HM Cutter Alert by flutlo6180 - Vanguard Models - 1:64

[flutlo6180]

I broke open the HM Alert kit today to get a sense of what I'm facing with this build. The large and detailed build instructions are going to be great to work with and I am impressed with the quality of the materials.

 

After reading through several build logs over the past few months, I decided it would be prudent to conduct a complete inventory. In addition to ensuring the kit is complete, the inventory provided me with a better understanding of the various components and build elements.  Unfortunately, my kit was missing the basswood strips (part #31) and sail cloth (part #32).  I've sent a note to Vanguard Models and am sure I will hear back from them promptly.

 

I am really looking forward to this build. I selected the Alert kit for several reasons. First, the reputation for quality of Vanguard Models is frequently note on MSW. The kit seems like a natural progression in my modeling as it provides different construction opportunities not present on my lateen-rigged first build (e.g. cannon, rat lines, deadeyes). I also want to focus on a single mast ship as it will be less complex and easier to try and learn the art of installing running and standing rigging than a two or three mast model.

 

 

[chris watton]

I can see the basswood/limewood strips in your picture, labelled F26

 

Sail cloth is no longer included, instead a pre made sail set is included

 

Or, if you mean the wood for deck planking, the deck is now a laser engraved part.

Edited September 18, 2022 by chris watton

[VTHokiEE]

20 minutes ago, flutlo6180 said:

basswood strips (part #31)

I think this was actually boxwood strips, not basswood, which I believe and @chris watton please correct me if I'm wrong would be replaced by the etched deck in your kit. 

 

Edit: Oh btw @flutlo6180 good luck with the build - I hope you enjoy it; I really enjoyed mine.

Edited September 18, 2022 by VTHokiEE

[flutlo6180]

2 hours ago, chris watton said:

if you mean the wood for deck planking, the deck is now a laser engraved part

Thank you Chris for your quick reply and correcting my error. Sorry about the confusion - I should have recognized the laser engraved replacement when I did the inventory.

 

2 hours ago, VTHokiEE said:

good luck with the build - I hope you enjoy it; I really enjoyed mine

Thanks. I've been perusing your build log to get a better sense of what I'm about to take on.

[flutlo6180]

Before I begin with this build update I want to again I express my thanks to Chris Watton for so quickly responding to my query on missing parts and correcting my error.  With the high quality of the kit and such great responsiveness by Chris, It is little wonder why Vanguard Models has such a positive reputation amongst the modelers on MSW.

 

I did start the build today and began assembling the bulkheads and lower deck to the false keel.

 

Dry fit of the bulkheads show tight fits and great alignment. 

 

 

I laid out the bearding line and built a template to get to the correct 1.5mm width.

 

 

 

After tapering the stern area and tapering the top of frame 10 to match the sternpost angle, the glue is now drying on the framing and lower deck.

 

 

Edited September 19, 2022 by flutlo6180

[Cathead]

Looks cool, will be fun to see how you apply the skills from your half-hull model to this one.

[flutlo6180]

I got to the stern frames today and found the transom and frame 9 slots for frames 18 and 19 - both port and starboard - were not in alignment.  The outer slots in transom are angled which prevents installation without excess stress and likely snapping them in half.

 

You can see the angle in these two photos - the outboard slots for 19 are more misaligned than the 18 in the middle. The inboard slots for 17 were an issue.

 

 

To address the problem I sanding the inboard and outboard sides of the transom slots to straighten the run. You can see the change in the slots in this photo.

 

 

After this slight adjustment the frames ran true and don't appear to be under stress. 

 

 

Fortunately, the build logs from Blue Ensign and VTHokiEE gave advance warning of this issue so I went slow and I was able to address it without breaking and of the frames.

 

 

 

[flutlo6180]

More time in the shipyard yesterday and the first layer of decking is installed. The fit for the main deck was so tight that I was worried about snapping the piece when trying to get it into the slots. In addition to shaving some width from both sides of the frames to loosen the fit a little, I also sanded a slight taper for the top of the frames.  The taper helped ensure that I could get the piece slotted without breaking off any of the corners for the slots.

 

 

I've seen weights used in other build logs to put downward pressure on the deck while the glue dries.  Not having any small weights suitable for that purpose, I held the deck in place with a series of rubber bands as shown in these two photos.

 

 

Both decks are now firmly in place.

 

 

I'm now at the tedious process of fairing the hull for planking so it will be awhile before my next post (unless I run into problems and need a lifeline).

 

For the first planking layer I am considering using the spiling technique I learned in the NRG Half Hull build and ordered some 1/16" basswood sheets for that purpose. The basswood seems a bit softer than the limewood in the kit and I am wondering if it will be suitable for the bulwark planking. Perhaps I should mix the two and use the limewood for the bulwark planks and the basswood for spiling for the rest of the hull.

 

For the second layer I intend to use the pre-cut pearwood strips from the kit because it is so nice looking and I would hate not to use it on the build.

