HM Cutter Cheerful 1806 by Blue Ensign - FINISHED - Syren Ship Model Company - 1:48 scale

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you Thomas, Martin, and Paul. 🙂

Post 47

Faffing with fittings part 3.

The final deck fitting in this section is the Skylight.

I have Chuck's little mini kit which I assembled .

The version with the coaming around it doesn't appeal to me, something to do with proportion of the coamings in relation to the skylight I think.

4268

I seem to be in a constant state of indecision whether to paint or varnish the inboard fittings but I eventually decided to varnish the kit Skylight with  the window frames painted using Admiralty Paints Light Ivory.

I comforted myself with the thought that I can always arrange for another little skylight to wing its way across the pond if I don't like it.

 

While waiting for a further timber supply to complete the  margin planks I carried on and made a scratch version from Boxwood sheet.

4204

4201

The frame completed.

4265

I decided to paint this one red but leave the lights framing natural.

4207

There wasn't that much extra effort involved in scratching the Skylight compared to assembling the delicate little kit.

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The deck covering below the Skylight shows sufficiently to make the effort worthwhile.

4282

To my eye the scratch version has slightly more 'presence' on the deck compared to the kit version, sweet as it is, and no doubt true to scale.

 

B.E.

02/11/2018

 

[Blue Ensign]

Post 48

A test Carronade

I am assembling one Carronade at this stage to use as a test item for Gunport fit etc; and develop my assembly technique.

 

Cheerful was armed with ten 12 pounder carronades and two 4 pounder long guns.

The carronades as supplied for the kit have a somewhat unusual appearance sitting on carriages with trucks, and with trunnions to secure the barrels.

This is at a time when slide beds were more common for Carronades, fitted with iron retaining hoops below the barrel, and Breeching rings above the cascable.

There were however many variations to how these guns were configured, and Chuck's carronades which are a thing of beauty, will do very nicely.

4313a

This arrangement from the NMM is very close to Chuck's version, but with the addition of the Breeching Ring atop the cascable.

 

I think a simple jig is essential for this process, in fact assembly jigs in general are an excellent idea, I used many such devices on my Pegasus build.

4313

Even with a jig these are tricky little things to set up right.

I take the between axles measurements from the plan and transfer to the jig.

Small strips of scrap Boxwood  secure the axles in place, and the finished item looks remarkably like Chuck's little jig. 

4325

The axles are rounded at each end to take the Trucks before fitting in the jig for the attachment of the transom on the front axle, and the Bolster on the rear axle.

4322

One point to note is that the Transom above the front axle is not vertical but should lean back slightly.

4316

I used some 0.7mm ø wire, chemically blackened to represent the iron connecting bar which ties the side brackets and supports the carriage bed.

4331

I added Truck keys using 0.4mmø brass tubing flattened at one end to retain the trucks on their axles. These were then chemically blackened after trimming.

0.45mm ø holes were drilled thro' the axles to take the key.

 

I will finish this off at some point but for the present it will suffice, and I need to concentrate on the decking next.

 

B.E

05/11/2018

[davyboy]

Hi B.E. I too made jigs for both types of carriage. I scratch built mine and was very surprised how many separate parts there are,30 pieces altogether I think not counting gun tackle blocks. Never mind,you've only got 11 more to finish  Currently progressing the Topmast standing rigging but can't finalise the Topmast shrouds as I'll have to do the ratlines on the lower shrouds first (my pet hate) for easier access.

 

A question if I may,what dimension do you think should Swivel gun posts be,6" square,9" square ? I can't find any info in any of my books. I tried some 1/8th and 3/16" squ' (1/48th scale size) and prefer the former as it looks more realistic. As usual keep up your excellent work.

 

Regards,

 

Dave   

[Martin W]

Nice work, BE.  On the skylight, I think that the red goes along with the painted bulwarks quite nicely.  My first thought was, oh no, unpainted wood is always better!  But once I saw the picture, I changed my bigoted discord to a harmonious paean to parts uniting into a whole.  😊

 

And I do remember your jig for the Pegasus guns -- in fact, I plagiarized it!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[Gahm]

You are now into the fun stuff, and you do it extremely well 😉

 

Thomas

[Blue Ensign]

Hi Dave, I admire you're resilience in scratching those gun carriages.👍

Re the Swivel posts; I think 3/16" square stuff is too heavy, but 1/8" looks about right, and fits on the capping rails as a timber head extension quite well.

