Le Coureur 1776 by captain_hook - CAF - Scale 1:48

[captain_hook]

Hello everyone,

 

this is my fourth kit-build and my first POF build. I couldn‘t resist to buy this one because of its beauty and grace. Some months ago I finished my last build and I thought some time about what to build next. There are a lot of beginner kits but I found it difficult to choose the right „intermediate“ kit. I started the Caldercraft 1:64 Granado kit I had in storage for a long time soon to find out that CAF is designing a 1:48 POF kit of the Granado. So I have put that build on hold until CAF has finished the developement. If it will turn out well, I will eventually start that one. But meanwhile? The Badger is more like an experiment, which will take a lot of time researching and I have to think about every step. How about a nice little side-project, that is challenging enough to keep me busy until CAF‘s Granado will be finished?
 

Having followed the banned kits threat for a while I was afraid about buying a Chinese manufacturer‘s kit because I expected less experience with kits than established European and American companies already have. But CAF is something like a startup and I decided if I won‘t give a talented designer like Tom of CAF a try, other Chinese companies that still sell pirated kits in the first will never get encouraged to chance their attitude. So I ordered the kit, a barrel box and a cutter and got all items three days ago. My first impression was - wow! I have also ordered the Le Coureur book from Ancre and will use it as another source for reference, but it will take some more days to arrive here.
 

 

 

James H. already did a nice and substantial kit review, so there is little left to say about the kit. It comes in two medium boxes, but both stuffed with lasercut wooden parts, stripe wood, accessoires and plans. As far as I can see, the quality of all parts is excellent, although cherry is not my favorite wood this might be my first kit it won‘t be necessary to substitute any wood. The keel is to be assembled first and then the cradle has to be done next. I made a small step first to assemble the bottom of the cradle and fixed that to a plain MDF-board with some screws. Will begin assembling the keel within the next days. Stay tuned...

 

[JpR62]

Very interested in following this log. I have the monograph 'Le Coureur' published by Ancre and it is really a very beautiful ship.
And the kit produced by CAF seems to be of very good quality.
I am also looking forward to the Granado. A bomb vessel remains a most interesting subject.

[James H]

I'll definitely be watching this. 🤩

[JeffT]

As will I 🙂

[yvesvidal]

I am pulling a chair to admire your work. This is going to be very exciting.

 

Yves

[gjdale]

I’m really interested to see how this kit comes together, so I’ve grabbed a front row seat too!

[markjay]

I'm here!

[Canute]

Should be an interesting build. I'll follow along.

[captain_hook]

Construction has begun with a little delay. First thing I did was to clean the sheets that contain the keel parts. I sanded all laser char off with a 240 grit sandpaper. That reduced the thickness only by 1/100 mm. Then I carefully released all needed parts from the sheets. The keel goes together like a puzzle, there is no risk of confusion any parts as their location is determined by their shape. Next up is to clean the sides and to assemble the keel.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2020 by captain_hook

[captain_hook]

I also started to chemically colour the brass parts. These are brass casting parts that need some post processing. The gun barrels for example are nicely detailed but had to be sanded, drilled and to be bend to shape. Now they are ready for installation (which won‘t be done soon). BTW they seem to be largely oversized for 2-pounders but matches the ones shown in the Le Coureur Manual and plans from Ancre that has arrived meanwhile. Stay tuned...

[captain_hook]

For comparison: The upper one is the supplied 2-pounder and below a 4-pounder gun barrel which will be used for the Badger - both 1:48 scale. I believe these long low-caliber guns were called ‚falconet‘ - a kind of sharpshooting gun. Not able to penetrate any ship’s hull but able to target crew members.

Edited December 5, 2020 by captain_hook

[JeffT]

Just curious. What did you use to color the brass parts?

[captain_hook]

Started to clean the keel parts and dry-fit them on a flat surface. As the laser cuts with an angle, the sides have to be carefully sanded to get them orthogonal to the surface. Will continue tomorrow...

 

 

@JJT I use a chemical blackening from a German company called Krick. The parts have to be threatened with cleaning petrol first (to remove fat and fingerprints) and then cleaned with distilled water. Then the parts can be threatened with the  Krick „Brüniermittel“. It is heat activated (more temperature means faster blackening) and the colour depth is depending on how long you put it into the chemistry. After another cleaning with water the parts are ready to use. Very easy application. Works with copper as well.

