US Revenue Cutter 1815 by Jsk - FINISHED - Seahorse - 1/72 - CARD

[Jsk]

Thanks, all. Hopefully the next one will turn out just as nice.

[Philipp Flersheim]

On 2/4/2024 at 6:19 PM, Jsk said:

Progress has been a bit slower lately but I'm happy with the way the cutter is turning out.

 

Forging ahead, the next task was adding the copper plating to the bottom. The kit provided some copper paper printed with strakes on one side or individual plates on the other giving the builder the option of fast or detailed. I chose fast and used the strakes. No complaint. I did notice that the copper strakes, like the hull strakes, seemed a bit short for the the hull. While I normally attribute these types of shortcomings (!) to my lack of experience I'm beginning to think there might be a small glitch in the design. It's almost as if the laser cut parts are just a bit longer than they should be. I've come across issues with the strakes, the coppering, the bulwarks and even the deck. Nothing that can't be overcome--I've adopted the practice of leaving extra material on the ends of long pieces to allow some extra and then cut them to length once I've determined how much extra is needed. I also discovered that I have the perfect shade of copper paint in my hobby supplies!

 

After coppering both sides I added the white wale which hid a number of blemished I introduced with the planking. Then I had to do some fixing of the stern. I ended up installing the transom and a pair of knees that support it and then decided I wasn't happy with the slight gap where the deck planking ended before the transom. Unfortunately, I ended up destroying the transom and knees when I removed them so I had to scratch build replacements. I was not successful in recreating the knees out of card so I ended up carving them out of plastic. They might be a bit too large but I'm OK with it. I also made a new counter piece since the original seemed too small and I was unhappy with the way it fit.

 

I also learned that cheap thin CA glue has potent fumes! I normally use Gorilla brand gel superglue and have never had a reaction to it. I wanted to try thin CA to stiffen up the counter piece and boy did I get a reaction! My eyes watered for a full hour. I think I'll pitch the cheap stuff and see if Gorilla makes a thin CA and if I react to that.

 

The inside of the gunwales were the next pieces where the chronic shortness bit me. I worked from the back forward and probably should have started at the front. Consequently, I'll have to do some fixing when I install the bow sprit.

 

The rudder was next on the agenda. While the model has small, rolled pintles I knew I was never going to be able to make something so small. So I fudged it. Again, the rudder straps may be a bit oversized but... it works for me.

 

 

The most recent work was installing the cap rails and the tiller.

 

 

That's where she stands at this point. I'll start the deck fittings during the next week.

 

 

On 2/4/2024 at 6:19 PM, Jsk said:

Progress has been a bit slower lately but I'm happy with the way the cutter is turning out.

 

Forging ahead, the next task was adding the copper plating to the bottom. The kit provided some copper paper printed with strakes on one side or individual plates on the other giving the builder the option of fast or detailed. I chose fast and used the strakes. No complaint. I did notice that the copper strakes, like the hull strakes, seemed a bit short for the the hull. While I normally attribute these types of shortcomings (!) to my lack of experience I'm beginning to think there might be a small glitch in the design. It's almost as if the laser cut parts are just a bit longer than they should be. I've come across issues with the strakes, the coppering, the bulwarks and even the deck. Nothing that can't be overcome--I've adopted the practice of leaving extra material on the ends of long pieces to allow some extra and then cut them to length once I've determined how much extra is needed. I also discovered that I have the perfect shade of copper paint in my hobby supplies!

 

After coppering both sides I added the white wale which hid a number of blemished I introduced with the planking. Then I had to do some fixing of the stern. I ended up installing the transom and a pair of knees that support it and then decided I wasn't happy with the slight gap where the deck planking ended before the transom. Unfortunately, I ended up destroying the transom and knees when I removed them so I had to scratch build replacements. I was not successful in recreating the knees out of card so I ended up carving them out of plastic. They might be a bit too large but I'm OK with it. I also made a new counter piece since the original seemed too small and I was unhappy with the way it fit.

