HM Cutter Alert by Thukydides - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - first build

[jpalmer1970]

The hull painting looks great to me 👍I hope mine turns out so well!

[Grey]

Thanks for the reply and time it took to tell me. I appreciate it!

 

I will look up more about it. Thanks again!

[Theodosius]

Wow, that look's very good with this paint job!

[Thukydides]

Log #23: Painting the Inner Bulwarks and Edge Highlighting

As I was working on painting the inter bulwarks this showed up in my mailbox:

 

When Chris mentioned in his update thread he had changed the alert stand to bring it in line with his newer kits I reached out to see if he would be willing to sell me the updated version. He graciously agreed and I also purchased some additional items we will need a bit later.

 

Using a similar method to that described in the last post I painted the inner bulwarks by first laying down a base coat of flat red and then mixing in some citadel incubi darkness (a dark greenish blue colour which when mixed with red gives a nice crimson).

 

Then as before I added my colours to my wet pallet. However, this time instead of wet blending I simply blocked in the colours and then glazed the transitions in.

 

The reason for not wet blending was the larger surfaces meant that I would have to work quicker and ultimately all these techniques are just trying to achieve the same thing. An even transition from my highlight tone to my shadow tone.

 

The same treatment was given to the inside of the transom. The only thing different to note with the transom is the addition of dark lines at the base of each panel to help define the beginning of the beam that runs across the bottom of the transom. This beam I transitioned from lightest in the foreground to darkest where it meets the panels.

 

Then using wild rider red (an almost orange colour) I proceeded to edge highlight the transom beams and the gun ports. This is done for two reasons. The first is that this is simulating the way light collects on sharp edges making them seem much brighter than the rest of the object. The second and probably more important reason is that it looks aesthetically pleasing. It helps define the shapes and visually accentuate the detail we spent so much effort working on. Just compare how much more defined the beams are in the following photo compared to the previous (note the colours are off as I was having issues replicating the same light conditions used in the first photo).

 

I also added the edge highlights to the sides of the outer bulwarks using a light blue. The effect is very subtle, but it does help accentuate things.

 

And this is what things looked like in the end.

 

Edited March 20, 2022 by Thukydides

[bruce d]

Thukydides, that really looks good. 

[Thukydides]

Another minor update. I am done with the painting and so next up is planking the deck. The process for the black is much the same as the red. Using lighter colours on upturned surfaces and edge highlighting with a grey.

Edited March 21, 2022 by Thukydides

[Matt D]

Your hull paint and finish looks beautiful.  This seems like a really nice kit.

[BobG]

She looks great, Thukydides!

[Thukydides]

Log #24: The Margin Planks

After trying and failing to cut the margin planks out of a larger sheet of boxwood (I kept having issues getting the curve exactly right and breaking it). I decided instead to just edge bend strips from the kit.

 

Since none of the strips were long enough I made the somewhat dubious decision to do them in three pieces and cut scaraf joints for where they met. After a bunch of trial and error I came up with a reasonable method for doing so.

1. Mark the total length of the joint (A) and cut off the extra (this will be the end of the joint.

2. Draw a line from each of points (B) to the opposite corner (you will end up with two parallel lines “C”).

3. Mark the midpoint of the joint (dashed line) and draw a line connecting the two lines you just drew perpendicular to both of them with the midpoint of this line crossing the midpoint of the joint (D).

4. Then cut away the shaded section.

 

And this was the result:

 

For the connecting plank, I then made small adjustments with a file to make sure it fit. This worked out better in some cases than others.

 

I started at the bow and then left the planks that but up against the stern a bit too long to adjust when I did the final gluing. This was because it was hard to tell exactly how long they should be once everything was glued in place and to give myself margin for error I left the least complicated end of the margin planks to be adjusted at the ends.

 

And this was the result. Just like with the hull I forgot to check the thickness of the strips before I started using them and so had to correct some issues at one of the joints where one stip was much thicker than the other, but all in all I think it turned out ok.

Edited March 26, 2022 by Thukydides

[glbarlow]

That’s a nice job on some tricky planks. Doing them will make a big difference on the final deck. When I made these for Cheerful I made sure the joints were between ports so a cannon didn’t cover them up. 

[Thukydides]

41 minutes ago, glbarlow said:

That’s a nice job on some tricky planks. Doing them will make a big difference on the final deck. When I made these for Cheerful I made sure the joints were between ports so a cannon didn’t cover them up. 