 

 

[jpalmer1970]

It looks like you are off to a good start. I hope the fairing is going well. I'm just starting the rigging on my model and I have enjoyed every minute of the construction so far - it is a great kit👍

[flutlo6180]

I knew it had been a while since I updated my build, but I am surprised that its been 3-months. Didn't want to bore anyone - including myself - with plank-by-plank updates but I have continued to make progress. Family and professional challenges kept me from getting in the shipyard as often as I would have liked, but I finished the first planking layer today.

 

I took Toni's encouragement to replace the kit planks and use spiling technique I learned during the NRG half-hull kit build and it worked out pretty well.  Still need some work on improving the stem joining but overall I am please with the results.

 

 

starboard view is after some sanding, and here it the port view without any sanding.

 

 

And here is a close-up of the starboard stern.

 

On 10/11/2022 at 1:01 AM, jpalmer1970 said:

I hope the fairing is going well.

Thanks jpalmer. Fairing is still a bit of a challenge but I may just be too impatient. I did need to flatten a few spots somewhat during planking to avoid too much of a bow.

[jpalmer1970]

Looking good. It may just be the angle of the photo but you may perhaps need to take a little more off at the stern to account for the depth of the second planking so that this lies flush against the width of the stern post.

[flutlo6180]

5 hours ago, jpalmer1970 said:

Looking good. It may just be the angle of the photo but you may perhaps need to take a little more off at the stern to account for the depth of the second planking so that this lies flush against the width of the stern post.

Thanks, and you are correct. There is still some more sanding I intend to do so the second planking doesn't sit proud of the stern post. I also plan to work on the planking at the stem post  so the second planking flows nicely into that area as well.

[flutlo6180]

Was able to take some time over the holidays to continue the build. Completed sanding down the hull, planking the stern bulkhead and installing the counter.

 

 

 

I was also able to install the top plank for the bulwarks.  The floating end of this plank proved tricky to get clamped in place and sits a bit proud of the rest, but I should be able to get that sanding down before planking this side. This starboard side view also shows where I needed to add some filler in a couple areas.

 

 

And finally, I've been able to begin on the second planking for the port side.  This photo also shows the floating end of the top plank sitting proud to the rest of the contour. I believe I can address it with sanding so it won't be noticeable with the top rail cap installed.

 

 

 

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

[flutlo6180]

Well, this build is turning out to be a slower journey than I had planned, but life has a way of disrupting plans.

 

Although progress has been slow, I finally finished the second planking. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I started off trying to avoid using any cyano but that I couldn't figure out a good method to clamp the planks so I shifted. Thick cyano worked well but you can see where it ran out of the joints is in the stern and bow shots.

 

Even after the half-hull build, I still had challenges with the bow and some of the gaps between planks are wider than I would like. Overall, the second planking turned out neater than my San Juan build - especially at the stem - but that isn't really a good standard to measure against.

 

I also had challenges with the floating end of the top bulwark plank. Even though I thought I had them clamped in position, they sprung a bit on both port and starboard. I don't think it will be a noticeable after the cap rail and catheads are installed.

 

[Thukydides]

Good to see you back at it. I also had a period where I made very little progress due to a combination of lack of inspiration and no free time.

 

The planking looks great, you are now getting to the stage where it starts to actually look like a ship 🙂.

[flutlo6180]

Thanks.  I'm inspired by your build and will likely check that frequently.

[mcpwilk]

Looking good so far, but Alert was clinker built (I find clinker planking easier than carvel).

 

Mike

[flutlo6180]

A good day in the shipyard with the decks installed and the seams and nails marks darkened with pencil.

 

 

The instructions say to line the inner bulwarks before installing the deck, but those were written with the decks being planked and not the full deck cutout. Installing the lining first would have meant taking 1 mm from each edge so I installed the decks first and then added the lining. I think an added benefit is this arrangement hold the deck edges flat and guard against curling up over time.

 

With the decks installed and inner bulwark lined, it was time to move on to marking out the gunport locations with the cap rail taped in place.

 

To make it easier to get the ports straight I took one of the scrapes from the deck openings and made an 8.5 mm template which worked well.

 

 

 

 

 

I just made an error marking the 4 mm and 6 mm gunport depths which tells me that its time to shut down the build for the day and cutting the gunport openings will need to wait until later. Overall, I am pleased with the progress made this weekend.

 

 

 

 

[Thukydides]

The gun ports are a bit fiddly and as you discovered it is easy to cut a bit too far or at the wrong angle. Remember they are perpendicular to the keele. I didn’t realize this when i was doing mine and so one or two of them don’t look quite right.

Edited June 11, 2023 by Thukydides

[flutlo6180]

Applying the paint to the inner bulwarks provided a great feeling of progress.

 

 

 

 

 

Getting the gun ports cutout and painted was even better.  I did run into 2 issues where the planking layer section between gun ports came off - not sufficiently edge glued during planking.  Fortunately nothing broke and I was able to fix the issues with a quick bead of cyano. Any errors is placement are going to show up when I install the top cap and I have my fingers crossed that won't be an issue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[flutlo6180]

The build is coming along nicely with the progress made the past few days.

