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 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 by flyer

[Fritzlindsay]

If you are going to rig her there is some great information in the rigging warrant for Alert 1777 at RMG that has a couple pages of detailed lists of rope and blocks that you might find beneficial.   The first page is below.

Fritz

 

Edited December 12 by Fritzlindsay