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

[AJohnson]

Just a little update, the house it getting back to normal and the garage where I do my modelling is now emptying of "stuff", so I can get at the Trial again! 😀

 

I've not done much, but very pleased to be back doing even a little.  Assembled the Prow and glued in place, holding it straight and true with plenty of elastic bands and a clip to hold it straight to the keel.  Leaving this to cure a day or so before I progress, but I have been dry fitting the bulwark templates to see how they will sit, showing so far I need to do a little more fairing of the hull yet.

 

Hoping to keep David @dunnock company now with his Trial build.

[dunnock]

Welcome back Andrew. Happy to hear that you are able to get back to Trial. I'm hoping that you will soon catch me up and show me the way 😄

David 

[HardeeHarHar]

Looking good Andrew,

We are back in Durham, so I hear my Sphinx calling me.  Vanguard sure does make a great kit!  Your cutter looks SOLID.

[AJohnson]

Thanks all for your likes and comments, finally back in the saddle!  The house all back to normal and the garage (my workshop) is cleared out, so after a restful holiday in North Norfolk last week (yes I did go for dinner at "The Lord Nelson" Inn at Burnham Thorpe, but it was too dark after that to go see his birthplace plaque) - we are back to the Trial! 😁

 

First planking commences and I am taking this opportunity to improve my planking skills by trying to line-out the bulkheads and work out plank widths in advance, as per the tutorials by Chuck and others on MSW/NRG.  I marked out some plank widths and tested them along the middle bulkheads and then tried to set out three bands using thin flexible tape.  This took ages, lots of squinting at the hull from various angles and repositioning the tape.  The Admiral thought I was going mad! 🤓  Anyway a couple of evenings later and I settled on the bands and started setting out the planking.  Pen marks for the band boundaries and pencil marks for the intermediate planks.  First planks are on, I did start bending and thinning the planks a little from the start and I am going to try and do one plank per. side  as I go to try and keep them even on each side.

 

I know this is the first planking and all will be hidden, but if I practice on this layer, hopefully the second planking will be better and one day I might dare to do a single layer hull! 😱

 

With the rubbish weather forecast for the next few days, I hope to get some planking done and get some momentum going on this build at last!

Edited October 19, 2023 by AJohnson

[mugje]

Looks like a plan! 

[dunnock]

Good start on the planking Andrew. Splitting the hull into three bands is something I wish that I had done.

 

David

[CiscoH]

that is the exact same way i planked my AVS.  hopefully we’re both doing it right

[AJohnson]

Well the weekend was productive for the first planking and I now have eight planks on per side, hoping to get the first planking done this week and the hull sanded for starting to plan out the second planking over the weekend coming.

 

The amount of bending to get the planks around the bow was quite a lot and even with this I was still getting a bit of plank twist so had to go back for more bending, slowly learning to let the 'feel' of the plank tension/bending guide me to how much more I need to do - I might get the hang of it by the last plank and then no doubt promptly forget it all when I come to my next project. 😆

 

Thanks all for following along, the likes and comments. 😁

[Thukydides]

That's looking really good. Great job.

[jpalmer1970]

Coming along nicely!

[dunnock]

Looking very good Andrew

[AJohnson]

Evening all, thanks you for the likes and comments.  Progress update, the first planking is complete, but not without a "whoops" - I dropped the model whilst sanding it and managed to break off the stem and stern pattern which disintegrates into five pieces.  After much colourful language the damage has been repaired - good job this is all painted below the wale!  😣

 

Next glued on the stern post assembly, keel and stem.  I used scraps of wood to align the sliding keel slots and keep them free of glue.  I'm now looking at the second planking and also, as a change whilst waiting on the repairs to glue I have made a start on the Cannon/Carronade assemblies.

[AJohnson]

Progress update, not as long has been spent on Trial as I would like but steady progress is still something.  Started the second planking, by first adding the top plank and the garboard as per. Chris's instructions.  Then the remaining area was divided into plank widths mid-ships then divided into three sections for planking and (hopefully) a symmetrical appearance.  The bands were divided up using flexible masking tape I got from Chris, tacky enough to stay on the first planking, but easy enough to peel back for adjustments.  The intervening spaces divided up using Chuck's planking fan as post #42.

There has been some odd-shaped planks coming out of all this measuring and edge bending, but I guess that is the point, overall satisfied with the results, by still no way would I dare leave my planking unpainted! 😱  Another week at this rate and second planking might be about done.

 

Again thanks for the likes and comments and looking in! 

Edited November 7, 2023 by AJohnson

[AJohnson]

Big milestone today, second planking complete (well apart from a few sessions of sanding!)

 

Overall happy with the way it came out but still glad this is going to be painted as my woodworking skills; especially at the Stem & stern still need improvement.  Paying much more attention to lining off the hull and splitting the hull into bands to plank did help in the long run.  Initially frustrating at times, having to bend and shape planks, then re-bend then trial fit again, this process seemed to fall into a rhythm I could follow by the end. A couple of planks went wrong, but (one split under the pins/clamps which I didn't notice and another I shaped too narrow, again not noticing until it was dry.)  as I said, all okay as its all going under paint soon! - Phew...

Additionally I paid no attention whatsoever to grading of the strips, so I ended up with nearly all the dark ones on one side, which would have looked bad if left unpainted.

