Revenue Cutter by wtimlen - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:48

[sjanicki]

Wow! Love how you did the cabins! Great work 

[wtimlen]

Hello Folks,

Happy New Year's. A quick post tonight, probably another larger one this weekend. Status on the Bluejacket Revenue Cutter is listed below:

Blocks:

• Drilled all blocks with #75 drill bits to clear out the holes.
• Cleaned them all with Acetate and let dry overnight prior to the Blue Jacket Pewter Black #51 bath the following day. Did NOT want to paint every block...
• Even after the pewter bath I still airbrushed them with a coat of Model Master Flat Black and a seperate coat of Tamiya Clear Flat (LOL).
• Worked out nicely so far...

 

Stanchions (18) required however made (20):

• This was a project in of itself, however survived...
• Used a heavy vice grip pliers to flatten the 1/16 inch to drill the hole for the safety rope. Filed each stanchion (rounded the tops) as outlined in the building manual.
• Used an blade #11 to create a small canyon for a #75 drill bit.
• Drilled a #75 drill bit hole into the stanchion, trashed about 5 drills doing this part. Did this manually with a pin vise. The brass was not to kind to me.
• Drilled another hole with a #72 drill bit to widen the hole (with an electric drill) a little to ensure there would be no issues with rigging the safety line. The reason for this was that this assembly would be completed at the finishing line of the build with all the rigging in place.
• These will be black stanchions on the finished model using BlueJacket Brass Black #52 Solution to color the pieces. Will probably airbrush these pieces as well (similar to the blocks).
• Most importantly found the need to purchase a light weight flex shaft rotary machine and 3 sets of (#61-#80) Drill Bits from MicroMark to avoid the pin vise drilling (and breaks) for repetitive jobs like this.

Brass and Pewter Darkening Solutions:

• Used BlueJacket Solvents to darken the blocks and stanchions BlueJacket #51 & #52 solutions.

Next Post (I hope this weekend):

• Finished Stanchions (colored)
• Finished Hull with dry fitted stanchions.
• Completed Carronade
• And then on to mast and spars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 3, 2023 by wtimlen
Formatting Issues

[wtimlen]

Hello Folks,

Although posts have been few and far between doesn't mean the Revenue Cutter has been ignored (I kept up with my pictures though). I believe I am finally finishing up with the hull/fixtures and ready to move on masts and spars. Then my favorite part rigging. This post is as follows:

• I decided to color the stanchions black, I colored them using the Blue Jacket Brass Black #52. Then I sprayed them with Tamiya Flat Black (XF-1) and Flat Clear (XF-86). Pleased with the final result.
• Drilling the holes on the deck for the stanchions was slow process. I needed to bend a few stanchions to make the 90 degree angle. (I wish I knew a way to make a jig to ensure the holes were all the same 90" angle). All is well though.
• I test drove the stanchions prior to coloring them to ensure no roadblocks occur at the point I need assemble them onto the deck. I also rigged them at that time as well, just as a test. This portion was completed prior the coloring of the stanchions (FYI).
• Then it was onto the carronade, this was more challenging than anticipated. (This part was a "mini-kit in itself). Attaching the pigtails to the frame of the frame was challenging for me (especially for the 3/16" blocks!).
• I decided to use leftover eyelets from my previous rigging classes (which I highly recommend for anyone with rigging challenges) to assist me in affixing the blocks onto the carronade frame. It is now complete and placed aside for placement onto the deck. A lot of touch up work done for such a small piece on the deck. Thank god for my magnifying glasses! 🔍

Time to clean up a little bit and onto the mast and spars (I hope). Excited to try my Proxxon Lathe for the first time! Be well folks.

 

[wtimlen]

Hello Folks,

Long time, no post. Work prevented me from doing work on the Revenue Cutter, however I kept up with my limited pictures. Work is beginning again on a regular basis and having fun again!

• All spars, masts are tapered, shaped, stained and sealed according to the Blue Jacket plans.
• Used a Proxxon Lathe to accomplish this portion, a real time saver.
• All holes are drilled.
• All remaining mast parts are painted (of course I strayed away from the original paint scheme) ready for assembly later today (I hope).
• I still need to do some final clean-up on the painted parts, sometimes it seems clean-up is a never ending process!
• In my next post will show the blocks with the pigtails completed.

Tomorrow I hope to post the assembled masts.

Nice to be back!

 

 

 

[BrianK]

Bill,

they look great.

Can I ask which lathe you are using? It looks like a Proxxon.

 

Brian

[wtimlen]

19 hours ago, BrianK said:

Bill,

they look great.

Can I ask which lathe you are using? It looks like a Proxxon.

 

Brian

Good Tidings Brian,

I used a Proxxon Micro Woodturning Lathe DB 250

I hope this helps!

 

 

[BrianK]

Thanks Bill.

Shopping for a lathe.....