The 1:24 scale drawings of the swivel posts in The Cutter Alert book, has them at  6.36" which is a tad over 1/8" at our scale.

I think I will go with 1/8" square stuff.

 

Thanks Martin, I have decided to go with the Red version.

No plagiarism on here Martin, just a mutual development of ideas to advance our obsession.☺️

 

Thank you Thomas, I do enjoy playing with the fittings, far more than the basic construction stuff.

 

Cheers,

 

B.E.

[Blue Ensign]

Post 49

Margin for error?

In accordance with the plan the Margin plank is fitted in three sections joined by scarph joints.

The short sections between the stern frames were fitted first using 3/64" x 1/4" strip.

There seems to be a little variation for the positioning of the scarphs between the supplied plan and the build instructions.

The plan shows quite a short Bow section whereas Chuck has it extending aft past the second port in his build, which seems to me a more manageable arrangement.

I am using 3/64" x 1/4" strip  for the aft section of the margin, heat bent and with the scarph then cut with a No 11 scalpel. I have terminated this section just past the third port from aft.

 The more tricky bow section was cut from 3/64" sheet using a card template.

4133

With the Bow and stern sections temporarily in place a card template can be marked with the scarphs for the centre section which is then cut out from the 3/64" sheet.

4134

Took quite a bit of time faffing around with these sections.

4156

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On reflection I suppose I could have used a simpler form of scarph

 

The final piece is the Waterway for which 1/32" (0.8mm) square stock is called for, rounded on the top edge. This seems incredibly small, at full scale a mere  1 1/2"

4534

Try as I might I couldn't get consistent widths cut from a 1/32" sheet, at the required lengths, so I  took the easy way out and ordered some 1/32" square stock from Chuck.

4531

My main concern with fitting the Waterway was not to get glue over the painted Spirketing, so I used a fine smear of glue and had water available to immediately clean any excess.

4532

A growing collection of mini delights.

 

This is a convenient point to drill the holes to take the bulwark eye and ring bolts, before the deck gets cluttered.

4508

Taking the positions from the plan a simple hole guide jig is used to mark the bulwark.

In practice the upper gun tackle eye bolts are 7mm above the spirketing and 2mm in from the port edge.

The Breeching rope ring bolts are 2mm above the spirketing and 2.5mm in from the port edge.

4528

Time now to think about the decking.

 

B.E.

11/11/2018

 

 

[MEDDO]

Impressive work and very inspiring.  Eventually will be building this and will be referencing your build for sure.

[Martin W]

Scarphs can be tricky and often require multiple tries.  But in the end, they look awfully good.  Very tidy work (and we ALL understand the obsession!).

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[davyboy]

Hi B.E. Thanks for that,I did think that 1/8th" square was about right for the swivel posts. The gun carriages were not too bad to scratch,I glued the carriage profile drawings to suitably dimensioned wood and cut them on my mill. Just a case then of slicing off the required number of sides,the rest was easy enough,just took a bit of time. The worst for me was making that tiny skylight,broke several window frames doing it 

 

The port shroud ratlines are done,now doing the stbd side. Not my favourite job as I've rheumatics in my right thumb and wrist and also the left. What with that and old mans shakes tying clove hitches with tweezers is not funny 😥   

 

I like your dish of goodies but you'll need a bigger one for the rest of the guns  

 

Dave 

[Blue Ensign]

Thanks Dave, can you tell me what the height is  midships between the deck and capping rail top on your model?  I’ve been looking at the scale figure on the plan and the capping rail top on my Cheerful appears higher in relation to a 1:48 scale figure but I can’t figure out why. 🤔

 

B.E.

[davyboy]

1 hour ago, Blue Ensign said:

Thanks Dave, can you tell me what the height is  midships between the deck and capping rail top on your model?  I’ve been looking at the scale figure on the plan and the capping rail top on my Cheerful appears higher in relation to a 1:48 scale figure but I can’t figure out why. 🤔

 

B.E.