Edited December 8, 2020 by captain_hook

[captain_hook]

The keel is finally assembled. Removing the laser char took most of the time. Test-fit into the slots of the building board...passed 😉

 

 

 

 

 

[James H]

That looks real good. I'm a little concerned about some of the parts of my jig being warped. I'll need to screw them down dead flat to make the keel fit like you have.

[captain_hook]

Some of my jig parts are warped too. I didn‘t use the supplied parts for the bottom, instead I glued B1 and B2 onto  a 1,5mm plywood sheet I had in stock and fixed that assembly onto a heavy MDF-Board with 12 screws. 

[GuntherMT]

Going to be following along with you on this one.  I really love that we have been starting to see quality kits that allow people to build true POF construction from at least a couple companies.  The future seems bright for the hobby!

[captain_hook]

Thank you for your interest and all the likes. Yes, there are a bunch of new kits coming which will bring the hobby to a new level. I‘m going to a endocrine surgery tomorrow, so I will be off modeling for some days but hopefully will continue the build before Christmas. Stay tuned ... and stay safe.

[James H]

2 minutes ago, captain_hook said:

I‘m going to a endocrine surgery tomorrow, so I will be off modeling for some days but hopefully will continue the build before Christmas. 

Hope all goes well. Kidneys can be tricky things at times.

[captain_hook]

😉 It is only a thyroid cyst removement (but I am like a scared rabbit).

[GuntherMT]

Best wishes for everything to go smoothly!

[DelF]

On 12/10/2020 at 2:52 PM, captain_hook said:

It is only a thyroid cyst removement (but I am like a scared rabbit).

I just found out yesterday that I've got a thyroid cyst, although not large enough (yet?) to require removal, so I shall keep my fingers crossed for you and hope you have a swift recovery.

[captain_hook]

Thank you all for the nice words. A smaller cyst can be treated with puncture but unfortunately not mine. I have passed the operation yesterday and will return home tomorrow. ASAP I will start with the counter and stern frames. Stay tuned .. and save. 

Edited December 20, 2020 by captain_hook

[captain_hook]

After some recovery I am able to continue the.build. Before assembling the counter and stern timbers the parts have to be released from the trays. Although CNC-milled they need some post processing to get rid from the holding bars. I used different needle files and sanding paper to clean them. The stern timber’s are laser cut, so they have to be cleaned too to get rid of all the laser char (again this took most of the time). The sanding has to be done very carefully as some parts might easily break along the grain.

 

 

 

Now all parts are ready for installation ... which will be done tomorrow. Stay tuned... and save.

 

[Matt D]

Your parts look beautiful.  The display reminds me of an anatomy exhibit at a museum.

[PoulD]

You are probably aware of this but a small hint just in case . . . check the total width of the 9 middle stern timbers before you glue them together. They are alll to much too thick and when you multiply that by 9 . . .  each stern timber needs a lot of sanding on the sides

[captain_hook]

To assemble the stern and counter frames I used the supplied jig parts as reference. I started construction with the 9 middle stern timbers that are glued together to form the center piece. This piece is glued into the notch already milled into the stern post.

 

iAs PoulD has pointed out all frames glued together are much too thick so they require some sanding, These stern frames were the first to be installed and then I used the rear jig parts for reference and installed the center horizontal timber.

 

 

The lower part was done next. 
 

 

The counter timbers are pre-milled but they still need some post-processing. They come in three separate parts that have to be glued together. After some sanding they were ready to be installed.
 

 

 

The last piece to be installed was the one that sits above the windows. I used some wood blocks to equal the height (8 mm) on both sides. 
 

 

 

Then the rest of the stern timbers were added. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[captain_hook]

And after adding all missing stern frames the assembly is finished.

 

 

 

 

 

Next thing will be assembling the jig and start building the frames. Stay tuned .. and save.

[Ron Burns]

Simply astounding! One gets the feel of watching a real ship come together. Are you happy with the fit so far? 

[yvesvidal]

53 minutes ago, captain_hook said:

That is a nice pair of horns 🙂

 

Yves