 

Be well.

[wtimlen]

Hello Folks,

Been a little busy at work, however I have kept up with the pictures when I could sneak in some time with the Revenue Cutter. All pieces are assembled and it is time to begin the process of rigging the model (finally). Some Notes on Spars, Masts and Bowsprit:

• Spars / Mast Caps: Be super careful drilling holes in these pieces for the blocks. I severed both a spar and a mast cap trying to drill holes for the blocks, next time I will use new drills and or probably just tie blocks using thread.
• Blocks and Spars: Dry fit the spars to the masts prior to gluing the blocks onto them to get the correct angle for them for rigging purposes, the blocks on the spars should be set at an angle so they meet nicely with the blocks on the mast (and vice versa mast blocks to spar blocks).
• Mast Caps: As usual did not follow the paint scheme, I painted the mast caps flat black (Tamiya XF-1).
• Bowsprit: Assembled as per instructions and gammoning completed as well. I painted the cap flat black (Tamiya XF-1). I will not glue this part onto the hull until I rig the cannon on the deck and I am completely ready to rig. I guarantee I will break the bowsprit (as I usually do).

Next Post: Cannon rigging, and standing rigging (I hope).

 

 

Be well all,

Bill T.

 

Edited March 31 by wtimlen
Too many pictures.

[wtimlen]

Hello Folks,

I hope all is well with everyone this summer. Made progress on the BJ Revenue Cutter, into the rigging now. Below are some pictures and comments:

• Installed the Bowsprit, pretty straight forward and I haven't broken it yet. I did not install the forward Bulwark as of yet, I want to wait until I finish installing Boom and Gaffs.
• Hint: Test to make sure the Belaying Pins fit into the Spider after painting them and prior to "stepping/installing your Masts". I had to redrill the holes on the spider after the Masts were installed and Spider glued to the mast and in the hull. When re-drilling the holes I busted up one of the spiders pretty badly. It would have been much easier re-drilling the holes on the painted Spider prior to the mast installation while they were independent of the Mast.
• Used an electronic level to ensure the masts were installed perpendicular to the deck. This worked well I thought and recommend getting one ($85.00 Bosch GLL50-20G).
• The Shrouds and Boom installation was straight forward and worked out well. The boom ended up being a little off center, however I'm OK with it.

Work is slow finally, hopefully I post more in the upcoming days. Be well!

BT

[wtimlen]

Hello Folks,

Finally the Blue Jacket Revenue Cutter is complete, I still need to mount it in the case however ship is complete! Lot's of highs and challenges with this build over the 51 months!

Challenges:

• Needed to restart the hull after over sanding beyond repair (biggest lessons learned normally come from my largest mistakes, that was a Biggy (LOL))
• Not to give up on the boat, never quit.

Highs:

• Coppering the hull!
• Referring to other builds for ideas and methods.
• Hoping my post would assist other modelers with their projects.
• Hearing from the kind people on MSW!
• Finishing the kit with using some of my own changes to the paint scheme and build to ad contrast (I will never win any awards for accuracy)!
  • Mast Caps (Black)
  • Aft Cabin Trim (Black)
  • Toe Rails (White)
  • Aft Cabin Ceiling (Deck Color)
  • Deck Hatches (Black)
  • Bowsprit Cap (Black)
  • Finally lowering the Gaffs to emphasize the rigging.

Some Notes:

• Seal the hull with epoxy/resin so the hull doesn't expand and contract (especially if coppering the hull)
• Rig the cannon on the deck prior to placing the masts on the boat.
• Affix all blocks to masts, gaffs, spars and decks prior to rigging.
• Drill all holes for Gaffs, Masts, Booms prior to affixing to masts / Bowsprit
• If coppering the hull, paint below to waterline copper and the Polyurethane the copper paint so the CA doesn't mess with the paint

 

Most all "thank you" for all your kind comments and suggestions!

Bill T.

 

 

 

[Ryland Craze]

Congratulations Bill on finishing your Revenue Cutter.  You did an excellent job on building this model.

[Paul Le Wol]

Bill, congratulations on finishing your Revenue Cutter. She looks gorgeous!

[Knocklouder]

Nicely done Sir, congratulations     Bob  M.

[wtimlen]

4 hours ago, Paul Le Wol said:

Bill, congratulations on finishing your Revenue Cutter. She looks gorgeous!

Thank you you for your kind remarks, I am grateful for attention and support.

Bill T.

[wtimlen]

3 hours ago, Knocklouder said:

Nicely done Sir, congratulations     Bob  M.

Yes sir!, thank you for kind remarks and support.

And yes, Cheers to you!

Bill T.

[ccoyle]

That's a very fine model, Bill! Congratulations!

[Dr PR]

Nice model!

[MrBlueJacket]

Add another "10% 0ff" of your next kit you buy from us! Good job!

 

Nic