19th Century 31-ton Revenue Cutter by CharlieZardoz - Scale 1/64 - building as USRC Active based off Doughty plans and BlueJacket Shipcrafters kit

[John Allen]

Charlie,

 

Very nice and methodical when approaching 3 builds at one time. I can't manage 2. Very neat clean and pristine.

[CharlieZardoz]

Ah I meant rudder (corrected) was late when I posted very sleepy

 

And yes John thank you. In reality im only building one atm the others are mere skeletons at this point which getting them started is easy its all the detailing which is the real work of shipmodeling so many little things

Edited December 20, 2017 by CharlieZardoz

[CharlieZardoz]

Hi everyone! So about time I did an update, mainly have been waiting on a shipment of carronade parts so decided to take a small break. That said I have been tinkering away quite a bit on metal work for the carronade. It's been a new learning curve metal acts differently than wood. Overall you can see the various rings I added and also the detailing added to the carronade itself, breech ring, loading, aim, etc. I wanted to finish the carronade before I posted but noted a snag I'm hoping some of you might help me out with. It's regarding the carriage wheels....

 

 

BTW I just love that little bucket, it's darling!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 22, 2018 by CharlieZardoz

[CharlieZardoz]

So here the issue, I realize that the pivot ring and carriage are supposed to slide so the carronade can be rotated on deck and from what I see there were some sort of wheels under the carriage. Ship models of these ships like Alert or Ranger don't show wheels but they should be there, so I decided to make my own, however I am striving for accuracy yet also don't want to drive myself too crazy. I ultimately opted for tiny beads 2mm in size which on the finish piece spin along that groove I made. I tried other options for wheels but everything was either too wide or too long (this is of course a very small model). :P The braces are actually from the caldercraft 12lp carronade kit which looked perfect and were the right size I cut brass wire to make the axle.

Edited January 22, 2018 by CharlieZardoz

[CharlieZardoz]

So here is where I get confused. Chapelle describes the ring as being scooped on the inside and the wheel I imagine slides in that groove. In the image I posted from nrj you can see an example. That said I don't see in this pic where the wheel could be? Dan (Parisier) showed me his Oneida carronade pictured below which has a logical looking mount (the image with the little wooden man). That would make my wheels too big and I could change them however it's not easy to find many items much smaller.

 

Now I see very often another design where the pivot ring is flat and bolted while the wheels are beveled. While I know many of the canons I pictured are from a much later period the idea seems to be the same. Also the Bluejacket kit suggests that this type of mount was used and has a ring with bolts and I have made a new laser template to show them. The bolts will likely be wood color while the ring stays black. The ring now needs to be either metal or plastic not wood so headed to the laser shop this week. Other ship models like Fair Rosemund or civil war era ships have pivot cannons or similar mount. So yeah I could do this approach instead and it would make the carronade higher which I kinda like I am just hoping I am following a design that looks reasonably historically accurate. If anyone has some images of pivot cannons/carronades they may want to share or has suggestions feel free it could be helpful.  

 

 

 

Edited January 22, 2018 by CharlieZardoz

[CharlieZardoz]

And here is a closer look of the ring template. The right side will be wood the red line is cut while the black etched so I know where the bolts go. The left side has two variations. The bottom will be a flat piece in plastic painted black and stacked on top. The top has a black etch line and the laser will then etch a groove into the piece then cut the bolts out. So the laser will make the bevel and I can avoid having to Dremel it out myself. ;) I'll probably make the bolts out of toothpick material and will pick the rings which ultimately look best.

Edited January 22, 2018 by CharlieZardoz

[mtaylor]

Interesting problem Charlie...  For the pivots on my Constellation, I used the offering from Bluejacket.  You might go their site and see how those look.   I daresay there's probably as many ways of doing the wheels as there were shipbuilders.

[Cathead]

The model image you show (last of your photo set) certainly fits the drawing you show (first of your photo set) and makes sense to me. I don't have any independent helpful knowledge, but the way you've talked it through here is logical.

[CharlieZardoz]

Hi Eric, yes Dan (Shipmodel) knows his stuff! The main issue I have is with the wheels, should I try smaller wheels maybe made from brass? And Mark yes I agree there are all sorts of ways to achieve a nice looking result in ship modeling. And just the same it seems there were just as many variations to sailing ship deck fittings as one can imagine. Ive seen all sorts of carronade carriages that serve the same function but vary in minor detailing, placement of deadeyes, height, etc. so really it's not like building a WWII ship where one can look up a mark whatever gun type and boom there ya go. But that is part of the fun isn't it? Using ones imagination to create an educated guess to make your ship model look like she probably did in real life. Take into account the changes that a wooden warship would go through in it's lifetime upgrades in tech and changes to the overall building profile and the sky is the limit. For my ship "the Active" I imagine she retained the low bulkheads and toe railing as per the Doughty plan, the carriage likely was raised over time. The "high pivot" design came about in the 1820's/30's (check the pic of Fair Rosamund below) then evolved into the more complicated pivot types via the civil war era using the Dahlgren guns and those half circle type platforms that ships like Constellation and Kearsarge used. Also since I plan on building all 3 cutters, I want each to represent a different level of development meaning the Active will have 1 pivot (maybe some swivels) with a toe rail, the Monroe 52 ton will have a low rail with stanchions and the Vilgilent 80 tons with full bulwarks and cannon looking like a precursor to the Morris/Taney class. This is just my guess these ships probably rolled off the assembly line as needed and with each passing year there were more variations from the original Doughty draught's. So the period from Active launched or purchased in 1816 to Vigilant launched in 1824 means I can approach each model a bit differently.  

