HMS Victory by Philg88 - Billing Boats - Scale 1:75

[Philg88]

I've wanted to build the Victory for some time now and it is certainly the largest build I have attempted to date. I previously built the USS Constitution and a clipper whose name I forget and I have an AL  King of Mississippi build in progress so I have some experience. All that of is course is no guarantee that things won't go horribly wrong at times!

 

These are the reference works I will be using, which is another way of saying that I may not follow the Billing instructions (if indeed that is possible given their chronic inadequacy)

*McKay, John (2000) The 100-Gun Ship Victory (Comprehensive line drawings of pretty much everything)

*Julier, Keith (2004) The New Period Ship Handbook (Has a whole chapter on building the Victory, albeit based on the Jokita kit)

*McCarthy, Ron (2001) Building Plank-on-Frame Ship Models (Useful general reference)

*Nepean Longridge, C (2012) The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships (An unbelievably detailed account of ships of Victory's class)

*Goodwin, Peter (2012) Haynes - HMS Victory. Owners' Workshop Manual (Tons of pictures plus other useful stuff)

 

... plus hundreds of photos gathered from the Web.

 

The idea is to complete the model as she stands in Portsmouth today, rather than at the time of construction, ready for Trafalgar, and so on.

 

I've modified one of my workbenches by fitting a rotating build cradle made of extruded aluminium. This allows the model to be spun around with minimal effort.

 

 

The first issue to resolve is the missing down staircases on the Upper Deck. Thanks to fellow forum member shihawk and his excellent build log for alerting me to the omission. I certainly don't intend to plank over where the hatches should be, as they will be visible through the skids from the quarterdeck. Instead I'm going to build two small sections of the middle (gun) deck to support the bottom of the staircases. I figure that it will be a lot easier to do now rather than later when space will be restricted.

 

This is how I intend to do it:

 

Please note: the diagram has been corrected subsequent to the original post such that the stairs are now the right way around.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Philg88

[Shipyard sid]

Greetings

Well here we go with another victory build, one of many. you will never be short of help or advice whenever you should need it, as there are a few excellent billing builds going on including Boyd's ( shihawk ). Good luck with your build, and the usual best advice, just take your time and enjoy your build...regards DAVID

[shihawk]

Greetings Philg88 . I,m glad to see another Billings Vic build , am not sure how many there are now . You seem to have all the research under control and from your intro i think your build will be complete opposite from mine which i might add will make it all the more interesting . Mine is slowly decending into fantasy whereas you seem set on the authentic route ,it will certainly be interesting to see the comparisons when finished , years from now !!! .I to have been useing books and pictures to supplement the meager instructions and i,m sure you realise by now there are big variations on a lot of aspects of the build .At least you have a set plan to build as she now looks which will lay down some rules . I will follow your progress with great interest and if i can be of any assistance it will be a pleasure . Good luck and Have Fun !!

 Oh , by the way ,check the direction of your ladders , if i remember correctly one goes down from left to right and the other from right to left ?

[Philg88]

Thanks guys,

 

Yes, you're right Boyd, one of the ladders is the wrong way around. I'll correct the pic and reupload. Your build log really is an inspiration-although I'll be painting and trying to maintain authenticity, the natural wood look really is stunning. I'm afraid that I will have lots of questions so I hope you won't mind.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[clearway]

welcome to the billing boats victory club- think there's around 6 of us now I think the stairs are the right nway round though! I'm doing mine in painted finish as well.

Keith

[Philg88]

Hi Keith,

 

Thanks for the welcome. I've corrected the stairs on the drawing, which is why they are now the right way around :-) I'll put a note on the diagram pointing this out.

 

Cheers,

Philip

[clearway]

ahhhhh- confusion is a state of mind lol! thought i was going nuts for a moment

[Philg88]

I seem to have spent most of the last week thinking about this build rather than actually doing anything. I've decided to go with LED lighting as I have a working circuit developed for the King of the Mississipi project and with a build of Victory's duration/complexity, I think it's worth the extra effort. This enhancement means that I need to run power wires up from a plinth through the hull to various points around the ship. I intend to use three lengths of 6mm brass tube to mount the ship on its plinth, one or two of which will conceal the power wires. My plan is to reinforce the (false) keel with ply liners either side of the 6 mm holes for the brass rod to provide support. M4 bolts inside the tubes will fix to nuts attached to points inside the ship, which have been hollowed out of the false keel. The entry points of the tubes will be hidden by the planking/copper and in a location pretty much hidden from sight once the build is finished. Can anyone, particularly fellow Billing Victory builders, think of any reason(s) why this might be a bad idea?

[shihawk]

Not something i have any experience of but it sounds like a plan to me . Go for it !! The plinth was one area i neglected at the beginning of the build and have a feeling it will come back to bite me later on ,must consider something before rigging . Time spent planning ahead in my opinion is time well spent and can save a lot more time and hassel later on. There should be no reason that your plan can,t hide everything ,check a few other builds for tips  where lighting was fitted if your still unsure. Have FUN . 

[Philg88]

Thanks Boyd. Just waiting for some bits then I will go 'a drillin' :-)

 

[clearway]

Sounds good to me too- and the more time you think things through now will mean less isn't hindsight a wonderfull thing moments!