 

I also learned that cheap thin CA glue has potent fumes! I normally use Gorilla brand gel superglue and have never had a reaction to it. I wanted to try thin CA to stiffen up the counter piece and boy did I get a reaction! My eyes watered for a full hour. I think I'll pitch the cheap stuff and see if Gorilla makes a thin CA and if I react to that.

 

The inside of the gunwales were the next pieces where the chronic shortness bit me. I worked from the back forward and probably should have started at the front. Consequently, I'll have to do some fixing when I install the bow sprit.

 

The rudder was next on the agenda. While the model has small, rolled pintles I knew I was never going to be able to make something so small. So I fudged it. Again, the rudder straps may be a bit oversized but... it works for me.

 

 

The most recent work was installing the cap rails and the tiller.

 

 

That's where she stands at this point. I'll start the deck fittings during the next week.

 

I am building Seahorse's revenue cutter just now: the hull and deck are finished. So far, this has been hugely enjoyable. I also noticed that the copper 'planks' seem to be a little short. However, I think that is because I did not sufficiently sand down the underlying layer of planking (the white planks). They looked good as they were, so I thought, why bother? In any case, there is enough copper coloured paper to fill gaps in places you can hardly see anyway.

The next step is the masts and rigging, and I am thinking about that with some trepidation!

[Philipp Flersheim]

On 9/8/2024 at 6:30 PM, Jsk said:

Done. Done. Done.

 

This little model was chock full of lessons for me. It took a lot longer than I thought it would, especially the rigging.  All in all, I'm pleased with it. I'm surprised I actually finished it. I have a history of getting distracted by new projects. Now that it's done my problem is I need to find a place to display it! That's a nice problem to have.

 

Things I've learned:

1) Try it. You never know what you can accomplish unless you've pushed it as far as you can. Because of my vision issues I really did not think I'd be able to complete the rigging. Each and every line and stropping gave me satisfaction.

2) There's no rush. When you get frustrated... walk away. Come back to it with a fresh mind. But try to get a little done every day or at least every week.

2a) LET THE GLUE DRY. Go surf the net and read other people's build logs while letting the glue do its job.

3) It will turn out differently than planned. That's OK as long as you're satisfied with it.

4) Poor quality tools cost more when you need to replace them.

5) Practice knot tying and trimming lines. My line endings aren't nearly as neat as I'd like them to be.

6) Dump the painted wire for making eye-bolts and hooks. Invest in some brass wire and learn to blacken it.

7) Synthetic line has a life of its own and can be difficult to control. Preparing it by running it between  your fingers with watered down PVC glue can help stiffen it up and make it easier to control. Nor does synthetic line like to stay tied--it needs some glue to help it.

😎 Make sure you have plenty of extra blocks, etc., on hand. You'll also need about twice as much rigging line as you think you will.

9) Do as much as you can off model. It's easier to attach sub-assemblies than it is to do everything in place.

10) Assemble things strategically. Modeling is as much about figuring out how and when to do things as it is about manual dexterity. Don't model yourself into a corner. I had to repair the bow sprit twice and the stove funnel three times. That could have been avoided by simply delaying them until later in the build.

 

That's enough for now.

 

A sincere thank you to everyone who read, commented or liked this build log. Sharing the progress has enriched the experience of building this model!

This is simply beautiful - I am just blown away by the care you have taken with the tiny details! Congratulations! If the revenue cutter I am working on right now turns out half as beautifully, I will be pleased as punch.

[Jsk]

Thanks, @Philipp Flersheim, enjoy the build! I think my issue with the short hull strakes was mostly that I did not fair the bulkheads before planking. @0Seahorse mentioned this in the thread and I think he's absolutely correct. One thing I've noticed about card model kits (especially Seahorse's) is that they can be very precise. My build skills aren't as precise and so I had some... character... show up in the hull. On future builds I think I'll leave a little extra length and then trim it back after test fitting. Build and Learn!

 

Good luck with the rigging. I spent far more time studying the diagrams and planning how to approach each line than actually rigging the model. It paid off. I also just did a couple lines at a time before taking a break and doing something else. It's not very daunting one line at a time.