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

[Thukydides]

6 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

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

It is the really low walls (the solid railing part, not sure what they are called) and the fact that this forces the brackets to be almost touching the deck that made me decide to redo this.

 

I was looking at the Goodwin book and I came across this picture which seems to indicate Goodwin put the Wales at the stern just a little bit higher. Notice how the bottom of the wales is level with the top of the tuck while in the kit the Wales extend a bit lower.

 

This makes the sheer a bit higher at the stern which would make the run of the top plank rise to the top of the transom. Basically my fix is just to raise the moulding that runs below the frieze at the stern so it rises a bit higher and meets the transom around the same place it does in the Goodwin picture. Then using a spacer I marked a constant height from the moulding and trimmed the wedge down to that height so it rises as a curve.

 

I definitely could have left it as it is and I don't think it looked bad, just a bit off...

 

5 hours ago, Nipper said:

And if you know that the finished product has a flaw, it will always leap out at you!!

Yes, that is what ultimately made me bite the bullet and do it over. Even though it is a relatively minor issue, it would allways bug me if I didn't go back and do it over.

[Thukydides]

Log #27: Fixing the Transom

It has been a while since I posted as a combination of having Covid, business at work and then being away on vacation seriously limited my modelling time.

 

As I discussed in my last post I made the painful decision to rip off the railing near the transom to raise the height of the bulwarks in this area to better match drawing in Goodwin and the Marshall painting. The first step was to adjust the moulding to determine the sheer line the railing should follow.

 

Next I glued two wedges made of the leftover lime planks to serve as the core of the bulkhead.

I then planked both sides with the leftover pear and carefully sanded it flush and shaped it to match the desired sheer. I also had to add small pieces to extend the length of the moulding.

With this done the brackets supporting the transom now go in a more natural position resting against the beam running over the top of the ports.

I also had to extend the length of the cap rail as it would no longer reach the transom. As the pieces were very thin, this proved somewhat of a challenge as I couldn’t just glue pieces on to the end. To solve this problem I found some scrap of the appropriate thickness and then used my chisels to cut a small recess in them to accept bridging piece of wood to strengthen the joint. Once dry I sanded the joint flush.

This gave me enough length to be able to fit the railing to the new bulkhead sheer. I then glued them in place.

Then some touchups were necessary to fix places where the paint had been damaged. In the end though it took a lot of extra work, I am pleased I went back and made the adjustments. I am much more satisfied with the result than I was before.

Edited July 28, 2022 by Thukydides

[Blue Ensign]

A subtle but valid improvement, nicely done.👍

 

B.E.

[DocRob]

Fixing the transom the way you did, give Alert much more convincing lines, great idea to insert the wedges. I just jumped into your thread for the very first time and I really like what i see. It gives me a little push, to finish my 'Le Renard' build a cutter as well, which I started about twenty years ago.

 

Cheers Rob

[Thukydides]

Log #28: The Rudder

It has been a very long time since I updated this log. The reasons have been a combination of factors, but the main underlying reasons have been a lack of time and I was unsure how to proceed. So I was picking away at things, but didn’t have enough progress to really show here. In any case I am hopefully back on track and I hope that the next entry will not take as long to come as this one did.

 

For the rudder I wanted to try and modify it a bit from the kit to align more with the plans in Goodwin. I briefly considered scribing the various joints, but given how my last attempt at that went, and the only alternative being to reconstruct the whole rudder from scratch, I decided to largely stick with the kit as is. The only modification I made was to the tiller and how it joined the rudder.

After assembling the rudder and the tiller as indicated in the instructions, I filled in the cap on the rudder where the two were meant to join and then carefully cut out the appropriate joint. I had planned to also add the iron bands that are just above and below the joint, but shaping the scrap brass to fit exactly right was very hard and given my issues with super glue and blackened PE parts (which I will cover in my next log), I decided to skip this step.

I also attempted to shape and round the tiller so it went from angled where it joins the rudder assembly to round where it would be held by the helmsman.

