chris watton

Very sorry to read this. My deepest condolences. 

8 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

Very nice! Much sleeker-looking than a typical cutter.

She does have a shallower draught than normal cutters, hence the drop keels. This also means that there is very little actual planking to this. For the first planking (starting at below main wale level), I think there are only 12 x 1x5mm limewood planks per side, and 14 or 15 x 0.8x4mm pear planks per side.

12 minutes ago, Tom V said:

When can it be  pre ordered

Once it is 100% ready and only when printed materials are ordered and delivery imminent, it will go on sale. Am thinking July, as I still have CAD plans to finalise and then the manual. Almost all laser cutting is already complete, and the PE sheets (0.4 and 0.2mm) ordered.

I have made sure that all pear 0.8mm sheets are as perfect as they can be, so no marks on the etched planking sheets. 

I think the only thing missing from the pics above is the name plate - haven't laser engraved/cut that yet...

She originally had 8x3 pounder cannon, but a little later, 4x12 pounder carronades were added, and this is how I have kitted her, with 12 cannon in total. She does seem to have swivel gun posts, and I have added swivel gun brackets in the PE sheets, but will not add the actual cannon. This is because I do not think she was ever given any, and all research I have done never mentions the swivel guns at all. Plus, with the addition of the carronades, the swivels were not required anyway.

ETA - There are depth markings on the 0.2mm PE sheet, I just forgot to add them to my prototype...

OK, I have quite literally just finished the Trial Cutter prototype. This was a fun little project and went together a lot quicker than I thought. As mentioned (I think), this is larger than Lady Nelson, but slightly smaller than Alert (but a hell of a lot more pre cut than either), with overall length being 560mm with bowsprit and boom (Hull alone being around 330mm long)

I am very sorry to read this, Glenn. I sincerely hope you have a speedy and full recovery.

Those [] are the drawings for the thread that the blocks are attached to. The thread wraps around the mast cap for the lower yard lifts. The loop at the end of each block indicates where the running tackle starts for the lift.

Grecian is now available and in stock.

All Grecian printed materials arrived yesterday, and my large photo etch shipment arrived Tuesday (Sphinx, Duchess, Fifie, Zulu, Grecian and new Speedy production PE sheets)

Yesterday I finished all 'woodwork' for the Trial Cutter, leaving only the rigging to do to complete this model. before starting the masts and rig, I always draw the full mast and rig plans, so I can work from them. I think this one should be ready in around 8 weeks. The only power tools I have used during the construction of the Trial Cutter is a small sanding mouse for sanding the first and second planking. The rest has been simple hand tools, David Plane for masts and spars, pin vice for hand drilling (only around 16 holes are required to be drilled, mostly for masts and yards, the rest being pre cut), needle files and my trusty Stanley Knife.

After this, I will sort out the refreshed Speedy designs, and get the new Speedy kit back into stock. Once done, this leaves me free to concentrate on my 15th medium/large kit.

Yep:

I think for around 470 Euro, and looking at the detail, it is too much, you may be better off with the Trumpeter offering.

I did add this on Indy, but really it's only for those who really know what they're doing, and added for completion's sake. But Jim is correct, for those 99.9% of those building from kits, this is no big issue -a and for those 0.01% that want to, can by all means add the taper, ensuring that it does now mess up the figurehead slot.

ETA - Added a pic from my Amati Victory manual I did a decade ago, showing the taper to the rudder designing into the copper PE - so adding taper is by no means a new thing.

OK, Grecian is now fully complete and available for pre order:

The Baltimore privateer schooner Grecian 1812 – VANGUARD MODELS

I also have some extras for the Grecian kit, pearwood blocks:

Grecian Pearwood Block Set – VANGUARD MODELS

US Flag:

Grecian flag for US service – VANGUARD MODELS

PE copper plate set (to replace copper tape that is standard in the kit)

Grecian Copper Plates set – VANGUARD MODELS

And finally, a Grecian paint set:

Grecian paint set – VANGUARD MODELS

A big thank you to Jim for the superb build, pics and text for the manual!

I have attached a pic of the box label. Like the actual model, the box is long and sleek..

Now, I continue to work on Trial Cutter, the 14th kit. Next week, I will receive a truly massive shipment from Italy of photo etched sheets for almost all of my range (Fifie. Zulu, Sphinx, Duchess, Grecian etc.) plus my Trial Cutter sample sheets, so I can continue with this model.

Also included is a new set of Speedy PE. This kit will be out of stock (I think we have one left) until I have completed a little re design and updated the plans and manual, which I shall do once the Trial Cutter is complete. 

...and a limited number of pear block sets

I have set the kit price at £325.

And a very nice job Jim has done on Grecian, too!

For the production kits, I have changed the anchor hawse to something a little smaller in diameter. I have just completed the build manual, and have only the box label to complete, which I shall do tomorrow, with all files being sent off on Monday for printing.

