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

[Cathead]

That's a fantastic idea, Erik. I'd never thought of that before. Well done.

[druxey]

That's an interesting approach with that 'stage', Erik.

[Tigersteve]

Erik- thanks again for sharing your methods. Nice jig!

Steve

[Erik W]

I roughly sanded the 5 rows of strakes I've been working on.  Working my way up from the keel.  Only 5 more rows to go!

 

Erik

Edited October 1, 2023 by Erik W

[Erik W]

I finished planking the hull.  Woohoo!  Feels kind of weird to not be adding a plank or two after work every day.    I also added the stern post, and did a more thorough sanding of the planking on both sides of the lower hull, paying close attention to getting rid of any high and low spots.  I still need to do more work where the planking meets the keel and the stem.  Also, the black paint on the wale has taken quite a beating.  I'll fix that later.  I was hesitant to include the bow shot, since the planks on either side don't line up at the stem too well.  Figured it was still an interesting angle for a photo though.

 

Erik

 

Edited October 1, 2023 by Erik W

[rafine]

Looks close to perfect to me Erik.

 

Bob

[Tigersteve]

Very well done!

Steve

[Stuntflyer]

Looks very nice, Erik. A major hurdle cleared. Touching up never seems to end, so there is plenty of time for that. 

 

Mike

[MikeB4]

Eric,

Great job! That's quite an accomplishment.

[Rustyj]

That is a truly a first rate planking job. Very well done.

 

And yes touch ups seem to continue right up to the end!

[druxey]

Well done, Erik. I doubt that anyone will spot the slight misalignment at the bow.

[GuntherMT]

Great work Erik, and wonderful milestone.

[src]

Eric,

Thats a planking job to be proud of. If my next build looks half as good I will be doing back flips! Well done.

Sam

[JesseLee]

Some of the finest planking I've ever seen!

 

Jesse

[kees de mol]

The picture of the bow is true EYECANDY! and so is the rest. Concratulations with this milestone

[mtaylor]

Beautiful planking, Eric.

[Tigersteve]

Erik,

Looking forward to the continuation of your Cheerful. Hope all is well. 

Steve

[Captain Poison]

Excellent work on the hull Erik!, very precise if you compare the right and left side that is very difficult to get.

[Blue Ensign]

Having only just started this build I can only hope that I achieve the cleanness and beauty of the hull you have produced Eric, fine work indeed. 

 

B.E.

[Chuck]

Absolutely sensational planking on that cheerful.  Please tell me you havent given up on her.  😃

[Erik W]

On 6/25/2020 at 6:16 AM, Chuck said:

Absolutely sensational planking on that cheerful.  Please tell me you havent given up on her.  😃

Chuck,

 

No.  I haven't given up on her.  Sadly, I'm afflicted with I-have-too-many-hobbies syndrome.  The end result being for each project I seem to have the attention span of a squirrel sometimes.  😀  My Cheerful is lovingly protected and stored away until I resume construction (next step, a bazzilion tree nails in the hull).  It's normal for me to set various projects down for a length of time, before picking them up and finishing them.  Also, I'm one of the 45 million folks recently out of work now, so my immediate priority is figuring out how to land a paycheck again.

 

Thanks,

Erik

[Bungy]

Looking real good Eric. I am a little ahead of you on the build but had to suspend work while we move from CA. to TN. Once I get sorted in the new place I will put together some photos and a naritive to post with them. I was flying solo as I didnt know there was a group doing this model. I will join you all soon.

Cheers,

Bungy.

[glbarlow]

On 6/28/2020 at 6:02 PM, Bungy said:

as I didnt know there was a group doing this model. I will join you all soon.

Not so much a group build as a group of builders enjoying this model challenge.  Looking forward to having you join us and following your work as well.

[Cathead]

Any luck finding a job or getting back to the model?

[Erik W]

After a short, er . . . 6 ½ year break, I’ve resumed work on my Cheerful.  I imagine few of you actually remember my build.  It was sort of unexpected to be bitten by the wooden ship building bug again.  In August I was on a vacation in the Netherlands visiting the Museum Kaap Skil maritime museum in Oudeschild on Texel Island, off the north coast.  They have a huge 60 foot long diorama of the Texel Roads as it appeared around 1660.  It looks to be about 1/100 scale.  There are 160 ships/boats represented in the diorama!  Seen here: https://kaapskil.nl/en/discover/expositions/ship-in-sight-the-roads-of-texel-and-the-world/ That led me back to Modelshipworld.  And here I am.