[Blue Ensign]

I invariably use heat shrink tubing for iron bands these days.

Get a selection of sizes in black, and cut sections off with a scalpel, job done.

 

B.E.

 

[VTHokiEE]

2 hours ago, Thukydides said:

I had planned to also add the iron bands

I’ve used shrink tube (learned that from following B.E.) but also black card in other situations. I think my Alert kit may have come with a piece of black card but I forget now.

 

Regardless - looking good!

[Thukydides]

2 hours ago, Blue Ensign said:

I invariably use heat shrink tubing for iron bands these days.

Get a selection of sizes in black, and cut sections off with a scalpel, job done.

 

B.E.

 

I have never heard of this stuff, do you describe the process in more detail in your alert log, I don't remember seeing that. Where do you normally find it, what is it normally used for?

 

There is still time to add the top band and the bottom one wouldn't be seen anyways. If I went with the card option, @VTHokiEE do you do anything to the card make it look less like paper?

[Blue Ensign]

It is used for electrical insulation purposes, and is widely available - Amazon, e-bay,  hardware stores etc;

 

I used it on my Alert build  for the banding you describe, the anchor stock bands, and the  bands around the main boom.

I most recently used it to form the iron bands around the masts on my Sphinx build.

 

Regards,

 

B.E.

[VTHokiEE]

1 hour ago, Thukydides said:

do you do anything to the card make it look less like paper?

I did not, I actually meant to use the shrink tube on the jaws for the boom but installed the boom before remembering to install the bands (doh!). I don’t really have any great shots in my log, but here is a post that had some of the card straps included: 

 

[Gregory]

I use black card or paper for my straps.

I also use it for Pintles and Gudgeons, door hinges and such.  I coat it with flat poly or acrylic.  A lot easier to work with than metal.

I have seen some people use black painters/masking tape, but it has a texture I don't care for.

[Thukydides]

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions. I went to my local hardware store and picked up some of the shrink tube. As you can see below it works perfectly.

[Thukydides]

Log #29: Blackening and Bending

As I hinted at in my previous log, I decided to give blackening some of the brass parts a try. I had not had much success with painting them and I figured particularly for the eyebolts it would be a bit of a pain to paint them all. So I took a scrap piece of brass, bought a min crock pot from the good will store and embarked on making some tests.

 

I was following along with @dvm27’s guide and everything appeared to go well. 

The only difference with my method is that I used vinegar and salt for an hour instead of sparex for 10 minutes. I don’t have a dedicated work space and so the blackening had to happen in my kitchen. I had done some reading on pickering online and this seemed like the best alternative.

Everything went smoothly and and just as described in the guide I was able to wipe off the residue leaving a even black finish. However, When it came time to attach them to the model I started to have issues. The rudder hinges (can’t remember the proper name) are very small and fiddly and getting them in just the right place was difficult. I also found when using super glue to attach them I ran into two issues.

1. The blackening adhered to the super glue better than to itself so I found I was constantly loosing bits of the coating to errant bits of super glue on my hands or tools.
2. The super glue when in contact with the blackening seemed to cure almost instantly. This is a strange thing I have noticed with super glue. On some surfaces it takes a long time to cure and others it happens almost instantly. In any case this made placing the pieces just right very difficult as if I did not place them exactly in the right place the first time I didn’t have time to adjust their position and I would inevitably loose some of the coating.

Has anyone had similar issues? Should I have varnished them before attaching them to the model?

 

In any case with a bit of touching up and some black paint I was able to get everything looking ok.

I have also been working on some of the fittings. Following the example of @Blue Ensign I decided to try and make the hatches curved and also to do a skylight as depicted in the marshal painting rather than just use a hatch. I soaked the hatch in hot water for 30 minutes then used a rubber band to attach it to a bottle and left it to dry overnight.

Using scraps from one of the laser cut sheets and left over brass pins I was able to make a passable skylight. Once I have it painted I plan to add clear acrylic on the inside to simulate glass panes.