 

I was able to install and pain the main wale.

 

Painting between the gun ports is also complete with the strake at the bottom edge of the gunports painted and installed.

 

 

 

 

I decided to wait to install the cap rail until after the waterline is drawn and the bottom painted to avoid the chance of breaking anything. The waterline is proving to be more of a challenge then I expected.

 

I'm using an Amati waterline marker but the result looked really off with the hull placed in the proper location on the acrylic stand. I checked the table and it was level in both direction but the hull was way off level fore and aft. You can see how far back the notch is in the second photo to get to level.

 

 

 

 

 

The waterline look better after leveling the hull but I am still not convinced it is correct. Clearly there is some proficiency involved with using the marker which I have yet to achieve.

 

 

I have two questions I'm hoping someone can answer.

 

First, should the hull be level fore and aft or placed correctly in the stand before scribing the waterline?

 

Second, How far below the main wale should the waterline fall at its highest point amidships?

 

 

[Glenn-UK]

Nice progress. With regards to the waterline I tend to use the plan sheets to work out the position at the bow and stern. When practical to do so I will also add some additional reference points in between. I will add a length of tape using the reference points as a guide. I will adjust the tape as necessary to get a nice smooth flow in conjunction with the waterline tool.  I find getting the aft portion (transom area) of the waterline most troublesome to get right.

[Thukydides]

As a cutter the stern drags a bit so the waterline is not parallel to the keel. You can see this if you look at the plans. You want to place it on the stand (this will put it at the right angle) and then use the plans to figure out how high to put the waterline.

 

If you look at this post from my log you can see how the white is higher at the stern than the bow.

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/29520-hm-cutter-alert-by-thukydides-vanguard-models-164/?do=findComment&comment=894531

 

1 hour ago, flutlo6180 said:

 

I was able to install and pain the main wale.

Is it just me or does the wale on one side look higher than the other. It may just be a quirk of the picture but it looks to me like you need to lower the left hand wale a little where it meets the stem.

Edited June 18, 2023 by Thukydides

[flutlo6180]

2 hours ago, Glenn-UK said:

I tend to use the plan sheets to work out the position at the bow and stern. When practical to do so I will also add some additional reference points in between.

Thanks Glenn. Adding some additional reference points should help to better visualize how the line should look.

 

2 hours ago, Thukydides said:

Is it just me or does the wale on one side look higher than the other. It may just be a quirk of the picture

Thanks Thukydides. The apparent difference in the picture stems from the right hand side being painted and the other side unpainted.  I appreciate you sending the link to your log post and the data point on the stern dragging a bit on cutters.

 

 

[flutlo6180]

After getting the comments from Glenn and Thukydides (thanks again), I was able to layout the waterline and get the bottom painted.

 

 

 

 

I'm glad I took my time and asked for some guidance as the result looks pretty good (at least in my opinion).

 

With the waterline complete, I moved on to the transom. I used thin detailing tape to get a clean line between the black top and red bottom.

 

 

 

 

And managed to get the transom assembly installed without breaking anything.

 

On to the the top cap and railings.

[Thukydides]

Waterline looks good to me eye. Good job. You are trucking along pretty quick and will catch up to me before long.

[flutlo6180]

5 hours ago, Thukydides said:

You are trucking along pretty quick and will catch up to me before long.

Thanks.  I hope that some day I will be at your level of craftsmanship.

[flutlo6180]

With the top cap and tree railings installed it is beginning to look like a ship.

 

 

It took a bit of patience to get the swivel post and timberheads shaped to fit into their respective slots, but overall I'm pleased with the result.

 

 

Trying to shape the PE for the mizzen step block assemblies was quite frustrating.  Annealing the PE helped, but I still managed to break off one of the tabs at the score line when working to insert the pins.  Fortunately, I was able to get the parts installed with the help of a little Cyano. You can see the difference in the top view of the starboard assembly if you look closely.

 

 

Although I don't think the flaw will be noticeable with some touch up black paint on the PE and pin heads I would have preferred to replace the part. Clearly I need to go slower and improve my technique when shaping PE, but with the parts so delicate it seems that breaking a piece is always somewhat likely (and there is a lot of shaping for the cannon straps coming up). Is their a tool I should consider getting to be able to cut replacement PE parts like this from the PE sheet scrap??

 

 

Edited July 1, 2023 by flutlo6180
typo

[DB789]

Ken, I had some difficulty shaping those mizzen PE step blocks too and narrowly avoided breaking one.
 

If your Alert is v3 not v2 then you may find that the PE cannon straps are not needed as it is incorporated into the wooden side of cannon’s carriage. Photo below is from Grecian, but it’s the same setup. 
 

[flutlo6180]

4 hours ago, DB789 said:

If your Alert is v3 not v2 then you may find that the PE cannon straps are not needed

Thanks for the heads up Dan!