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HM Armed Cutter Sherbourne by Pitan - Vanguard Models - 1:64


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Moving forward 1 1/2 centuries from my (nearly finished) previous build, this is the new Vanguard Models Sherbourne.

_MG_3914.thumb.jpg.7ef79f60b6ebeb92e8e1453dd58cf627.jpg

Included in the box were a few extras; being new to ship modelling, I'd ordered a pin pusher and some crew who will, I hope, lend scale to the build.
Seen here with cordage, detail parts and the instructions.
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Below the instructions and bubble wrap was the wood (and acrylic base).
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In addition to the instruction booklet, there are 19 A3 sheets of plans and rigging guides.

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_MG_3917.jpg

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Posted (edited)

Thanks @Thukydides, I'm impressed by how it goes together (see below).

The kit arrived last week, and I started building over the weekend.
I couldn't glue the hull then, but that didn't stop me doing some work.

A few smaller components were glued together:
_MG_3933.thumb.jpg.013f90b22c62c065643083a314b1b1cc.jpg

 

From the left, this included the core of the stem, all the hatches, the companionway and the rudder and stern post.

I also started bevelling the bulkheads, keel cheeks* and deck support patterns.
These I glued up last night.

_MG_3943.thumb.jpg.e6b8ae4bb41eb68ad24d432b335cabff.jpg


The hatch beams were added today.  I succeeded in snapping two of them, the foremost and one of the middle ones.
Recovery and repair wasn't too difficult.

These were followed by the stern frames (broke one of those too), the ply false deck and made a start on the transom.

_MG_3946.thumb.jpg.4854a76399415feb40cf8317c899e51e.jpg


The piece of string here is pulling the counter into the transom - none of my clamps would stay in place long enough to hold the parts together.

Impressions so far?
Apart from bevelling and char removal on exposed edges of the pear parts, none of the components needed fettling.  The parts just fitted.
The only part that could be difficult is the stern counter.  This has a double curve.  This was managed with an electric plank bending tool.


*Keel cheeks, my term.  Pieces that sit either side of the keel, slotted down locking the bulkheads in place.  Parts 19 in this kit.
These have been designed to form the bearding line (this is my first build that could've had a beard & rabbet).

Edited by Pitan
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Work has progressed on the Sherbourne, with the bulwarks on and a start to the first layer of planking.

This is my first PoB build, and I'm not sure if what I'm seeing is usual.

From the sides this looks OK, as far as I can tell, pretty much like most PoB builds.
_MG_3952.thumb.jpg.603284fdc9e06769336aec8a35cc17f9.jpg

Bow on, there may be an issue with the first starboard plank...
_MG_3954.jpg.d3fc221e5844a1c09609c8c93f342fe5.jpg

 

It is only after seeing that photo that I even noticed this, but that plank nay be very thin  after sanding.


Looking from below, this really does worry me.
_MG_3953.thumb.jpg.3ad8babe10fefbe80f79c2be5a7000d4.jpg

 

Am I building trouble for myself here?  Or is this normal?

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Posted (edited)

No, that's not normal. Every plank should be flat on every bulkhead and thinning should be the same, more or less for every plank. This will need a lot of wood filler and imho that's not what is supposed to happen.

Check out Chuck's planking videos, they'll help you a lot I'm sure 😊.

 

 

 

Edited by wvdhee
Link added

Walter.

 

Current build: Thinking about it

Finished build: HMS Flirt

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@wvdhee is correct. I would recommend taking off all of them and making sure you edge bend them enough. You will have a much easier time if you take them off and do it right now then if you try to compensate. Take your time and treat every plank as its own project.

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Posted (edited)

This picture of one of the bevelled and edge bent 1x5mm strips is from the Sherbourne manual. No tools were used except a Stanley Knife and steel rule for the taper after just a little soaking, and then while still wet, the bend was manipulated using just my fingers. I use this method for most bending, even for the huge Amati Victory hull.

 

Looking at your second plank down, it doesn't seem to have enough taper at the front. My basic rule of thumb is always taper to half the planks width, and then ease off a little once then planks start to run a little more naturally further down.

52.jpg

Edited by chris watton

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Posted (edited)

Thanks @mugje, the kit is beautiful, I hope I can do it justice.

New planks have been added.  Just three per side as before, but a revised approach.
_MG_3967.jpg.7fe1eea62bcd24313caadc63e1556810.jpg

 

 

I'm using Chris's technique to define the bow taper, but an electric plank bender to shape the timber before, and after, glueing and pinning.
(Tried soaking, but haven't got the technique right yet.)

_MG_3971.thumb.jpg.b10445a8f422348a0edb46c32d0be520.jpg

 

 

Edited by Pitan
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Thanks Thukydides.

The first layer of planks is on, still needs sanding and filling.

_MG_3977.thumb.jpg.190af3d8b432a01ab7092d3bc79d16ee.jpg

 

Three stealers per side, one each at the bow, the stern, and amid-ships (is this last a stealer?)

