HM Cutter Alert by flyer - Vanguard Models - scale 1:64 - naval cutter

[flyer]

The Naval Cutter Alert by flyer - Vanguard Models - scale 1:64

 

The next project is another step ahead in kit quality – a Vanguard Models kit. The HMS Vanguard kit itself was also a Chris Watton construction, however with his own line of products I believe he took quality one or several steps further.

 

Although the kit looks great, there are – fortunately - still possibilities to change it to my liking or even to improve it a bit. For additional information I will count on Peter Goodwin’s ‘The Naval Cutter Alert 1777’, a book of the AOTS series.

 

My first thoughts are:

 

The cutter must have a boat. With the kit I ordered Vanguard Model’s 18ft cutter with the intention to shorten it to 14 or 16ft to easier find room on deck. In the meantime, Chris Watton announced that he will soon offer a printed 14ft cutter. I will consider this or – if it is still too large – perhaps commission Caldercraft’s 14ft jolly boat.

 

Sails will be hoisted. But I will make my own as the kit’s ones are not to my liking.

 

The rigging layout could be changed to an improved and standardised cutter rigging without spread yard and with spreaders for the shrouds. However, right now, I think the kit’s rigging scheme has its very own charm and is not only confirmed by the contemporary model of the cutter Hawke but also by contemporary paintings of Charles Brooking. Decision to be taken later.

 

Shipping in Light Airs in the Thames Estuary by Charles Brooking 1723 – 56

 

 

[Knocklouder]

Good luck on your journey !!  

[Thukydides]

Always good to see another alert log. It is a great kit, I think you will enjoy building her.

Edited February 21, 2024 by Thukydides

[flyer]

The shipwrights in my wharf worked rather slowly lately. After Bellerophon any project seemed a bit trivial.

A longer inactive period has now ended and they are set to proper work again.

 

I used the beautifully laser engraved lower deck to try different methods to caulk the seams. But neither following the seams with a sharp pencil or fine marker nor filling the seams with black paint and scratching the deck clean again produced acceptable results.

Finally, I decided to use the main deck just as it is, with a layer of clear varnish.

 

Now I glued, filled and sanded the first planking layer. During that task I found that my worry about perhaps building a too simple kit was rather invalid and the task was as demanding as ever but fortunately included a much smaller hull than the last one.

I love the elegant lines of Alert’s hull

Edited October 24, 2024 by flyer

[flyer]

 

The second planking is now finished. It took rather long due to being a bit fiddly (and my sometimes lacking motivation). 

The outcome is unfortunately to my liking. Unfortunately, because I intended to paint the lower hull with an off-white paint. Now with the quite acceptable planking I’m having second thoughts about covering my woodwork…

 

Next the wales and different wooden strips will be placed ‘from inside to outside’. The height of the bulwark was set somewhat by eyeballing and is now too high. I will install the deck, mark the height of the bulwark on the inside, sand it down and measure the position of wales and decorative strips on the outside from the top down. Nex time I build this kit I will take care to correct the upper edge of the first planking to the correct height above deck BEFORE starting the second layer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Thukydides]

Good job on the planking.

 

I don't think your bulwarks look too high, they are meant to vary in height along the length of the deck. What I did is just planked starting from the bottom and then when I got to the top I let the planks go over the top. Then once everything was glued in place I sanded / filled it all down to match the height of the inner layer.

[flyer]

Next step was installing the deck and planking the inner side of the bulwark. Below the two 4mm planks I added an additional 1mm strip. This gives the bulwark a bit more height and could be an approximation of the waterways.

Then I marked the positions of the gunport openings with the help of the provisionally installed drift rail.  The openings were the filed down to 5mm above deck level. After some final trimming of the bulwark top, the rails were glued on, the required slots cut out and the gun ports trimmed.

During that process I noted that the foremost gunports (which are covered by the drift rail) don’t work because the drift rail conflicts with the cannon. After rechecking the instructions as well as the size of the gun I decided to let that stand but would grant the skipper the use of a saw when he sees the need arise to use that ports in earnest.

