Victorian Racing Cutter Vanity by M.R.Field - scale 1:16 - Radio

[KeithAug]

Martin - do you have a picture please?

 

 

[M.R.Field]

I'll take one for you...after tea.

 

Martin

[M.R.Field]

Nah, I can't take close-ups despite lovely sunshine.

But in the pointy bit of this is a tiny dip, like the anvil of a rivet machine. It's supposed to be a scale rivet in 1/32nd scale for larger model aircraft kits.  Mine came with the mushroom handles and I got two despite paying for one. I'm waiting for it to go blunt, but not yet.

 

Cheers,

Martin

[michael mott]

At risk of hijacking your thread here is a sinmple riveting tool I made to do this work in brass.

 

 

the punches are made from 1/4 inch drill rod with brass anvils

 

quite complex layouts ate possible or very straight sets using the fence

 

 

One of the sets of straight lines on a OO gauge model of one of the Crew loco works engines.

 

A fine ball point pen works well also in soft brass or copper.

 

Michael

 

[M.R.Field]

Very spooky that, Michael.  I have not long ago finished a kit master for a Crewe Works 18" gauge loco called Dickie!  In O9 to take an N-Drive chassis. I do all his patterns.  Currently doing a 4mm scale Fifie fishing boat, to be cast in resin as a scenic accessory.

 

I have a rivet impressing tool that I found at a boot fair for just £2!  I couldn't believe my luck. The old boy usually charged way too much for his over cleaned up old tools, but this, he clearly hadn't a clue what it was.  Hence the price.  I make new punches and anvils as and when the need arises. The piece is made by someone who knows there stuff in cast and fabricated brass, lever action, with a graduated brass adjustable fence and changeable punches and anvils.

But the rivetting tool I was showing above is to leave marks of a flush aircraft rivet in plastics and foils which you use to cover model aircraft as silver paint is an abboration.

 

Strange how Perspex is so popular for these model tools.

 

Cheers,

Martin

[M.R.Field]

Trying to work out how much ballast I will need for this model. Rule of thumb suggests something like 19 kilos. Now that, in lead shot, is far too expensive, so I'm thinking buy it from a scrappy, melt it and pour into either little pigs or a mould made from patterns of the space in the bilge of the yacht.

What do others use to ballast their working boats?  If this proves too expensive or awkward there'll be no model of Vanity!

 

Cheers,

Martin

[Mirabell61]

On 24.5.2017 at 11:27 AM, M.R.Field said:

Nils,

that is a beauty.  I'm glad you're a fan of the plank-on-edge cutters. There are only 2 left now Vanity has been abandoned.  Partridge and Marigold.  I have lines for Genesta and an interior layout drawing for Genesta in the book "Traditions and Memories of American Yachting", which has a lot of plans for English yachts as well as many for American "skimming dish" style vessels.  I recommend that book for lovers of older yachts.

 

Cheers,

Martin

Hi Martin,

I would like to thank you for your kind book tip recommendation, after a web research at the master-site of book antiquariates, I am now holding a wonderful copy of the 50th aniversary edition of this publication, at a bargain price,  and I must say you have not promissed too little......, boy,  its a real treasure  !!  

 

Nils

[M.R.Field]

Oh that's wonderful!  I always hope to help through these forums and rarely seem able to!  So I am very happy to have helped you with a book choice. I think I bought mine in a Library book sale. I was disgusted it was in a sale, but so pleased to buy it at a bargain price!  It really is a very good read.

 

Cheers,

Martin

 

 

[M.R.Field]

Right, well over the last two days I have filled the hull with a lightweight filler and rubbed down today, so after the grandchildren had left I had no excuse not to cover the side and epoxy.

Now, being a tight wad, I could see no real reason to pay through the nse for lightweight Fibreglass cloth, so I figured why not use a J-Cloth type of stuff. Immensely strong, has a little stretch and easy to wet out with epoxy.  Not long after thinking about that I was in Poundstretchers and blow me down with a nitrile glove, but there was a huge pack of J-Cloths (cotton waste, btw) for a couple of quid.  Enough there to cover everybody's boat AND use to clean up.

