mtdoramike

It depends on the period you are going for. My understanding was the Connie in 1812 had lines rather than chain for the anchors. In "The Anatomy of a ship: The 44-Gun Frigate Old Ironsides" it said that the anchor in 1812 was connected by a strong hemp line. The anchor chain was introduced into the British Navy in 1817 and Humphery's papers do not indicate there was any use of chain yet.
 
Not sure when the chains were introduced to the Connie. 

I evened out the chains since the port chain had too many links. I added a brass grommet to simulate a reinforced hole in the hull where the chains enter the gun deck.

Absolutely gorgous work on her.
 
 
MIke

Hi Mates,
 
I have come to realize that each of you will most likely build three more ships before I finish this one. (:-)
 
But, here, surprisingly, are the completed cannons. Each of which incorporates fifty-five parts inclusive of the ropes, blocks and the single nail for anchoring the carriage to the deck (drilled a hole at the bottom of one of the four wheels for each carriage). I'm really irritated with my lack of knowledge regarding the axle pin poor locations. Darn, Nigel had the perfect solution, but it was too late...
 
You will note that my first attempt at devising a carriage anchoring method was, in retrospect, silly. Those long nails would not allow the barrels to slip through the deck openings. This did not even occur to me (such a novice) as I was attaching them. I tried shortening the nails, but then I could not locate the tiny pre drilled hole in the deck; uncharted territory for me.
 
So plan "C" should work, a small nail through one of the rear wheels in each carriage. Hmmm. The also really uncharted waters for me will be rigging all of these. (:-). I will use JanV's idea from his build.
 
I promise that I won't post any more canon updates until I have them rigged and mounted! Might be a long while (:-). I so appreciate all of your really super nice comments, so encouraging, thanks for also just looking in.
 
PS: ropes and blocks are from Chuck's at Syren (:-)
 
 
 
Regards,
 
Michael

Here are some of the details that I decided to incorporate on my Corel Wasa. The bobinettes from the kit were incorrect. I used photos of the original as reference. Also, the Corel gilded pieces are also incorrect as additions to the Galeries. Here are pics of my attempt. Again, thanks for looking
 

WOW, the Vic? is a real rough piece of work I think the builder stood several feet away with a paint brush tied to a stick to do that paint job. hahahahaha.
 
Mike

Okey, here is an update. I have determined that either I got a bad cut kit or they are all this way, but of all the model ships I have built, this is the first kit that I have had to shim better than half of the bulkheads while planking just to get them to run true without any dips in them. Planking is getting rather exhausting after laying a couple of planks, checking them and then having to go back and shim 3, 4, or 5 bulkheads in a run. I feel like this kit is fighting me every step of the way so far. I'm just short of calling this kit a dog. But I'm not far from it. I'm missing the Mainsail and the foresail, although I have the full accompaniment of sails (19). Artesania Latina used to be one of my favorite manufactures for those lower budget kits, but after spening over $500.00 for this kit, which a bit more than I have ever spent on a previous kits, I'm beginning to wonder. 
 
The white or natural wood color is the shims.
 
 

I recently ordered the Artesiana Latina HMS Victory 1:84 scale from Plastic-Model-kits.com for the price of $567.00 with free shipping. They basicallt only sold Latina kits. They are a sub of Oakridge Hobbies, who actually shipped my kit. It took 10 days from the date of order to receive this massive kit. The invoice claimed 21 pounds shipping weight and I believe every bit of it. Upon receiving the kit, I opened the box and did an inspection of the contents. I was quite pleased with the woods chosen for the model and the fit and finish materials supplied. But they included an adendum to the instructions due to a sheet of the laser cut bulkheads were mislabeled and giving the correct sequence in the adendum. 
 
Observations so far:
 
LIKES: The building materials are outstanding, the instruction book is quite thick and very detailed with color pictures to follow as well as written instructions.
 
Definitely the price point for a kit of this magnitude.
 
The false keel and bulkheads are cut from some thick plywood, so no worries about breaking anything.
 
As usual with Latina, they include some very nice containers with actual lids to keep all the parts in one bin. They are a lot nicer than those egg carton still containers that are shrink wrapped but the small pieces still find their way into other bins.
 
Dislikes: A major dislike for me is NO PRINTED PLANS, What???, no, you heard right, I can't believe AL cheaped out on a kit this expensive and sent a CD with plans on it rather than printed plans. This is a problem for me, because I build by plans, not by instructions or a CD. So now, I have to locate someplace to get the plans printed off of the CD and bare that added expense and living in my neck of the woods, it's not that easy. We don't have a Kinko's/Fedex or anything like that. The best I can do is Office Depot, so I'll have to check them out. Now, can the model be built with the CD plans? YES, it can and has been and there's a build log on it. But, I'm old school I guess.
 