Edited January 23, 2018 by CharlieZardoz

[CharlieZardoz]

Just another update I have also been practicing 3d printing via fusion 360. While the dimensions may be a bit off creating the pivot ring using this method was super easy. While I don't have a printer if anyone is familiar with shapeways you can send any file you make and they will make it for you in a series of different materials then ship it to you at a reasonable price. This was so easy I may go with this method at least for the top part of the ring and glue it to the lower wooden piece.

Edited January 23, 2018 by CharlieZardoz

[RichardG]

For my track on the 80-ton cutter I decided on a "u" cross-section and am using 2mm brass tube (with a toothpick filling the center) for the wheels. These are mounted on curved brackets with very small pins. 

The inspiration for this came from the USS Constitution

As you can see the blackening of the bracket needs some work and I haven't fitted the rear bracket yet. 

 

I'm continuing to watch your builds with interest.

 

Richard.

 

[mtaylor]

Give the range of years, Charlie, you can probably go with wood for the earliest, wood with a metal track on top, and then full metal for the latest of the three.   I'm looking forward to what you get from Shapeways.

[CharlieZardoz]

Thanks Mark! I'll post some pics of how I built the template in a bit. And Richard that's exactly what I needed. I'm honestly now trying to contemplate how to make such a jig with my carriage. Thinking of taking a chainplate and bending it to shape? That said I am familiar with the Dallas kit the ring size is much larger which is part of the problem. This ring is literally 30mm in diameter with the carriage 35 by 7mm. So the parts are extremely tiny and i'm using what is available or what I can create. I ordered some brass crimp beads at 2mm by 1mm maybe those will work with a bit of tweaking but already I'm much happier with this design thank you so much for showing me your approach.

Edited January 23, 2018 by CharlieZardoz

[CharlieZardoz]

So here is the final pivot wheel which will be arriving from stairways in a few different materials by early Feburary. Next I made new wheels they are crimp beads 2mm by 1mm wide with silver 1x1mm beads shoved inside. So much smaller than before now just thinking of an axle to put them on.... hmm

[CharlieZardoz]

And here we have the completes pivot ring fresh from shapeways. Looks just as it needs to look I am very pleased. I am always excited when faced with a puzzle how the end result turns out out gives me confidence in my abilities in my work. Now regarding attaching the wheels in a manner not too technically crazy...

[CharlieZardoz]

Hi everyone, so been working on the wheel and this is pretty much what I came up with. I took a bent square brass tube 1/6" and filed the ends down and added the crimp bead wheels. It feels really well and was pretty easy to make. The wheels actually do spin. 

Edited February 3, 2018 by CharlieZardoz

[Cathead]

That looks really good!

[Bill Wells]

Greetings.  My name is Bill Wells and I have been researching and writing USRCS history for over 35 years.  I am a retired Master Chief Gunner's Mate and my initial interests were the ordnance used on the early cutters.   However, I found so many inconsistencies in the published history I decided to abandon them and look at the original sources.   One of the largest errors is the crediting of too many ship designs to Doughty.  These errors come largely from Irving King who did little research of his own.  He relied on the works of Chapelle who made assumptions not born out by the documentation.  

For example, the 1818 Alert did not have a pivot gun and none of the previous vessels either.  Alert had eight gun ports.  In fact, Treasury Secretary Dalllas in December 1815 canceled the six-pounder pivot gun for both Eagle (II) and Detector  (I)  building at Newport, RI.  The 1819 Louisiana and Alabama were pilot boat schooner built by Christian Bergh. They followed the Alert lines and had two-3 Pounders and four gun ports. The cutter captains found the mid-ships pivot guns too unwieldy and they complained about not having room on deck for a boat.  This did not stop some captains from asking for more carriage guns.  It depended on the region.  The Northern cutters had little use for guns (other than firing salutes) and commonly stored them below for ballast or on shore. One captain took his ashore, plugged them and painted them black with a thick coat of varnish and buried them "in the Customs House lawn."  The Southern cutter continued to encounter pirates, slavers, and smugglers.

Similarly, the so-called "Morris-Taney" Class, 1829-1831, were more Henry Eckford than Humphreys.  The cutter Hamilton and Gallatin were twin sisters based on an 1830 Boston design.   Hamilton is featured in my article, https://www.academia.edu/8038319/_Sunk_To_Rise_No_More_

I do not model myself, but if I can be of help to anyone building antebellum revenue cutters please feel free to contact me.

