HM Cutter Cheerful 1806 by Erik W - 1:48 scale

[Erik W]

I finished the topsail yard and the lower yard.  That brings an end to the spars.  I still have the last couple of items to work on before I'm done with the dusty woodworking part of the build.  Those being the entryway stanchions, and Chuck's mini-kit for the anchors.

 

Erik

Edited March 9 by Erik W

[Erik W]

I hit what I consider a major milestone.  I finished all the woodwork on my Cheerful today!  A big accomplishment considering I started work on this model over 9 years ago!  Admittedly with a 6 1/2 year hiatus . . .  After my years long break, I started working on Cheerful daily again in August 2023. 

 

The last wooden bits to finish were the entryway stanchions and the anchors.  The stanchions were turned on my Dremel from 1/16" square stock.  These were straight forward, and very similar to turning the belaying pins in the Dremel.  All 4 are close to identical, but later on when I mount them I'll use pairs on each side that match one another the most closely.  The anchors were made from Chuck's mini kit.  These were pretty straight forward as well.  Since wood is representing the iron of the anchors, I used 1000 grit sand paper to finish the surface to remove any trace of wood grain before painting.  I carefully sanded any sharp edges slightly to give a realistic cast iron look.  I thinned the paint more than I usually do to avoid any hint of brush strokes.  The pudenning on the rings at the top of the anchors was a real pain in the rear to do!   I didn't have any .008" brown rope on hand (since it's not listed on the Cheerful rope list, I hadn't bought any).  I did have some brown thread I had bought at a craft store for seizings way back when I built my Longboat, that turned out to be too big for that use.  It measures in at around .007" diameter, so it's the right size.  Once the pudenning was done the thread was a bit fuzzy so I wet it with thinned white glue and pressed it tight with my fingers.  That did the trick.  The pudenning isn't my best work, but the anchor rings turned out acceptable, all things considered.   Lastly I lightly applied dark rust weathering powders to the stanchions and painted parts of the anchors to enhance the iron look.

 

The last photo below shows all the woodwork completed.  I realize it's not the norm to complete all the woodwork before starting any of the rigging.  One of the main reasons I did this is the ship is still compact in size at this point, before adding the bowsprit, mast, etc.  My space is very limited, so rather than start the rigging now, my next steps are actually to figure out what I'm going to do for a shelf.  I know the location in my house of where the Cheerful will live.  I just need to actually get the shelf acquired/built first, so I have somewhere off my desk to put a partially rigged ship if need be.  While I'm at it, I also want to figure out what I'm going to do for a permanent display base, and get that built too.  The ship is already fragile enough, so I don't want to be trying to fit a base to the ship when it's fully rigged.

 

Erik

 

 

[Freebird]

Erik, you’re doing an outstanding job with your Cheerful. You should be very proud of your accomplishments.

 

Best Regards …. Rick

[alde]

She looks amazing. 

[Tossedman]

Well done Sir! Great looking ship you have there.

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

[Erik W]

Thanks for all the likes, and thanks for the kinds words Rick, Al, and Todd.  The encouragement and support are always appreciated.

 

Erik

[Erik W]

Thanks for all the likes folks.  I wasn't planning on posting an update today, but I think the display turned out well, so here are some photos.  I had no idea what I wanted to do for a display base.  After browsing through what other folks have done, I settled on brass pedestals on a solid wood base.  I liked the look of Glenn's (glbarlow) base for his Cheerful build.  So as they say, with imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, I pretty much duplicated what he had done.  The pedestals are from Model Expo and the wood base is made by Amati (which I ordered from Ages of Sail).  When the pedestals arrived I was disappointed that not only did they appear different colors, but the profiles were actually different.  I purposefully ordered them different heights since the Cheerful's keel rides deeper at the stern.  The photos on the Model Expo site are just generic and aren't of the actual pedestals.  The profile of the lower pedestal is fatter at the bottom of the shaft and flares out more gradually.  I could have lived with the different profiles I guess, but I figured out a way to chuck the pedestal into my power drill.  Using a couple of sharp files and my calipers to measure, I turned the pedestal to better match the profile of the taller pedestal.  Once I had this done I began the slow process of filing the notches in the pedestals to exactly match the keel of the ship.  This took days, but I'm happy with the results.  The keel fits in snuggly enough to have no room to move or wiggle, but still not be tight enough to damage the wood.  To finish the pedestals off, I dry sanded them with 400 grit sandpaper.  This made the finish look the same between the two, and gave them the brushed brass look I wanted. 

 

The hardwood base from Amati is great.  It's a rare piece of wood these days that is level and square with no warping (if you've shopped for wood at your local hardware store, you know what I mean).  I thought I had ordered the bare wood version, so was surprised when I opened the box that it was stained.  Since I like the color though, it saves me from picking a stain and doing it myself.  The base has a satin finish, which I like, not too mat and not too glossy.

 

Erik

Edited Sunday at 08:55 PM by Erik W

[Tigersteve]

Looks great. Consistent with your presentation of the 18th century longboat! 
Steve

[Nirvana]

Erik, that looks so good you don't need any more build.
Clean and simple.

 

[glbarlow]

I should have mentioned the ones from Model Expo often seem like they come out of the discarded bin. Brass takes me back to my military days, the slightest tarnish wasn’t tolerated. I used Brasso and a soft cloth to quickly and easily bring back the bright color that’s always there somewhere. Nice work with the turning and filing, the model and stand integrate perfectly. 

 

I've used that wood base on all my models other than Winchelsea, I never had one arrived stained, glad it’s a color you like.  Now I recommend adding a small engraved brass plate, I include model name, my name and the month/year I completed it (so when I’m old I’ll remember it was me that built it😂🤣

 

You’ve build a great version of Cheerful, really excellent work. 

Edited 48 minutes ago by glbarlow