HM Cutter Cheerful 1806 by Chuck - FINISHED - 1:48 scale - kit prototype

[bear]

Hi Chuck

 

After drilling the #78 hole,what do you fill it with? What are your steps and what do you use?

 

Thanks

Keith

[Chuck]

A # 78 hole is really small, but what I did was after drilling the holes for a small area about 2" x 4".

 

-  sand the area smooth

-  use a sharp awl and GENTLY insert into each.  Dont push it too hard or you will distort the hole shape.

- Take a very , very , very sharp #2 pencil.   Insert point into each hole and twist lightly.  You must keep a sharp point and sharpen the        pencil every ten or so holes.  Use one of those cheap kids pencil sharpeners.

-  Then fill each hole with Elmer's wood filler.  Scrape off excess with a piece of wood.  

-  Sand it smooth to get a nice surface.

-  Then aply some wipe-on-poly.

[GLakie]

Very nice Chuck! As I've come to expect from seeing your work. 

[bear]

Hi Chuck

 

Thanks for the full lesson on what to do.

 

Keith

[bear]

Hi Chuck

 

Just a coule of questions.

 

When drilling the hole,how deep do you drill the hole?

When using the awl,how far do you push it in the hole? Is it just to make sure the hole is round after sanding?  And if it is just for rounding out the hole,could you just use the same size drill and just use it in reverse to round out the hole befor using the pencil lead?

 

Thanks Keith

[Chuck]

The holes are not too deep at all.   But I wouldnt use the bit for lightly reaming.  Its too brittle.  Best to use a sharp pointed awl.

 

Chuck

[augie]

Perfect.  Subtle and understated, but magnifique as a whole.

[rtropp]

Your tree nailing looks a heck of a lot easier than when I used a draw plate to make the wooden nails. Is it possible for you to take a close up picture of the tree nails so I could get a better look?

 

Thanks

Richard

[john_wilmer]

Chuck,

 

I am really looking forward to seeing this on Tuesday.  I agree with rtropp that the draw plate is difficult to work with.  This method has produced great results. 

 

-John

[Chuck]

Thanks John

 

I will try to take a close up image of the treenails so folks can see them....but I am sure they will be pretty ugly that close up.  

[bear]

Hi Chuck

 

Will the  of bulheads for the Cheerful also include the keel?

 

Thanks Keith

[Chuck]

Nope....You guys have to cut some stuff!!! LOL       Its just the plywood stuff which is basically to save some time.  No kits,  at that point I might as well cut everything,  that would take the fun and spirit out of the project.  Its a very easy scratch project to build.  I am sure you guys will fun making those few pieces.  But if you guys really want other parts,  I would be happy to custom laser cut them for you,  but they wont be part of my stock items at all.

 

Chuck

[bear]

Hi Chuck

 

No problem here with having to make the keel. Just looking ahead to what I will have to do.

 

Keith

[Thunder]

Chuck, this is a brilliant and informative build log. I have a kit of HM Naval Cutter Speedy which was produced in the early 70's back when the UK was still imperial, and it appears to have the square tuck stern. It will be my next build so your log is a godsend.

[Chuck]

Thank you very much.

 

I finally finished treenailing this side.   I am glad that is over.   I tried my best to take pictures of the treenails really close.  I had to mess with the settings of the camera to get the best shot.   But at least you can see the shape and detail.  They are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.  But it does the trick.  Remember these are #78 holes.  

 

Interesting though...the last two photos are identical shots except I changed the settings.  On my camera I changed from Fluorescent to outdoor....on a setting and look at the color difference.  Freaky.  I could swear that both are representative as well.  Its funny the tricks your eyes play on you.  Only after seeing them side by side does it get so clearly different.  I couldnt even tell you which is better.  After looking at both for so long it all just blends together and gets confusing.   I think I like the third one down the  best and wont change the settings again until my kids steel the camera and screw up how I set it up.  Then I have to start all over again.  

 

I hope this helps.

 

Chuck

 

 

 

 

[GLakie]

You're right about the nice subtle look Chuck. I like it. One question though. Did you have any instances of the lead of the pencil breaking off in those tiny holes? 

 

Cheers

[Chuck]

Yes indeed...But its soft stuff.  Just drill it out or use the awl to pulverize it.  There are a few #78 drill bits stuck in that hull also.  What are you gonna do,  it happens.  

 

Chuck

[GLakie]

Thanks. I know I couldn't go through that many without a few minor mishaps myself. Hence the question.

[Chuck]

I buy packs of 50 #78 bits at a time.  I have already used half of them.   They are so dam small and fragile.

[Chuck]

I was asked to take a photo from the bow "right-side-up", so folks can see the run of the planks there.   I hope this will do the trick.  Let me know if there is any other questions.

