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

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you Jnugid,  much appreciated. 🙂

 

Hi Dave, I think 1.8mm ø line should be about right.

I don't intend to fit a cathead bracket, but Peter Goodwin shows one on the Alert book plans and drawings.

 

Hi Martin,

The method of constructing the Cathead on the Cheerful is a modelmakers simplification as used by Chuck. I think the idea is you shouldn't see the join.

Hopefully by the time I've completed the painting it won't be apparent on mine either.

The alternative and more authentic method would be to cut the Cathead from a single piece of timber, but then it would be more tricky to cut the sheaves in the outboard end.

In reality small vessels like Cheerful would have had what was described as a vertical Cathead, cut from  a selected piece of compass timber shaped and bolted thro' the bulwark.

Cutters carried fairly lightweight anchors of around 18cwt, so the method was considered adequate for the task.

 

Thanks Jason, I didn't use a jig for the timberheads, these will be the subject of my next post.

 

Cheers Guys.

 

B.E.

[Blue Ensign]

Post 62

Completing the Catheads

These are now painted and the cleats attached.

5697

Working sheaves are in place, and I decided to add a decorative panel at the end which on the real thing also served the purpose of protecting the end grain of the Cathead.

5673

5691

Catheads were traditionally decorated and apparently around the beginning of the 19th c a *fouled anchor was in vogue.

*The Construction and Fitting of the English Man of War 1650 - 1850 by Peter Goodwin.

No evidence what decoration, if any, Cheerful had on her Cathead, but the idea of a fouled anchor appealed to my sense of irony, so a fouled anchor it is.

5700

Not a fancy carved version as might appear on a more important vessel, but a simple painted affair more appropriate to  a humble cutter.

 

Inboard works continue in my next post.

 

B.E.

28/01/2019

 

[Blue Ensign]

Post 63

Timberheads, cleats, and other sundry attachments

 

Timberheads are fairly easy to carve, getting them all to look pretty much identical is the tricky part.

5693

It is a case of drawing the cut lines and shape on the strip and start carving.

5708

The aft timberheads are slightly more tricky as they have to be shaped at the base  to  counter the sheer of the rail.

I like to use a No 11 scalpel blade fitted in a No3 Swann -Morton handle for this task. The boxwood pares away easily  but care has to be taken to control the scalpel.

I tend to hold the blade well down the handle, balanced across my forefinger and the scalpel handle end braced against my palm to limit movement.

These things were designed to remove tissue and they do it very efficiently as I have in the past found to my cost.

001

Suffering for my art back in 2012

With the stems cut to size a short length of brass rod is inserted into the base to correspond with a matching hole in the cap rail.

 

Cleats.

Rather than struggle to make these tiny fittings I opted to use Chuck's pre -made items tweaked to suit. A mixture of 9mm and 7mm sizes. 

5710

I also decided at present to leave them natural as a contrast to the inboard paintwork, but in view of my enduring indecision I may revisit this later.

 

Boom Sheet Horse.

A specific size for the horse is not given but a piece of copper wire of 1.3mm ø seemed to suit so I used that. The height of the horse is also not specified but the rigging plan shows it in profile and it looks to be around 3mm.

 

5703

I chemically blackened the horse before fitting.

Mine seems to have developed a slight kink, I've previously warned the dockyard mateys about jumping up and down on it, it may have to be replaced.

 

Inboard Ladders

I would normally go thro' my parts stock and use pre cut ladder sets, but unfortunately I don't have any close enough to match the Plan requirement.

For the ladders I used 3/64" x 5/32" strip.

5594

Copies of the plan ladder profile were glued to the strip and the  tread slots marked with a scalpel, and cut using a mini file.

It is necessary to take a reversed image of the plan to get the profile for the left hand stile slots.

Always tricky little beggars to assemble, they seem to have a life of their own and the stiles do need simple jigs to hold them steady whilst the treads are inserted and the opposing stile is attached.

5684

I decided to leave the treads natural.

5707

5690

Pin Racks

One each of these is positioned  along the bulwark adjacent to the mast.

Simple to make from 3/64" x 3/16" strip which allows for the slight curvature along the edges.

5733

Brass pins were inserted in the back edges to provide extra support when glued to the bulwark.

 

 

B.E.

30/01/2019

 

 

[davyboy]

Hi B.E, 

 

Looking perfect as normal. I also left my cleats unpainted,looks much better than being painted would. Out of curiosity where on the plans are the ladder profiles shown ?  Certainly nowhere to be seen on my plans or else I'm going blind  Anyway I just made a pair to fit,look the same as yours with unpainted stiles.