 

So next update will be the sanding, filling, primer & painting stages.  Thanks again for the likes and following along.

Edited November 13, 2023 by AJohnson

[JacquesCousteau]

Great job on the hull!

[Thukydides]

That is a great planking job.

[mgatrost]

I think your planing turned out very nice. 

[Mike_H]

6 hours ago, AJohnson said:

Big milestone today, second planking complete (well apart from a few sessions of sanding!)...

 

 

By an extraordinary coincidence, I finished the second planking on Alert today.  So I can say with fresh expeience under my belt - well done.  That's a neat job!

[AJohnson]

52 minutes ago, Mike_H said:

By an extraordinary coincidence, I finished the second planking on Alert today.  So I can say with fresh expeience under my belt - well done.  That's a neat job!

Hi Mike, thanks, looking forward to seeing your Alert log updates! 👍

[Dave_E]

Really nice Andrew. 👍😀

[DB789]

That looks excellent. Wish I could plank as neatly as that! 

[RossR]

This looks great.  I am amazed at how fast  you got this far.  I would be lucky to get a few planks a week done.  

[dunnock]

Lovely planking job Andrew. All that planning and marking has certainly paid dividends

David 

[DaveBaxt]

Great approach to first planking  Andrew and very well explained for us with lots of photos. It looks almost as if you don,t need a second layer of planking. and so quick too! I can hardly keep up with your progress and you must be working flat out.  

[mugje]

That is some nice planking there! You're doing great at this fine cutter!

[AJohnson]

Thank you all very much for the encouragement and likes.  Update today just on the seemingly never ending rounds of filling, sanding , primer, paint, repeat!  Nearly there I think, just the odd remaining blemish to sort before the final base coat, prior to pre-shading the planking for a more interesting final appearance (I'm not after a uniform monotone white finish.)

Thought I would share some pictures of the stages I've been going through.  I just used a rattle can DIY grey primer initially, followed by an initial rub down with medium sandpaper to see what a layer of paint showed up - nothing like a layer of paint to point out your lack of woodworking skills!  I have then being using water-based plastic putty that can be thinned down to get into all the little imperfections, flat down, rub and repeat!  As the surface gets better I then start to use fine wire wool; this doesn't tend to "ball-up" paint layers as easily, then some old blu-roll paper towel to really bring out a shine to go hunting for flaws again holding the hull up to a light source.

Work is going to get in the way this week, so might not be much more progress until the weekend.

 

Thanks again for following along. 

[AJohnson]

Update to show the hull about ready for adding the P.E. rudder hinges, Horseshoe plates etc.  Just a bit more fine sanding and sealing to go.  

The pre-shading was laid out using the Bulwark patterns as a guide to layout out the plank ends then the planks were sketched back in, so I could colour distinct bands in yellows, browns, greys etc. to provide some shading variation under the final layers of white.

The initial look is a bit shocking, but soon calmed down under successive layers of white until finally just a hint of the picked out planking shows (a bit difficult to see in the photos!), just to break up the "mono" look of a pure white hull.

Looking forward now to peeling away the tape and getting those bulwarks on! 😁

Edited November 23, 2023 by AJohnson

[Blue Ensign]

A great job on the hull Andrew, well done.👍

 

B.E.

[AJohnson]

Hi All,

 

Latest updates, just added the Bulwark patterns.  Many thanks for the likes and the encouraging comments, next stage the deck and inner Bulwark sides.

Edited November 28, 2023 by AJohnson

[AJohnson]

Thank you all for the likes and @Blue Ensign @dunnock @DaveBaxt @mugje @DB789 @Dave_E @RossR and others for your encouragement, it means a lot. 

 

Something slightly out of sequence today from the instructions, while I have been building the hull I have also been working on the 3-Pounder Guns and 12-Pounder Carronades, as some thing different to do while waiting for various stages of the hull to dry; be it glue, filler or paint!

 

Here is a sequence of pictures of how I built up the ordinance.  As I was flitting between these and going back to the hull I did treat them as separate assembly stages, starting with assembling the Carronades, then the more numerous carriage guns.  The printed barrels needed little attention, a rub with a stiff old brush to remove some tiny fibres and drilling the opening just a little to provide deeper holes for looks.  These were then painted in flat black, washed in grubby "gunmetal" then dry brushed again in flat black to make them look more like metal.  Chris is right they do need painting even though the resin is black, the fines detailing is almost transparent.

 

I did go a bit off-piste with the wheel and axles.  Not wanting square axle ends I substituted the ends with some dowel, these were then drilled for a wire axle pin.  The ends of the axles were then wrapped in black card to simulate iron bands.

 

Other detailing I added was a bed for the quoin and the quoin itself got a handle of sorts added (lead shot), which was then painted brown.  More eyebolts were added, but not sure if I am going to fully rig these little guns as the tackle might look too much for this size armament.  I added split rings cut from tiny chain for the Cap Square hinge bolt and the Cotter pin chains; the chains themselves were actually just black thread, I don't have any ultra fine chain to hand, but think they look okay.

 

Back to the hull now and for breaks from that I might jump to the hatches and gratings. Thanks for looking in.

 

 

Edited December 5, 2023 by AJohnson