_MG_3973.thumb.jpg.35ddd5a8264b24867dbd220f32df9d91.jpg
 

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FWIW, I re-used two (of six) planks from my first, failed, attempt.  The reset were fresh items in the kit.

Sanding next, then filling

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That looks fantastic.  I need to learn when to start over sometimes.  

Completed Build:   HMS Beagle - Occre

Current Builds:       Frigate Diana - Occre  https://modelshipworld.com/topic/33530-frigate-diana-by-rossr-occre-185/

Santisima Trinidad - Occre - Cross Section https://modelshipworld.com/topic/37130-santisima-trinidad-by-rossr-occre-190-cross-section/

On the Shelf:           NRG Half Hull, the US Brig Syren - Model Shipways and USF Essex - Model Shipways

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Thanks guys
Work has started with the second planking layer.

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The planks in front are supposed to be colour graded, a change of light and viewing angle suggests some revision is in order ... except, these are all due to be painted white.

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Sherbourne now has outer bulwarks and some paint.
_MG_4002.thumb.jpg.421da92a90699e8537c429970dc05d00.jpg

 

I have an alignment issue with the starboard bulwark at the bow:

_MG_4005.jpg.90105e7835e854cc0f616c5abbec460c.jpg

Need to think about a solution to that.


A question.
I'm thinking about adding sails.
Is there any guidance for adding sails to an 18C cutter?

FWIW, the kit has three yards on the mast, main and driver booms for the gaff, and a retractable bowsprit.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Been a while since my last update, my apologies if this post becomes too long.


The main cause of my delay was a self-inflicted problem.


The instructions tell us to make sure the eyebolt openings in the spirketting patterns line up with those in the inner bulkheads (parts 32 and 33, L & R).
Thing is, these parts fit the hull very nicely, and I didn't think about the holes until it was too late.

This left me with eyebolt holes very much out of line.
_MG_4009s2.jpg.72eab0431255bfed34199734b1cbfeab.jpg

 

Sorting that out involved several iterations of filling holes and using a jig to line up and drill new holes.
This is, essentially, the jig I wound up with; a simpler style would be better.
_MG_4014.thumb.jpg.c7e472a1a24db0e631e3e2ec791ea7ec.jpg

 

Holes are now drilled, gun wales and rails have been added, along with a small colour change.

_MG_4019.thumb.jpg.dcdccf6447ca985c0b05c9563a283e80.jpg

 

The starboard looks fine, but I have some fettling to do port stern timer (sp?)
_MG_4021.thumb.jpg.641c0984c9f892713b9cbd806eef3b24.jpg

 


Oh, and that starboard bulkead, at the bow, is now filled.
_MG_4022.thumb.jpg.5a7e7f865fd09e44620cd45739d44b69.jpg

 

Don't think I'll try to correct that colour, it takes some looking to see the issue.

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  • 3 weeks later...
6 hours ago, Isaiah said:

What paint did you use for the hull? I’m looking at maybe airbrushing.


I may have primed the lower hull white (if so, that would have been an acrylic rattle can car-primer).


Top colours are Admiralty paint, based on a set offered by Cornwall Model Boats for the other Sherbourne kit.
(One each of: Dull Black, Ironwork Black, Matt White, Yellow Ochre, Red Ochre)

Think these are normal acrylics, very opaque, and a little thick for airbrushing. I hand brushed, but they might work thinned for airbrushing.
Where possible, I painted parts off the model, and touched up by hand after.

HTH

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This build has been quiet of late, I've been thinking about adding sails, and final displaying of the model.

So far, I have two ideas that might work:

1) based on a painting of an 1806 vessel, HM Revenue Cutter Wickham by Robert W. Salmon (1775–1851), photographed in Kings Cutters and Smugglers (E. Keble Chatterton, 1912).
The original painting is, I believe, now at the Campbeltown Museum  (link: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/hms-revenue-cutter-wickham-164013).


SailPlan1.thumb.jpg.af01f774a9d4e11781f945e983d427dd.jpg

Reviewing the source image, there are some changes needed in this sketch.  Any suggestions for improvements and guidance would be welcome


2) another thought, is something more conventional
SailPlan2.thumb.jpg.7b6ecc8e0b40e3b28b2a5261550022e0.jpg

 

Again, there will be changes needed here - suggestions would be welcome.

In either of these cases, I'll need a bowsprit.  Vanguard supply two options for the bowsprit bitt, one with a 5mm round hole, and an alternate with a 4mm square hole.  Vanguard supply some 5mm dowel for the former; I chose the latter.
To make my bowsprit, I ordered some 5mm square walnut, and made a bowsprit based on Vanguard's suggested dimensions.

Bitt with side and top views of my bowsprit.
_MG_4040.thumb.jpg.9f94e33fef5ed1dd4fa1218f29076cb4.jpg

 

The bowsprit is pierced for an outhaul.  My plan is to split the wood, and glue it fore-and aft of the bitt.


Somewhere in Kings Cutters and Smugglers, there is a remark that revenue cutters looked like vessels with a cargo of boats.
With this in mind, I ordered a couple of boats from Vanguard; an 18' cutter and a 22' yawl.

