Cheerful 1806 by Paul Le Wol - FINISHED - Syren Ship Model Ship Co. - 1:48 - English cutter

[Paul Le Wol]

Allan, thank  you for your comments, you are very kind. I was fortunate to have chosen such a well documented subject both by the manufacturer and the community. 
 

My rope order from Crafty Sailor came so rigging has resumed.  Very nice rope.

 

 

I think the finish is looming on the horizon. 

 

 

[Rid]

All of your black looks so nice and clean!  Did you do the cannons with the annealing too?  They look perfect.  Lovely build all around.

[Paul Le Wol]

Hi Rid, thanks very much for your comment. The only thing I did with the carronades was clean them with an alcohol wipe (the ones that come in the little envelopes) and then place them directly into the blackener. The blackener that I used for them was made by AK. They came out surprisingly nice . After a bit of buffing they ended up having more of a gun metal look

 

 

 

The AK blackener was very expensive. That’s why I ended up using the Novacan for the rest of the build 

[Rid]

Thanks for sharing this build and your knowledge.

[Paul Le Wol]

Hello Everyone, I hope you are all well. Many many thanks to everyone for their comments and Likes. Been rigging Cheerful for a couple of weeks now. Just a few photos of the progress. Ran into a couple of glitches along the way. I forgot to install the cleats for the lower back stay tackles so like so many others I had to make a long-reach drill bit holder and an “oops I forgot the cleat” installer. The cleats I had were to big to install horizontally so they went in vertically.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also decided to remake the entryway stanchions. They seemed to be a bit over sized. Used the same 1/16 inch tubing. Flattened the end and drilled a hole in it. Rounded it off and blackened it. Then gave them a test fit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then carried on with more rigging.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ran out to the Falconet  hooks that I have been using so while waiting for my order from Crafty Sailor I will start rigging the yards.

 

Talk to you soon

 

[glbarlow]

Very creative cleat installer tools, that’s a very tight area. 

[Seventynet]

Superb work Paul!

[Paul Le Wol]

Thank you everyone for all of your much appreciated Likes. Glenn and Ian, thank you for your great comments. You know when I started the rigging I thought that I was in the home stretch but not so. It seems to be getting more challenging every day. You really need to be a bit of a gymnast to get to the finish line. ( If gymnasts have finish lines )

[allanyed]

You have obvious well-honed skills and Syren does make a beautiful kit!   It is a pleasure to see belaying pins and gratings that are to scale versus the often seen bowling pins and grids some other kit makers provide.   Do you have your next project in mind?  

 

Allan

[Paul Le Wol]

Hi Alan, thank you very much for your comment. Building Cheerful has been a lot of fun and I learned a lot following Chuck’s monograph and videos. I highly recommend this model to anyone wanting to build a good looking, well documented little ship. I have a warm spot in my heart for Billings Boats and last year after seeing Ekis’ beautiful build I picked up a Nordlands Baaden 416. The planking looks like a challenge but I think I’m up for it. Whenever I look at a kit from any manufacturer I always think of what it would look like if it was done with different types of wood. That’s why I think that Syren’s offerings are so appealing. Buy the parts that you need and get a lumber package from your favorite supplier. I don’t have the work space or tools to cut bulkheads and things so this system works for me. Maybe other manufacturers will eventually offer this method as an option. 
 

This week was spent rigging the yards. I took the easy way out and drilled holes where the stirrups are mounted. It made it easier for me to make them hang down the same distance. When I look a the photos I realize that more care should have been taken determining where the wraps started and ended but when you stand here looking at it, it’s not that noticeable.

 

 

 

The tiller was mounted and then I made my first rope coil.

 

 

The entryway stanchions are glued in place and now just have to try not to break anything (again). 
 

 

See you next week 

[Dave_E]

Excellent work Sir. Your rigging photos are most helpful and I will refer to them in the future! Thank you. 👍😀

[Paul Le Wol]

Hi Dave, thanks so much for your comment and thanks to everyone for their likes. I have to tell you that the only reason I got through the rigging in one piece is because I keep a tab open to Glenn Barlow’s build log. Thanks Glenn 

[Dave_E]

I’m glad I’m not the only builder who has fellow builders on speed dial for learning and inspiration! 😁 Now you have someone watching you. 😀

[glbarlow]

18 hours ago, Paul Le Wol said:

keep a tab open to Glenn

So there’s an open tab for me at a bar somewhere 😂. I’m glad my log is helpful. Yours too will be an excellent reference for future Cheerful builders. I wish I’d thought of drilling the holes for the stirrups, they were a bear to line up.  

