leginseel

As I read through countless postings I am picking up so much knowledge as I go and this tip is certainly going in my locker.  Thank you for sharing it.
Cheers
Nigel

I'm now back in Turkey with my Victory after 4 months in UK.
I started to look at the first planking and decided that the bow need some extra support, so I crafted two filler pieces out of limewood.  I've added half a dozen planks straight off and I now need to shape the next set as I go towards the keel.  As there is so many cannon trucks to make I've decided to make a start by fashioning a small jig which seems to be working ok.  My last photo shows the lower and middle deck cannons mounted but not secured.  I decided to do this now as I thought it may get a little unwieldy later down the line.

I read further on before I did this and decided to paint the sides black on mine and also install a floor to the lower gun deck ports so that later on when  lining I won’t drop stuff into the hull.
 

Genius idea with the jig.  I have been scratching my head on how to achieve the correct cannon fitting angle.  Thank you I will borrow this if I may.
 

Hi Nigel, sorry for the very late reply, but the last couple of weeks have not been so good for me, unfortunately one of my brothers has been diagnosed  with serious health problems and I was'nt opening  the forum. To cut the walnut I didn't find it really necessary to wet it, if it's very thin I use a blade and if its ticker I use a small hand saw with very fine teeth with a mitre box.  I have two of them, one with 24 tpi and another 42 tpi. But for bending I find it a must to wet the walnut. I wet it, use an electric heat bender and sometimes keep wetting it during the process.
 
In the meantime I have received the rope for the  stays and carried some work on them.  I will soon upload a post with the progress.
 
Ronert

Greetings David and OC,  thank you for your nice comments and thank you all for the likes.
 
Finished the upper gun deck lighting and all fittings in place.
 
Beams fitted and lanterns in place all wired up and tested.  I will paint all wiring in white to make them less conspicuous.



 
Lanterns fitted on the sides of the skid beams.

 
 Lanterns under skid beams with quarter deck dry fitted.


 
Image with lanterns on without quarter deck.

 
Images with quarterdeck dry fitted.



 
It is a pity that a lot of the lighting effect is not easily seen with the quarter deck fitted.
 
Robert

Thank you Wallace, 
 
Finally fixing the fittings I have been preparing for the upper gun deck
 
A quick jig to glue the ladders in place


 
Carriages glued in place with breaching rope eyelets fixed to the bulwark.

Tackles at the back of the carriages finished with a hook I made from the eyelets (480) supplied with the kit.
 
I added some detail to the cannons that will be showing through skid beam assembly.  I bought these monograms from Syren Ship Model Company.

 
 
Carriages all glued in place.

 
 
Finishing the tackles at the back of the cannons.  I found these wire holders really useful to hold the ropes in place while knotting them.

 
 
Making the side tackles



 
Squaring the ends of the pillars.  A piece of grooved scrap wood became very handy.



 
Companionway guard rails in place.

 
I finished the ends of the rails to the truncheons by seizing imitation. Thread wound round a needlepoint, covered with CA glue, pulled out of needle and cut to small pieces. Rail end passed first through one of them, through truncheon and back through seizing imitation.

 
Fittings on Upper gun deck in place.  Pillars are already trimmed to the right height and glued in place, only the Bitt Pins are dry fitted. 




 



 
 
Next step is to fit the beams and wire in the lanterns I have already prepared for the upper gun deck before I glue in the quarter deck.
 
Robert

A quick update, more work on the cannons.  No wonder Robert22564 in his build log once referred to them as the frigging carriages, there is so much work on them.
 
Prepared the breaching ropes with an eyelet and passed through the eyelet at the back of the cannon.

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
Fitted trunnion brackets to carriages.  Marked pilot holes for each individual bracket.
 

 
 
Drilled holes for pins on drill stand.

 
 
Fitted brackets with pins.

 
 
All 30 cannons (one missing , it is rigged on deck to check the lengths for the breaching ropes) ready with breaching ropes passed through rings of carriages.  The eye pins were small enough to pass through the rings. You have to be careful when rigging the eyelets to  the breaching rope to have a neat knot that passes through the ring as well.

 

 
 
Next step are the tackles.  Have to experiment a bit with the size of the hooks.  

 
 
Robert

Still working on the cannons.
 
After removing the wheels from the sheets I put some super glue on some of the wheel edges as some of them were easily splintered. Inserted them in a toothpick and sanded them together.  Marked the wheel bolts and varnished them.


 
 
I decided to solder the trunnions to the cannons. Since I intend to blacken the cannons I thought that any solder on the outside might give me problems when blackening so I used the following method.
Grinded a small notch in the middle of the trunnion

 
Filled it with solder, let it cool

 
Inserted the trunnion in the cannon and heated the cannon with a gas soldering gun to melt the solder inside.

