Jump to content
HOLIDAY DONATION DRIVE - SUPPORT MSW - DO YOUR PART TO KEEP THIS GREAT FORUM GOING! ×
2025 NRG PHOTOGRAPHIC SHIP MODEL CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED ×
Ship Modeler's Handbook - Back in Stock ×

drobinson02199

NRG Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,071

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by drobinson02199

  1. drobinson02199
    I've built the bow structure, which was something of an adventure. The manual calls for the curved rails on the stem to be mounted before the head timbers are done, but the head timbers provide a guide for the run of the upper curved rail, so I mounted those first. Then mounted the curved rails. The manual also calls for the remaining rails (horizontal and blue-trimmed vertical) to be mounted before the bow main rail, but again, it was much easier to install the two horizontal rails, then the bow main rail against the head timbers, and then cut the vertical blue-trimmed rails to fit under the bow main rail. By the way, the head-on picture gives the impression that the leftmost hawse hole is off kilter, but that's just an illusion of the inside of the drill hole. Finally, the manual tries to be specific around the head timbers at the aft end of the bow main rails, but the instructions are confusing although I think I finally got it right. For this section, I did a lot of advance dry fitting and thinking, referenced the invaluable pics on the Caldercraft website, and got the idea to pre-mount the head timbers from another build log on MSW. Next step is the bow gratings that fit inside this structure. Building this part reminded me of the difference between this model and some of the Amati ones I've built. For some reason, things just seem more complicated on this model. I think it may be the amount of cutting, fitting, and pre-painting of small parts that tend to stay in walnut on the Amati models. In any event, I'm happy building this, although my limited skills are sorely tested. Regards, David
  2. drobinson02199
    Completed the cannonades, and mounted the doors and gunport lids on the bow area. Regards, David
  3. drobinson02199
    Finished and painted the roundhouses, planked the beakhead deck, and added the painted brass decoration. Regards, David
  4. drobinson02199
    Bill: Thanks for the nice comments. I'm glad the log is somewhat useful. Regards, David
  5. drobinson02199
    Re my message above, here's a picture of one of the roundhouses in process. I've finished planking the other one, and there's a pretty curved shape before sanding, so sanding shouldn't be too hard. I'll glue some sandpaper to a stick and have at it. Regards, David
  6. drobinson02199
    Graham: I have already given up on the idea of removing the roundhouses. Because the partial trim leaves some of the wale in place, there isn't really any way to just slide the roundhouse structure out -- you'd have to tilt it and the tabs wouldn't work properly. So I glued the patterns on to the bulkhead and have started planking, and will do the sanding carefully with a stick and some sandpaper. Regards, David
  7. drobinson02199
    Built the railing across the bow. Next step is the roundhouses. I'm a bit wary of trying to sand them on the ship -- thinking about planking them while dry-fitted, and then removing for sanding. We'll see if I can pull that off. Might be blocked by the wale position at the bottom. Regards, David
  8. drobinson02199
    Ship's wheel and binnacle finished and mounted. The scratches on the wheel are light reflection and don't show to the naked eye. Regards, David
  9. drobinson02199
    Quarterdeck and two forecastle cannons built, painted, mounted and rigged. Full Disclosure: Those of you who are Victory aficionados and are sharp-eyed may see that I goofed with the two medium cannons. They are longer than the rest, and I was careful all through the building stage to isolate the slightly larger carriages and mount the right cannons to them. All good so far. Then as I started mounting the cannons, I picked those two up, intending to mount them on the forecastle where they belong. Phone call causes distraction. I come back, pick them up and promptly mount them at the stern in the lashed down position behind the screen. 🧐 They were glued down well, and rigged, so there they stay, and the forecastle gets two of the smaller cannons. It's a goof, but a small one in the scheme of things and the ship will look fine for me, and less fine for those of you who pay close attention to historical accuracy. Regards, David
  10. drobinson02199
    Installed bulwark fittings on quarterdeck and forecastle: shot racks, kevels, and pin racks. I did the side pictured below second, and changed my approach after doing the port side first. On the port side, I tried to install the shot onto the shot racks after they were installed, and with the bulwark there to get in the way of the tweezers, it was really difficult. So on the starboard side (pictured), I installed the shot onto the racks off the ship (same for the pinrails), and then installed them. Also note that these pinrails are much better spaced than the ones on the bitts, about which there was discussion above. The side pictured is the one that will show when I display the model. Regards, David
  11. drobinson02199
    Allan: I admire your attention to historical detail (and am amazed at some of the details you come up with), but I don't have the motivation to change the pins out. I've had cross-pieces become difficult in the past, and I solve it by either doubling up on a pin, or wrapping line on the cross piece. I took a sideways look at the assemblies after I got your first message, and there's actually a bit of room between many of the pins -- enough to sneak lines through if they aren't too thick. But thanks for the suggestions -- I'm always interested in getting them 😁 Regards, David
  12. drobinson02199
    Lined the quarterdeck rigging opening and constructed the Main Companionway. The latter of those two was something of an adventure. The ladder for that opening was constructed many steps ago, to match in width to balusters already installed below on the upper gun deck. I was positioning it for gluing, it slipped out of the pliers, and fell down not just to the upper gun deck below, but through the opening in that deck and down to the lower gun deck (two decks below), and then out of sight. I had put some glue on the bottom of the ladder, and so I couldn't dislodge it by shaking the ship upside down, although I suspect I'd never have retrieved it anyway. Out of sight, gone forever. Fortunately, in my leftover parts box from prior builds, I had a ladder (in plain wood), so I stained it (picture below), and installed it into the main companionway. Not as elegant as the original, but serviceable. Now as I look at the Main Companionway railings, I realize that there are supposed to be lower railings parallel to the upper horizontal ones. I'll get to that later (maybe 🤔) Regards, David