 

Well, I mixed the epoxy, brushed it on and followed up by sticking the J-Cloth to the forward part o the hull. In this heat the epoxy was starting to tack fairly quickly. Brushing always outwards from the centre of the cloth, I wetted out the cloth and then carried on aft and put the after sheet on, same way. Some judicious cuts with scissors and the cloth went round the starn end a treat.  There was a small gap in the middle so a strip cut from a spare cloth was tacked on and soaked with resin. Spare resin was used to fair in the joints and persuade the odd crease down.

Tomorrow the other side gets done. I might iron the cloth as the central folds do take some persuading to sit flat initially.

 

Here's a coupla shots of the process.

 

Cheers,

Martin

[michael mott]

The J cloth looks like it worked a treat. I shall have to remember that.

 

Michael

[M.R.Field]

Michael, yes it went on so easily.  I shall be checking it shortly, but it had set when I locked the shed last evening.  I'll be trimming it and doing the other side today as the weather is again very good.

I should have said that the white areas are a lightweight filler, where the varying thickness of the different planks made it necessary.

 

Cheers,

Martin

[Mark Pearse]

HI Martin

 

a lovely yacht & model. Does she come from a working boat background? The lines are amazing & very beautiful.

 

There aren't many yachts here in Australia with lines like that, but for your interest I attached the photos one unusual yacht, built 1905. Like a miniature version of your lovely Vanity, or something similar. A 22' gaff topsail cutter based on a pilot boat lines.

 

good luck with the build, please keep posting

Mark

 

[M.R.Field]

Mark, that is gorgeous!  I have a bit of a thing for the miniature versions of the big yachts. My chum, from who'm I bought Vanity found a small version of her, built on "our" river, the Crouch and turned out to be the oldest vessel on the Crouch, White Mouse. And it was like your one there only smaller yet.

It would make a lovely model as would your one.  Much under-rated, these old yachts.  I

I do love a plumb stem and a counter stern.

 

Just off outside to epoxy/cloth the other side.

 

Cheers,

Martin

[M.R.Field]

Well,cloth on tother side of Vanity, so now she is officially waterproof.

Also got her after deck in the doggy paddling pool soaking into a camber. Front half's already done.

 

And made her rudder last night. Laminated from 4 pieces of mahogany and fixed to a heavy walled brass tube.

 

Cheers,

Martin

[KeithAug]

Martin

 

Nice work. I know earlier you rejected the idea of artificially deepening the keel to improve the sailing characteristics. Like you I like the hull to be true to scale and I hope your decision proves workable. The other area of departure from scale that is usually built in to scale sailing models is in the size of the rudder, working models having much broader rudders. This is a compromise easily made as the sailing and display rudders can be made to interchange. You may get away with it but if you design in interchangeability it could be a worthy investment.

[M.R.Field]

Keith, thanks.  You make a good point about the rudder. I have made it a little wider than the plans suggested.  I guess all we can do is try it and see.

 

I have today rasped off any little creases and bumps and ordered a pack of coarse grit pads for my "mouse" sander.  And sure enough, as soon as I order paint, it rains!

I also got some high build primer today and a half litre of the final gloss black.  Ye Gods, isn't paint expensive?!  2 half litres and a couple of sheets of wet and dry...over 30 quid!  And that was with a nod and a wink kind of discount as I'm a long term customer.

But, the guy offered to make the primer black, so it'll be a great undercoat for the final black gloss.

As to display, I won't be able to display any of my model boats as they're too big!  I will have to shove them up in the loft, when not in use, which is why they all have a case made for them.

 

Had to do more model car stuff than boat stuff today as the guy wants it tomorrow, suddenly, so it had to be painted in preference to anything else.

 

But I have been able to make the casing for the aft (main) companion.

 

Cheers,

Martin

[M.R.Field]

I thought I'd have a look at where the waterline came today, so dug out my Traditions and Memories book and checked the lines for the waterline and found it to be where I'd suspected.  So I put it on by eye in Nichiban tape, a good fine crepe tape that we use to use on clay models in the car industry.

 

I also set the spars up as well as possible. The mast may well be too high as it needs some work to the base. The gaff may be foreshortened as it swung round to the wall.  I think the boom needs shortening a little. The main mast needs a little reduction at the top.