 

Chuck

 

 

[rtropp]

Chuck,

Thanks for the close up. I did not use pencil before filling when I first attempted treenails. I did not like the look so I went to making treenails.  Next time around I will experiment with this technique.

 

As for the change in color in the photos, I believe the light settings on cameras are programmed to rebalance color depending on the light source.  The goal of the rebalance is to give a natural look for light sources other than natural (outdoor lighting). So using outdoor setting, which looks for one color balance (natural) in what is actually fluorescent light (which gives a greenish hue to things) will trick it into thinking that the greenish color will accurately display what you see. 

 

If you hold the second picture next to your build, you should see a difference in wood tone where the first one should match correctly.

 

Now, that comes from 40 year old photography experience and others may correct this.

 

Richard 

[Chuck]

Thanks Richard.  Photography frustrates me.  But I continue to learn.

 

Chuck

[augie]

Just wanted to comment that, with that one pre-planned drop plank right under the wales, that bow planking is spectacular.

[GuntherMT]

Thanks for the pictures Chuck, your work is a pleasure to look at.

 

To add something to what Richard said, if you can use "Daylight" light instead of warm or soft white in the area that you are taking pictures, the color will be more natural without depending on your camera (or post) to make adjustments.  Photography studio lighting uses 5500k temperature bulbs if I remember right, and "Daylight" bulbs are around 5000k (or it's the other way around).   Soft white and warm white on the other hand are 2700k and 3400k I think.

The other way you can get better lighting is to simply use a flash, which will overpower most other lights in the room.  To get good flash lighting though it's typical to need to use remote or bounce flash, because a built-in flash will normally cause reflection issues.  

 

Both the 2nd and 3rd photo's look pretty good to me though, the 1st and 4th appear to have too much green tint, so if you just replicate #2 or #3 I think your photo's will be just fine.

[Chuck]

You are welcome...

 

Thanks you all for the kind words and the advice on photographing the model. 

[Jack12477]

Chuck, a trick I learned to kill some of the intensity of the flash is to drape an ordinary white handkerchief over the flash's lens. You'll have to experiment to determine how many fold(s) of handkerchief you need to get the right intensity. Also some external flash units have the ability to cut the output by 1/2 or 1/4, especially if they are the TTL type and you're using an SLR camera.

 

Brian is right about the "daylight" vs "tungsten" light temperatures in Kelvin, except I think sunlight is 5600K and tungsten is 3200 K.

[gerty]

Wow - Amazing work Chuck !   I enjoy the pictures of your beautiful models ( such as your 18th Century Longboat for ex. )

 

- and thanks for the tips that you share.

Edited February 22, 2015 by gerty

[Guillermo Madico]

Chuck could you comment on the plank with the narrower strips at the base of the gun ports?

In the plans the small strip (lower one) seems to extend forward. First time I have notice a drop plank in the fore bulk guards. Was that a common practice?

the drop plank under that whale looks really nice.  As you had mentioned before, it is the right place to place it.

[Chuck]

Funny you should mention those.  I didnt want to start treenailing the other side today.  I wanted to wait until after  Tuesday which is when I will get a chance to finish that planking.  So I added some of the fancy molding.  Those thin 1/16" wide strips were the first layer of what would become the fancy molding.  It was important to add them below the ports in a special order before the other planking above the wales could be done.  This would ensure a proper run of the planks and what would become the second layer of fancy molding.

 

I actually added that today.  They were made as you usually see them,  with a scraper.   I was very careful to make sure they were very thin.  One thing I notice is that folks tend to place molding on their models that is too thick.   The molding on the Cheerful is 1/16" wide but less than 1/32" thick.   I started with strips that were 1/32" thick and after scraping,  I thinned them down even more.  It makes for a more delicate look.   In hindsight,  I could have gone even thinner.

 

 

At the bow,   the lower molding will carry over onto the stem.  But it wont be as I show it in the fourth photo.  It should be thicker in the corner between the two so the transition is smooth.  But I have only lightly tacked it in this area to show you how it may actually look.   I will try and finish that up tomorrow and I will take more pictures.   My transition onto the stem with the molding was only a test to check the run of the molding and see how it looks.  I will do it for real maybe tomorrow.

 

Take a look at the contemporary model (last photo) and you will see a standard at the bow (not a molding strip)  that will look similar to how I will eventually do it.  That is the kind of transition onto the stem I am looking for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KenW]

I really like the work you've done on this model.  I am interested on how you make the scraper.  Whether you use a single edge razor blade or a piece of brass, do you use a dremel?  If so, what attachment do you use?  Do you just hold the dremel in your hand?

Thanks.

Cheers.