That is a really good idea. Too bad I never thought of that :). At least one pair by random luck will show. Another great example of the sort of thing you never think of till you have done it.

[Thukydides]

I am continuing to make progress on the planking. Not much to really say about this. I simply edge bend the planks to get the right curve then mark the side of the plank with pencil and glue it in place using super glue.

 

I did use the thinnest planks for this section so they don't look off on the main deck and to make sure they didn't rise above the beam at the base of the transom. For the plank directly beside the transom I made the bend match the curve of the transom and then used a piece of masking tape to make template to determine the cure I had to file on the concave side to make it fit.

 

I damaged a bit of the paint job on the top of the transom, I will have to touch that up later...

Edited March 28, 2022 by Thukydides

[Gregory]

Is that boxwood?  Looks very nice...

[Thukydides]

1 hour ago, Gregory said:

Is that boxwood?  Looks very nice...

Yes, that is what came with the kit and thanks :).

[mcpwilk]

I alway find it easier to plank a clinker than a carvel hull!

 

Mike

[Thukydides]

Another minor update since it has been a while since I posted. The planking of the deck continues slowly. Like many of these tasks I am getting better as I go along. 

 

I am hoping now I have gotten past all the cutouts it will proceed a little more swiftly.

[Thukydides]

Log #25: Planking the deck

Though I have not posted in a while, I have been hard at work planking the deck.

I discovered that it is much easier to cut out the appropriate holes before gluing the planks down, but by the time I figured that out, I had most of the middle completed.

 

Learning my lesson from the planking of the hull I sorted the planks into groups based on their thickness and used the thicker planks on the middle of the deck and worked my way out. I also took care to pair planks with similar widths on either side of the centre line to ensure that both sides of the deck were even.

 

I have also recently acquired a few new tools, a set of veritas miniature chisels and a miniature block plane. In retrospect I really wish I had the latter when I was doing my tapering of planks for the hull, it would have made my life much easier.

And this brings us to where I have got to so far (note a bunch of the planks are not yet glued down as it is easier to make the cuts into the margin plank if I have room to work).

Unfortunately I have run into the only issue I can say I have really had to this point with the kit. I have run out of planks. I was very careful to make sure I was using smaller cut off pieces whenever I could, but despite this I am short what looks like 2-3 strips. I am wondering if part of the reason for this was the length I chose to cut the deck planks to was resulting in more wastage. I suppose that is a lesson to remember for next time. Will my chosen plank length result in too many off cuts?

Technically I do have one boxwood strip remaining, but I am not using it as its colour is significantly more brown than the rest of the strips. In any case I would still have been short 1-2 planks even if I had used it. I had plenty left over of both the pear and the limewood when planking the hull so this was not an issue I was expecting to have.

 

So I am off to try and cut the strips from some wider thicker stock I have and then plane them down to the correct thickness.

 

Almost done the deck and then it is on to lots of scraping.

Edited April 25, 2022 by Thukydides

[Thukydides]

I finished planking the deck (finally). Now on to a whole bunch of scraping to get it smooth.

 

In terms of finishes I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions. I assume I can just use the WOP like I did with the hull. Should I also use the WOP on the painted parts or do people typically leave them as they are?

[Blue Ensign]

Neat work, and nice joggling 👍

 

I tend to use a flat matt varnish for sealing the deck, but wop is only diluted varnish. Remember there are fittings to stick to the deck which are better fixed to a varnish free surface.

Personally I don't apply wop to painted surfaces.

 

B.E.

[glbarlow]

I use WOP on the deck and often cover painted areas with it as well. 

[Theodosius]

Wow, those garborad-planks are beautiful! And I like the colour of your boxwood-deck. Sory, no experience in deck covering 🙂

[GrandpaPhil]

On 1/5/2022 at 7:58 PM, Thukydides said:

Log #17: The Margin Planks

My break was a bit longer than planned due to the other projects taking longer than I expected (I ended up painting a figure for a competition so was at it for over a month), other responsibilities and then finally Christmas.

 

Nicely done on the Space Wolf!

 

The Alert is looking great!

