GrandpaPhil

Very nicely done!

Excellent!

The only downside is weight, but if you are not worried about weight, then there is no downside that I know of.

I used the same type of copper tape as YT.  It has worked beautifully for two models now.  It also patinas beautifully in a few months, even under sealant.

Speaking of which, make sure that you wipe the copper plating down well and seal it to prevent a thumbprint from oxidizing into the hull and only becoming visible two months later.  I may or may not know from personal experience.

The original was shaped wrong.  It came out too far and didn’t rise enough.

The AOTS plans for the head wouldn’t work if I had left it as it was.

I also punched the hole for the bowsprit.  I took pictures of it test fitted.

I punched the hawse holes through the hull.  I have the pattern for the wear plate glued to double thickness poster board.  I’ll let that dry and cut it out next time.

Sorry to hear about your housing issues, OC.

I don’t know what these are called, but the hawse holes will be drilled into them.

 I made them last night, from 1/8” thick basswood sheet, boiled them in a microwave, and bent them.  I let them dry overnight to shrink back to size and did the final shaping/installation tonight.

Next time I work on the Victory, I’ll be using an electric drill on it, to bore out the hawse holes and the hole for the bowsprit.  That should be interesting.

One thing that I hate about this kit is that there is no interior to speak of, which is awful when trying to run ropes into or out of the hull.

This is another reason that I have been learning to scratch build.

Mark,

  Looking forward to seeing progress on your Victory.  You’re doing well.

Quick question, does the Anatomy of Nelson’s Ships have a sail plan for the Victory?

Mark,

Thank you.  The overhead profile for the cheeks are on drawing A8 of AOTS for the Victory, the middle deck, at 1/192 scale.  

I scaled it up 196% on my copier to get to 1/98 scale.  Make sure to leave enough on the end to go all the way to the end of the cut water.

I took the pathway from the outboard profile.  

I picked up my poster board at Walmart.  I got an 8 pack for around $5 last December.  I still have 2 1/4 sheets left after the Prince de Neufchatel.

It sounds crazy, but it works well if you’re going to paint anyways.

Upper cheeks are on:

Lower cheeks are in place.

Thank you!

Has anyone ever built a GPM model?

If so, are they good kits?

Thank you everyone for all the likes and the comments!

Mark,

  I’m getting better.  When I started the Victory, two years ago, I wouldn’t have dared to do what I just did.  After pausing to build the Prince de Neufchatel, I am a lot more confident.

I learned a lot.

The biggest lesson was that the hardest part is making that first cut.

I’m completely running off the AOTS plans now and we’ll see how she turns out.

I learned that poster board is actually a good material to build model ships from.

I decided this morning that I would build the head so I can get finish getting the model base coated.

I am making the cheeks from double thickness (1.6mm) poster board because it is flexible and easy to work.

This is leftover material from the Prince de Neufchatel.

 The rest of the head will be mostly basswood.

I’ve done a lot of paint work today.  

I did a lot of gunport lid repair.

 I replaced a couple of other pieces that got damaged during moving.

The Victory looks much better now.  

The cut water will get painted when I build the basic framework for the head, so the cheeks, frames and head rails will adhere better.

1 repaired gunport lid with wire eyebolts:

Quick lesson learned to share with everyone.

Next time I will make my own eyebolts from wire instead of buying plastic ones for my gunport lids.

The nose is all cut out now.  It still needs some minor sanding, but it will work.  I’m happy with it.

New nose dry fitted:

I cut the nose off the Victory.  I am getting the replacement ready to install.

I started from the keel at the stern.  It worked for me.

Thank you very much for the information.

You could always make a bottom.  Just put the model down on a sheet of poster board and trace it out.