Hi B.E. I have 7/8th" approx. Difficult to be exact as shrouds,guns and guntackles are in the way. I can't get my vernier in so had to use 2 bits of wood and a pencil mark. Hope this is of use to you.

 

Dave 

[paulsutcliffe]

Hi BE

You mentioned earlier that you had ordered holly strips for the deck but changed your mind and want for boxwood, can you tell me where you got the holly from please as I can't seem to find a supplier over here offering holly planks/strips

Thanks

Regards

Paul 

[md1400cs]

B.E.,

Somehow missed this one. Grabbed my ladder an binocks. adding my name to your shipyard guest list. 

As always brilliant work.

 

Cheers,

[Blue Ensign]

11 hours ago, davyboy said:

Hi B.E. I have 7/8th" approx. Difficult to be exact as shrouds,guns and guntackles are in the way. I can't get my vernier in so had to use 2 bits of wood and a pencil mark. Hope this is of use to you.

 

Dave 

Thanks Dave, mine is the same, so that is a relief, just had a moment of doubt.

The scale figure is 35mm = to a height of 5'6" which is appropriate.

4548

Still I needed to cut out the figure and the inboard plan to convince myself.

Not too far out I'm relieved to say.🙂

 

B.E.

 

 

 

[Blue Ensign]

9 hours ago, paulsutcliffe said:

Hi BE

You mentioned earlier that you had ordered holly strips for the deck but changed your mind and want for boxwood, can you tell me where you got the holly from please as I can't seem to find a supplier over here offering holly planks/strips

Thanks

Regards

Paul 

Hi Paul, I got it from Jason at Crown Timber yard when I ordered the original timber package.

I have in the past few months had another order from Jason of some wider Boxwood Strip, and he provides a good service.

 

Regards,

 

B.E.

[Blue Ensign]

13 hours ago, Wallace said:

There is some very intricate work going on here and it is a pleasure to see what a positive effect it has on the appearance of the model as a whole. You are to be congratulated sir.

Thanks Wallace for looking in, and for your kind words.☺️

 

B.E.

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you Wallace.

 

B.E.

[Blue Ensign]

 

Post 50

Thinking about Gun tackle scales

Fairly early in the stage, but I will fit the tackle eyebolts along the bulwarks and ensure that the holes for the breeching ring bolts are sufficiently deep and of the correct size to smooth the fitting later around all the encumbrances that will be on the deck by then.

I am conscious the more stuff on the deck the more difficult it is to get the drill square into the bulwark.

 

Chuck indicates using 28 gauge wire for the eyebolts and 24 gauge for the breeching tackle rings.

I presume he is referring to AWG and not SWG which we are more familiar with in the UK. There is not a huge difference but AWG is finer than SWG by equivalent gauge.

AWG 28 = 0.3211mmØ SWG = 0.376mmø

AWG 24 = 0.5106mm Ø SWG = 0.599mmø

 

I recall from my Pegasus build;

Breeching rings: 1"ø 4" in the clear

at 1:48 scale:= 0.5mm ø 2mm internal ø

Port Tackle eyebolt: 1"ø 1¾" in the clear

at 1:48 scale:= 0.5mm ø 0.92mm internal ø

For the Breeching rings I used 0.5mm ø  brass wire wrapped around a 2mm drill bit and snipped. A spot of silver solder secured the join. I went this extra step to reduce the risk of a ring failing and simply because I fancied doing a spot of silver soldering (or brazing as us professionals properly call it) 😉

For the bolts that hold them an eyebolt will suffice, modified slightly.

4557

Once cleaned up, the assembly is chemically blackened.

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Apart from the forward  port-side port where I don't intend to fit a gun, I will defer fitting the other ring bolts as it will be easier to pre-attach the breeching rope before they are inserted into the bulwark.

With a short stub stem I find these things tricky to fit at the best of times, and the risk of marring the bulwark paint is high if the fitting hole isn't a clean fit.

 

Time to start scratching my head over decking. 🙄

 

B.E.

15/11/2018

 

[Beef Wellington]

Those breeching rings came out really nicely an look just perfect, I'm sure at 1:48 its worth going that extra step to close these.  I really need to dive in and learn soldering and metal working techniques, been a little wary to try up to now. Love overall photo with the cut out figure, he enhances the look of the model by being a little more well defined than the ubiquitous "Captain Amati"...

