HM Cutter Trial 1790 by AJohnson - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64th

[AJohnson]

14 minutes ago, Craigie65 said:

Very nice work.

Mind you that water looks fresh, cannot have been at sea too long.

I am sure your tars will prefer rum 🧉

 you are right Craig, a bit too blue, I shall sort that and make more brown/rum looking 🤣

[AJohnson]

Some progress on smaller items over the weekend.  Including belay pin racks, side steps, a scattering of hull eyelets, standard and cavel cleats.  Additionally after looking at it a while I decided the lead roof of the cabin skylight I built in post #89 would look better if sectioned with join strips rather than as one big sheet of lead, which may have been made from smaller sheets anyway.

 

Additionally I thought it was high time to give the crew an airing, just so they can get used to their new berth.  They look a little too big on their stands at the moment, but they will all be painted and have the bases removed in due course, with the canons aboard it is going to look crowded and that is just under half the actual compliment. 

 

Thanks for looking in 👋

[hollowneck]

One of the great things about Vanguard's kits is that they easily invite the kind of small, enhancing upgrades like you've incorporated into this excellent build. I am also a fan of subdued paint tones like those you've used in this model. Impressive.

[Dave_E]

Kind of gives you a perspective on how crowded the ship was… hate to imagine below deck. 😳

[AJohnson]

14 hours ago, hollowneck said:

One of the great things about Vanguard's kits is that they easily invite the kind of small, enhancing upgrades like you've incorporated into this excellent build. I am also a fan of subdued paint tones like those you've used in this model. Impressive.

Thanks Ron, I agree about Vanguard kits, as the basics are so well taken care of for the builder and the instructions/plans so comprehensive, it makes "assembling" the kit straight forward; I won't say "easy" as that could be misinterpreted by the newcomer.  This frees up energies often absorbed with rectifying short comings of other kit manufacturers and allows the builder to go off in whatever direction they desire.  The fact so many of us modify and even mildly "kit-bash" Chris's kits is a compliment I think to his designs.

[chris watton]

21 hours ago, AJohnson said:

Thanks Ron, I agree about Vanguard kits, as the basics are so well taken care of for the builder and the instructions/plans so comprehensive, it makes "assembling" the kit straight forward; I won't say "easy" as that could be misinterpreted by the newcomer.  This frees up energies often absorbed with rectifying short comings of other kit manufacturers and allows the builder to go off in whatever direction they desire.  The fact so many of us modify and even mildly "kit-bash" Chris's kits is a compliment I think to his designs.

Thank you, I do not mind at all - for the more experienced, kits should be seen as a blank canvas to which the modeller can stamp their own interpretation to the finished model.

 

Looks fantastic, I like this little kit, as there's so much going on along the deck.

 

[hollowneck]

On 2/6/2024 at 8:19 AM, AJohnson said:

The fact so many of us modify and even mildly "kit-bash" Chris's kits is a compliment I think to his designs.

I couldn't agree more, Andrew.

[AJohnson]

Updates for the last few days, the rudder assembly has been completed, the only changes to this I made was to add thickness to the pintle/gudgeon with some hemispherical plastic rod, as the PE parts looked a bit 2D.  I'm playing around with some parts from the spares box to make a rudder coat frame, the part in the third picture is from a 1/48 aircraft canopy frame, think it might work! 

 

I've also added the sliding keels and the winches.  I actually installed mine from the bottom upwards as the the white paint made them too thick to slide from the top down.  This meant taping the lines to a thin knife and poking them them through the slot so I could pull the thread through and attach to the winch drums, a bit fiddly, but no dramas really.

 

Final addition has been the Elm tree pumps.

 

I'm now working on how to apply a little grunge and algae markings on the waterline and below, but not sharing that yet, as it looks terrible when the washes first applied, a bit like the multi coloured pre-shading planking I did before the final coats of white.

 

Thanks for all the likes and kind comments. 😉

[AJohnson]

Update to show the progress so far on the hull.  I wanted to show someone looking at the model where the nominal waterline would be ( as the white goes up to the underside of the wale) and so wanted to add some indication of waterline fouling.

