Sherbourne by DB789 - Vanguard Models - 1:64

[DB789]

Sherbourne is my 11th model boat build and all of them kits from Vanguard due to their excellent quality in terms or design, quality of materials and instructions. 
 

Having just completed Duchess of Kingston I had intended to continue to increase the complexity of my builds with Speedy next, followed by Sphinx and maybe ultimately Surprise. But I was given Sherbourne last year and she’s a very cute little cutter so I’m building her with the plan of developing my skills a little further. 
 

My three key objectives are: 1) attempt to plank her deck rather than use the engraved deck from Vanguard; 2) try yellow ochre paint on the sides of the hull rather than varnished wood; 3 get to grips with wipe-on poly which isn’t readily available made up in the UK and my previous efforts, I think using the wrong thinner, have failed. 
 

I loved building the Vanguard fishing boats and this little boat has a similar feel. 
 

This kit is clearly meant for and ideal for beginners, but is still an exceptionally high quality kit given all the same Vanguard treatment as other kits in the range for a price that is simply far too low for what you get. 19 sheets of plans! Full colour detailed instructions with photos, high quality pear wood and brass PE. This will build into a wonderful little boat. 
 

The first stages are assembling the frames which fit together precisely and create a rock solid core for planking later. These are made of MDF and easily slot together with no breakages. The four timbers at the stern are wood which is nice as they will be the only parts of this structure visible in the finished kit. 
I have been describing Sherbourne as small, but I hadn’t quite realised how small she is. The behemoth next door to her is no ship of the line but merely another cutter Alert (albeit a large one). 
She is even dwarfed by some of the fishers: 

Zulu

Fifie

Even the tiny Nisha appears to have a marginally longer, albeit less voluminous hull. 
Size isn’t everything, she’ll be great fun to build. 

 

[DB789]

Please could anyone point me towards some materials that advise how best to do deck planking. I have never done this before. I can’t find information on MSW but I’m sure it’s there somewhere?! Thank you. 
 

Any advice on what wood to use (bass seems popular for decks?) and width (3mm?) and thickness (1mm?). I’ll likely use a pencil to simulate the caulking. Even better where to get the wood from in the UK, doesn’t look like Cornwall Model Boats where I usually buy model supplies has anything suitable. I’d like to get the materials 

 

Thanks so much. 
 

Dan

[0gri]

Hi DB,have a look at Tanganyka Strip,a lot of companys supply it as there decking and CWM have it in stock in 1x3mm.best of british with your build,regards Mark.

 

[bigcreekdad]

Yo DB.....I cut my own deck planks (Jim saw) out of some maple pieces I acquired at the now closed (here anyway) Woodcraft shop. Turned our quite IMO.

[chris watton]

1 hour ago, DB789 said:

Sherbourne is my 11th model boat build and all of them kits from Vanguard due to their excellent quality in terms or design, quality of materials and instructions. 
 

Having just completed Duchess of Kingston I had intended to continue to increase the complexity of my builds with Speedy next, followed by Sphinx and maybe ultimately Surprise. But I was given Sherbourne last year and she’s a very cute little cutter so I’m building her with the plan of developing my skills a little further. 
 

My three key objectives are: 1) attempt to plank her deck rather than use the engraved deck from Vanguard; 2) try yellow ochre paint on the sides of the hull rather than varnished wood; 3 get to grips with wipe-on poly which isn’t readily available made up in the UK and my previous efforts, I think using the wrong thinner, have failed. 
 

I loved building the Vanguard fishing boats and this little boat has a similar feel. 
 

This kit is clearly meant for and ideal for beginners, but is still an exceptionally high quality kit given all the same Vanguard treatment as other kits in the range for a price that is simply far too low for what you get. 19 sheets of plans! Full colour detailed instructions with photos, high quality pear wood and brass PE. This will build into a wonderful little boat. 
 

The first stages are assembling the frames which fit together precisely and create a rock solid core for planking later. These are made of MDF and easily slot together with no breakages. The four timbers at the stern are wood which is nice as they will be the only parts of this structure visible in the finished kit. 
I have been describing Sherbourne as small, but I hadn’t quite realised how small she is. The behemoth next door to her is no ship of the line but merely another cutter Alert (albeit a large one). 
She is even dwarfed by some of the fishers: 

Zulu

Fifie

 

Even the tiny Nisha appears to have a marginally longer, albeit less voluminous hull. 
Size isn’t everything, she’ll be great fun to build. 

 

You would not believe the amount of emails I get from people asking why is the Alert (and Trial) more expensive than the Sherbourne, after all, they say, they are all cutters!

[Ronald-V]

Great start with a beautiful kit, and indeed, the size difference compared to the Alert is enormous! I didn't expect that.

 

Wish you all the best with this one!👌

[AJohnson]

Hi Dan, I will be following along, I built the Caldercraft version years ago, but it is not the same quality as the Vanguard one, so it will be interested to see your develop.  

[captain_hook]

18 hours ago, DB789 said:

Please could anyone point me towards some materials that advise how best to do deck planking. I have never done this before. I can’t find information on MSW but I’m sure it’s there somewhere?! Thank you. 
 

Any advice on what wood to use (bass seems popular for decks?) and width (3mm?) and thickness (1mm?). I’ll likely use a pencil to simulate the caulking. Even better where to get the wood from in the UK, doesn’t look like Cornwall Model Boats where I usually buy model supplies has anything suitable. I’d like to get the materials 

 

Thanks so much. 
 

Dan

 

Hello and good luck with the build. If I remember correctly, the Caldercraft Sherbourne kit included 4x0.5mm Tanganyika planks for deck planking. I used 4x1.0mm holly for my Sherbourne, which simulates faded wood very well, basswood and maple would also be good options. Boxwood is certainly a more elegant option, but that would be expensive.

 

There are many ways to simulate caulking. It also depends on how clearly you want it to be visible. A soft pencil would be a more subtile accent, but a more intense finish would be to paint the sides of the deck planks with diluted black acrylic paint (pre-treat with clear varnish and let it dry so the paint doesn't soak deeply into the wood later). I've also seen model ships where the deck planks were separated with black cellulose or paper. This also looks very good, at least at a larger scale.

[DB789]

Chris - I can’t believe you get those emails - given their high quality, your kits are underpriced as it is!
 

Nonetheless it is really hard to see the relative sizes of different boat kits from standalone photos, even when you provide full dimensions. Do you have finished versions of both Sherbourne and Alert? If not, would it help if I sent you side by side photos of Sherbourne and Alert once completed that you can send in reply to those emails? I haven’t a Trial yet to include. 

 

Mark & Hook - thanks so much for the advice on planks. I’ll likely try the tang from Cornwall Model Boats have. I may get 0.5 and 1mm to try both and see what looks best. The planks on the Vanguard engraved deck are ~3.5mm width. I think I’ll go with 3mm width planks, but could do 4mm.

I have found a boxwood option. I might try that too. It’s only £12 for ten strips of 0.7x3.4x1000 mm which doesn’t sound too expensive but the company is on holiday until 8 Sept. 
 

BigCreek - thanks but I don’t have the equipment (or skill) to cut my own planks! 
 

Ronald - thank you. Loving your Sphinx build. Hugely impressive. 
 

Andrew - thank you, great to hear you’re back on the case with Bounty and Sparkler.