And here is the current status of the hatch and skylight.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Thukydides

[dvm27]

I usually use five minute epoxy when fastening brass to wood. Haven't had a problem with glue adherence but you do need to be neat and remove the excess before it sets. Perhaps with the blackened PE items you should run the bottom surface against some 180 sandpaper to remove the blackening and give it a bit of a tooth?  

[Thukydides]

11 minutes ago, dvm27 said:

I usually use five minute epoxy when fastening brass to wood. Haven't had a problem with glue adherence but you do need to be neat and remove the excess before it sets. Perhaps with the blackened PE items you should run the bottom surface against some 180 sandpaper to remove the blackening and give it a bit of a tooth?  

would any 5 ,minute epoxy do or do you recommend a particular brand?

[aliluke]

Hi

Just found your log. What you are doing with this model is great - I really like the rail to transom mods that you've done. I've just ordered the kit and now I need to find a copy of the AOTS for Alert - that's not easy...

 

I use epoxy glues a lot. By far the best I've come across is Epiglass Epiglue but it doesn't cure in 5 minutes - more like 24 hours.

 

Cheers

A

[mtbediz]

Hi,

Just found your log. I am also building Cutter Alert from scratch. I found your work very successful. I will be following you as it is a work that I can inspire.

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by mtbediz

[Thukydides]

Thanks @aliluke, the atos book is not really necessary. I only reference it every now and again when I need more detail on a particular part. A lot of the info in it you can get by combining a whole bunch of other sources. Alert is a great kit, hope you enjoy it.

 

@mtbediz your scratch build is pretty awesome. Thanks for stopping by.

[Thukydides]

Time for a minor update. I have been slowly picking away at the deck fittings and cannons in preparation to paint all of them once they are all finished.

Removing the laser char from the cannons is a bit of a fiddly task, but I am slowly getting there.

I am planning on leaving the wheels for the cannons unpainted (mostly for artistic contrast reasons), but I needed to remove the laser char or they would look like they had an iron band around them. using a wooden bbq skewer, some sandpaper and my drill I was able to remove it.

As a minor note, did anyone else notice there was an extra cannon (or at least the wooden parts for it, I didn’t check to see if I have an extra barrel). I assume this was simply to allow me to have an extra for my eventual mistakes.

[jpalmer1970]

Yes, there are a few extra parts of various things in the kit to allow for breakage, or in my case dropping stuff on the floor and never finding them again

 

[Thukydides]

Log #30: The Cannon Carriages Part I

I continue to work away at the deck fittings and attaching rings to eyebolts. By my count I need 60 of these ring and eyebolt combos so I have a bit of a ways to go.

 

As I was constructing the carriages for the cannons and looking at reference photos and drawings to try and figure out the number of rings / eyebolts necessary I noticed that the kit provides beds (19), but not quoins(2).

This simplification obviously makes it easier to make the carriages, but I decided to try my hand at adding some quoins. I started with pieces of wood cut down to 5mmx2mm rectangles from spare wood left over from one of the laser cut sheets.

I then used my miniature chisels to shape them into wedges and then with the same chisel thinned them towards the narrow end.

I thinned the kit beds down to just under 1mm and then glued the quoins to them.

And you can see the final result. Not perfect, but I think it enhances the look of the cannons and now the barrels sit naturally on them. Note the metal bar is just temporarily there to allow me to glue the bed to the rear axel at the correct angle.

Edited April 26, 2023 by Thukydides

[Thukydides]

Log #31: The Cannon Carriages Part II

Work has continued slowly making my way towards getting all the fitting ready for painting. I have finished removing the mould lines from the cannon barrels. One of them had a bit of a gap along the mould line which I had to fill with some milliput, but apart from that there were no issues.

 

I also decided I would also add some extra details to the cannon carriages. You can see below the drilling of the holes for the wheel pins using one of the spare wheels to get the spacing right.