 

This has been a bit of Trial and error! Weathering is always subjective in model kits and striking the right balance between realism and something that just isn't "nice" to look at is difficult.  So having built up some washes and grunge/fouling, I have decided to knock it back and maybe with a bit of judicial sanding away of the top coat reveal a little more waterline fouling, but I'll take it steady.  Once fully hardened it will need a flatting with very fine abrasive and old towelling to make the surface clean again, macro photography shows all that up nicely! 😣

 

Also added a few rudder details, like the rudder coat and ring as shown in the plans and rudder chain.

[AJohnson]

Things have slowed up in the last week or so, the Admiral has got us doing another project in the house (decorating the kitchen) so modelling time at a premium! 

 

A few little bits have been completed:-  I made some slightly larger stern knees and added belay pins for the aft braces I'm going to fit and the flag halliard.  Assembled and fitted the catheads, I painted them to hide the parts construction but masked off the fine detailed etched into the sides; also added stopper cleats and cathead supporters as little extras.  The tiller arm although assembled is not permanently fixed yet.

 

Next up as and when I get time is to rig and fit the ordnance.  To that end I have made a little dummy gun port for rigging up the cannon before fitting to the model.  I now also need to get some supplies to continue the build, so that and DIY might slow me up for a while.

 

Thanks for looking in 

Edited February 22 by AJohnson

[Blue Ensign]

Nice progress Andrew, and that subtle weathering of the lower hull has worked a treat.👍

Not too sure about those belay pins tho' !

 

Regards,

 

B.E.

[DaveBaxt]

Weathering on the hull looks great and a nice touch. She is looking stunning . Dave

[hollowneck]

On 2/25/2024 at 3:21 AM, Blue Ensign said:

Not too sure about those belay pins tho' !

I agree with B.E. You've added personal "touches" to this model that are excellent. I've looked into your build frequently since I considered building this model too. Your Trial is going to look really nice once it's rigged (from a fan of fully-rigged models). However, those clunky, waaaay out-of-scale belaying pins made my eyes pop out on long stalks!

 

There aren't many sources for accurately shaped, small belaying pins (and the best, a Russian company, is now off-limits/inaccessible unfortunately).

 

One source is here: https://modelexpo-online.com/belaying-pins  MSW Followers may have other suggestions that I'm unaware of.

 

These brass pins are not ideal since one needs to paint them, however the smallest ones (5mm) offer much more realistic scale on a 1:64 build. As stated, I much prefer the beautifully-shaped Russian pear ones but the brass at least offers an alternative - inexpensive too since you won't need many for the Trial.

 

Once I start my build of the Vanguard "Adder" in a few weeks I'll likely dip into a old stash since I've exhausted my supply of pear ones.

[DaveBaxt]

Andrew if you do decide to change the belaying pins then Cornwall models sell 5mm brass ones. Something I have never tried if not black (blackening) then as previously mentioned would need painting but not sure what colour you would think of painting them. Just a thought but I would be interested  in what you decide.

[AJohnson]

Time for working on "Trial" has been severely curtailed recently with another DIY project for the Admiral and a brush with some nasty Cold/flu/Covid thingy 🤢, but on the mend now.

 

With the time I have had I have been experimenting with the dummy gun port I made and trying out rigging the little 3lb's, as the guns are pretty small I wasn't sure I would add more than the breeching rope, but I found some tiny printed blocks and thought I would have a go.  Breeching ropes are 0.5mm which looking at the available tables seems to near enough scale, and the tackle is 0.1mm thread.

 

I used a shim on the floor of dummy gun port to keep the muzzle about one foot (scale) inboard to measure the length of breeching rope I needed to make.  After that I did a dry run for the traditional way I have seen breeching ropes done; gun run out and breeching rope loose on the deck and tackles rigged to their blocks and ready for the falls to be coiled on deck also.  I think that will go okay, the purists among you will be horrified there are no hooks on these tiny blocks, but at the scale that is way beyond my skills, so I just tied the blocks to the rings - just make me walk the plank now! 

It has always been my intention to have the larboard battery in the "ready to fire" state with a few gun crew scattered among them and the starboard guns with the rig as stowed, I found this thread a very useful reference.

So this is what I attempted, as the last couple of picture show.  The ropes look a little "glossy" in the pictures as the matte medium I used to seal them was still drying.  I also added a little lead patch for the touch hole on the stowed gun. - One down eleven to go! 