 
 
Then I came to the trunnion brackets.  To shape them by hand one by one was very difficult to keep them uniform and time consuming, so I thought of a jig.  I found a piece of small metal angle and fitted two pieces next to each other in a piece of hard wood as shown, leaving a groove between them just a bit more then the diameter of the 1.5mm brass wire to be used for the trunnions.  Took a piece of a dowel and at one end I made a small groove and glue in it a piece of the 1.5mm wire, leaving half of its diameter protruding out. 

 
 
Cut the trunnion bracket from the brass sheet, trim it and place it across the groove.  

 
 
Place the dowel with the brass rod facing down on the bracket along the groove and just give it a slight tape with a small hammer. The brackets are very thin and soft so a small tap is enough.

 

 
 
 

 
 
This is the result.  Quite neat and quite easy.

 
Hopefully I will soon be putting the cannons, carriages, brackets, eyelets all together.
 
Robert
 
 
 

Thank you for your comments and likes, really appreciate them.  They give me more determination for the next step.
 
More work on the quarter galleries.
 
Bent and fitted the upper and lower counter patterns.

 
Fitted the skins.

 
Robert

Try as I might I cannot upload these images in the right profile, so please accept my apologies for the state of them.  But if there is a genius out there who knows what I've done wrong I'd be very pleased to hear from you.
 
This is my current progress with the build and will now go into a 3 month break as Im flying back to UK next week.  Any comments or criticisms greatly appreciated.
 

Caldercraft HMS Victory build Update - 30 x 12 lb. Long guns
 
Hi all;  it's been awhile since my last post.  Work has been busy.  Anyway, I finally managed to get my first cannon rigged and mounted.  I had no idea these little buggers could be so time consuming.  Cutting and sanding the parts and drilling all of the various holes easily took a week.
After that, I prepped all of my brass per Kurt Van Dahm's post on brass blackening.  I didn't get a perfect, even black finish, but was still reasonably happy with the result.  No new discoveries here, just follow his advice to the letter including the pickle pot.  I'll leave this photo legibly large.

 
I assembled and painted the gun carriages before having to clean paint out of all of my holes again.  (12 holes per carriage - all of varying sizes)  I found a nice little micro-drill bit kit on Amazon (0.2 to 1.1 mm) and quickly learned I should have bought ten of each size as they have a nasty habit of breaking if they're just merely breathed on wrong.  I also made sure the glue surface for the stool bed was adequately masked off before painting.

 
Each carriage took four coats of paint to get adequate coverage.  I had to relocate all of my pad eye holes with a finely sharpened pin after each coat.  Note bed bolt hole in photo below.

 
After painting, I inserted the bed bolts, glued on all of the stool beds, and added all of the metal, including pad eyes.

 
A templating jig allowed uniform pad eye hole placement in the deck and around each gunport.

 
The rigging for each cannon was (and still is!) a tad more involved than I had originally thought as well.  I couldn't seem to rig them in place, so I made a mock-up jig for this.

 
...And one for making block & tackle assemblies.

 
Mine...

 
...And here's the real thing.

It will be another few months before I post again.  Work, family etc., and 29 more cannons to rig!

Caldercraft HMS Victory build Update - Copper Plates
 
Ted - Thank you for the advice.  Your work looks fantastic.
Allan - Thank you for your kid words.
 
I did as Ted and others suggested - starting at the garboard and working my way down.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 



 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notice all the CA glue on the tiles

 
I used a brownie pan filled with acetone and a new kitchen sponge to clean all the CA glue off after I was finished.

 
I then masked off a new water line 1/16" onto the edge of the copper and painted it on with an airbrush.  This gave me a very clean finish at the edge.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I then applied a patenating solution (Modern Masters Green Patina Aging Solution) using a small misting spray bottle.  I let it completely dry.
The result was this horrifying neon turquoise color:

 
No worries though.  The majority of it came off with just a wet cloth leaving the patina I was looking for:
I needed to do this now, because I will not be able to start my rudder for several more months and wanted to be sure I could recreate this finish:

 

 
Next:  Upper deck?  Please let me know what you think.
It'll be a few more months before I'm able to post again due to work.
 
Sincerely,
 
Will

Hi Will, 
Nice to see your progress, your Vic is looking super.  I wrestled with the tiling also, and here are a few tips.
 
I used CA Gel, which gives about 20 sec of time to locate the tiles exactly before it grabs. Just used 5 small drops/tile - 1 at each corner and one in the middle; glue placed on the hull not on the tile.  Careful not to use too much so that it oozes onto the surface. Started on the garboard plank, adjacent to the keel as it had a nice straight line to follow. Just apply them in a staggered pattern like laying bricks.
 

 
To do the keel, I used a Mission Models bending jig to get the 90 deg bends straight.  The plates are the right size to cover the bottom of the keel, plus one face. The other face of the keel can be done with trimmed plates.
 