Edited November 15, 2018 by Beef Wellington

[Blue Ensign]

Thanks Jason, Silver soldering is fairly simple at it's basic level such as closing rings or joining two bits of metal, all I have is a Microtorch butane burner and a couple of syringes of solder at different melt points.

The beauty of silver solder is that it  blackens along with the alloy.

 

Cheers,

 

B.E.

[Blue Ensign]

Thanks Wallace,

This is my blackening kit, during the gun blackening process on my previous build.

 

I use the metal black for brass diluted by around 20%

As you will know the greatest part of success is having a chemically clean  metal to work on.

 

Regards,

 

B.E.

 

[Blue Ensign]

Post 51

 Getting down to decking.

I have glued into place the side tackle eyebolts for the guns, and ensured the ring bolts will slide easily into their holes later on.

The deck beam positions have been marked on the false deck and the centre line fittings glued into place.

I spent a fair amount of time staring at the deck plan and noting  the  reference details. It has been over seven years since I last planked a deck, one year into my previous Pegasus build, and I'm feeling somewhat ring rusty.

The long planks outside of those between the centre line fittings range between 32 - 35' scale feet, and there is a four shift butt pattern.( 3 plank widths between butts across a beam.)

The provided plan shows a joggled layout but Chuck has opted for a  curved plank arrangement with hooded planks. I last used this arrangement on the Fo'csle deck of Pegasus, but they were much shorter lengths and far fewer in number.

The process starts with the centre line planks and the narrative indicates that the first is placed right down the centre of the deck. The plan shows the centre two planks joining along the centre line.

4730

I played around with both arrangements to see which provided the better outcome when I came to fitting the adjacent full length planks either side.

4734

 I eventually settled on the 'Chuck' arrangement but either way I would need to cut wider planks for the outside run to avoid  slivers of planking alongside the centre line fittings.

 

The section around the Bread room scuttle at the stern required cutting from some 3/64" x 9/32" strip.

4725

Tricky little patterns to cut but they do make for an interesting layout.

4727

With the planks in place the scuttle was sanded flush with the deck.

4731

4728

So another milestone reached which is also twelve months from the start of the build.

I now need to do some working out of the remaining deck layout before I move on to complete the planking.

 

B.E.

29/11/2018

[Rustyj]

Very nice work BE. Love it!

[MEDDO]

You continue to be an inspiration.  Hope I can learn enough before I attempt this one myself not to embarrass the Cheerful fleet😁

[Blue Ensign]

Thanks guys for your support🙂

I am getting down to the deck planking but having applied the taped lines to establish the curve it appears that the taper at the bow end would in particular results in far too narrow plank ends.

4745

Any less curve would result in barely any 'curve' at all.

4739

In this shot the two plank runs outside of the centre line planks are in process of being fitted to accommodate the tabs around the hatches. They have not been tapered at this point.

 

My question is did other Cheerful builders have any issues with this, and how wide did the six tapered planks of the first belt end up on their builds.

Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

 

Regards,

 

B.E.

 

[davyboy]

Hi BE,can't help you there as I planked the deck as shown on the plans. However,in Chucks' practicum you can see the 3 outer plank strakes are hooded at the ends. Perhaps that may solve your dilemma and give you the required space for the first 6. Just a thought in case you haven't noticed that. Hope this makes sense.

 

Regards,

 

Dave 

[Chuck]

There is very little curve there actually and you would be surprised how much it will still show when done.   So I would use very little curve up there.  You show so much more than is needed.  See below.

 

 

Chuck

[paulsutcliffe]

Hi BE

As chuck points out there is very little curve, see above from my cheerful

Regards

Paul 

[Blue Ensign]

Thanks Chuck for the quick response, you have settled the issue in my mind. I was concerned that a curve wouldn't show up if I moved the line outwards.

 

Thanks for the photo Paul, it is reassuring to see that I have similar shapes  to the planks adjacent to the centre line set as on your build. 🙂

A nice shot of your butt shift pattern as well.

 

Thanks Dave, until Chuck resolved the matter for me, I was beginning to think why don't I revert to the 'joggled' plank arrangement!

 

Once again, thanks for your help guys.

 

B.E.