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

[Erik W]

Welcome to my Cheerful build! Little did I know when I bought a Model Shipways longboat kit last summer that I’d get bitten by the ship building bug so seriously. I finished my longboat a couple of weeks ago (see here http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/10743-18th-century-longboat-by-erik-w-–-model-shipways-–-scale-148-first-wooden-ship-build-finished/?p=374717). I quickly realized that I missed putting time in daily working with my hands and building something. Aside from a Dremel, I currently don’t own any power tools suitable for modeling. So, with what Chuck offers for the Cheerful, and with the availability of a new Cheerful timbering package, with milled strip wood, from Jason at Crown Timberyard, I can build a POB ship with accurate plans, castello boxwood, and high quality rigging materials and fittings. I hope I’m able to hone the skills I developed on my longboat build, and do the Cheerful justice. Chuck, Mike (Stuntflyer), and Bob (rafine) have set the bar pretty high!

 

Feel free to comment and offer constructive criticism. I realize how much better my longboat turned out with the input and advice from others. O.K. Time to stop typing and start building.

 

I received my order from Chuck at Syren Ship Model Company last week, and my wood order from Jason at Crown Timberyard arrived yesterday. Here are a few photos of the raw materials . . . which will be slowly transformed into the HM Cheerful!

 

 

 

Erik

Edited January 10, 2016 by Erik W

[Chuck]

Enjoy the project and dont hesitate to ask me any questions.  

 

Chuck

[Jack12477]

Erik, guess I'm the first at the table to watch.

[Nirvana]

3rd, this will be fascinating to watch.

[Canute]

Mark me up, too. Front row!

[Mike Y]

Do not forget The White Towel to make a photos of the model for the log!

Heard it brings luck, +3% to the accuracy, -20% chance of measurement mistakes

 

P.S: watching with envy, it is such a joy to have a build buddies building the same ship in parallel!

[Erik W]

Mike,  Y

 

Yes!  I know sailors are a superstitious group, so I can see how that would extend to those of us that build ships.  The White Towel might be the secret!     One great thing about jumping into the Cheerful build now is that I can learn from other's endeavors.  Between that and The White Towel, I'll be unstoppable!

 

I'm glad to have other folks following my build.  It helps me motivate!

 

Erik

[mtaylor]

Oh... white for the towel... that explains a lot.  Mine's green.          Anyway, count me in Erik.

[Engelmann]

I'll pull up a chair as well if you don't mind.

 

I'm still waiting for my packages from Chuck. Our postal services are natoriously slow here in RSA.

Chuck shipped them within hours after I placed the orders, AMAZING service from Chuck.

 

Wish you all of the best with your build, and Yes, do get the white towel. I will be getting one as well :D

 

Deon

[JesseLee]

I'll be watching too!

 

Jesse

[Erik W]

Humble beginnings.  I glued the two halves of the false keel together.  The plywood is perfectly flat and straight, so the false keel is absolutely straight.  I added some scrap strip wood for reinforcement along the joint.  I then glued on the 1/8" x 1/16" rabbet strip along the length of the bottom.  I drew the bearding line on the starboard side of the false keel to match the line on the port side.  I'll tweak it a bit before I start removing material.  I also marked each slot, both sides, where the number/lettered bulkheads will go.

 

I threw in a penny and pencil to give an indication of size.

 

 

Erik

[SawdustDave]

Hi Erik.... You're going to really enjoy the Cheerful build. As usual, Mr P did a wonderful job in developing the plan sheets and instruction.

Pulling up a chair.

Dave

[rafine]

Welcome to the Cheerful club Erik. Great to have you aboard.

 

Bob

[Engelmann]

This is getting quite Cheerful here on this build.

 

Congratz with the laying of the keel (even if it is the false one) 

 

Deon

Edited January 11, 2016 by Endlesshunt

[Justin P.]

Looking forward to this one...   