I could be wrong, but I didn't see a second layer of hull planking, which was Always supplied with AL kits in the past just in case you messed up on the first layer.
 
One of the bulkheads was quite warped, so I had to wet it down and then took a hot air paint remover gun and with enough heat and a bit of cursing, it flattened out fairly well enough for government work anyway.
 
The fit of the bulkheads to the false keel is quite sloppy and some with gaps up to 1/16". This makes plumbing up and squaring the bulkheads quite difficult. Also, you MUST lay the first false layer of decking BEFORE gluing the bulkheads to the keel or you will have a devil of a time getting the deck to fit properly. They floppy bulkheads do help in this instance though. So it may have been planned. 
 
They also included a cheap cradle style display board for this grade of s ship model, something besides plywood will be in order to compliment her beauty.
 
With all this being said, so far I like the kit and I have always like Artesiana Latina kits for fit and finish and it's nice to see they are still kicking. Will this kit make into a fine model? the answer is yes, with a little hard work and determination. I know there are doubters about Latina kits, but as long as you remember, kits are not Museum quality models, they make into fine ship models but they aren't unique. If someone is looking for museum quality then they should scratch build, which would be unique. I'm not a scratch builder, I'm a kit basher. I have a lot of respect for scratch builders willing to devote the time, patience and money into a single project. I know a few near me and applaud their efforts, but I was more into building and selling my models at the time. So build time was a premium.
 
But this particular project will be my last model. This model (the HMS Victory) will be donated upon it's completion. So no hurries mates as long as my health holds out and my eye site holds on. 
 
I will continue to add to this review as I go along. I was also able to obtain a small piece of wood from the actual Victory ship, which I will incorporate into the Victory model such as anchor collars or something like that.             

Yes, Constructo does use castings that are less desirable than some other kits, AL kits are the same with this issue. But one good thing is, we can always substitute inferrior castings with really nice ones with the money we saved on the kits. One major issue I have with Caldercraft that I just couldn't get over was the use of so much preformed sections from stern to gunwhales. To me these sections look better built up. Also, Constructo uses better woods than most other kits and Victory not excluded. There are very few Victory kits that I would consider not painting and Constructo's version is one of the few. But then again, the wood is one thing, but talent to build it and make it fit enough for a natural finish without gaps and wood filler is another issue. You my friend are a natural at this and I see many more models in your future.   

You have great sawing skills! Your gunports are fabulous.

I've used both, oil base and water base paints. I will usually lay down a layer of Polyurathane to seal the wood, which fills in most small cracks. Then I put on a layer of paint. The Poly helps get a smoother finish. This should not be a difficult decision for you. If you are satisfied and like the natural finish of the model, then leave it as is. I think most model builders leave their first models natural anyway.
 
Let me add here that most new model builders think that building the model is the major part, which it is, but fit and finish is just as important as building the model itself. The more detail, the finer the finish, the better the model painted or natural. Please don't fall into the trap that "well, if I were going to paint the model, I would have built it in plastic". Both are totally different mediums and both have their place amoung modeling. But either way, the better the finish on either wood or plastic, the better the model will turn out. I have painted over some really beautiful walnut just to capture the historic look of a particular ship.  

That's great! Build in its history!

I built the Model Shipways version without sails and think she is beautiful that way as well. The fellow I built her for didn't want sails on her. So his wish was my command.

Hrs 801-805
Watching the Dutch and Ticos play and working on the flag lockers. It appears the predominant colors are, red, white, yellow, and blue. (NOT fluorescent yellow ) So I made 2 lockers, each with a bigger slot for national country flags and the smaller slots for signal flags. 
Used grill material framed and then fit into place along the taffrail.

Used fabric from the flooring, then colored with markers, then mod podged matte over the top. Then cut them out and glued together so that they looked folded in the slots. Then cut to fit and glued into place.
 



 
 
 
Then painted the frame white. Have to add another coat...
 
Not sure how to cover the lockers. Maybe canvas flap in front?

I agree, it has happened to me more than once.

hi,
I know building is the last thing your thinking about at the moment but keep this for the future, no matter how much you measure the hull plans and transfer to your model some hatches hit the main ribs in the hull. I used a vernier quage and measured the plan exactly and hit ribs. The lower ribs to be fair are not a problem only three hit the ribs
but I had to adjust the four hatches which are on the deck, centre of the ship because the plan would have hit two of the deck ribs and that's on full view from just under the deck above. You can not actually tell I've moved them from the image but just bear I'm mind, measure twice cut once. My problem started from the very first cannon which, yes, hit a rib, so the allarm bells rang making me check all of them.
 
Take care
 
Oh you may notice the bottom two Wales curve up, the very bottom one actually cuts into the light Ayous timber, this is because the Wales on the real ship don't follow the cannons and running them straight makes the hull appear flat, well I thought so

They do look a bit more in alignment now.

Gunports redux.
 