 

It's a big boat overall!

 

Cheers,

Martin

[Mirabell61]

6 minutes ago, M.R.Field said:

I thought I'd have a look at where the waterline came today, so dug out my Traditions and Memories book and checked the lines for the waterline and found it to be where I'd suspected.  So I put it on by eye in Nichiban tape, a good fine crepe tape that we use to use on clay models in the car industry.

 

I also set the spars up as well as possible. The mast may well be too high as it needs some work to the base. The gaff may be foreshortened as it swung round to the wall.  I think the boom needs shortening a little. The main mast needs a little reduction at the top.

 

It's a big boat overall!

 

Cheers,

Martin

well done, Matin,

 

Nils

[M.R.Field]

Thanks, Nils.

I'm waiting for a pack of sanding pads to arrive so I can smooth down the epoxy sheathing and I need some more epoxy glue to fill a few voids.

Meantime I'll do more on the deck furniture and work out how it can all be stripped down easily for transport.

 

Or the Mrs. will have me gardening before the rains come!  One of the two.

 

Cheers,

Martin

[M.R.Field]

Well. the sanding pads have arrived and guess what.....it's raining!

Ah well, we have a doctor's appointment and tomorrow I'm helping to set up a "Man Shed!"  So deck furniture is all I can do on and off.

 

Here's some with first coats of sanding sealer.

 

The main companion, the main decklight and the roundhouse cover being turned by being glued to an aluminium turning I had kicking around.  Worked a treat. This is actually an offcut from rudder production.

 

Cheers,

Martin

[M.R.Field]

Hi folks,

sorry to have gone cold on this job, but I have been doing a brass master for a 1/6th scale Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle and it's been a massive project. Yesterday I finished it and so will be doing more on the Vanity. I also had to save up a bit for servos, batteries and new R/C for her, so this fine summer I have not been able to do anything much on her, apart from the rudder arrangements, which, with the extreme angle of the rudder post are not easy!  But I haven't forgotten it!  Just not enough hours in the day, are there?

 

Martin

[michael mott]

Hello Martin, good to hear that you will be getting back to the yacht. I forgot to ask you about the masters you did for the crew loco Dickie, can you send me a pm about it? Because i am working on a live steam version of the same loco.

 

Michael

[M.R.Field]

Ye Gods, where DOES the time go?

Last year I took up model flying after wanting to do it for so long. The once distant "local" club lost their field after 30 years and moved to my village, so I had to go along. I now have a Pietenpol parasol winger and a "First Flight" Spitfire in foam board, a large high wing trainer I got from a club member for £25 and a Skystreak 32 in Depron foam I've yet to finish.  I also built a slot track in the shed to test my cars that I build for myself and others.  But, I haven't flown since October last year thanks to the weather and now this plague that's among us.  I decided it was time to finish Vanity, so I got her out and developed a drum winch system for the sail sheets and the only way I can get steering, a small brass pulley with a cord over two smaller PTFE pulleys to the servo. Even that had to be low profile. I got the aft half of the ply deck on and am now doing the laid deck from those Venetian blind slats mentioned above.  

I thought I'd lost all the deck furniture until I looked in the last box on the shelf and there it all was including a lot of nice brass bits I'd forgotten I'd made!  Then, tother day my ancient and much loved Minicraft mini table saw crapped itself. My dear bride immediately went on Amazon and ordered me a new one by a company called Abest at 6-57 one evening and it was here at 12-30 the very next day!  AND it's superb. I can well recommend it to anyone seeking a new small table saw. Well made, toothed belt geared for power, comes with a spare belt and even a pair of spare carbon brushes for the motor. A really excellent deal for £50.

So, we're back to work.  Yesterday I made the margin planks ( I call them covering boards), filled the hull finally and rubbed it down and today found that expensive paint mentioned way back above and gave it a coat of the black primer. Bad weather forecast tomorrow, so she's gone away again.

I also made up a U section of aluminium to act as an adjustable fixture for a skeg and bulb add-on keel, but the gentleman who makes those lovely GRP J Class hulls suggested a brass plate running more along than down, with the bulb on that, so that is what will be tried, before I go to a longer skeg which would only make life restricted on depth.

