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

[Obormotov]

On 3/20/2022 at 5:05 PM, bruce d said:

Thukydides, that really looks good. 

Hi all! Hello Thukydides! I can't find the right words to describe my experience with this build log. I could never imagine how much depends on the shadow, and the transition from light to shadow and vice versa. from light to dark.... my mind will now leave its usual skull, and go to explore the world just opened to it! You've got an excellent model, and an excellent tutorial on creating three-dimensional, colored objects. Your photos are excellent. These are beautifully done illustrations. Your work deserves the highest appreciation, and it is very informative and interesting! Thank you very much for your hard work. For a patient and calm explanation of a very difficult material. Fabulous!! 

[Obormotov]

Hi all! Hello Thukydides! I can't find the right words to describe my experience with this build log. I could never imagine how much depends on the shadow, and the transition from light to shadow and vice versa. from light to dark.... my mind will now leave its usual skull, and go to explore the world just opened to it! You've got an excellent model, and an excellent tutorial on creating three-dimensional, colored objects. Your photos are excellent. These are beautifully done illustrations. Your work deserves the highest appreciation, and it is very informative and interesting! Thank you very much for your hard work. For a patient and calm explanation of a very difficult material. Fabulous!!

[Obormotov]

Oh... God... I'm at the end. But how is it? it was so interesting and suddenly... It's over.... But there will be a continuation of such an interesting magazine, right? Very curious: what will the model look like with sails and rigging? I'm really looking forward to the next posts, dear Thukydides, Don't leave us in the most interesting place... and of course be sure to be healthy and happy! with the best wishes to all!

[Thukydides]

Time for a minor update. I have finished painting most of the deck fixtures and edge highlighted all the railings, timberheads, wales etc... This mostly just involves taking a medium grey and running the side of the brush along the edges.

 

I also figured out what I am going to do with the cannon barrels but more on that in the next post. You can see the current state of affairs below.

[aliluke]

The current state of affairs is extremely impressive!

[Thukydides]

Log #34: The Pumps

I know I promised my next log would discuss the cannons, but I got distracted with a bit of a side project. In preparation for work on the cannons I had done a large blackening session.

I decided to play around with the pumps as I figured I could add a little more detail. First I cut a small piece of one of the smaller dowels and glued it to the side of the main dowel. I then drilled holes to simulate the spouts. To avoid the dowel splitting I drilled small holes and then slowly increased the size by drilling with progressively larger bits.

The painting process then proceeded as I have detailed in previous logs. You can see below what they looked like after I had blocked in the main highlights.

Once the painting was finished I used shrink tube to simulate the iron bands that Goodwin depicts in his book on Alert.

Finally I attached the PE and you can see below what they look like on the deck.

[jpalmer1970]

The pumps look great - that is a neat little enhancement !

[Thukydides]

On 5/15/2023 at 10:29 PM, jpalmer1970 said:

The pumps look great - that is a neat little enhancement !

Thanks, I had considered doing what BE did and making the proper hexagonal shape, but I decided these would look good enough. Like much of this build it is a bit of a compromise between the kit instructions and my research. I am mostly just trying to push myself and build the skills for the next kit I do when I will likely pursue more of a "no compromises" approach. I still have lots of future mistakes to learn from :).

[Glenn-UK]

great work

[Thukydides]

Log #35: Cannons and Other Fittings

Thank you everyone for stopping by and all the encouragement.

 

I attached the deadeyes to the hull. I can’t remember which build log I saw this in, but in it they temporarily attached a piece of string to the mast at the correct height to get the right angle. Since that seemed a good method I copied it.

I also received some wooden belaying pins from crafty sailor which are a bit more to scale than the PE ones in the kit. I painted them black as I felt that produced the best contrast.

I also decided I would depart from the kit arrangement for the stove pipe. Using some random pieces of plastic from my bits box I was able to construct something roughly the scale depicted in Goodwin. Conveniently I found some pieces that had rivets on them (I think from a tank armour plate or something like that) and was able to use them to match up with the drawings in Goodwin.