 

Haven't done anything these last few days,cold,damp and frosty weather do wonders for the rheumatics I have in both hands NOT.

 

regards,

 

Dave   

[Blue Ensign]

Hardly perfect Dave,  I think you must be going blind 😃 I shudder sometimes at the macro shots, but from 12" it looks ok, at least to my eye.

 

It is the plan with the inboard profile and deck plan on it.

I chopped my plans up to make them more easy to use, but this section may help you locate the ladder profile.

 

Hope your finger stiffness eases off soon.

 

Regards,

 

B.E.

[Martin W]

Is that Nelson???

[davyboy]

Good evening B.E.

 

That ladder detail is not on my plans which are from 2015,that is obviously a later amendment. Still,it wasn't a problem to make the ladders,milled 1/32" slots in some 1/16" sheet pear. Marked out the required angles for the stiles then sliced them off on my table saw. Glued up,job done. BTW,remember we are our own worst critics,your work is excellent 👍

 

Thanks for the thought about my hands. Left is now OK but right still giving me "jippo". 

 

Dave 

Edited January 31, 2019 by davyboy

[Blue Ensign]

Post 64

Mast Coat

This is the last deck fitting I need to make.

Have been thinking about it for a while and I didn't fancy trying to drill and shape this boxwood ring by hand.

So for this little exercise I got the mill out.

5735

I also brought into use the Dividing head to remove the centre.

5736

The beauty of this tool is that it can be used in either the horizontal or vertical plane.

5737

This gives a clue as to the donor for the mast coat.

5739

Shaping the rim is the final operation.

5741

Not for the first time an old Boxwood chess piece has provided the makings.

5746

5755

5754

 A little more tidying up and another milestone sort of reached.

5760

Meanwhile the precious little boxes of fittings delight await their turn.

That about does it for the present, now returning outboard.

 

B.E.

01/02/2019

 

[Dowmer]

B.E.

 

I have a question that has been nagging at me.  In one of your previous pictures of your hatch coamings it shows the edge square with the top rounded off.

 

 

I always thought the edges were rounded down to the deck to prevent nasty ankle injuries etc.  Here’s a picture of what I mean.

 

 

 

Are there other ways to model them?  

I’m certainly no expert, and I don’t mean to be critical, but I’m always looking for accurate or contemporary ways of construction.

 

Thanks

 

 

[Blue Ensign]

I think you're right Dowmer, having pre-made the hatch surrounds to the plans as I thought,  I obviously didn't take the round down sufficiently to the deck level, and then forgot all about it as I moved onto other stuff.

 

Thanks for the heads up, we need more members to point things out that puzzle them or don't seem right to help keep us on track.

 

B.E.

[Dowmer]

BE, are the hatch comings sitting on the deck planks or on the deck beams and carlings. That could explain the extra edge.  The hatch should be sitting on the deck beams. 

[Blue Ensign]

The coamings are glued to the ‘false deck’, the deck planking  is then laid.

 

B.E.

 

[Blue Ensign]

Post 65

Returning outboard

Side steps and Channels

Surprising how much time producing these seemingly innocuous little fittings take.

There are three of these each side aligning with the inboard steps.

They are formed from 3/32" x 3/32" Boxwood strip as indicated by Chuck.

5762

I decided to mill the profile rather than use the 'scrape' method but I first had a practice on slightly larger stuff.

5764

5770

Ready for fitting.

I fit them in the order of top, bottom, and middle, taking care not to damage the moulding when removing a section to allow the top step to fit in.

5773

The 'iron' stanchions are only temporarily fitted at this point to help align the inboard and outboard steps.

5779

The question has already been discussed on Chuck's log as to why no fourth step. My eye screams at me that one should be there, along the line of the top moulding strip.

Only three are shown on the NMM original plans, so three it is, but my eye still screams at me.

5787

 

Channels

These are made from 5/32" x 5/32" strip as indicated by Chuck.

Having marked the profile  I used the little miller to produce the shape.

5790(2)

5797

The end profile was formed used a scalpel and mini round file.

5801

I decided to leave cutting the slots until later when I had a better idea of the Chainplate angles.

5804

Little by little getting there.

 

 

B.E.

