HM Cutter Cheerful 1806 by AnobiumPunctatum - scale 1/48

[AnobiumPunctatum]

In 2016 I bought Chuck's Starting set from a fellow modeler who became a father. I glued the false keel together and then packed everything in a big box. While preparing the Winchelsea build, the box fell into my hands and I decided to build both models more or less in parallel. I can practise all the building steps on the much smaller Cheerful model before I do them on the Winchelsea.

 

Since the false keel I built at that time was no longer usable and I want to build the model from Yellow Cedar, I asked Chuck for spare parts. These arrived on Saturday morning with a small delivery of wood. Many thanks for the first class service, @Chuck .

 

I will build the model according to the instructions and with the help of the mini-kits. I have only one change planned - I want to copper the underwater hull.

The slipway is a bit big for the small cutter, but as I still had it, it was reactivated.

 

On Saturday evening I glued the false keel together and let it dry overnight. The frames could only be pushed into the recesses with difficulty - the thickness of plywood is always subject to slight fluctuations. I made a small sanding stick out of 180-grit sandpaper and a suitable strip. Then go over the lasered edges two or three times on each side and the frames fit perfectly (the frames are not glued in now).

 

 

Finally, the stem was assembled.

 

 

[Chuck]

Very nice start.  Its really nice to see you making sawdust.

[glbarlow]

Nice to see another Cheerful underway. It’s a great model, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. 

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Next step was to form the rabbet. I used therefor a scrap piece from the false keel.

 

 

After drying, the spooning was glued to the false keel. During the drying process the paper clips proved their worth.

 

 

I sanded the taper the stem with sandpaper. Finally, the stem and keel were glued to the ensemble.
As you can see in the photos, the shape of the taper is not perfect, but the planking will cover that later.

 

 

Edited January 31, 2021 by AnobiumPunctatum

[JpR62]

Glad to see a new Cheerful under construction. I will follow this build with interest.

[AnobiumPunctatum]

In order to be able to securely fasten the model to the stand, two recesses for nuts were milled into the keel board and two holes were drilled for M3 threaded rods.

Today I glued the ribs into the prepared keel board. For the right-angled alignment I built small auxiliary constructions out of Lego bricks.

 

[Chuck]

Nice and straight....almost at the fun part.

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Today I found time to sand the first half of the hull. After removing the adhesive tape at the keel I have to sand a little bit at the stem.

 

 

 

Those who can read have a clear advantage. 😉 If you see, I didn't follow Chucks advise, I simply overread this.  So I copied the marks on the other side of the frames.

[glbarlow]

Every moment spent fairing pays rewards later when planking, I suggest running lots of battens to check for a smooth run, 13 might be a bit high on the stern side. 

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Thanks for the hint, Glenn. So position for frame 13 is fine.

[AnobiumPunctatum]

I am further busy with sanding the hull. The starbordside is finished. At the port side some further sanding at the stern is necessary. It's a lttle bit difficult to get this really smooth with stem glueded in place.

 

 

 

 

[archjofo]

Hi Christian,

very precise and clean job.

I am very interested to see how it will continue.