I also took some scrap pear to make a moulding around it. Once completed I painted it black and then for the stove pipe I edge highlighted with a dark metallic paint to give the illusion of metal. I also picked out the rivets with this colour.

For the cannons I began by priming them black (I did this a few weeks ago in the massive painting session). I then did a heavy dry brush of vallejo german grey (a dark grey) from the top and the sides. Dry brushing is a great technique for cannons as it produces a rough finish which allows us to somewhat simulate the uneven surface of a cast iron cannon. If you are interested in the technique I would recommend looking it up on youtube (there are many videos on the subject). However I will describe the process briefly.

First I take a small makeup brush (I just get them at the dollar store) and stick it in the paint filling up the brush. It is important that you do not wet the brush first. Then take an old tshirt and brush until very little comes off the brush. We then with a light quick motion brush on the cannon. You can see the effect of this below:

Notice how the recesses stay black while the exposed surfaces pick up the colour. I then proceeded to do two more dry brush layers. The first with a medium grey and then a final with a light grey covering less and less of the cannon each time. You have to be very careful as you use the lighter colours and really work to get the paint off the brush. Otherwise you will end up with too much paint on the cannon. The lightest colour should mostly be picking up the sharp upper edges.

This is what they looked like once they were done and below you can see one of the cannons on a carriage.

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by Thukydides

[jpalmer1970]

The completed cannon on the carriage looks really good. Thanks also for the latest piece of painting advice - it is a bit of a dark art if you haven't had much experience in that field before.

[GrandpaPhil]

Nicely done on the cannons!

Edited May 28, 2023 by GrandpaPhil

[Thukydides]

I have been considering whether or not to paint the frieze on the Alert. To this end I have been looking at the pictures of the contemporary model of the Winchelsea that Chuck uploaded to the site (link) as well as pictures of the Marshall alert painting (link) (though it is hard to find anything high enough resolution to really copy) and practicing on pieces of paper. I think I have managed to get the colour and depth down, but am struggling to get the patterns looking right.

Does anyone who has experience painting frieze have any suggestions for examples I could look at / tips for getting the look right?

Edited May 28, 2023 by Thukydides

[aliluke]

Your work on these looks pretty good. Blue Ensign has nailed this - talk to him.

[AON]

Has anyone responded to your painting question?

 

I thought I read some people painted on paper and then glued the paper onto the model.

 

This seems more comfortable in many ways.

[Thukydides]

11 minutes ago, AON said:

Has anyone responded to your painting question?

 

I thought I read some people painted on paper and then glued the paper onto the model.

 

This seems more comfortable in many ways.

No I haven't gotten much, but it is a pretty specialized topic and so I wasn't expecting too much :). I was mostly looking for any contemporary examples of the painting style (with high resolution photos) people could point me towards to try and emulate (most of the models I find by googling either don't have this or they are taken too far back to see the details properly). Though if anyone who has experience painting frieze wants to chime in I am more than ready to take advice.

 

I vaguely remember reading somewhere about doing it first on paper, the issue for me is the time to do that would have been much earlier in the process to try and avoid it looking like a piece of paper glued to the model. The idea of painting the frieze is more of a sudden thought of mine. Also I suspect it won't look as good as if you directly paint onto the model, there is a subtle different texture you get painting on paper.

 

There is also the printing option (as Chuck did with the Winchelsea kit). My problem with this is though it looks very nice (better than just sticking on the PE that comes with the kit), I can always tell it was printed.

 

I am still of two minds whether to attempt this. I may try a few more practice versions and if I am happy enough I will proceed. If not I can always leave things as they are. Part of this is being driven by my thoughts about what I might try after I get the alert done and I want to practice the techniques (and make as many of the mistakes as possible) on the current model.

[AON]

I was lucky enough to attend the Admiralty Models Frieze painting and Flag Workshop held in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada (30 minutes from my home) in 2015.

The images attached are what I did at the workshop.

 

David Antscherl told us they may be painted on the model directly but it is much more convenient to paint them on paper and glue this to the model. This was done to quite a few 18th century museum models. Long friezes were made in short sections.