  13. drobinson02199
    Allan: You are quite right -- they are VERY close together, and I had that concern about rigging when I installed them. The holes in the cross-pieces are pre-drilled, and the pins are supplied, so this is the spacing that results. I was reluctant to install fewer pins for fear that I would need them all when it came time to rig. So I'll just make it work when that time comes. Regards, David
  14. drobinson02199
    Built, painted and mounted the waist ladders. Regards, David
  15. drobinson02199
    Quarterdeck Barricade assembled, painted and mounted. The instructions say to build this from the bottom up, but I found that alignment was easier if I built it from the top down to the lower rail, then mounted the wooden posts to the deck, and then mounted the assembly to those. Regards, David
  16. drobinson02199
    Assembled, painted and mounted the forecastle breast beam assembly. This was a tricky assembly -- getting the belfry started and aligned, and finishing off the U parts of the horizontal beam. Regards, David
  17. drobinson02199
    Finished the hatches and bitts on the forecastle, and varnished them. As I started the next assembly, I realized that if I stayed with natural walnut vs. black, the deck would not look as sharp as it should. So I went back and painted the skid beam (in place) black, as per the picture below. Regards, David
  18. drobinson02199
    Allan: After I finished the center hatch, I wished I had decided to do it that way. Would look very nice, although higher hatches than what's called for in the plans (higher like the ones on the lower deck, as you note). I'm happier with the result on the second hatch using the bottom support strips. Regards, David
  19. drobinson02199
    Working on the forecastle gratings. The gratings and spacers are mounted inside the hatch openings, and with no support I found that really difficult. On the one I've assembled, I had to put a support strip in to get the third grating section in. It will look better once varnished, but I'm not thrilled with it. So for the square hatches, I'll pre-mount support strips. The first of two that I've mounted is shown, and since taking the picture I have started to assemble that grating, and it's much easier -- and facilitates dry-fitting the components. Regards, David
  20. drobinson02199
    Capping rails painted, mounted, sanded and repainted on forecastle, waist and quarterdeck. Regards, David
  21. drobinson02199
    For those of you who were following this log in late 2021 and have picked this post up, I've been on a hiatus from the Victory primarily due to a Jan-Mar winter trip. But then I got home at the end of March and snagged a case of Covid. Nothing serious, but unpleasant symptoms and really didn't feel like working on the ship until a couple of weeks ago. But have jumped back into it now. Finished the second planking up to the top of the bulwarks, finished painting it, and then installed the final gunport linings. Did lots of touch ups in red, ochre and black to correct painting errors, and now it's done. Picture below. Regards, David
  22. drobinson02199
    Bob: I'm going to lump Amati and Vanguard together, because the things that stand out are similar in both. Feels like Chris Watton took the standards he had used with Amati and maintained them in Vanguard. Here is my comparison: Standout items: Quality of wood: Amati and Vanguard are the best I've seen in a model. Caldercraft seems close -- I'd say that the Caldercraft decking is perhaps a step below the others. Hull wood is similar. More of the laser cut wood parts are walnut in Caldercraft, even when they will be painted vs. varnished. Frame material: I prefer the MDF that Amati/Vanguard use, but the Caldercraft plywood was very high quality with no warping. It did require a lot more sanding in the slots to make it fit. Manual: the Amati and Vanguard manuals (particularly the Amati Revenge manual) were clear and logical. The Caldercraft manual requires more checking between plan sheets and the manual, and some things aren't (in my view) clearly stated and require looking at the JoTika website pics and other builds to be sure about. On the Amati Revenge, there are 3D rotatable pics on the Internet that are a marvel in helping the buil With all that said, I'd easily add Caldercraft to my "top 3" kit makers -- above Artesina Latina, Bluejacket, Mantua and Dumas in terms of the "standout items" above. Hope this helps. Regards, David
  23. drobinson02199
    Quarterdeck planked and first coat of varnish. Three coats planned. Regards, David
  24. drobinson02199
    I've now mounted the quarterdeck (main deck). Took a lot of dry fitting done over & over. It went differently than in the manual because I split the deck, as you can see, and I'm frankly not sure how you'd do it the way the manual says. I decided to keep the skid beams and bitts in natural walnut vs. painting them black. I may live to regret this choice, as I'll need to carry it through the other fittings, but for now I'm happy. I also made a goof while finishing up the upper gun deck. I finished off the stair railings, and didn't read far enough ahead so used the wrong balusters on two of them. Those were supposed to be supports for the skid beam. So . . . I have mounted two square posts (you can see them) under the skid beam where it needs support. I will use the support posts (which look like balusters) for the quarterdeck railings (because I now don't have enough of the regular balusters). They will look fine once I cut them down. It's not a major thing, and the missing support posts won't be noticeable. One thing I have noticed is that there are some finished items on the upper gun deck that are now totally invisible with the quarterdeck mounted. So I guess they are just there for the spiritual reinforcement of the builder. Regards, David
  25. drobinson02199
    I have started work on the quarterdeck (main deck). As was the case with the gun deck, I split it lengthwise to make fitting easier. [I don't understand why this isn't recommended in the manual. Mud wrestling those decks in one piece is much harder]. I've been carefully dry fitting everything, and one thing I noticed is that the second camber beam back from the bow interferes just slightly with the square bit holes in the deck. I double checked, and I did mount that camber on the correct side of the frame. The picture shows the adjustment I made. This would be really easy to miss until after the deck is mounted, and it would be a bear to clear at that point. So I'm glad I caught it. Regards, David