As I was doing this I realized that I had assembled the carriages wrong. The transom  is meant to be at an angle, but I glued them in vertical. Chris even has the bolt that secures them laser cut into the carriages so it should have clued me in to the fact that I was doing it wrong. I briefly considered leaving them as is (it will be hard to see the difference once the cannons are attached. But then I remembered that I will always know so I broke out the isopropyl and my hobby knife and gently pried them off.

Then I had to cut/file/sand off the glue residue and attach them once again. I lost a whole afternoon to this, but having got it done I am pleased I did. See below for the corrected version (left) beside what I had originally done (right).

Edited April 22, 2023 by Thukydides

[aliluke]

That is a very dedicated redo. Will have to look at my gun carriages now and see if I got that wrong too - I'm not redoing them though even if I did!

 

One little add I did for this and other parts was adding 0.7mm brass rivets -  with the head painted black. You can see them on my Fly log. I got them from https://model-motorcars.myshopify.com/collections/small-parts-hardware  I see the 0.7mm are sold out though. There is lots of other nifty stuff in their hardware offerings.

Edited April 22, 2023 by aliluke

[Thukydides]

12 hours ago, aliluke said:

One little add I did for this and other parts was adding 0.7mm brass rivets

That shop has some really interesting things in it. I had just planned to drill holes and use black fishing line, but I may consider the rivits.

[Thukydides]

Log #32: Painting the Deck Fittings

With the carriages assembles it is time to start the painting. Though not strictly necessary for most of the fittings (only the plastic ones), I decided to prime everything black with my airbrush.

I then mixed Vallejo flat red with a little bit of Citadel incubi darkness to make a dark crimson which I sprayed over all the parts. I then sprayed pure plat red from above to leave the undersides in simulated shadow.

After letting it all dry for a day I broke out a very fine sanding paper to smooth some of the flat surfaces that had swelled up due to the paint. This obviously removed some of the paint, but as these were large exposed surfaces it didn’t matter since I painted over them again.

Then I began a process of glazing highlighting the various parts. To do this I begin by blocking in the main highlights with my brightest colour (an orangish red from citadel called wild rider red). In general vertical surfaces I wanted to be brighter towards the bottom and upward facing flat surfaces would be the brightest. This also allows a greater contrast between the two faces where they meet. I should also note that since the example pictured is a curved surface, I highlighted towards the middle to simulate the light reflecting off the surface.

I glazed towards the highlights with citadel evil sun scarlet (a blood red colour) and down towards the shadows with the vallejo flat red. Then finally all the edges were highlighted with pure wild rider red (the orangish colour).

You can see how much of a difference this makes in the below comparison between two cannon carriages. One has been highlighted using the above method and the other has only has the base coats form the airbrush.

And here is what a couple of the finished fixtures look like on the ship at scale.

Edited April 25, 2023 by Thukydides

[jpalmer1970]

Thanks. That's a really interesting guide on how you add detail and depth with your painting.

[Thukydides]

Log #33: Fixing the Railing

Thanks everyone for stopping by and for all the likes.

 

I continue to work on painting up deck fixtures. The windlass is the latest piece complete. I still need to catch the edges of the metal bands with a bit of dark metalic paint to simulate the scratches and wear from metal rubbing against metal, but it is mostly done.

I recently presented my work to date at a Model Shipwrights of Niagara meeting and one of the questions I received was regarding if I had had made sure the stantions at the stern were perpendicular to the keel. And once I had looked I could not unsee the fact that a few of them were at the wrong angle. In addition I noticed that in Goodwin, the railing at the stern is much thinner that what I had. This was particularly problematic to my eyes where I had made a fairly thin railing at the top of the transom. So once again I broke out the isopropyl and my exacto knife to disassemble parts of the stern.

I then reattached the stantions using a square to ensure they were at the correct angle.

I then thinned the railing down to around 3/32” and attached it to the stantions.

And here is the final result. In the end I am once again pleased I went back and fixed what I had done. Something had always looked off to me with how the railing met the transom, but I hadn’t been able to put my finger on it. I will have to repaint it, but that shouldn’t take too long.