Okay. I decided to re-do the upper gun ports using a strip of plank. They are now more precisely aligned with the deck above. Not perfect, but seems like perfection is still beyond my capabilities  
 
So now I made the ultra-super-high-tech jig you see below to measure the distance between high and low frames, and will start re-aligning them tomorrow, once the glue is dry.
 
These frames are obviously a bit too low.

 
After some work, they lay now parallel to the temporary plank. Inclination is easily fixed.


 
Jig
 

 
 
 
 
Cheers.
 
 

Very well done!

Here's my finished long boat. I figure this being a US Navy ship, the boatswain's mate would be in charge of stowing the gear on it, so the oars are neatly arrayed head to toe and lashed. The boat's rope is neatly coiled in the stern and the rudder is stowed near the stern. All US Navy ship-shape. That's as good as I can do. I know it's not as good as the examples you all showed me, but.....I'm all thumbs.

I bought the Billings Danish Training ship Danmark kit off of Ebay for $99.00 a while back. I built the Danmark, which took me about 1200 hours give or take an hour or three. It was a wonderful kit and I would not hesitate to buy it and build it again even at a higher price. The fittings package came with the kit and quite extensive. I can't recall a single issue with the build. The plans are quite good and left little to the imagination. I can't really speak for the directions, because I don't usually use them. The kit came with pre-printed sail material as well.
 
Here are a few photos of the kit as it arrived to me. 
 
All in all, it was a pleasure to build, yes, they do use quite a few plastic parts, but if you like to kit bash, that isn't an issue. Now, this kit is an advanced level kit, but with a little help, a novice shouldn't have any real issue with it. 
 
The finished model is currently sitting in the lobby of a Danish West Indies trading company in Ft. Lauderdale Florida.

On the Connie, I painted the hull before I stained her deck or added any deck furniture. The question you have to ask yourself is will I be able to do this later. I the answer is no, then you need to do it before moving on. Since the deck was stained, and the ceilings painted before I put deck fittings on, I took care of painting/staining them as I put them on. Lastly, I have gone through and touched up nicks and nits as I need to.

As several people have already stated, this is a hobby that balances historical accuracy and aesthetics. Victory is the only ship I have modeled that is painted.  Although I originally intended to leave it natural, it "spoke to me" and informed me that  it needed to be painted.  This also gave me the opportunity to learn a new skill, airbrushing.  I have added my best picture showing the run of the wales and gunports and how they do not follow the ochre striping.  Good luck with your decision.
 

It pissed me off the other day when I went to buy 8 packs of super type glue and first was told I could only buy 4 per purchase and then they carded me and asked that I produce photo ID, are you kidding me, I'm an old man for goodness sake. I think I'll start ordering it from online, that is if they still ship it.

HMS Royal William in 1719
 
Historical Background
 
 
The HMS Royal William in 1719 was the second ship of that name. The first HMS ROYAL WILLIAM was built in 1692 out of the 1670 HMS PRINCE forth. Rebuilt in this the extent of HMS PRINCE were retained, only the appearance has been significantly modernized. It was in honor of King William III. renamed HMS PRINCE in HMS ROYAL WILLIAM. The HMS ROYAL WILLIAM in 1692 was subjected to this Rebuilt in Chatham by shipwright Robert Lee.
William III. reigned from 1689 to 1702. He comes from the house of Oranien Nassau.
To make in England, he came through the „Glorious Revolution" 1688/89, at the Stuart King James II was deposed. William III. was married to Mary II Stuart. Mary II Stuart died on December 28, 1694th . After the death of William III. by Maria's sister, Anne Stuart power. Quenn Anne was the last British queen tables from the House of Stuart.
Anne reigned from 1702 to 1714. The English Parliament cleared the way for George I from the House of Hanover with the „Act of Settlement“. George I ruled Great Britain from 1714 to 1727. In the reign of George I., the second much Rebuilt HMS ROYAL WILLIAM. In 1719, she was subjected to this Rebuilt in Portsmouth by ship builder John Naish. You still kept the name HMS ROYAL WILLIAM. Rebuilt in 1756 during her next she was from a first rate to a seconde rate of 84 cannon built back. She was one of the ships of the Royal Navy with the longest period of service and was scrapped in 1813. Of the HMS ROYAL WILLIAM, there are three models in the NMM in London and one in Annapolis from the Rogers Collektion. Although the HMS ROYAL WILLIAM is one of the best documented ships of the Royal Navy, so there are very large differences in the models. In this I'll talk more about in the course of my building report.
 
My ROYAL WILLIAM is based on the plans of Euromodel. The keel and the frames are made of poplar plywood and the hull was built of pinewood. After a little bit of boxwood and pear only came to use. Now some pictures, I will soon, when I have more time, to write much more.
 
Regards Kay
 
I hope you understand my bad english, I will learn it here in the forum definitely better.