I also made a foot bearing for the rudder shaft and screwed it to the keel.  I made an extension to the rudder shaft which comes through the deck and ends in a nice pearwood tiller. Purely for show, of course, but it is very much part of a largish racing cutter.

So, that's where we are currently with Vanity.  Oh and I ordered some single ball stanchions and I have a large sheet of Cambric sailcloth for my other half to sew up for me.

The Vincent 'bike master pattern has suffered endless set-backs at the hands of idiot incompetent suppliers who we have largely replaced, but  has added months and months to the final launch date which with the plague upon us is not yet!

When I have remembered how to post photos again, I shall do so!  Nope I tried uploading and it refused to,saying "there was a problem". I don't "do" problems.

Cheers,

Martin

[M.R.Field]

Done just before the rains came.  The covering boards (margin planks), cut by eye on the bandsaw and cleaned up with a few strokes of a 10" 2nd cut hand file. (I also use this lovely tool on my toenails!).  Then the first of the final coats of paint, the black primer, which my paint man made for me. When the warmth comes back I'l wet rub that and then spray the gloss black enamel. I'm currently dodging in and out avoiding the rain to make the upstands for the bulwarks. One every three feet if I remember right.  They were the very tops of the boats frames on Vanity. I have the bulwark planks cut and can soon do the top rail in mahogany.  Meanwhile there's also deck planks to saw up on my lovely new Abest saw.  AND, my dear bride has today taken delivery of my anniversary present, a new disc sander to replace the old Minicraft one that has been lost somehow, but she won't let me have it till June the 9th!

 

Martin

[M.R.Field]

Nice weather again.  After domestic chores and a ludicrous time queuing at Lidl's because they had a short queue(!!) compared with Morrison's or Tesco's, I finally got outside to have a crack at the deck planking of Vanity.  I'd already cut some planks on my lovely new saw, so I cut and glued as many as my back and tea time would allow.  I'm so glad I let my dear bride buy me 5 packs of Evo-Stik as I broke into those soon enough.  I just mark the edge of each plank with a black marker pen to represent caulking. After all is sanded down it works a treat for a nice fine line.

I just wish I could give it a whole day, but after just 2 hours, I'm nursing a half numb back. Maybe I should try out a bar stool I have for a decent working height.

 

Here's some pics.

 

Martin

[M.R.Field]

In the absolutely calm day (unusual in the Fens) I got the deck furniture out and rested it on the deck for a sneak peak. For some reason (probably caution) I left too big a hole for the main decklight. I checked the fitting of the sail winch system and can get it in and out with the actual decklight sized hole, so will reduce that.  I think she'll look lovely when finished.

 

More deck planking after lunch.

 

Martin

[M.R.Field]

 I was wondering how to arrange a demountable rig when there are three sets of deadeyes each side to work with that can't be done every time I want to sail it or transport it anywhere.  I think I could make the deadeyes up with wire instead of rope, to keep them stiff, attach them to strops in the shrouds in the normal ways, then have hooks to attach them to links in the chain plates, (3 each side).  They'd have to be exactly the right length to be taught, though a discreet bottle screw might make sense at the top of the shrouds.
Any views on that?

 

Martin

[druxey]

Just stumbled across your log, Martin. Great stuff! Although I was surprised to see the date stamps on the earlier posts. Hopefully not another three years to completion.

[M.R.Field]

I have been involved with the making of an all brass master pattern of a Vincent Black Shadow motorbike in 1/6th scale. Incompetent suppliers have made the whole thing into a nightmare for the client, who knows nothing of the model industry, so muggins here is left to sort it all out!  But this plague has given me some new time with nobody asking for stuff.  I also took up model flying last year, but haven't flown since October due to weather and then plague, so I thought I could do worse than

a) mend the slot car track I made last year too and

b) slide the Vanity model out from under it and get on with it.

 

It's the trouble with having too many irons in the fire, but I don't have a fancy private pension, so I have to build up for the big retirement day.

And anyway, what else would I do?

 

Cheers,

Martin

[Colin B]

I love this build Martin - I'm more of a fan of domestic and fishing craft than military stuff and I'll be following you as you complete her.