 

Painting is with water-based acrylic paint. To avoid the paper buckling when glued it must first be stretched. Soak the paper in lukewarm water for a few minutes, drain the excess water off the paper, then lay it on a flat ply board. When the paper has turned dull tape it down to the board with four pieces of gummed brown paper - watercolour Kraft paper tape from an Art Supply store. After throughly dried the paper will no longer buckle when glued.

 

First paint the background on the paper (cobalt blue hue - aka cobalt blue deep).

Layout the design on tracing paper, checking that it fits the area on the model.

Transfer the design to the painted paper using a sharp pointed hard lead pencil and white Saral brand transfer paper (similar to carbon paper... but white not black).

Paint the frieze by first blocking off the figures with a mixture of yellow ochre and a touch of white (or unbleached titanium white).

Work left to right (if right handed) and turn the work so the edge you are painting is on your left (again if you are right handed) so you are always painting in one direction up and away from what was just done. Paint without thickness or brush marks. When dry repeat the painting process if any background colour comes through.

Highlighting with a light ochre (yellow ochre and a bit more white) normally comes from above and one side. Shadows (burnt umber for darker shadows and burnt umber mixed with red oxide for lighter shadows) will be opposite.

When dry cut the strips from the sheet with a new blade on a scalpel and a straight or curved edge guide. Cut the lower edge to fit and leave the upper edge and sides with a little extra material that can easily be trimmed off to fit perfect when on the model.

Turn the model on its side if you can and glue the frieze to the model with a 2 or 3 parts white glue and 1 part water mixture.  Brush the diluted glue onto the model, not the paper. Place the frieze on the model. Wipe away excess glue with a water dampened paint brush. wash with a wet brush.  Press the frieze down with a dampened pad of paper towel. When dry you can carefully trim away the extra paper.  Allow one strip of frieze to dry before applying the next.

Edited May 29, 2023 by AON
added the base colour: cobalt blue hue

[Gregory]

Good stuff Aon

 

@Thukydides

I think your work looks pretty good.  At a reasonable viewing distance I think it would be hard to beat..

 

I trust you have seen  these images from the science museum.  It is the best I have been able to find.

I think your colors are as good any others I have seen.

Edited May 29, 2023 by Gregory

[Thukydides]

41 minutes ago, AON said:

I was lucky enough to attend the Admiralty Models Frieze painting and Flag Workshop held in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada (30 minutes from my home) in 2015.

The images attached are what I did at the workshop.

This is a really helpful post. I really appreciate you taking the time to detail all this.

 

27 minutes ago, Gregory said:

I trust you have seen  these images from the science museum.  It is the best I have been able to find.

I had seen that picture, but the one you have linked is a higher resolution than the ones I had been looking at. This one is detailed enough I may be able to use it to copy. Thanks

[Thukydides]

Log #36: Rope

While I was pondering painting a package arrived in the mail.

I ordered a bunch of rope from @BenD and it looks even better in person than in the pictures. The cable laid rope is particularly nice looking and I think it is really going to enhance the model. I would highly recommend the rope to anyone who is interested in adding just that little bit of extra realism to their model. I had reached out to Ben to ask if he could do some additional sizes of cable (I had been looking for some smaller diameters than he offered on his website) and he was super helpful and made me cable in the requested sizes. He also threw in a few extras for free :).

 

See below for some examples with my finger for scale:

 

1.6mm cable for the anchor

0.25mm for rigging the cannons and many other tasks

1mm cable for the shrouds

[Gregory]

Something seems to have happened to my link..

Try This..

[jpalmer1970]

7 hours ago, Thukydides said:

I was mostly looking for any contemporary examples of the painting style (with high resolution photos) people could point me towards to try

I know this isn't contemporary at all but can you use some of the images from the Vanguard online manuals as a template to form a basis for your own version of the design. There are images in the Alert manual of course but I am also thinking of the ones in the Duchess of Kingston manual as the design there is a bit more intricate?

[Thukydides]

Here is attempt number 2. I think I am getting closer, but even with the higher resolution photo, it is hard to tell what exactly the art on the transom is depicting.

Part of my problem is my transom is not exactly the same shape as the one in the painting so I can't just do an exact 1 to 1. And I have no idea what the middle is meant to be where the port is partially covering it.