Edited May 22, 2022 by GrandpaPhil

[Thukydides]

Progress continues slowly but surely. Thanks to everyone who chimed in with advice on finishes for the deck. Before I made the decision on what to do I decided to attach the railing that runs along the base of the blue painted part (not sure what the technical name for it is).

After carefully planing and sanding the 1x1 mm strips, I painted them black on three sides. Then using the edge of a folded over piece of sandpaper, I carefully sanded the area the railing was to be glued to. I attached them with wood glue as this gave me more time to adjust things and also ran less of a risk of accidentally staining the rest of the hull.

I found that this procedure made a really good bond and so encouraged by this I decided to apply WOP to the deck (as it is easier to do so now before all the fittings are in place) with the plan to use the same technique of carefully sanding the contact points when I need to glue stuff.

I also assembled my syren serving machine in preparation for the future rigging endeavors.

Edited May 23, 2022 by Thukydides

[jpalmer1970]

Looking very good Thukydides. I also bought the serving machine to use on this build so I'll be interested to see how you go with it. 👍

[Thukydides]

Log #25: The Cap Rail, Timberheads and Catheads

The cap rail proved relatively simple to install. I started by painting the pieces black as this would mean I would not have to try and get a brush into the hard to reach underside and potentially spill paint on the deck.

After painting I glued them on and then used fine grit sandpaper to smooth them down. I plan to touch up the paint once all the assembly of the rails etc are done. At this time I also painted and then installed the brackets at the upper counter. I used some spacers to ensure that they were level.

The timber heads were done in a style that did not appear to match the Marshall painting or what Goodwin indicated was used in this period. I figured this was an area I could add a little more detail so I simply trimmed them down to roughly match the depiction in the Marshall painting.

Some minor adjustments were necessary to make sure the rail joined the upper counter properly, but for the most part things went together without issue.

For the catheads I decided I would try adding sheaves to them in line with what @Blue Ensign did. Lacking a drill press this was pretty finicky work, but going slowly and carefully with lots of measuring and adjusting I was able to use a pin vice to drill out the holes for the sheaves. Crafty Sailor sells these thimbles which I should be able to use as sheaves once they have them back in stock.

I may have to make some small adjustments to the holes once I get the thimbles, but we will cross that road when I get there. For now I think adding the holes makes the catheads look better.

[Glenn-UK]

Nice work

[Thukydides]

Log #26: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

As I was preparing to attach the catheads I noticed a discrepancy between the stern of my model and the Marshall painting I had been referencing.

If you look at the stern you can see how the gap between the railing and the wales increases right after the last gun ports to rise to the top of the transom. This is what my model looks like:

I went back over the instructions and I had not missed any steps that I am aware of, but there is a discrepancy between where my bulkheads end and what the image and the instructions appear to think it should rise to. Doing some further digging, I noticed in @glennard2523‘s alert build log (though as far as I can tell he never comments on this) he added an additional wedge shaped strake at the stern rising from the last gun port to the transom. Though I can find no suggestion of this in the instructions, this would solve my problem and so with a somewhat heavy heart I removed all the railings at the stern and broke out the isopropyl to clean up the paint in that area…

 

Next log will be all about me trying to correct more of my mistakes :).

 

Edited June 16, 2022 by Thukydides

[wool132]

Geez - this on top of a case of Covid? You're a brave man.

 

Jonathan

 

[Blue Ensign]

Mine came out exactly the same, altho’ I didn’t use the kit provided Capping rails, Rough tree rails, or swivel posts.

I also replaced the lower counter pieces and crutches but this didn’t affect the set up.

It is a puzzlement as the sheer line on the model looks as per the kit drawings and photo’s, but I think that on the profile drawings the crutches may be mistaken for the transom giving the impression that the Rough tree rail runs below the top line level of the Transom.

The look on the model didn’t strike my eye as odd so I didn’t change the arrangement.

I will be interested to see how your revised rail layout looks.

 

Regards,

 

B.E.

[Nipper]

I also struggled to get a good fit where the rails meet the crutches and the stern.  Whatever I did, it didn't seem right and in the end I had a gap between one of the rail and the crutch.  It was my first model and I didn't have your courage.  Looking back, I should have removed some of my work and followed your example.

 

But now I see this sort of thing as part of the joy of the hobby - don't settle for a compromise, because the fun is in the making, not just the finished product.  And if you know that the finished product has a flaw, it will always leap out at you!!

 

Nipper