[Paul Le Wol]

Hi Everyone, thank you very much for the comments and Likes. Just thought I would post a few photos of the rigging. Didn’t want to post too much on this part of the build because other members have documented theirs so well. Only have a few lines to secure and then on to making coils of rope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See you all next time. 

[Seventynet]

Looking so good Paul! 

[SUBaron]

Great job! It looks beautiful. 

[glbarlow]

Brings back nice memories and it looks great. 

[Paul Le Wol]

Thank you so much everyone for the Likes.  Ian, SUBaron, and Glenn,  your comments are appreciated very much. Today I made a couple of rope coils and started taking pictures of them as I went just to see what they actually looked like. Not going to post everyone but it’s amazing how much tweaking they need when you zoom in. 

 

Talk to you soon 

[CiscoH]

Very lifelike Paul.  Are they as advertised and just coils of rope, or did you coat them in dilute pva on a form, or what?

[BobG]

Fantastic work, Paul!

[Paul Le Wol]

Hi Cisco and Bob, thank you very much for your comments. Cisco, I copied a jig that Glenn used in his Cheerful build. Still trying  different configurations. The coil hanging on the mast is from Crafty Sailor. It is 100% polyester. When coated with diluted pva it it kind of behaves but doesn’t really stick together which actually makes it look more realistic. The coil on the bow sprit step is 100% cotton from Ropes of Scale. When coated with diluted pva it really sticks together well but it needs a lot of work to get it sit right. This is the way I seem to be getting along with…..

Started in the middle of a piece of 12” rope at the bottom of the center 1/8” tube. Crossed over between the center and top tube.

 

 

 

Crossed again on top of the top tube

 

 

Wrapped around all of the tubes in opposite directions and put half a square  knot at the bottom of the 1/4” tube

 

 

Painted with diluted pva. When dry I put a bit of CA on the knot and cut off the excess.

 

 

 

 

Wrapped the small loop in the center around the top of the big loop. Gave it a test fit to show the difference between the different ropes

 

 

The cotton rope still needs a bit of tweaking.

[Paul Le Wol]

Hey Everyone, decided to make a coil with the cotton rope without using diluted PVA. Used CA on the knot at the bottom and to stick the small loop at the top to the back of the big loop. To me it looks better and is easier to shape. The coil on the left is cotton.

 

[glbarlow]

The turn back loop is a nice touch and a good look. Clear acrylic verses diluted PVA helped me shape the coils

[Paul Le Wol]

Thanks Glenn. I am going to give the clear acrylic a try. Your rope coils look great and I don’t want to drop the ball at this stage.

[whitejamest]

Not many models would bear up so well under such an extreme closeup! Very nicely done. 

[Paul Le Wol]

Thanks very much James. I was just over looking at your Speedy build. It looks so good. I hope you have the opportunity to finish it one day

[Paul Le Wol]

Hello Everyone and thank you for all of your Likes . Just a bit of an update. Firstly, thanks to Glenn Barlow for getting me dialed in to using the clear acrylic instead of diluted pva. Looks and works way better. Picked up some of this at Dundas Valley Hobbies. Never seen so much paint in one place. 
 

 

Started out by replacing the coils on the bow sprit step. Changed from cotton to polyester rope. The cotton didn’t like the pva or the acrylic.

 

 

 

 

 

No matter what I tried I couldn’t make it decent looking coil to hang over the cleats and pins. So I gave up on the jig. Made coils the same as on the bow sprit step but made a small loop of rope that is hitched on itself to attach the coil to it’s hanging place. 

 

Wrapped  the rope around a 3/8” diameter pencil and applied CA to an 1/8” overlap. The joint ends up being behind the coil.

 

 

 
 

 

 

Doesn’t really look like it’s supposed to but I know when I’m whipped 🙂

 

 

Edited April 15, 2022 by Paul Le Wol

[glbarlow]

Sorry the jig wasn’t working for you, perhaps a difference in our rope provider’s material or construction. At least the acrylic was a helpful hint. 

[Paul Le Wol]

Hi Glenn, it’s always been that way. Someone could show me twenty times how to tie a knot and when it was my turn to try it I would inevitably say “OK, show me that one more time”