 

Maybe a few more practice versions...

Edited May 30, 2023 by Thukydides

[Gregory]

Nice work so far.

In Chrome you can go to the link above and pressing Ctrl + will let you zoom in.  I'm surprised the detail is holding up pretty good.  The image in the middle is still a mystery to me.

Feel free to make something up.  😁

[Marcus.K.]

I would guess that all three fields show a certain shield and behind different weapons. The left one being a shield as knights would have used. Classical heraldic shape, not symetrical and with that cutout for the knights left leg on his horse (strange - he must be lefthanded??) . The right one being a round somehow ottoman shield (?) with a sharp tip in its center..  The center one is strange in its shape.. but would be reasonable if my interpretation of the surrounding weapons is right. But it is guessing...

 

No!! .. the center one is a knights "tilting helmet" with bushes on top in front of a huge shield or a coat in front of weapons!! I will check for good pictures for what I believe to see... 

 

Here a picture for a tilting helmet ...

http://bridges.rem33.com/books/vonValborth_A2a_files/image020.jpg

Its the left side middle one I think I can see in the center one of Alerts paintings..

Found it here:

http://bridges.rem33.com/books/vonValborth_A2a.htm

Edited May 31, 2023 by Marcus.K.

[Thukydides]

25 minutes ago, Marcus.K. said:

I would guess that all three fields show a certain shield and behind different weapons. The left one being a shield as knights would have used. Classical heraldic shape, not symetrical and with that cutout for the knights left leg on his horse (strange - he must be lefthanded??) . The right one being a round somehow otoman shield (?) with a sharp tip in its center..  The center one is strange in its shape.. but would be reasonable if my interpretation of the surrounding weapons is right. But it is guessing... No, the center one is a knights tilting helmet with bushes on top in front of a huge shield or a coat!! I will check for good pictures for what I believe to see... 

 

Here a picture...

http://bridges.rem33.com/books/vonValborth_A2a_files/image020.jpg

Its the left side middle one I think I can see in the center one of Alerts paintings..

Found it here:

http://bridges.rem33.com/books/vonValborth_A2a.htm

Thanks so much, You are right it is a helmet and that may be a jousting lance going through it diagonally.

 

The one on the right is the strangest one as you may be right it is an ottoman shield, but that is a big spike. 

[Marcus.K.]

I was again looking into this. 

 

The "thing" in the left field may be a "Celtic Harp" instead of a shield as the harp was used in heraldic systems for example in british and in celtic symbols. Behind it, left side, there may be visible the bow of a crossbow?

 

On the right field there seem to be the end piece of a brass instrument behind that shield, right? 

 

In the center field I think it is either a shield (backside and not upright but 90° rotated to the left) behind that helmet? The top side of the shield (now left side) seems clear to me, but the bottom side (here right of that helmet) seem to be rounded, not with a tip. We look into the backside of the shield, therefore the plain yellow and just shadows indicating the hollow shape of that shield. That grey "bow" left of the helmets sholderpiece may be one of the shields handles. There seem to be more weapons or floral twigs or sprigs behind and around the arrangement. And yes: a lance behind and crossing diagonal.. . 

 

Right field: maybe that huge tip in the round shield is'nt meant to be that big. I think it's outer end color matches with the more greenish weapons behind the yellowish shield. Maybe what looks like the outmost tip is in fact one end of a club or other weapon or instrument and they are just accidently that close?

 

Or: since that brass instruments bell matches that color of what we believieved to see as a round shield.. it is in fact a french horn or a tuba.. and something  Stick through its center.. or is the mouth piece?? 

 

But this thing is really hard to interpret!!

 

Anyway: fun! And interesting if you start digging in those symbolic elements... I learned about helmets, heraldic, harps... 

Edited June 4, 2023 by Marcus.K.

[Bowline]

My guess for the left is a powder horn, the shape is very consistent with early versions - I will try to find a good image 

[Bowline]

here you go - more accurately described as a powder flask - I have seen examples with that ribbed construction

[Bowline]

Implement on the right panel is a spontoon (replica pictured below)