HM Cutter Cheerful 1806 by Stuntflyer (Mike) - FINISHED - 1:48 scale

[Jason]

Great planking job!  

[Erik W]

Mike,

 

The counter looks great.  Air brushing is a good idea.  The coat of paint is thin enough, you can still see the shape of the individual planks.

 

Erik

[Stuntflyer]

While working on the hull planking, I managed to get a few of the deck fittings completed. The gratings were made completely from scratch. Inspired by Chuck's kit tutorial, I was able to come up with a method to complete them.The Windlass was made from the kit.

 

After the gratings were cut on the table saw, I edge bent them to the approximate camber.

 

After bending back each grating slightly to the exact camber, 1/32" tabs were glued to the bottom of each grating for support.

 

Similar to the one from the kit, the gratings were then placed in a jig I made on the table saw.

 

The grating strips were inserted into the jig. Two temporary grating strips were inserted, one at each end, to keep the gratings parallel to one another. After making sure that everything was square, I glued .045 x .045 flat strips to the grating strips to complete the grating.

 

I made this jig for establishing the roundup once the grating and coaming were combined.

 

 

 

I had a lot of fun making the Windlass. Again, I decided to spray paint the colors. This photo shows the setup for spray painting.

 

The completed Windlass

Edited December 14, 2015 by Stuntflyer

[rafine]

Looks great Mike.

 

Bob

[Maury S]

How many coats of paint?

Maury

[Stuntflyer]

Hi Maury,

 

I would say that around 4-5 coats, not too dry, gives the right coverage.

 

Mike

[Stuntflyer]

I was able to finish the Skylight today. I applied some semi-gloss varnish to the windows which helped them look a bit more authentic and shows up nicely fairly close up.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Stuntflyer

[michael mott]

First time visiting Mike, beautiful job on the planking, I would be more than happy with those results. The other parts look very nice as well.

 

Michael

[druxey]

Very nice and neat work there, Mike. Well done!

[Stuntflyer]

Except for the two door handles that are missing, the Companion is done. They will go on when I get some wire with the right gauge thickness, 30 or smaller. I only have a 35mm lens so photos of these small objects are not really a good representation since I have to crop the image. This of course decreases sharpness. I can see where a macro lens might come in handy here. Anyway, you should be able to get the general idea of what it looks like.

 

Now it's back to the hull.

 

Edited November 15, 2015 by Stuntflyer

[Erik W]

Mike,
 
If you're looking for high quality strong small diameter wire, I recommend Phosphor Bronze wire rather than brass wire.  It's as easy to form/bend as brass, but is more durable, so if inadvertently bumped, it'll still keep it's shape.  This is where I get my supply: https://www.tichytraingroup.com/Shop.aspx?SearchValue=wire

 

Erik

[Stuntflyer]

Erik,

 

Thanks for the tip. I will look into it.

 

Mike

[Stuntflyer]

I've been hard at work completing a number of tasks and thought that it would be better to post after all of them were completed. Here are a few notes that might be of interest to others who are building Cheerful.

 

Before installing the false deck, the four stern frames were thinned down gradually, 1/16" at the top to 1/8" at the bottom.

 

The 2nd layer of bulwark planking is slightly rounded at its top outside edge where it sits directly below the gun port sills.

 

The Caprail's fancy molding was added after painting its bottom edge black. It was glued to the caprail using medium CA from the top. Consequently, there was no CA seepage below its bottom edge. The width of the Caprail, which includes its fancy molding, is slightly under 5/32". 

 

After shaping the boarding ladder steps I installed the top one to the hull before starting on the remaining fancy molding. This was easier for me than to try and cut out the space for the top ladder after the molding was glued to the hull. All of the remaining fancy moldings were then added to the hull including the small “ear” at the stem. The moldings are quite thin being under 1/32". I could see that the 1/32" Hawse Plates would stand proud of the molding, which I didn't like, so I made them from .025 sheet.

 

On the transom, the port lids are stationary with simulated hinge straps using Chuck's Laser Board kit. There are tiny holes in the hinges that are filled with glue during application which aid in holding the hinges in place. They are stiff, easy to paint and easy to install. Highly recommended. Missing are the four hinges on the top of each strap. I am still trying to decide how I want to make them.

 

Some prep work was necessary before painting the bulwark planking. Using soft 4-6 lb balsa (left over from the airplane building days) I fitted plugs into each gun port to protect them from any overspray. They are only 1/8" thick and were easy to shape and fit into the ports. Then the entire hull including the false deck was masked off. The paint was applied using the Paasche air brush. W&N Galeria Acrylic paint, when properly thinned, does not clog this airbrush. I also noticed that cleaning the airbrush between coats was not necessary. Seven coats were applied.

 

I laid down some 3M fine line tape inside the hull along the bottom edge of the caprail. Using a black .020 Micron Archival pen, I scribed a line against the tapes edge to establish the bottom of the caprail. Now it was a simple matter of painting from the line up to the top of the caprail.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 11, 2015 by Stuntflyer

[mtaylor]

Mike,

That is one super nice and clean hull.  The planking and paint pop when you look at it.

[dvm27]

Beautiful job on planking and painting your hull, Mike. Looks perfect.

[Chuck]

Sure does look sweet Mike.  I cant wait to see it in person.  Well Done!!!!  