Edited April 30, 2023 by Thukydides

[glbarlow]

Nice work.  Your skill with the air brush is outstanding. I always appreciate a builder willing to go backwards to rebuild or replace something to improve the model. It’s a bold, but seldom regretted decision. 

[Thukydides]

1 hour ago, glbarlow said:

Nice work.  Your skill with the air brush is outstanding. I always appreciate a builder willing to go backwards to rebuild or replace something to improve the model. It’s a bold, but seldom regretted decision. 

Thanks Glenn, you and BE have been much of my inspiration for taking the time to go back and redo things as I read through your logs and saw how taking your time and doing it right is always more rewarding than doing it quick :).

[Obormotov]

On 3/15/2022 at 3:09 PM, Thukydides said:

Log #22: Painting the White and Blue
I used an airbrush to spray white below the waterline. As I was worried about how well acrylic would stick to the WOP base I used primer for the first layer. I also sprayed red on the inner bulwarks and started the process of darkening the upper bulwarks by mixing in some blue with the red.

This was the point where I remembered how much I hate painting white. I also was struck again by how my planking failures came back to bite me. Getting a smooth even finish took many layers of white paint and sanding. Even after all that work there are still some imperfections that were impossible to correct.

My goal is to depict Alert as it would have appeared at sea and so for painting above the waterline, I made use of a number of techniques used for miniature painting. The goal of these is to reinforce the highlights and shadows that would naturally be visible if we were looking at Alert in its full size. To illustrate what I am doing I am going to use the example of a single light source shining on a cube.

 

https://drawingtechniquesfundamentals.wordpress.com/2015/09/11/week-1-line-work-cube-shading/

 

The key thing to notice here is that light hitting the side of the bulwarks will behave a bit like the shadowed side (or potentially the upper face depending on where exactly above the ship we assume the light source is, but the principle remains the same). The railing that will go on top will have the effect of putting part of the blue into shadow and so the main highlight will come from light reflecting back off of the water. The same is also true of the transom where it is angled down towards the water.

 

The goal here is not to perfectly paint on how the light would impact the blue, but to give a rough approximation that works from most angles. That way we get the illusion of strengthened shadows and highlights.

 

To start with I painted on two thin coats of my mid-tone (a 50-50 mix of field blue and flat blue). I mixed in the field blue to dull down the blue and give it a bit of a greyish look similar to the colour used by @Blue Ensign in his fantastic alert build log.

Then on my wet pallet I created a gradient from my highlight (a 50-50 mix of lothern blue and field blue) to the mid-tone to my shadow (a 50-50 mix of kantor blue and field blue).

Then on each section of the bulwark I painted three stripes of paint with the shadow at the top and the highlight at the bottom. Quickly wiping off my brush I then blended the three colours together to get a gradient from dark to light.

After this dried I went back in glazes (very watery paint) of the mid-tone to blend the transitions. At times I also went in with the highlight tone and the shadow tone to reinforce the contrast. For the transom I also allowed the highlights to rise higher in the middle and the shadows to come down lower on the sides.

And you can see with the end result that the effect is quite subtle, but it produces a much more visually interesting image. Reinforcing how the light would have fallen helps to sell the illusion that this is not a model, but a real ship.

 

Next up is the inner bulwarks where I will employ a similar technique, but this time with red.
 

Thukydides, Hello, I wish you health and good luck! First of all I want to apologize for my English. English is not a language that I know well and that's why I use an electronic translator. I apologize if it's not clear! Thukydides, your explanation of how light and shadow work, as well as saturation, is respectable and, most importantly, very clear. Intelligibly .. When I got the opportunity to draw in computer programs, and the computer itself, for a very long time I did not understand what I was doing wrong. Why there is no perspective, no sense of the volume of the object. After all, hand-drawn ones look the best. I regret that at that time I did not read this forum .. And I had to try for many years and look for knowledge wherever you can find it. Thank you for the lesson. Once again I apologize if I say something is not correct or not clear. With best wishes, creative success, dear Thukydides!