18' cutter
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22' yawl

_MG_4036.thumb.jpg.00e502a8c598f0c93eb895cf9fec1e72.jpg

 

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Posted (edited)

I've started work on the 18' cutter and the yawl ... and taken a look at Vanguard's Hornblower figure.

The 18' cutter
_MG_4044.thumb.jpg.301b72b2a5b7e69f67fb99153539adf9.jpg

 

Loose on its building cradle, the cutter has been fairly standard up til now.

The yawl

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The yawl has been a little more eventful, with both the stem and stern posts breaking off.  The stem I found and glued back; the stern post I had to fabricate from spare wood.


Ship's officer (based on Vanguard's Hornblower)
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Vanguard's figures are beautiful, but they generally represent Napoleonic characters. Sherbourne was a mid-eighteenth century vessel, and would have seen earlier styles.
So far, I've removed Hornblower's bicorne hat together with his epaulettes, and started cutting back his coat to suit an earlier fashion.
 

Edited by Pitan
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A quick update on the 18' cutter, this is now fully planked, and the planking filled & sanded.

 

_MG_4047.thumb.jpg.0a22d6f5222eff38f24d000d4e473888.jpg

 

I should have reduced the planks more ate both the bow ...

_MG_4049.jpg.33835a8bdeb8bb8a25b23b77ba152ecf.jpg

 

... and stern.
_MG_4050.thumb.jpg.a3995cb8c7418ce9410c5eda9b43a2b6.jpg

 

Hopefully, I'll do better on the yawl.

The 18' cutter is a little big to live on Sherbourne's deck

_MG_4055.thumb.jpg.5ee23eee803357cbe91315b779ee1c82.jpg

 

 

 

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Posted (edited)

I've made some progress with the smaller boats.

I mentioned earlier that the stem and stern posts on the yawl broke.
The stern post survived, and looks reasonable despite further accidents. Unfortunately, when planking, I missed an issue with the stern post bending forward, with its attached transom.
_MG_4058.thumb.jpg.95a6d6e226cff4b65118bac345d342be.jpg

 

Short of ditching the vessel, all I could think to do was extend the keel of the yawl.

_MG_4061.thumb.jpg.460376c7112a9b5dc52a01488fd3f7d9.jpg

 

This will change the look of the hull, and (IMO) mean she'll need a larger rudder to overcome the stabilising influence of that keel (hence filler in later images).

 

Beyond that, the main build has been uneventful.

_MG_4068.thumb.jpg.94310ab127c9211ac26a70786c664bee.jpg

 

If I were to build the yawl again, I'd add the knees to the benches (term?) before adding the gunwal.  Adapting their heights would then be much easier.
Another tip - I added the yawl's rowlocks to the gunwals before gluong the gunwals to the boat - this gave some pins that could guide final shape.

 

I am reasonably pleased with the decks, which were painted yellow ochre (Admiralty Paints), then dry brushed with raw umber (Golden Fluid Acrylics)._MG_4067.thumb.jpg.f0a083ceb6b9336c338e362554e9e62e.jpg



Still work to do on these boats ...

_MG_4069.thumb.jpg.b04a4e39550a094d90ace7af15b5ded1.jpg

 

 

Edited by Pitan
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  • 2 weeks later...

Back to Sherbourne, the masts and spars have been shaped._MG_4073.thumb.jpg.fdf97444148bfc0859f718bf0dd149cf.jpg

 

In the kit, Chris gives a choice of bowsprit bits, one with a round hole, and another with a square opening.
I decided to use the square, and made the bowsprit from 5mm square walnut (the supplied dowel is 5mm walnut).  There is a short tenon to allow me to fit the bowsprit into the bit's hole (4mm square).

Lacking a lathe, I'm more comfortable making tapered masts and spars from square section wood than the round dowels supplied.  As far as I recall, the only kit supplied dowel I used was the lower mast (it has no taper, though the top is narrower), spars with a taper were made from square strip.

Masts dry fitted
_MG_4071.thumb.jpg.b4d09122281f902ff8d4d39cdfd712fe.jpg

 


Aside: of the three yards suggested in the kit, I've only made the lower one.
This is because I want to add sails.  Often, near contemporary paintings show just the one yard, quite low on the mast - maybe as low as 2 man heights (10-12 foot) above the deck, sometimes higher. 
For example, works by Robert Salmon:
The Scottish Lighthouse Board's tender (https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/robert-salmon-british-1775-1845-the-scottish-ligh-91-c-92142e49ab); you may also find this called a Naval Cutter, but the ensign otherwise.
HM Revenue Cutter Wickham (https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/hms-revenue-cutter-wickham-164013)

Revised sail plan suggestions:

Based on the Scottish Lighthouse Tender
SailPlan3.thumb.jpg.2d26199cb34dadb76417e05f74bdb95b.jpg



Based on HM Cutter Wickham
SailPlan1a.thumb.jpg.8f2871981864c4c010a19c78f518997e.jpg

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