05/02/2019

 

[davyboy]

Hi B.E. I too thought that about the outboard steps so I just added a fourth. The 5/8" gap to the top rail is 2'6" in reality. They must have had very long legs considering the average height then was around 5'6" 

 

I've just finished making the stocks for my anchors. Went into Laverys' Arming and Fitting to find out the bolting patterns for them. Read a bit further on and he says that the round Crown Anchor and Arms shown on my copy of Chucks plan were not around in 1806.  The first of this pattern was not made until 1813 and by 1815 only 25 had been made and 14 issued,probably starting with 1st rates. I also had a look in Steel but no mention of a new pattern there. Up to you of course,just thought I'd let you know.  

 

Regards,

 

Dave 

Edited February 5, 2019 by davyboy

[Beef Wellington]

I'm with you BE, my knee feels sore just looking at the height of the top step.  I think I would lean toward adding another.  I had a similar conundrum with a main hatch ladderway that is clearly shown on NMM plans but just looks plain odd in reality so went with the aesthetic solution.  Love the detail of the drainage holes.

[Blue Ensign]

My eye does keep getting drawn to that space above the third step, eventually I may succumb and add  a fourth along the line of the top moulding. Only downside is that I would have to mill a complete new set to get the profiles the same.

 

Not all sources agree Jason that there were hand holes cut into the entry steps but Peter Goodwin shows them in his Cutter Alert Book, and Victory had them, I thought them a nice detail, and besides getting aboard Cheerful seemed difficult enough😉

 

Cheers Dave, as soon as I received Chuck's mini anchor kit I thought 'too early for Round Crown' .

I will be fitting an Admiralty pattern anchor; Caldercraft have a good range, one of which will suit, but that's some way off at present.🙂

 

Cheers,

 

B.E.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jörgen]

On 2/15/2018 at 3:13 PM, Blue Ensign said:

I have decided to go with the Vallejo acrylic flat red

I have done exactly what you did and I also ended up with the Vallejo flat red:)

[Blue Ensign]

Thanks for looking in Jorgen, I'm quite impressed with the Vallejo paint, it has great consistency, thins beautifully, and very economical to use.

I initially bought three bottles, unsure how much Cheerful would take, but I've still got plenty left from the first bottle.

 

Regards,

 

B.E.

[kirill4]

Good day,B.E.

Very nice and clean job You do! 

watch your model building process  with great interest!

Edited February 6, 2019 by kirill4

[Old Collingwood]

She is looking realy nice.

 

OC.

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you for your  comments kirill4 and OC, much appreciated.

Post 66

Continuing outboard

Thinking about Scuppers

On Cheerful there are four of them running along the hull with the outlets sited just above the wale.

As far as I can see from the plans the scuppers are 1.5mm in the clear.

I'm certainly not brave enough to  drill the holes straight thro' the hull so mine will be false scuppers.

Scuppers weren't just downward sloping holes drilled thro' the hull they were lead lined pipes exiting the hull thro' a specific block fixed between the frames, with flanges turned on either end.

I wished in some way to at least replicate the flanges.

5818

The answer came in the form of brass hollow eyelets with a thickness of 0/1mm, 1/16th" dia and 3/32" length. I remembered that I had originally bought these for use on Pegasus but they proved a tad too large for 1:64 scale, but for Cheerful at 1:48 just about right.

5813(2)

The scuppers were chemically blackened  before a push fit into the hole.

5809

So far so good, I'm happy with the outlets.

 

The internal scuppers are far more tricky with the flange fitting; part on the margin plank and part on the waterway, running to the spirketting.

I take my lead for the internal scupper arrangements from  David Antscherl's  FMM book Vol 11.

Drilling the internal scuppers needs care to avoid splitting the very fine waterway strip.

 

I spent a day forming the flanges from slices of aluminium tubing, hammered  a little, and squeezed to form an oval shape.

5852

As I thought fitting proved tricky, but in the end I didn't like the effect. I thought they looked too prominent, so off they all came.

 

Approach 2 involved stamping flange shapes from a sheet of 0.1mm thick lead foil sheet.

This was more promising as the process was quicker  and the flanges moulded closer to the profile.

5879

5876

These are in a raw state but already they look more in scale and less prominent.

5888

5883

5875

I will leave these to allow for natural patination before I consider a coat of flat grey paint.

 

Time to consider  the Chain and Backstay plates.

 

B.E

07/02/2019

 

[Gahm]

Wonderful detail, BE! Your Cheerful is just an exceptional model!

 

Thomas

[Dowmer]

BE, do the channels rest on top of the planking or do they go directly onto the frames.  I’ve never known quite how it was done?

 

nice job with the scuppers.  A real pain to get the right look.