 
I feel a bit like Rip Van Winkle waking up from a long sleep.  This website itself has changed.  Yellow Cedar is a new wood of choice. Wood suppliers have changed.  No more Crown Timberyard, but it looks like a good replacement with Modeler’s Sawmill.  Chuck is a few projects further along after the Cheerful (the laser cut fully framed Speedwell is a fascinating project, by the way).  There are still a lot of the same faces here, but the skill level on current projects has kicked up a few notches.  So, my hat is off to you folks.

 

It’s been an interesting few years for me.  We had this global pandemic thing.  After 14 years at the local government, I changed jobs a few times.  I was a bicycle tour guide in Boulder for 7 months (a great way of keeping in shape as a 53 year old).  Was the accountant for Left Hand Brewing here in Colorado.  And finally settled into being an accountant for the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

 

Though not working on Cheerful, I’ve still been active modeling from time to time.  One thing I seem to gravitate towards is building things in smaller scales than the norm, and detailing them to a level of the larger scale (which is why Cheerful is unusual for me, I’d be more comfortable building something 1/96 to 1/144 scale! Haha).  A few of my latest projects - A resin tugboat featured on this website: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/22995-ytl-45-taiwanese-navy-tugboat-by-erik-w-finished-1350-scale/    For my model railroad, an N scale (1/160) 3d printed boxcar that I scratch built full underframe details: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=55256.msg758608#msg758608   and finished here:  https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=55365.msg760492#msg760492   A 1/72 scale WWII F6F Hellcat on a carrier deck with super detailed engine and cockpit:  https://www.militaryimages.net/threads/f6f-5-hellcat-wwii-usn-fighter-plane-1-72-scale.10858/   And probably my favorite, a 1/72 scale M1A2 Abrams tank with over 400 individual pieces of styrene and wire add by me to customize the tank.  Scroll down to see the scratch built stowage items:  https://www.militaryimages.net/threads/m1a2-sepv2-w-crows-ii-lp-1-72-scale-kitbash.10777/

 

Well, I’ve prattled on enough.  Where I had left off was having finished the hull planking.  The next step is supposed to be tree nailing.  I’ve put a lot of thought into that and I’ve decided to skip it.  It’s not because it’s time consuming and tedious as much as it’s a process that you can’t pull out and redo.  Most things on the build can be pried loose if you’re unhappy with them.  That, and I’d rather jump right back into cutting wood.  That’ll help maintain my motivation to keep making progress.  There are a few really good Cheerful builds out there where the builders have skipped tree nailing, Mike (stuntflyer), Glenn (glbarlow), and Ian (Seventynet).  You all have some outstanding other builds as well by the way.  Something to really aspire to for us newbies.  Ian, I particularly like your Hayling Hoy.  Never thought I’d desire to build a fully framed model before, but now . . .

 

So, where I am now is I’ve done what I’d call an almost-final sanding of the lower hull.  There were a few spots that needed attention.  I’ll do an absolute final sanding and paint touch up later.  That’s why the planking and hull still looks a bit rough.  I’ve also been adding the fancy molding.  It took a little trial and error to get my brass scraper made the way I wanted it.  I’ve added the molding to the stern, and port side.  Feels good to be building again!!

 

If you’re new to viewing this build, it’s good to have you along.  And if you’ve followed along before, welcome back!  Without further ado, here are some proof of progress photos.  It's hard to get the lighting right to show the contour of the fancy molding, but you get an idea from the last photo.

 

Erik

 

Edited September 30, 2023 by Erik W

[Gregory]

Looks really great, and makes me feel better about not getting much done in the last few months.

Edited September 30, 2023 by Gregory

[Erik W]

Thanks Gregory.  Yeah, at this rate I might win the award for longest time spent on a build start to finish.  Haha.

 

Erik

[Dr PR]

Erik,

 

Your Cheerful build is very well executed!

 

You are nowhere close to having the longest build. I am working on a model that I started in the 1980s. A new job, new wife, new house and new family really interfered with model making! But I am back at it and enjoying it very much.

 

I may not have the longest build going either. I recall someone else saying they were working on a model they started in the '80s, or maybe earlier!

[Cathead]

I'm so glad you're back! I certainly haven't forgotten you, since I was the last one to check in before your return! I admire your extraordinary work and am thrilled to see it return on this project. Looking forward to progress.

[glbarlow]

Welcome back. I started Vanguard, got fed up with copper plating after one side and didn’t start on the other for over three years (building nothing else in between), many of us know the feeling. Cheerful is such a nice model and your looks great, well worth finishing.