[Erik W]

Mike,

 

It really looks great!  I like how you've really gotten into the use of your airbrush on this build.  I know you weren't entirely happy with the brush painting of your longboat.  Seems like you've adapted to emphasize your strengths.  Your perfectionism and the high standards you set for yourself are really paying off.  Your build is incredibly clean and crisp.  Being relatively new to this like you are, you are definitively a role model for those of us just getting started.  While I'm at it, I've always admired your willingness (and this includes on your longboat) to pull things apart and start over when you're not satisfied.  Your results show your high standards. 

 

Erik

[Mirabell61]

Wonderful work Mike,

 

lovely built hull !

 

Nils

[Canute]

Mike, your cutter is so crisp and clean. Masking is not one of my favorite things, but you have executed it to perfection. Great job!

[Stuntflyer]

Wow!!! What nice compliments from all of you and thanks for all the "Likes" as well.

 

I must say that Cheerful has not been an easy task. Being fairly new to the hobby, I need some guidance on figuring out how to do it right and Chuck, your support is highly appreciated. Even so, there are times when something doesn't look or fit right and it means that I have to do it again. I used to get frustrated but now I just accept the re-do's as being part of the hobby. Honestly though I am getting a wee bit better on knowing when to say "good enough".

 

Again, thank you all for your kind and inspiring comments. This hobby is a lot of fun!

 

Mike

Edited December 11, 2015 by Stuntflyer

[Mike Y]

Perfectly white towel is a good match for the perfectly built model!

Your accuracy is unbeatable!

[Stuntflyer]

Hey Mike,

 

Thank you for the compliment. Speaking of which, I admire your taking on such an advanced project as Oliver Cromwell. I could not imagine myself doing anything like that at this point with my limited experience.

Edited December 13, 2015 by Stuntflyer

[Mike Y]

Mike, I do not think it is more advanced than your Cheerful. Thanks for a dozen great build logs on MSW, you know every step in advance. TFFM is the greatest instruction book ever!

I secretly hope that you will start a fully framed build after Cheerful Your experience is _not_ limited, and your quality level is definitely higher than mine.

 

P.S.: I should really get the white towel. Stuntflyer and Dubz use it, they both has awesome models => I need to get the towel too => my model would be awesome! Cargo cult, yay!

[Ponto]

Gorgeous planking!!!

 

jp

[Stuntflyer]

The margin planks are done. .

 

The only way that I could get the four sections of planks located between the stern frames at the same angle was to add shims onto the false deck. You can see where I placed them between the stern frames on the port side. The shims taper across the deck from 1/64" to less than 1/32". Without them the two sections on the port side would have dropped too much. Prior to installing these four pieces I could see where the false deck was slightly lower on the port side near the counter.

 

The scarph joints were made with a #11 blade and some needle files. I went slowly, spending time trying to get a close fit. I also had to figure out the proper length of each section so the joints would center between the gun ports. The three long sections on each side were joined, sanded and given a coat of W-O-P off the ship prior to placing them into the hull.

 

I decided to soften the inside edge of the caprail. It's a small thing but it does make the overall appearance better, I think. I'm also refining the paint work around the fashion pieces as you can see. I'm not in any hurry to finish painting around the caprail since other parts have to be installed on top, which would only require more sanding and painting.

 

 

Edited December 17, 2015 by Stuntflyer

[Stuntflyer]

I managed to complete the waterways today. .

 

They are very small and fragile being only 1/32" x 1/32" before being rounded off. The shape was created by taping a 1/32" sheet at the edge of a table with a slight overhang. Another piece of tape was laid down about 1/8" back of the sheets edge, to prevent any sanding of the wood further back. A long, flat sanding block was used to shape the quarter round. A 1/32" strip was then ripped from the sheet with the flat side up on the table saw. Done the other way the round edge would have slid underneath the saws fence. The waterways were glued in with medium CA.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2015 by Stuntflyer

[Erik W]

Wow.  That's some delicate work!  Your scarph joints also look great.

 

Erik

[druxey]

Your model is turning out very nicely indeed. Very neat work, Mike.

[Stuntflyer]

Erik, druxey, thank you for the nice comments and for all the "Likes".

 

With the waterway completed I was finally able to add a few of the deck structures. These were all done a while back as a diversion, that kept me from getting crazy, when I was re-doing the planking. The photo below shows how I was able to set the structures with the correct spacing and parallel. You can't see it here but there is a lower deck below the skylight. The skylight windows have been antiqued thus reducing reflections, though quite subtle when viewed in person.

 

Edited November 15, 2016 by Stuntflyer

[Stuntflyer]

Here's wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

 

While waiting for boxwood sheet needed for deck planking, I was able to complete a few small projects. Those being the shaping the channels, backstay plates (unpainted), jib outhaul block and scuppers.

 

The channels and backstay plates were made as described in Chuck's log.

 

 

This was my build sequence to complete the outhaul block. .

 

 

Step 1. 1/16" strip was cut to the overall size of the block. Holes were measured and drilled for the treenails (#76) and center pin (.028"). Drilling incorrectly at this stage seemed far better than doing so after the whole thing was assembled and shaped.

 

Step 2. Used as a guide a short length of 22 gauge wire was inserted through the center hole. A 5/32" dowel center drilled and sliced to 3/64" was placed over the wire. The dowel was then secured to the strip.

 

Steps 3-4. 3/64" strip was glued to the 1/16" strip with a .024 pin used as a spacer. This allows the .018 rigging rope to pass through the block. 

 

Steps 5-8. The overhanging 3/64" strips are trimmed off and the block is shaped. Once completed the treenails are simulated and 22 gauge wire is inserted through the center hole, standing proud slightly. The back of the wire is filed flush.

 

Edited January 4, 2016 by Stuntflyer