of methods/tools. His written log from 2007 is in German and can be found at http://www.modellboard.net/index.php?topic=20915.0. The Krick Alert has been one of the possibilities for me for my next build, so I look forward to yours with great interest. As has been mentioned, the Krick model different from the ship in the AOTS book. The Krick Alert is two-masted and defined as an American ship. Peter Goodwin's book is of a single-masted Naval Cutter. The deck layouts and armament are quite different. All the same, Goodwin's book is very interesting and will give lots of good ideas about detail. Tony

I often not only have several days off, but sometimes weeks at a time. There are lots of reasons for people not doing their building all day every day. There is someone on the forum who posts a motto saying something like 'it ain't a hobby if you hurry', and someone else who posts something along the lines of 'if you're not enjoying it, then don't do it' (with the implication that if you don't feel like it at the time, there's no one asking you to do it, so there's no point in agitating). This hobby is very much self-driven, and I'm sure you've picked up from many contributors that they're not going to worry if you're not performing to a schedule. From the point of view of someone following your log, they're not going to pay much attention to the dates on your posting. What is interesting is what you've done, the questions you ask, and what can be learned or contributed. Some people seem to be able to devote the whole day to the hobby, for some it is a business, and for others they'll pick up the odd hour or two when they can find the time. Then there's the time that is very nicely spent researching, reading or simply looking at other builds on the forum to find out how people do things. My own schedule has been crazy -- not least because I decided to do some parts several times over until I arrived at a stage that I felt acceptable (if not perfect), One difficulty is that I keep learning from others how to do it a bit better -- so my problem is deciding the cut-off point at which I say enough tinkering and move on. But I've also had tons of travelling to do and intensive work schedules, let alone the day-to-day business of family life, repairs in the household and the like. You'll see lots of logs saying something like 'life has got in the way recently', and thank goodness for that. So, in short, take your own time, what suits you, and don't feel under pressure to 'perform'. There's lots of flexibility in this hobby, and if you make mistakes many are fixable (just as Kester has pointed out). Tony

Great! Lovely to have another Sherbourne. I wonder if it might have called in at Leigh on Sea in its day (although your identifier says Leign on Sea, I presume it's Leigh). The photos show you're off to a cracking start. I'm very much looking forward to the continuation. And welcome to MSW! Tony

It's coming along just fine. Are you going to fill between the remaining bulkheads? Tony

Great to get going, isn't it! Looking forward to the rest. Tony

I hope the more the voices the speedier the recovery -- so I am adding my own voice to the chorus and look forward to when you can get back to the model, and, even more importantly than that, to better health. Tony

You're right, bearding is not done at the bow or the keel. The stem and keel are quite ok to be fitted since they also act as a ledge under which planks are fitted. It's because of this that some people chisel out a rabbet round the stem and keel. I didn't do this, but I'd probably do so in my next build as I remember it took a lot of careful measurement to fit the planks at the stem. You mention taking the false keel down to tmm. Don't forget your planking is double. I used 1mm for the base planking and 0.5mm for the top planking. That's a total of 1.5mm. If, as is probable in your kit, you use the wood supplied, then the top layer is 1mm, making a total depth of 2mm. So this leads to a very narrow end at the stern, and why it really is easier to put the sternpost on after the planking. The choice I made of 0.5mm top planking was helpful in making the top planking easier, but did lead to thinking how that would match the way the wales were done, so there are always implications in these choices. Tony

Well, it certainly beats the kit cannon and trucks! Mine won't come out anywhere near as good. I've turned the cannon in ebony but the level of detail and finish are of course nothing like the ones turned in brass, and I haven't done the quoins very neatly. Despite that, though, it's all still very enjoyable. Tony

One thing I forgot to mention is that you might find it easier to leave off the stern post until after you've done the planking. I didn't do that, but regret not having done so. The point is that once you have shaved or filed off the bearding line at the stern, you can then plank and file the planks to the end very precisely. Otherwise once the stern post is in you have to fit the planks to the edge of the stern post. Some also leave the stem post off as well for the same reason until they have done the planking. Of course, you may already have assembled all the pieces, so I'm sorry if this suggestion is redundant! Tony

Maybe you could post a close up picture/pictures from different planes? Tony

John, you might also want to post a note in the 'New to the Hobby' forum to say you have joined, and that you've started a log with the Chatham. That way you'll get more people who will be careful to pay attention to your log in the early stages to see how much help you need. Otherwise people may not be aware that you are just starting out. Tony

These first steps are nice ones as they're fairly easy (just find a method of keeping the bulkheads square with blocks or Lego bricks). Your next choice will be whether to fill in the spaces between the bulkheads. That's really useful for the stem and stern where you're going to be bending the planks round at a sharp angle, but I filled in between all bulkheads with balsa and that proved very useful as a support for the planks and a guide for the fairing. If I did it again I probably wouldn't use balsa, but balsa is very easy to shape. You might also consider how you are going to mount your ship. If you are going to place it on the stand provided by Caldercraft, there's no issue. However if you want to mount it on pedestals then you'll have to insert a couple of nuts into the bulkheads and drill through the keel. That requires very accurate drilling. I set up mounting points in mine, but on reflection it would have been easier to stick with the standard way of mounting. Tony

It's great that you're doing a Chatham (and that was a good buy at £50). There were a couple of excellent ones on MSW1 and was the model I was going to start on -- except for the fact that it was out of stock at the time and the Sherbourne was in. As you've been looking at the site for a while you'll know you're in for plenty of help and support from the more experienced. I've never seen anyone here regard any question as stupid, so I'd put that worry aside -- what may seem stupid to you may well show up something that's been missed, and if it is just that you don't know then lots of people who have been through the same learning process will be only too willing to jump in and provide the answers they found to the same question. You'll also find that as you get stuck in you'll be contributing your own skills and ideas to the mix. So, in sum, welcome to the forum, and I (and probably a lot of the other cutter/ yacht builders) am very much looking forward to your log. Tony

That's a really great idea, Gregor! I'll have to look into the local universities to see if something similar is available. Certainly beats my attempts at milling. Tony