Keith

[Philg88]

Hmm .. From what I can see in other forum posts people seem to generally opt for 3 mm holes to pin the hull to plinths etc. Mine will be double that as I need space for wires but I don't see it as a big issue as long as I reinforce the false keel where it's pierced. Of course, the phrase "famous last words" springs to mind. We shall see!

Edited February 27, 2015 by Philg88

[knotty74]

Welcome Philip, another joiner to the Billings Victory team! Like Keith, I'll be painting mine too. As with Boyd, Keith et al, happy to share any insights thus far and will keep an eye in here with interest. Good luck and welcome! Chris

[Philg88]

Thanks Chris! I'm still waiting for some bits before I start chopping up the false keel, then it will be full steam ahead (or should that be sail? :-) )

Cheers, Philip

[Philg88]

Finally got the 80 mm bolts I need to build the keel supports.

 

6mm brass tubing cut to size ...

 

 

... before adding the bolts and washers

 

 

 

Two of the supports carry positive and negative power leads. These pass up the 6mm tube, which by using AWG 30 hook up wire gives sufficient clearance for the 80 mm M4 bolt. The washers have a groove cut in them to keep the wire clear of the bolt head and nut.

 

 

Tomorrow (hopefully) I will install these throughthe keel.

[Philg88]

I meant to include this in my last post. It is a schematic showing where I intend to put the Victory's LEDs.

 

In summary:

 

Stern lanterns: 3
Rear galleries: 3 per deck
Mast lantern: 1
Entry port: 1
Upper deck: 2
Binnacle and environs: 2
TOTAL: 18

 

If anyone can spot any glaring omissions then please shout!

 

 

 

Edited March 18, 2015 by Philg88

[Philg88]

Managed to get two wires through a single support pillar into the keel rather than splitting them between two pillars as originally planned. . The bolts will be trapped using hot glue and will hopefully remain in place until the hull is planked and the pillars are reinserted. Also made the first set of stairs for the middle deck. The jig to cut the stringers is made from two bits of a snapped junior hacksaw blade, which then limits the cut in the 2 mm stringer to 1 mm. The stringer itself is made out of a lolly stick (which is poplar and cuts well) obtained on ebay at 99p for 50- a cheap source of nice wood. Now that I have a mini mill set up it will be a lot easier to make the second flight of stairs.

 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2015 by Philg88

[clearway]

good idea for cheap wood- i have everyone gathering coffee stirrer sticks for me! -though these arnt suitable for fine stuff as they splinter easy.

Keith

[Philg88]

They use poplar for ice-lolly sticks for the very reason that it doesn't splinter and damage the consumer's mouth (which makes it great for detailed modelling work). No doubt there will soon be a Health & Safety warning on lolly sticks warning people not to eat them.

[Philg88]

Progress on the faux middle deck ...

 

Bulkheads 9 and 10 modified to carry the new deck and allow access from the upper deck via the scratch built staircases...

 

Central spar replaced with two, the new one made from the stand, which is now redundant owing to the built in brass supports (waste not want not )

 

Before ...

After ...

 

Et voila ...

 

I wonder if Billing will modify their kit to take this on board. Not much needed really, two extra bits of cheap plywood (extra spar and deck), a couple of staircases and some minor mods to the laser cutting program.

 

[clearway]

Playing devils advocate here you could even include the hatches for the second run of steps as well! It scares you when the frames start going in and you realise exactley how big she is.

Keith

[Philg88]

She is indeed a beast, which was my first thought when the box arrived. As for the hatches, I assume that you mean the ones on the next deck down (i.e. the lower (gun) deck). It's an admirable suggestion but I don't think they would be visible. Looking at the other build logs here that have added the stairs, only about half of them is visible from directly overhead without the spars in place. Once the masts and rigging are in place it's going to be pretty much impossible to peer down the hole so I'm going to give your idea a miss  - there's plenty to do already!   

[knotty74]

Agree. I simply painted the area black where the stairway should be on that lower deck. As you say, won't be able to see anything by the time the skids are in place and especially if you are buying boats (none supplied with the kit) which I have done.

[Philg88]

Hmm ... I like the boat idea. I haven't seen these anywhere at 1:75, which is why I've avoided them up to now.

[Tallshiptragic]

Hmm ... I like the boat idea. I haven't seen these anywhere at 1:75, which is why I've avoided them up to now.

Caldercraft sell ship boats as a seperate item so you may find that their 1/72 boats for the Victory may suit. There's also Quay craft who make resin boats in various scales including 1/75 or 1/72 - very well detailed and you may find what you need there too.

[Philg88]

Thanks for that - I'll check it out.

 

Philip

[knotty74]

http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/amati_boats_oars.html

 

I bought some of the Amati longboats on the attached link. They do 70mm, 90mm and 105mm and will be painting them in the white and green to give a nice representation of the real thing.

Edited March 22, 2015 by knotty74

[Philg88]

After all the work on the new stairs it would be a shame to cover them up. But then again ...

[Philg88]

Finally cut the holes in the upper deck for the new ladders and installed the power distribution board between the rear bulkheads.

 

I'm finding that this build requires a lot more thought than previous ships I have built. It becomes a question of thinking right ahead almost to completion before taking the plunge and chopping things about. Next will be the the waist bulkheads, which will have integral LED lighting. To find out what that means, watch this space!

[clearway]

I agree phil- even without mods a build like this requires a lot of forward thinking and planning.

Keith