[Angarfather]

Hello BE,

 

your are doing an absolut amazing  Job as everytime. Thank you for showing!

 

best regards

Angarfather

Edited February 7, 2019 by Angarfather

[Blue Ensign]

Thank you Thomas, Dowmer and Hartmut. 🙂

 

@ Dowmner - I believe the Channels were simply bolted to the side, thro' the planking into the frames. On larger vessels they usually had supporting brackets, but channels were fairly lightweight structures whose main purpose was to spread the shrouds, not as sometimes mistakenly thought to also bear the weight of the pull of the shrouds. That was the job of the chainplates.

 

@ Hartmut - long time no hear Hartmut, but a nice surprise all the same. Hope you are well and still enjoying ship modelling.

 

B.E.

 

[Angarfather]

Hello Maurice!

 

Yes I am fine and modelling is still a great pleasure. In the last time I have finished the Pinco Genovese and the Staatenyacht Utrecht. My current project is the Golden Hind on an old german plan by Hoeckel. I hope you are fine to.

 

Do you know something about Pete Coleman?

 

regards Hartmut

[Blue Ensign]

Good to hear Hartmut, yes Pete is still going strong, heavily involved with his wild life rescue interest, and caring for his orphan squirrels.

Not so active on ship modelling at present, but the Victory forum is still alive altho' not as active as in previous years.

Your fine Pegasus and Agamemnon builds are still there along with most of the other builds, recovered from a systems crash a while ago.

Michael D is still progressing his wonderful 1756 Victory conversion, and the  significant data on all things Victory is  largely intact.

I do go in and have a look from time to time, but I don't have any current builds posted on there.

Regards,

Maurice.

[Blue Ensign]

Post 67

Chain and Backstay plates.

As indicated by Chuck I obtained some 1/64"x 3/32" brass strip to form the iron work.

The K&S strip is quite easy to work, and I don't think I will need machinery to produce these fittings.

5891

I did need to work out a strategy to hold and work these quite small items.

5892

One of the things I wanted to replicate was the distinct round at the base of the plate where the bolt enters, rather than just a straight taper up to where the hook is formed.

5898

A prototype backstay plate.

With the prospect of fourteen plates to make, my mind fondly drifts back to the brass etched versions provided with my Pegasus kit.

However in practice the task  proves less onerous than first may be thought.

The  Chain plates are measured against the model and cut to basic shape. Each strip is marked with its position on the channel.

5903

Having formed the plate the slight taper is filed in.

5907

I have left the chainplates overlong at this stage; before finishing I need to get the angles correct against the channels, and for this I need to rig a temporary mast and shrouds to be able to mark the channel slots.

5919

So the next stage is to set up a temporary shroud rig.

5914

5913

With the lines established I can now move ahead and mark the slots on the channels and fixing points for the Chainplates.

5970

With the slots cut and positions checked final finishing of the Chainplates can proceed.

 

B.E.

 

10/02/2019

 

[Chuck]

Nicely done!!!

[Blue Ensign]

Post 68

Making up the Deadeyes

Associated with the Chainplates are the deadeyes and strops.

Chuck indicates 6mm deadeyes and 22 gauge wire for the strops. (this is 0.64mm ø (awg) or 0.71mm ø (swg)

I used Chuck's self assembly Boxwood deadeye kit, and 0.6mm ø wire.

6051

I sacrificed one deadeye to form a jig to hold the others for char removal, stropping, and cleaning up.

Deadeye strops

Tricky little beggars these, a ring of wire needs to be formed sufficiently large to just fit over the deadeye, but small enough not to form too large a loop at the bottom to connect with the Chainplate.

The process starts with a little bit of best guess to gauge the correct size.

6052

Once I've got the fit, I can proceed to make the number required, each one tested for size on the deadeye jig.

6050

Once formed the ring is cleaned in acid, dipped in de-ionised water before soldering, and quenching once again in the de-ionised water.

A small amount of solder paste is applied to the join, a quick blast of the torch, a flash of silver and the jobs done.

6053

Hoping they  don't break when the  bottom is squeezed with long nose pliers to form the loop.

In cleaning up two broke but the rest held good.They are then chemically blackened before fitting.

6055

The completed set with a couple of spares.

For security silver soldering is the only way to go with this sort of thing.

 The whole process took around 4½ hours.

 

I am conscious that the deadeyes need to be level with the underside of the Capping Rail when attached to the Chainplates so I considered it beneficial to complete them in advance.

 

Back to the Chainplates.

 

B.E.

11/02/2019