 

 
Work up to the waterline.  When nearing it, I added a strip of copper tape used for stained glass work, letting it overlap the waterline.  This will hide any small missing corners of tiles if they appear.
 

 
After adding the tiles to cover the waterline, apply a piece of tape and mark the finished waterline on it, then, using a very sharp Xacto knife, trim the tiles to the marked waterline.  Although I didn't do this, you can try to represent the rivets on the exposed edges of the trimmed plates.
 

 

 

 
Keep up the good work!!

Caldercraft HMS Victory build Update
 
Hi All,
 
I'm back after a 7 week hitch offshore.  Confession:  the last job was delayed for a week so I was able to make some progress but was too much of a slacker to post.  I am prepared to rectify that condition now.
 
I did get the wales glued on; Keith and Greg were both right; the uneven deck heights at the bow somehow evened out with some creative sanding and "plank cheating" for lack of a better term.  (I ran the wales plank a wee bit high on one side, and a wee bit low on the other.) I noticed that even though I started out the first wale planks exactly as instructed, the spacing still came out wrong when finished. (See wale spacing at stern galleries in last photo of this post.)
 
Clearing ports:  (I already did this once, but it never occurred to me that I would need to do it again after the wales went on.  I have learned my lesson, but big time waste.  For anyone following this build as an instructional, I would definitely wait to clear your gun ports (precisely trimming them to final size and bevel.) until after you've installed your wales and final hull sanding. - Or maybe I'm missing something. Please feel free to comment.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I then pre-assembled all my liners after measuring the angles of all the gun ports at each deck. (See previous posts for example.)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
...And quickly discovered I had to create a way to set/hold them in place while the glue dried.  I used CA glue a the corners just to get them in place followed by a needle bead of PVA glue all around for final install.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The liners were painted. I did leave them a bit messy with the intention of using the black and yellow (Well, now sort of "peach-ish" if current research prevails...) primary hull colors to get final definition.  I then leveled out the hull, and used a "Sharpie-micro" pen to mark the waterline (I just couldn't see the pencil line.) before using an airbrush and modeler's masking tape to apply the flat black coat to the water line as instructed before starting the copper tiles.
 
There's been a lot of talk about the best method of copper tiling.  Here's what I'm doing: 
 
I completely acknowledge the fact that the original HMS Victory did not have a double row of rivets at each seam between tiles, but after deciding I would indeed tile, I have decided to use the ones that came with the kit.  I have chickened out and applied a single piece of copper tape to my keel/bow/rudder mount, as I could not figure out a way to bend or coax the tiles around these components in a way that looked even vaguely acceptable. (The #^%@$ things kept falling off regardless of adhesive, not to mention looking saw-toothed and uneven. - Any insight into this including forming/bending the tiles around the rudder, compound shapes, etc. would be greatly appreciated.)
 
I did not want to use CA glue due to it's quick dry time and propensity for tiling fingers rather than hull.  I wanted an adhesive that would allow me 5 - 10 minutes of workability and was "trowelable." I tried experimenting with "Loctite Power-Grab Ultimate Crystal Clear" after getting sucked in by the snazzy name, but it proved no better than clear silicone caulk.  I could pick off individual tiles with just a fingernail after it had fully cured.  The "PL" series (-100, -200, -300, -400...) adhesives "skinned" over too quick after initial application as well, rendering them inadequate.
 
...Fine.  Crazy glue it is.  I settled on the thick stuff applied to the bare wood hull instead of the individual tile.  I "troweled" it out using a piece of 32 tpi hacksaw blade pounded flat to ensure an even coat that didn't ooze out between tiles, keeping a "wet edge" as I went.  I am keeping a jar of acetone and a good supply of Q-tips handy for when I do accidentally get glue on a finger, the top surface of a tile, etc.

 
Many people endorsed a vacuum pick-up tool to help with placement.  The one I picked up has been working well, but I do wish I had spent a tad more and gotten one with stronger suction.

 
I found the best way to get straight copper tile cuts was to just use a utility knife blade and a small weight (in this case 7/8" hex hvy nut) to precisely chop tiles using a piece of 1/4" polycarbonate sheet (6" x 6" is more than large enough.) as a cutting board.  This method requires surprisingly little force and is very precise.  (The manual endorsed using a rounded exacto blade worked continuously over the copper on a ceramic tile until it cleaved the copper. - I found this to be almost useless.  Multiple passes required caused my fingers to go numb.  The results were messy and inaccurate, and the blade and ceramic tile had to be replaced very often.)  A good pair of beefy scissors handled the rest.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I am about to attempt tiling the large areas of the hull.  As usual, everyone's input is greatly welcome!
Here's a photo taken this morning:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Post Script:  Notice the stern gallery windows in the above photo.  The "glass" is missing because I accidentally blew a few of them out when "de-dusting" my model with 120 psi. air before deciding that the remaining ones were not installed well enough to remain either.  ( had glued in the scissor-cut acetate strips with a "fog-free" adhesive that barely "adhesed" and was far from "fog-free.")  I have since mastered the art of cutting coverslip glass with a diamond scribe, but it's still going to be fun getting them installed at this point! - Again, any ideas?