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Erik, I'll follow your log with great interest. If I see you longboat, I am qiute sure that you'l build an excellent model. Chucks drawings compared with the originals from the NMM are outstanding

[Stuntflyer]

Hello Erik,

 

Great start! I know that this is going to be a wonderful build for you as well as for all of us watching.

 

Have fun,

 

Mike

[Erik W]

This week has been spent getting the keel put together and glued on straight and true.  The laser cut keel parts fit together well, with minimal cleanup.  I followed the instructions for the tree nails, using a pencil to darken the hole and then using Natural color Elmer's Wood Filler.  The tree nails look faint in the photos, but are more visible in person.  Once everything was glued together I sanded the keel smooth with 220, 320, and then 400 grit sandpaper and rubbed in Wipe-on-Poly (satin) for about 30 seconds, then immediately wiped it off.  I'm enjoying this Castello boxwood!  I like working with a small grain hardwood.  It's refreshing after the fuzzy basswood I'm used to. 

 

 

 

 

Erik

[Canute]

Off to a very nice start, Erik. Looks great!

[Erik W]

I glued on all the bulkheads and filler blocks.  These went in easily.  The notches on both the bulkheads and the false keel are nice and deep, so aside from making sure the bulkheads are 90 degrees to the false keel using a square, the assembly is a no brainer.  I included a shot of my recently finished longboat with the Cheerful hull to show the size comparison.  I have to say, when I built the longboat, I thought it was big, compared to the 1/160 model railroad stuff I've spent most of my life working on, but the Cheerful is positively HUGE!  Haha!  I guess it's all relative . . . 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Erik

[Chuck]

Looking great.   Well done....Take your time on that planking when it starts!!!!  

[Erik W]

Chuck,

 

Yeah, from here on out I plan on taking it slow.  I know I have the easy part done.  I had accidentally over faired the longboat a bit, so I plan on approaching that and the planking more methodically than I did on the last build.

 

Erik

[Erik W]

Now that the keel, false keel, and bulkheads are together, I thought it would be a good idea to build a build board/cradle to hold the Cheerful upright.  I also built a jig out of scrap wood to gently, but securely, hold the ship upside-down when I need it held for fairing and planking.  While I was cutting lumber, I also referenced the Cheerful plans to make two curved sanding blocks, one for the bow curvature, and one for the more gradual curve at the stern.

 

I threw in a photo of my work area.  This is in the spare room/office in my house.  I model with a small footprint.  I'm not typical of a lot of modelers . . . in that I'm a neat freak!  I have a vacuum cleaner, and small shop vac in the closet of the room.  You can see, with the larger size of the Cheerful, I had to adjust my lighting height by adding a stand for my lamp . . . made out of the same 1 x 6 I bought for the build board. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Erik

[Canute]

Erik, clever ideas with the 2 stands. The up-side down jig looks like your basic 2' x 4".

[KenW]

I like the stand - and your work space is way too neat.

Cheers.

[Mike Y]

Mm, very neat indeed! 

Where do you do sanding? Building a neat model requires lots of sanding, and I can't believe you do it in 30cm from The Towel.

[Erik W]

Mike, 

 

Haha!  That towel is not The Towel.  The towel in the photo I use to wipe up some of the sanding dust.  It's not nearly clean enough to be The Towel.    I do my sanding at the desk . . . followed by much vacuuming.

 

Erik

[Canute]

Very understanding Admiral.

[Cathead]

Erik,

 

You're not the only neat freak, though I tend to work in cycles. Mess builds up temporarily while I'm in the middle of a step, then I go on a whirlwind of cleanup to get things trim again. It's about a weekly cycle. My work station, about the size of yours, is right in our living room, which helps motivate the organization. 

 

In any case, I'm really intrigued by this new twist on "kits", and will happily learn from your experience. As another model railroader turned ship modeler in the last few years, we're on a similar trajectory! Similar name & age, too, didn't know I had a long-lost twin.

[rafine]

Erik, your workspace looks very much like mine -- except for the neatness.    I wish I had more space, and i'll bet that you do too.

 

Bob