HM Cutter Cheerful 1806 by PRS - FINISHED - Syren Ship Model Company - 1/48

[PRS]

Not another Cheerful build? Yes I am exited to get started on this and wanted to share this.

 

I ordered the starter kit which includes all the hull formers and plans.

 

The laser cutting looks good and some of the pieces just fell right out of master. Each piece only has a couple small tabs to trim and there was very little burning on the back of the parts.

 

The starter kit had 3 nice sheets of plans.

 

 

I printed up all of the practicum in colour and each chapter is stapled together as there is a lot of information and would be too many pages to have them all in one book.

 

[PRS]

First thing to do is test fit the hull pieces. I had zero warp and had to sand one of the inside table for a close fit.

 

I glued these two pieces together on the back of a long square to make sure it was all straight.

 

[PRS]

Next up was the 1/16 by 1/8 rabbet strip. I used the hull as a former and wet it and then ironed it down to take shape.

 

Then glued it on and held down with rubber bands while it set up.

 

 

[PRS]

The hull former already has the rabbet line marked on one side so I traced it to the other side and just sanded it to shape as it was pretty easy with 150 grit going to 220 grit.

Edited May 31, 2021 by PRS

[Chuck]

Beautiful start.   Enjoy the project!!!  😊

 

I will follow along....

[PRS]

I knocked out all the formers and test fitted them thinking this will take a bit to get all even and square. Much to my surprise they all fit perfectly. No sanding needed at all and the friction fit was good. It will not take much glue to get these all in position. Might put them all on and then use a 50/50 mix of PVA and water to get into the joints and then double glue them after for strength.

 

Look at all the formers!

 

[PRS]

Started on the keel and used the hull former to glue the three pieces together. Should I mention the perfect fit?

 

 

[PRS]

Once that was set I drilled and filled the treenail as suggested in the practium and then glued this to the hull former.

[glbarlow]

I'm thrilled to see another Cheerful log, congratulations on a fine start.  I'll follow along.

 

You'll like how the Yellow Cedar looks once you've added Wipe On Poly (which I hope they have in Canada, apparently they don't in Europe).

Edited May 31, 2021 by glbarlow

[Tigersteve]

A strong start. 
Steve

[PRS]

Thanks all.

 

Made up a little scraper to clean any excess glue from the rabbit line and made sure I cleaned it all out.

[PRS]

Applied two coats of Wipe On Poly to the keel. That sure makes the yellow cedar stand out. I like the colour of the wood.

[PRS]

Attached the hull to a base so I can work on it from both sides and glued the bulkheads all on one at a time making sure they were square.

[PRS]

Have the keel all taped up to protect it. The wood sure does attract dirt.

[PRS]

I have a question about the bow fillers. Do I need to fill these gaps at the top with some of the extra laser cut pieces I have?

 

Also. What is the best way for fairing the hull? Start in the middle at the top? Ends first? How do you all feel is the best way?

 

[Chuck]

You dont really have to.  Its up to you.  
 

Some people like more filler at the bow and others dont.

 

For fairing…just try many methods and approaches until you find one that works best for you.  Its not a fun job so try and find the most comfortable approach for yourself.
 

Chuck

[glbarlow]

There is a lot of fairing to do, a lot of it at the bow. By the time it is done right you really don’t need filler, most of it would be faired away anyway. 
 

I can’t stress enough how important it is to spend time on the fairing, way more than any kit due to the single planking. When you think you have it faired, check and recheck with battens, especially at the bow.  
 

Did I mention getting bow faired well is important. 
 

As to where to start as Chuch says, whatever works. It’s all has to be done. I started at the bow and worked back both sides at a time but with multiple passes, no way I could get it right all at once. 

[PRS]

Following along with Glenn's and Chuck's builds and sanding sanding sanding...

Not too bad as I like sanding for some reason. Took about ten hours worth of sanding so far and a few more hours to go I think.

 

Have the bulkheads faired pretty good now. Started with 100 grit and then went to 220 grit. I eyeballed down the bulkheads against a dark background and this helps as you can see any parts that stick out.

 

Will finish all of the fairing once I do the stern and the gun ports.

 

(the second picture looks like a warp but that is an illusion of the camera angle)

 

 

[glbarlow]

Remember a plank has to run smoothly from the bow rabit slot down the side, the angle there is tight. It looks like from the photos you have more to do at the bow. The transition from the second to the fourth bulkhead is also a challenge, maybe just the angles but it looks like the second is lowere than 1 and 3. Also the first gun port area can be tricky.  Running battens, even actual planks over and over is time well spent.  

[PRS]

On 6/3/2021 at 8:20 PM, glbarlow said:

Remember a plank has to run smoothly from the bow rabit slot down the side, the angle there is tight. It looks like from the photos you have more to do at the bow. The transition from the second to the fourth bulkhead is also a challenge, maybe just the angles but it looks like the second is lowere than 1 and 3. Also the first gun port area can be tricky.  Running battens, even actual planks over and over is time well spent.  

Yes I see that from the photos.

 

Looks like more fairing to do.

 

Good catch Glenn. Thanks for the advice.

[glbarlow]

1 minute ago, PRS said:

Thanks for the advice.

I know the places that gave me an extra challenge or two, getting the bow right was one of them. 

[PRS]

Noticed a slight twist at the stern so I corrected it by running some scrap pieces carefully between the bulkheads to take it out.

 

Still more fairing to do as I am going to make sure it is right as Chucks instructions cover this in detail and stress how important this step is.

 

I ended up removing some from the bow area as it caused a twist you can see in the picture and this relaxed it so it is straight.

 

 

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by PRS

[PRS]

Before I complete all the fairing I wanted to have the stern pieces in as I think it will help me with the final shaping.

 

Here I am stack gluing and then stack sanding the Z and ZZ pieces in. (every time I saw the ZZ lettering in I think Chuck should have marked them ZZ Top)

[PRS]

Spent most of the day yesterday fairing. Switched to 150 grit and then finished with 220 grit sandpaper.

 

Took quite a while with careful sanding to make sure everything runs smooth especially in the rabbit line at the bow.

 

 

[PRS]

I also glued on the stacked formers at the stern and got those close to final sanding.

[PRS]

During the fairing I got a little too close to the keel and scored the cedar at the tope. Not sure how I am going to fix it.

 

I could try to fill it with some pva and sawdust mix or sand it down to match. I don't want to leave it as everytime I look at it I can see it.

 

[PRS]

Tired the sawdust and PVA and it did not stick good. Ended up using a bit of filler which matched the colour pretty well and then a spot of superglue to seal it all in. Will take a picture of the repair.

[PRS]

Took some time to sand the char off the deck area and thinned out the bow area as well before I did the gun ports.

 

 

[PRS]

Carefully marked the gunport line. This took some extra care as I wanted it to be even on both sides.

[PRS]

Once the line was done I marked out the ports and cut them out at the bow with a razor saw and then sanded to the line carefully trying to make sure it was square. One thing I like to use is the sandpaper self stick rolls From Great Plains but searching now it looks like it is hard to come by but it looks like Lee Valley Tools has some as well.  https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/tools/supplies/sanding/sheets-and-rolls/20179-psa-sandpaper-rolls

 

After they were cut out I used some white primer on them and they looked pretty smooth.