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

[Nirvana]

Chuck, I didn't know you had ninja skills as well.

Hopefully you don't have chards of small pieces laying around, be thourogh with the clean up.

[druxey]

Hmm. Ninja skills need fine-tuning. Modelling skills, not so much. Glad it wasn't worse!

[Chuck]

Spent the afternoon fixin her all up!   Its as good as new.   Now to move forward tomorrow with actual new progress.

 

Chuck

[Sailor1234567890]

I thought you were going to say you snapped the model by accident with the towel. I can't imagine the damage that would cause.

[alde]

Chuck, If you decide to replace the whole light fixture you might look at LED shop lights. They sure are nice and don't have exposed bulbs that could break.

[mtaylor]

I'm glad there was no more damage than some minor damage to Cheerful and two bulbs.  I can only imagine what went through your mind as the bulbs feel to the bench....  As for the words.... family site.  

[Nirvana]

I just can imagin the words going through in Chucks head.

[Chuck]

I actually switched the fixture over to LED bulbs.  The bulb isnt glass.  It is plastic and these bulbs are so much brighter.  So it worked out in the end.  And the hop was due for a good cleaning anyway.  So no harm done other than the loss of a day.

 

Yes there were some choice words going through my head the entire time I was cleaning up all of those tiny shards.

 

Chuck

[rtropp]

Glad it wasn't worse. I live near the woods and have all kinds of critters trying to get in.  I keep a can of bug spray by the door to the shop.  I am too clumsy with a rolled up newspaper... found that out the hard way :-)

Richard

[Blue Ensign]

My weapon of choice is a strong elastic band and a ruler. I'm a dead shot, only the target gets hit , although not if it settles on the model

B.E.

[Chuck]

Making the bowsprit step with pawls for the windlass.  I found some time to do this today.

 

Just a quick note to say that when you dont have a mill or a drill press,  think in terms of layers for ways to make parts.  If you have have a mill, making the mortises for the pawls would be easy enough.  But if you dont have one, always think about how an item could be made in layers like these.   You dont need a laser cutter to do this.  It would be simple enough to cut out each layer.  This is a great way to go especially if the item is to be painted like these.  You would never see the layers after its painted.

 

 

Once assembled, the top profile of each was files into shape.  Much like the timberheads.  The pawld have a tiny hole that corresponds with the outside layers.  After painting the uprights red the pawls were inserted and held in position with some 24 gauge wire.  Small washers were pushed onto the outside to give a more finished look.  The wire was snipped off standing proud of the washers.  Bolts were simulated along the standards (knees) in the usual fashion with 24 gauge wire as well.

 

 

The cross beams are only temporary.  The bowsprit needs to be made and inserted first.  That is why they are so long now.  But you can get a good idea of what it will look like.  The cross beams will be much much shorter and painted red also.  But not until after the bowsprit is made and positioned.  I will do that this week sometime.

 

 

This will be a mini-kit and should be available....before anyone asks....

 

 

[Rustyj]

Hi Chuck,

 

I've worked with you for years and yet your mind and innovation continues to amaze me! Love it.

 

Seeing this makes me miss my workshop soooooo much. Thanks for the much needed fix.

[druxey]

Looking great, Chuck.

 

One thing that's puzzled me for years is why there were large ports placed right up in the bows. There's no space to move, much less work, a cannon or carronade of any sort. Do you have any idea of the purpose of those ports?

[Chuck]

NoI dont really except what I have examined on contemporary models.  They must have used these for the guns because there are several examples showing long Guns crammed in there.  The other interesting thing is that on the original draft for Cheerful they actually mention that the windlass was moved back about 2ft. to make more room for working the 12 pounder long guns.  So they either had really short breech lines or they were rarely used.  There seems to be plenty of room on the starboard side and its only really the port side which is really tight.

 

I also think that the carriages for these guns was both higher and shorter as well as the guns being short 12's.

 

Chuck 

[Nirvana]

Thank you Chuck for that explanation. I have been wondering the same and it seems Cheerful isn't the only one with this configuration.

[druxey]

Not an entirely satisfying answer, Chuck, but thanks for trying! If the windlass and bitts were moved 2' 0" aft, I could see that it might just be possible on the starboard side. The bowsprit would still intrude on the port side, though....

[Chuck]

I understand...but its the best answer I have...if we only had that time machine...

 

Take a look.

 

 

[Engelmann]

If you look on the original drafts at how these ports were shaped (bevelled) then I believe the guns were place in a more fore and aft orientation (instead of square on to the port as the other guns) where they could  be used as chase guns when pursuing. This would also give them a tad more recoil space, especially if the bits were moved 2' aft as the knees would then also be out of the way.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Endlesshunt

[mtaylor]

On the photo, Chuck, those bow pieces don't look like long guns to me.  

[Chuck]

No those are carronades but its incorrect.  They should be long 12s.   

 

Chuck

[druxey]

This gets more interesting! Thanks for the replies on the fore ports.

[cog]

It doesn't seem very logical to put a long 12 in the bow of a cutter, considering timbers e.a.

 

From wiki:

Long nine[edit]

One unique naval gun was the long nine. It was a proportionately longer-barrelled 9-pounder. It was typically mounted as a bow or stern chaser where it was not perpendicular to the keel, and this also allowed room to operate this longer weapon. In a chase situation, the gun's greater range came into play. However, the desire to reduce weight in the ends of the ship and the relative fragility of the bow and stern portions of the hull limited this role to a 9-pounder, rather than one which used a 12- or 24-pound shot.

 

And:

The 12-pounder long gun was an intermediary calibre piece of artillery mounted on warships of the Age of sail. They were used as main guns on the most typical frigates of the early 18th century, on the second deck of fourth-rate ships of the line, and on the upper decks or castles of 80-gun and 120-gun ships of the line. Naval 12-pounders were similar to 12-pound Army guns in the Gribeauval system: thecanon lourd de 12 Gribeauval, used as a siege weapon, and the canon de 12 Gribeauval, which was considered a heavy field artillerypiece.

[cog]

 

 

No those are carronades but its incorrect.  They should be long 12s.

Not necessarily true, though, carronades, when introduced, were first used on the quarterdeck, and in the bows. It depends largely on the time the ship was in active service.

[WaltB]

Chuck,

This is a real education on  how to make a great model. I wonder--do you spray anything on your finished wood parts. The timber heads (mooring bitts??) in post #516 look so crisp and clean, i wondered if they were coated with something.

Thanks,

Wat

[Chuck]

No nothing at all.  Its just the black acrylic paint and the red.   No fixative or finish was applied.  I imagine that some wipe on poly sometimes hits the painted areas but for the most part its just the paint.

 

Thanks for the kind words.

[KirbysLunchBox]

The suspense is killing me! We (I) need the next chapter in the saga of this build!!!

[Chuck]

Very soon.....had to spend some summer days with the family before they revolted.   Beach, taking kids to see Grandma and Grandpa...Visiting Colleges with my daughter.   Still have to go to Baltimore at the end of the month to visit John Hopkins and then to UPenn.  Sometimes life manages to halt the building.

 

And this Tuesday some root canal for me.   Yippie for me.   What a tooth ache I have right now.  Then its back to Cheerful!

 

Chuck

[archjofo]

Hello Chuck,
model building its finest.

Thank you for showing.

[druxey]

Best wishes also for getting through the weekend and your dental appointment, Chuck.

[usedtosail]

Your daughter is looking at some fine schools. Good luck with the dental work.