mtdoramike
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Artesiana Latina HMS Victory 1:84 scale kit (REVIEW)
mtdoramike replied to mtdoramike's topic in Wood ship model kits
Hi Paul, I have actually been waiting on missing parts from Latina before going any further with the review to give them a chance to make things right, which they have. I was missing the main sail as well as the entire brass sheet, which had the 90 some odd hammock cranes attached to it. Now, it took about 5 weeks to get the issue straightened out with latina. But they sent the parts without charge. So hats off to Latina. So far, I don't have any real questions about the kit. I pretty happy with the kit and it's progress for the price.
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Actually just in time Lawrence. I got a little progress done on her like installing the brows over the gun ports, the scroll work on the stem and haws holes, cannon door holes drilled and starting to install the yellow plastic windows. Yep, super glue WILL NOT work for the plastic windows, it will bloom badly and turn the plastic a white color and not just where you put the glue either, the bloom will spread like a cancer. So tip of the day, use a glue that will dry clear. I found this cheap Walmart brand contact cement works quite well on the plastic as well as wood parts as long as you stick the parts together first and then pull them apart, wait for 5-10 minutes and then stick the parts back together. I questioned the application of the window plastic being applied to the outside of the windows rather than the inside, which would have given them more of a resest look. But only time will tell on this. I have seen the finished model built the way Latina intended and it looks good. So who am I to question the reasons why.
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Very nice work on your previous ship models. I'm looking forward to your progressive build of the Con also.
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I agree with Bob, I have always glued the masts in place. This way, I can make sure they are in line with each other and it allows me to put a little pressure on them while rigging. I do all the rigging on the model and with masts in place and none off the model.
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I would also like to give a few pointers, for instance, if anyone else is building this kit and aren't at this stage yet, I would highly recommend that they PAINT the gun port liners BEFORE installing them. It makes for a cleaner finish. But you will have to make sure your bulwarks and upper hull are sanded and finished off before installing the gun port liners. Secondly, try and cut and piece most of the rubbing strakes or hull molding when installing across the gun ports because this wood is some really tough wood to cut. I used a dremel cut off wheel and hobby knife and went through like 10 hobby knife blades as well as numerous steel backed razor blades. I laid mine in one solid piece. This option is a quick and easier way of doing it, but only if you are painting your model and not for natural wood finished models. Also, just as Lawrence stated in his build log of this same model that you have to be mindful of the final position of the stern castle, which has to be tilted enough to insure that the remaining upper most gun ports near the side windows will have enough space to be cut out. I had to put a wood spacer on the outside edge of the upper stern floor in order to push the stern castle back about 2-3mm's and hopefully this will give enough clearance for the last two gun ports. The only reason I knew of this issue was that Lawrence had made note of it in his build log. It will keep you from having to rip the stern off several times to reposition it. Mike
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Thank Lawrence, if it comes out half as nice as your Vic, I will be pleased. Yeah, they weren't to snappy with their emails, especially the one where they said they would mail them out to me. But I have to hand it to Latina, they sent me the missing items even though I told them that I couldn't swear that the hammock stays weren't in the package originally since I was a bit careless on the inventory. But the main sail was definitely missing.
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A little more progress made. I have been a bit under the weather as of late, but feeling better.
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Beautiful work, I love the look of the cannon, mine always look like they came out of a crackerjack box:) Mike
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Beautiful planking job.
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How is this project going?
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I was reading through some of these posts and WOW, I can't believe some of the remarks. First off, model ship kits are just that a kit. There is nothing museum quality about them and nothing unique from model to model either. I know this going in and knew it from the first kit I ever built. But a ship model kit gets the builder to eventually realize that it's not just about building the kit, it's also about the adventure and experience of it. Most kit's take any where from five hundred to thousands of hours to build, but after your first kit build, you realize that to extend this warm fuzzy feeling of accomplishment, you have to do a bit of research. Yep I know, that dreaded (S) word that we all hated in school (studying). Then after a few models under your belt, you can really start to get motivated and begin kit bashing or take the other major leap and go to scratch building, which could produce a museum quality model depending on the time, effort and yes, research. But me, there is nothing like breaking open the crisp plastic wrapping of a new ship model kit that the UPS man dropped off at my door. I can spend hours upon hours just going through the kit, looking at all the things inside the box. So no, I agree that some if not most aren't great, accurate or even a decent representation of the original. But I don't care, so please don't spoil it for me
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I finally got the gun ports stripped of all the old lining and then painted and reinstalled the RED lining around the gun ports. I think it highlights the gun ports and makes them stand out better. I had to buy additional wood for this because the kit can with just the right amount to line them once and that was about it. Now, the real Victory gun ports aren't painted red around them and the yellow goes all the way up to the edge of the gun ports. But I like the results of the red better.
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Hi Chuck, I think at least on the Victory, Latina had a method behind their madness by making the Bulkhead fit so sloppy and that was to be able to easily position the false flooring. If the Bulkheads had been tight, the flooring would have been a real bear to install.
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WOW, absolutely gorgeous work. Very impressive. Mike
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Beautiful work, you will enjoy building the Model Shipways version of the Connie. I built this model about 5 years ago for an Insurance Corp in CT. It was a real pleasure to build. I like Model Shipways kits, the only thing I would suggest to them would be to try using more exotic woods in their kits so that some things can remain natural and not feel that everything must be painted.
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This is going to be one beautiful model once competed. You have me itching to build the Constructo's version of the Connie. I have built two other versions and both turned out quite nice, but they were both painted.
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Beautiful work. Yes, no need to rush it, remember to read and re-read and check and triple check the plans. Constructo is notoriously confusing on their plans, but they are great plans. Most all Victory kits are a minimum of a two year commitment.
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Absolutely beautiful, I love the lanterns.
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I finally received the Hammock Stays and the large Main sail for the Victory today. My faith has been restored in Artesania Latina. So I hope I have everything needed to complete her, if not, I will cross that bridge when I get there. So all in all it took about 5-6 weeks to get the parts from them. Mike
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I took two steps forward and three steps back hahahahahaha. I decided (after taking a hard look at the cannon ports to re-do them. The reason why is fairly simple, I didn't like the way they looked. I lined the gun ports before I painted the sides rather than painted the gun port liners separately like Lawrence did his. I thought it would be easier to sand, but without that red band outlining the gun ports, they looked quite small and insignificant and when the gun ports metal brows were placed above the gun port, they really looked small. So this will be a few days extra work. But who's counting The top picture shows the other side before I decided to re-do the gun ports. Once I finish, I will post another picture hopefully with the before and after pictures. Also, no package yet from Artesania Latina, hopefully within a few days. Mike
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Artesania Latina emailed me last night and said that they have shipped me the missing parts. I'll give an update when they arrive.
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Thank you for the recommendations, yes, I have ordered from Nature Coast Hobbies for years and agree, they are outstanding.
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