About us

Modelshipworld - Advancing Ship Modeling through Research

SSL Secured

Your security is important for us so this Website is SSL-Secured

NRG Mailing Address

Nautical Research Guild
237 South Lincoln Street
Westmont IL, 60559-1917

Model Ship World ® and the MSW logo are Registered Trademarks, and belong to the Nautical Research Guild (United States Patent and Trademark Office: No. 6,929,264 & No. 6,929,274, registered Dec. 20, 2022)

Helpful Links

About the NRG

If you enjoy building ship models that are historically accurate as well as beautiful, then The Nautical Research Guild (NRG) is just right for you.

The Guild is a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to “Advance Ship Modeling Through Research”. We provide support to our members in their efforts to raise the quality of their model ships.

The Nautical Research Guild has published our world-renowned quarterly magazine, The Nautical Research Journal, since 1955. The pages of the Journal are full of articles by accomplished ship modelers who show you how they create those exquisite details on their models, and by maritime historians who show you the correct details to build. The Journal is available in both print and digital editions. Go to the NRG web site (www.thenrg.org) to download a complimentary digital copy of the Journal. The NRG also publishes plan sets, books and compilations of back issues of the Journal and the former Ships in Scale and Model Ship Builder magazines.

Our Emblem ®

Modelshipworld - Advancing Ship Modeling through Research

Nautical Research Guild ® and the NRG logo are Registered Trademarks, and belong to the Nautical Research Guild (United States Patent and Trademark Office: No. 6,999,236 & No. 6,999,237, registered March 14, 2023)

×
×
  • Create New...