[CharlieZardoz]

Greetings Mr Wells! I agree with you regarding the overuse of the Doughty design, while I see it as a typical example of revenue cutters at the time, what my impression is that the design is only a snapshot of some of what was built at that time. First off all the ships of the Northern waters like Alert had very different dimensions and likely not even based off the design at all. The southern ships as well had variations and as the years progressed up to the 1820's I expect most of those cutters if not built with full bulwarks (with cannon ports) had them added and modified accordingly. My assumption is that later ships like Vigilant probably had full bulwarks and resembled a cross between the 80 ton cutter and the Morris/Taney class that succeeded them.  This makes doing the actual history a bit tricky and it is my intention to build the 3 Doughty cutters based off the plans and have each be representative of a ship and variation of a design at that time using my own inferences based on what ive read. I know that Active was not likely to have been a Doughty cutter however since I know of no other ships at that time with a tonnage so low and also because the ship had an interesting history I decided to name the model I'm making the Active under the assumption that the Doughty design is representative of how she "may" have looked.  There is an error in Chapelle's books where he refers to Active as Alert which is why I think all those kits use the Alert for the 30 ton cutter, it should have been the Active. So the other two Ill name Monroe and Vigilant to coincide with that passage that Irving wrote where the Active sailed with the two ships in 1824 on the way to her retirement. This will be a mural with all 3 lined up and while my approach isn't "good history" it's more like Hollywood history which I'm going into this with full disclosure. So with that said I am happy to listen to any advice you have regarding how I could make these designs appeal to me as a model maker but also offer a sense of realism regarding the service these ships actually fulfilled.  Ie ruling out what wasn't possible vs what may have been possible as the history of these ships seems extremely sparse.

 

So for example the color scheme is something I'd love some help with I'm assuming black, tallow and wood were the primary colors by 1818-1825?

Edited February 15, 2018 by CharlieZardoz

[Hubac's Historian]

Very nice metal work, Charlie!  Your solution to the problem of the wheels is quite ingenious.

[CharlieZardoz]

Thank you very much! You can see some progress was made I made the second wheel set and then used the jax blackening solution diluted which worked perfectly. Next step is to assemble the whole thing the carriage and carronade are almost done stay tuned!

Edited February 15, 2018 by CharlieZardoz

[CharlieZardoz]

Good morning everyone. Here's a quick update I managed to finish the carronade and also painted the pivot ring. It still needs the wood treenails but you can get an idea how nice it looks and fits to the carriage wheels. The carronade was blackened rather than painted which maintains that metallic look. Also I've started working on the cabin/deckhouse planking the in sides and working months top bits. Overall very pleased

Edited February 28, 2018 by CharlieZardoz

[shipmodel]

Charlie - 

 

You should be pleased.  She is coming along very nicely.

 

Dan

[Cathead]

I agree, very nice.

[CharlieZardoz]

Hi everyone. Thank you again for the great feedback. Update as of March its been too cold to head to the laser cutter and finish the last bits of the carronade so in the meantime been working on the Stackhouse. Here you see I've finished the sides started planking the top so this will be my first time planking w decking material. The little plugs are done using toothpicks dipped in a mix of oak stain and natural. They are a tad dark in the pics bit initially I made them much darker so still managing to get the mix right. I like having them somewhat pronounced but then I plan on applying some weathering to the deck in time. Also note the edge plank has a margin.

 

Im considering making thr skylight open from the sides not sure if this was historical or if I am embellishing but so far it looks neat.

 

Next is the rear hatch which I am in the process of constructing. Stay tuned and let me know what you all think

Edited March 6, 2018 by CharlieZardoz

[mtaylor]

Super nice work, Charlie.  BTW, did you see this topic: 

   

[Omega1234]

Hi Charlie

 

I’m just catching up on everyone’s Build Logs; yours included. Wow, oh wow, your cutters are looking fantastic. I especially love the metal work and your commitment to accuracy is commendable. 

 

Top job!

 

Cheers. 

 

Patrick

 

 

Edited March 7, 2018 by Omega1234

[CharlieZardoz]

Thank you Patrick. I'm hoping the model is reasonably accurate but also from an artist's perspective I followed the techniques which got me to where it looks good. So here we are today I constructed more of the hatch and added the margin planks. Now have to do the other side.

Edited March 7, 2018 by CharlieZardoz

[CharlieZardoz]

So today oI stained the deckhouse with Tung oil. Here's a few picks of the deck with everything on it. With the UV glowlights above looks like a party boat

Edited March 7, 2018 by CharlieZardoz

[Louie da fly]

That's brilliant, Charlie. I hadn't realised she was so tiny - only big enough to carry a single carronade; But as a revenue cutter, I suppose that's all she needed.

 

Beautiful work and a pleasure to follow the build.

 

Steven