Always best when researching to look at more than one source for info.

For example, in Riff Winfield's 'British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792', it does state for Pegasus '

'First Cost - £8,688.5.10d including fitting and coppering'

It is very easy to to think that only one source is Gospel, I cannot allow myself to fall into that trap.

ETA - At the time, Amati wanted me to make sure this was different to Fly, so I researched what the differences may be, coppering was one of them. I personally think ships of this period look better with an off-white bottom, however.

The amount of gun ports lids I added for the Diana kit is correct, I would not add any more.

What a superb looking model!

If you look at a 2 or 3 decker, you will see the same, the upper gun deck (which incorporates the Weather Deck) has few gun port lids

PS - Diana was my very first wooden ship kit design (25 years ago)! I have learned a lot since then, so apologies for its many shortcomings.....

Having only a few gun port lids on the upper, or as is the case for a frigate like Diana, the main gundeck, was standard practice, it seems, for the British ships at least. It is important to note that the crew did not actually sleep on the gun deck, but the deck below. This was the nice thing about working on a frigate, each crewman had a lot more space to themselves than larger, or smaller vessels.

For me, any steel hulled vessel is better in plastic/GRP and all wooden vessels are better in wood.

I would never choose a plank on bulkhead version of say, Titanic, Yamato, Bismarck over a plastic/GRP kit version, makes little sense to me unless the model I want to build has not yet been made into plastic kit form.

9 minutes ago, aydingocer said:

Hi Chris,

The hole in the mast cap is too small to push the topmast and that's my issue. Mast cap hole is 4mm diameter while the topmast I need to push it through has a 5,2mm diagonal thickness, when I sand it to a 3.8m x 3.8mm square. 

Ah, OK. I have always put the mast caps on from the tops and slid down into position. If I didn't do that, then I would square the lower part of the mast enough so it could be fitted through the mast cap hole.

You can push the topmast through the hole in the mast cap and then add the fid.

19 minutes ago, Roger Pellett said:

Chris,  Your readers might be interested to the backstory behind Captain Shank and his “drop keel” invention.

 

In the early years of the American Revolution, British Strategy was to split New England from the rest of the American Colonies by an offensive down the Lake Champlain/ Hudson River axis.  This of course required control of Lake Champlain, resulting in a shipbuilding race between the Colonists and the British throughout the summer of 1776.   The British won the race resulting in the October 1776 tactical victory at Valcour Island.  The shipbuilding race, however, delayed the campaign until the next year when the Americans trapped and forced the surrender of the British at Saratoga.

 

The Royal Navy Officer responsible for the British shipbuilding effort was the same Captain Shank that designed your Cutter Trial.  The Lake Champlain Campaign required shallow draft vessels and the urgency to launch armed craft before the end of the short summer season resulted in vessels on both sides unable to sail to windward; the American Gundalows and the heavily armed British Radeaux Thunderer.  This had a notable effect on both the tactics and outcome of theresulting battle.

 

This is speculation but I believe that Shank’s drop keel invention was inspired by his Revolutionary War experience.

 

Roger

Thank you. I did know, I have read this book twice over:

The Struggle for Sea Power: The Royal Navy vs the World, 1775-1782 by Dr Sam Willis

The Struggle for Sea Power: The Royal Navy vs the World, 1775-1782: Amazon.co.uk: Dr Sam Willis: 9781848878471: Books

Highly recommended.

Glenn, that is a fantastic job you have done there, well done!

51 minutes ago, jfhealey said:

How do you work so fast?? I am beginning to think there may be two of you or maybe Chris Watton is a spoof name for a factory full of tiny elvish boat builders.
Its another lovely vessel.

Any chance you might one day up your preferred scale to 1/48?

Fred

I find that working for myself is much better, I can streamline my projects. What I start, I can finish, rather than when being paid by someone else, having to put up with starting one project and half way through, asked to drop that and start something else. Rinse and repeat..

No plans for 48th scale for my main line of kits, very happy sticking with 64th.

5 minutes ago, Oboship said:

As I have messed up my Alert 😬🥲 I need another Navy cutter! And this seems to be the one!
I particularly like the lasered bulwarks with the tree nails and the idea (if I'm not mistaken) of the readily prepared inner bulwarks.

 

Do you have a price idea yet or am I too curious?

 

Best regards
Uwe

Yes, decks, inner and outer bulwarks, spirketting and main wale all have etched detail, including trenails. (Even gunwales have scarphing detail).

Haven't worked out a price yet, as I haven't long started this one.

I did want it to go in one of the smaller fully printed boxes, that the last four fishing boats use, as I love those. However, I realised that if I were to use those, I would have to either remove the longer parts like the bulwarks and gunwales from their host sheets, or split them. Neither option was palatable to me, so it will have to go in a Fifie/Zulu sized box.