kostas_gr

10 minutes ago, Steve G said:

That is absolutely stunning. Truly gobsmackingly good. 

thank you Steve, the build is completed I have few photos left to post. I hope you to enjoy the details I have added in the cargohold

final touch, the flag. I have used the one provided from Corel. I used whote glue to make the folds

Finally with all sails in place and all rigging ...running, I had to start folding the sails with different styles...

Corel's kit comes out without sails. I thought that sails will look nice on this build.

I believe that rigging makes model to look more pretty.

I decided to use silk fibre. First step was to dye the fibre to get darker, I decided to use coffee or tes.

I made several tests with both and finally decided to leave it around 15 minutes into coffee solute. (on the left side is the original fibre)

For the fist sail I had to remaike it 4 times due to several issues I will describe

first try ....while cutting the sail, the edge was unravelling so i have decided to use diluted white glue to make it more stable until I sew on the edges.

Second try.... (with white glue on the edges) after sewing the side edges the outcome was miserable, it was stiff and almost impossilbe to handle I couldnt manage give a right shape

Third try... I found a thin sewing tape that I have placed on the edges so with normal ironing the tape was melting with a very thin film and kept the edges folded. I was Suprised with the outcome and made sewing very easy. But... unfortunally the length shortened a lot and the sail looked very small on yard.

forth time was a charm, the outcome was overall so I decided to use them. To be honest I didnt have much time or mood to test other fibres, I had a deadline due to the anual IPMS competition I wanted to participate.

adding blocks on  yards

installing them on main mast

I wanted to install some hammocks at the lower deck

a view from the back side

a view from th front side

around main mast there are some spears

in order to make sure that all planks are aligned, I am drawing a grid and trying to align deck planks

after few hours the deck is comming nicelly

crates are in place, worinkg on upper deck

for deck planking I have choosen the "rule of 4", using 10cm planks. But unfortunately I couldnt avoid mistakesand had to redo some planks

almost done, the new planks are few tones brighter than the old ones, I guess I ll have to wait to see how are they look after oiling

deck planks were cut in 10 cm each and the caulking was made with soft black pencil.

 I have marked the deck with parallel squares just to ensure the right positioning of the deck planks. In some occasions I have to make micro adjustments to keep them in a straight line

always planking from center toward sides

Half done

need some sanding, caulking looking good for this scale (1:98) will be darker when oil is applied

with half deck oiled the difference is obvious!!!

Along with victory cross section, that is almost done, the time has come to start HMS Victory.

Corel's kit is a bit old (at least the one I have) and probably I will have to make a lot of improvements/modifications

while building the hull, I have noticed that many parts did not fit very well, hull beams are looking quite old and  dry

I had to fill the gaps almost in every hull beam

Amazing work, fantastic build. I am currently building corel's Victory, and your build log is pure inspiration for me.

Thank you for your great pictures!!!!

After 664 knots, ratlines are ready

rigging rat lines

15 hours ago, Lt. Biggles said:

Bet you are a little bit happy you don’t have to rig the entire ship!! Looks great!

So true!!!

but to be honest I got already Corel HMS Victory waiting to get built....

upper mast dead eyes

Lower dead eyes rigged

dead eyes attached on hull

fishnets and stair rails finished

deck is getting ready, tree nails are in place (I have placed tree nails only on the upper deck... las minute decision...)

few details are lefthammock nets and stair's rail

final test before I puth the main mast in place

side view of painted hull

Hull is almost ready, I will keep adding some details while working with main mast and rigging

after several lays of paint (using airbrush), and few layers of silk varnish, main mast is ready to be in place

main mast, almost ready

working with crownest, will be painted in black

2 hours ago, Lt. Biggles said:

Looks amazing! A great perspective of how big she is!

looks like you picked a very busy slice of the ship to replicate too!

It is Corel's HMS Victory cross section kit 1:98, with modifications and improvements