Hi All,
 
I just joined today after starting a build several months ago and would greatly appreciate any and all input.
 
Questions for everyone:
Would one or two of you be willing to act a as mentor for this build?  Caldercraft seems to be a tad vague sometimes about when to paint what for example. Does anyone have any specific suggestions regarding hull treatments before I install the copper tiles? Do I need to apply a thin hand-rubbed coat of polyurethane first?  If so, water-base or oil? I found an assembly guide for copper tiling DeAgostini's kit.  They recommend using a glue from England.  (Solvent-free contact adhesive.)  What does this equate to here in the States?  I'm looking for something in stock at my local Home Depot.  
Thank you Guys!

Thank you Graham.
 
Another update, moving slowly.
 
Wales all finished and gunport linings for the upper gun deck finished as well.  Next step is the gunport linings for for the lower and middle gun decks. I have a feeling it is not going to be easy at all. When I finish the linings I will fill the space between the planks in the lower part of the hull and finish.
 
For the upper gun deck linings, the walnut strips (1mm x 16mm) supplied with the kit was impossible to use.  The thickness which was supposed to be 1mm was under 0.8mm and apart from that it was very brittle.  More often than not, it kept splitting in two while trying to trim to size.  Had to order some new ones with the right thickness.  Worked out fine.  
 
 

 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 



 
 
 
Regrads
Robert

Finally lower part of the hull all covered with the second planking, but still needs more work, sanding, sealing, varnishing... The small gap between the planks has been purposely left so I will fill with a black filler.  Probably now I will continue work on the upper gun deck and continue the upper part of the hull and wales later.
 
A few photos:







 

 
 
Robert

Finally finished all of the gun deck cannons.  Took about 3 weeks to get through all of them.  See picture.
 
I only rigged the ones that are visible from the deck above.
 
Regards,
David
 

Cannons completed on one side.  A few comments:
 
I only rigged the ones that are visible. Regarding rigging:  there are three elements (inhaul, outhaul, breech line), and I only used two -- inhaul and breech.  Two reasons:  first, adding the outhaul tackle on each side just seemed busy, and I felt that the breech line would add enough interest on the side.  Second, I'm lazy. Regards,
David

I've started building cannons in batches of 6 (to break up the work).  This one is from my second batch.  I tried to fit the trunion brackets in the first batch, and wasn't able to get them to fit well, and ended up just gluing them down -- but in closeup they look sloppy.  So those 6 cannons are mounted in a not-visible part of the ship.
 
For the second batch, I just painted the trunion brackets on, and I think they look pretty good -- and much better than the real ones that I couldn't get to fit.  Closeup below so you can see it.
 
Regards,
David

Here's a building board I made out of plywood scrap from the kit for painting the cannon carriages and cannons.
 
Regards,
David

Built and installed the upper gun deck hatches and stairs to the lower gun deck.
 
I ran into a kind of sequence issue.  You have to install stanchions at the bottom of the stairs, and then put thread into them which leads up to the upper gun deck for later use as part of the hatchway guard rails.  So when I went to varnish the whole hatch/stairs assembly, I had those threads in the way.  If I had thought of it, I could have varnished the stairs before installing them, but I didn't -- so I rigged a temporary set of crossbeams to hold the threads up while I varnished the stairs and hatches.  Those are shown below, along with the finished product.
 
Regards, 
David

Coppering of starboard hull is in the previous post.  I've now finished coppering the port hull (looks the same).
 
I've also finished coppering the keel, stern post and bow on the starboard side, and pictures of those are below.
 
Regards,
David

I've finished coppering the starboard side (not yet the rudder frame or bow piece or keel).  I gave some thought to whether to start at the keel, as the manual suggests, or start across the waterline to get a straight edge.  I knew if I did the latter I would lose the beautiful upsweep at the bow, so I went with starting at the keel and hoped that the suggested technique of using copper paint and masking tape would work.
 
So I masked off the waterline and then coppered up to it, leaving gaps in spots.  Finally finished, and applied copper paint at the top, said a prayer and peeled off the tape.  I was delighted with the result.  A really straight looking waterline.
 
Several pics here of the result that show how good the waterline looks, and also that upsweep at the bow -- and the stern line.
 
I also took a closeup of one of the "gaps" that is filled in by the paint, and then stepped back to viewing distance with that gap in the center, and you don't really see it unless you are looking for it.
 
The copper paint is made by Golden, and it's "Iridescent Copper".  Got it on Amazon.
 
Regards,
David