 

Thanks all for your comments and likes.  Regarding the offending belay pins, I will have to look into how these could be replaced without damaging the model too much, if I can source/make something more acceptable, I certainly don't want to risk anyone's eyesight with my log! 🤓

 

With things as busy as they are at the moment it might be another two, three weeks before updates.  Until then thanks all!  Also waiting for the courier to deliver my VM HMS "Adder"! 😁

Edited March 14 by AJohnson

[dunnock]

Very nice rigging on the guns Andrew. Not horrified at all by the lack of hooks, just impressed that you attempted to rig such small blocks.

 

David

[Mike_H]

What great progress since Christmas - and magnificent painting.  Rigging for small guns is always a challenge - I chose to do none on Alert.  Best of luck!

[AJohnson]

Hello all, apologies for not updating this log and in fact for being absent from MSW in general, life has got in the way, but the fact life IS getting in the way still is not something I'm complaining about! , more on that after I first have to say I have lost one of my little Dockyard companions. Our lovely little Belle has passed away a few weeks back, a grand little dog that we shall all miss terribly. 🐶 (Pictures from only this March on a break at Filey.)

 

As for me, well it was the same old of work and such like until not long ago when I had a heart attack, but I have been very fortunate to have had speedy and excellent care from the Paramedics and the Cardiology Unit at the Hospital(s) 🚑  Hopeful of making a good recovery in time, with all the support of my family and friends.  

 

So it seems like I have some time to do some model ship building!  Next update will be some progress of sorts.  Thanks for the likes and comments I have missed until now.  Loads of followed threads to catch-up on now!

 

Glad to be back! 😁

Edited June 25 by AJohnson

[Craigie65]

Andrew,

so sorry to hear that.  I hope you make a full recovery and take life a bit easier!

[ccoyle]

I am very glad to hear that you are still with us! We will soon be sitting our daughter's Cavalier for two weeks while she is off on her delayed honeymoon.

[Keith Black]

 Andrew, so sorry to hear that Belle passed away. Our little furry children are as much a part of families and lives  as the humans, it's a tremendous loss and my heart goes out to you.

 

 Then on top of that to have a heart attack. ☹️  I hope your recovery continues to go well, welcome back.

 

 Keith

[BrochBoating]

Sorry for your loss Andrew but very glad you're on the way back to health. Maybe we'll both get our builds finished before long?

[DaveBaxt]

Sorry to here about your dog Andrew and I look forward to further updates when you get bag into it.

[DB789]

Andrew, so sorry to hear your news. Very glad to hear you’re on the mend. Dan 

[Ronald-V]

Sorry for your loss, that's always hard to experience...and glad you made it through with your health, and you can look forward and build some models!  

[jpalmer1970]

Best wishes for your speedy recovery.

[AJohnson]

Firstly thank you everyone for your kind words and and good wishes regarding Belle and my recovery; taking it a day at a time, hopefully progress will be noticeable before too long! 😁

 

Back to the sadly neglected Trial!  I have mostly been wrangling fiddly little blocks and trying to rig cannons/Carronades.  So far done all the breeching ropes and about half the tackles.  The eagle-eyed will spot that two of the Carronades are run in, these will be the ones that have gun crews around them, much later in the build.  Also I have managed to take off the belay pin racks without too much damage; currently waiting for replacement belay pins that are more acceptable.  - I don't know what all the fuss was about, I thought the "monster" ones would have doubled up nicely as cudgels/clubs to repel boards with! 😆

 

Until next time, thanks for looking in.

Edited July 2 by AJohnson

[AJohnson]

Update for this evening, Cannons & Carronades rigged - phew! 🙂  I'm not sure I will be rushing to rig guns as small as this again in a hurry....  overall happy with the result, but there areas I think I could do better on next time.

 

I've also started adding shot garlands, just simple rope triangles, as no fixed garlands/racks are visible on the plans.  For a good discussion on the subject, this thread is worth a read. The shot is selected bird shot I have in a jar, there is a good assortment of sizes, so I could get pretty close for the scale shot sizes required.

I have also replaced the belay pins with 5mm brass ones, I bought the pack Ron recommend, so now I have well over a hundred more of these to use in future builds.

 

Now need to do some clean-up and remove the accumulation of dust and bits on the model.

 

Thanks for the likes and dropping by.

Edited July 26 by AJohnson

[chris watton]

Looks fantastic!

[hollowneck]

You've done an excellent job with this model Andrew. Sorry for the loss of one of your companions.

Glad to hear you're back in the proverbial saddle!