Now the strips marking the sheer rails and finally the main wales were glued on in the appropriate height.

For better definition of the colour, I tried to paint all parts as far as possible before glueing on. This is helpful when installing the inner bulwark planking but worked as well on the wales.

Now I did place the draught marks and  horseshoe and fish plates on the keel.

With a mixture of whitewash, dull white and about 5% dull black I painted the lower hull and the lower part of the rudder. The rudder fittings were blackened and glued onto rudder and hull. The rudder is only provisionally fixed.

I deliberately painted over the keel plates and the lower drought marks as I consider them part of the construction and they may benefit from the protective cover with white lead paint. On the other hand, I left the rudder gear blank as it is part of a mechanical device which should move freely and may need to be occasionally checked for wear and tear.

 

 

 

Trimming the rails

 

 

 

 

Hull almost finished

 

 

 

 

rudder

 

 

 

 

Seems one of the carpenters was a bit careless with his axe

 

 

 

 

6 pounder gun

 

 

 

 

looking elegant

Edited June 18 by flyer

[Mike_H]

I see you've painted the hull - and despite the excellent quality of your planking, I think that's the right decision.  My alert, fully rigged, sits next to the shipyard, and seeing the contrast in the colours, alongside the exceptional scroll decorations brings me great joy.  And isn't that what it's all about?  Keep up the excellent work!

[flyer]

Thank you and I will do my very best.

A visit to your Alert showed me what could be possible. Presently I do not plan to attach the friezes but will try to achieve the impression on the cover of AOTS Alert instead.

Making my own sails and adding a boat should nevertheless create a sufficiently sophisticated result.

[flyer]

Building the stern really was a puzzle. More than once, I was properly puzzled how to make the parts fit while trying to adhere to the kit’s manual and Peter Goodwin’s book.

 

 

The kit’s upper transom part leaves an open space at the lower end when properly brought to the height of the platform deck. Others had the same problem before – so it seems that not only unprecise building on my part is the problem here. A sidewise bent 1 x 3mm strip was glued on below the lower end of part 49 and adjusted.

 

 

Next problem was the side counter timber which is one massive timber on the prototype, including the boom cradles on top, but here consist of several parts (part 76 and the outer edges of part 49 and somehow the parts 75). After due consideration I didn’t fix the cradles on the side of the transom but glued it onto its forward side, trying to create the impression of one continuous counter timber.

 

 

Above the stern chase ports should be a rail, the upper counter rail. To simulate it I added a 1mm x 1mm strip on the inside on the same height as part 52 on the outside to create the impression of a 3mm wide rail.

 

 

Building up the rough tree rails needed a lot of adjustments but was more or less straightforward.

 

 

One still open question is the painting of the counter. Goodwin shows it in black while the kit’s manual leaves it open. To leave it in wood and varnish would still be an option, especially as I don’t intend to add the decorations. They would certainly look nice but also a little bit pretentious for a mere cutter. The blue colour band in itself is probably already rather more than an ordinary cutter would get from the admiralty.

 

Additional strip below the transom

 

 

 

Building up the upper counter rail

 

 

Approximation of the side counter timber

 

 

All painted and testing the tiller – so far, so good

 

 

Edited July 10 by flyer

[Thukydides]

Looking good.

 

The stern area is a bit of a funny one with a lot of inconsistencies between the Marshall painting, the plans and the Goodwin book. I ended up redoing mine after the fact.

 

If you are feeling really adventurous you could try painting the counter and transom as per the Marshall painting of Alert.

[flyer]

Adventurous? Perhaps, sometimes, but not crazy enough to try that project.

Your very well-done Alert would make a much better canvas for such a painting than my poor one.

It’s also a question of resources – timewise, I think. Being over 70 now, I might only have some 30 useful years more left in ship modelling. Therefore, I should better concentrate on projects which I might possibly finish in my time. 😉

In the meantime, I will try to fix the worst shortcomings those merciless pictures did uncover. As always.