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Robert, Fantastic work!! As a fan of HMS Victory, I think you may be interested to know that there is a project in the works to produce a television series about Nelson and Trafalgar. The writer, Adam Preston, is working on getting folks to sign on to show the TV studios he works with that there is significant interest in seeing this project come to fruition. I hope you don't mind that I am posting this here as Victory is an obvious part of this project. Please take a look at the New Podcast/TV series about Nelson and Maritime Britain during the Trafalgar Period post in the Nautical/Naval History forum here at MSW and sign on board. I imagine that vast majority of the members here would love to see this series happen, especially students of any of Nelson's ships like yourself.

Eugenio, As an obvious fan of HMS Victory, you may be interested to know that there is a project in the works to produce a television series about Nelson and Trafalgar. The writer, Adam Preston, is working on getting folks to sign on to show the TV studios he works with that there is significant interest in seeing this project come to fruition. I hope you don't mind that I am posting this here as Victory is an obvious part of this project. Please take a look at the New Podcast/TV series about Nelson and Maritime Britain during the Trafalgar Period post in the Nautical/Naval History forum here at MSW and sign on board.

VERY WELL said David!!!!

Thanks Martes for your very kind offer. Right now we are working on getting as many people to sign up to the site as possible which is what the TV movie producers have asked of Adam. This will be a high tech, high end production by whichever television/movie production company picks it up should it get moving. Please feel free to PM me if you would like to discuss further. There is more information that will be posted here very soon. Thanks again!

Hi Jonathan, I believe there are at least two or three members here at MSW in addition to Chris that have designed kits that are now on the market. This includes kits for Model Shipways.

Red Check out Ab Hoving's log here at MSW - Do a search for "About reconstructing a Dutch fluit" and it should come up. I did a quick try and it pops right up. Scroll through the post and you will see how the planking lays.

Hi Red I really don't know much about Dutch ships, but looking at contemporary drawings I found on line when Googling Dutch galiot, I seen no reason to think the planking would be very different than the French or English. Regarding the photo of the kit model, keep in mind, some kit makers are not famous for historical accuracy so the planking could just be the Russian's in-house design rather than how it was actually done. Hopefully some members with Dutch shipbuilding knowledge will give you something more definitive.

Thanks Mark! Apparently this took place over time as your find was the first I had seen without port lids in the 17th century. I was mistaken on the model I referenced earlier from 1703. On closer inspection, lids were not included in the waist area of this particular model. But, the contemporary model of circa 1695 pictured below does have lids. As has been discussed before on many of the MSW forums, some changes on these ships took place over years so perhaps this is one of them.

I had previously been under the impression that there are typically no gun port lids to close off the ports in the waist. Contemporary models and drawings of the late 17th century and sketches by Van De Velde show that this was not the case and there were lids over the ports in the waist area. I am curious to know at what point in time did the inclusion of gun port lids in the waist as a general practice come to an end. The latest contemporary models I can find with lids was 1703, and the earliest without lids I can find is 1715. It seems this practice of having lids over ports in the waist ended somewhere between, but was the change across the board for all British warships, was it by decree of the Admiralty, and when did that happen? TIA

Sometimes most of us get to a point on a model where we want to wrap the model (corpse) in a shroud and bury it at sea.

Sorry Markus, I have no idea what was used where the mast passed through the deck on the 1930 version. MAYBE you can get someone at the NY Yacht club to send you a photo of some of their J Class models as they have a LOT of them and some may be appropriate. Their website has a contact email if I remember correctly. Considering the year, it could very well have been set up with wedges as in the earlier days of sailing. Even so, the wedges would likely have been covered with canvas so would appear as nothing more than a grayish ring around the mast where it passes through the deck. At your scale this would probably look good. If you are wanting something that actually supports the mast where it passes through the deck there should be partners between the beams (or bulkheads if your model is a POB build.) IF this is the case, look at a number of the scratch build logs here at MSW that show the partners and wedges to get an idea. Sorry I don't know of anything definitive but I am sure there are members here that would know what was actually used.

Markus, at 1:80 I would totally forget any sewing at all. Go with silk span and you can mark the edges and panel seams with markers that have had the applicator tip trimmed with a razor to the right width (about 0.025" / 0.64mm) There are doubtless many brands, but I have found Liquitex markers to work well and they come in a wide variety of colors so you can choose one that is just slightly darker than the sail itself. If you go with silk span you will be painting them so you can make them white, off-white or any color you feel is the same as the real sails. Be sure to use good quality tubed artist acrylics, not the cheap bottled paints. There is more to it, but you can find details here on MSW, in David Antscherl's TFFM booklet on sail making for a few Euros from Seawatch Books (hurry on this one as this company will be shutting down in the not too distant future https://www.seawatchbooks.com/ItemDisplay.php?sku=115003) and in a few online videos. The best videos I found are in a three parts presentation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_m_VWzk4w8 When I used silk span I wound up using a combination of the methods given in the Antscherl booklet and the videos but you can find what works best for you.

Welcome to MSW Dan. Very nice intro to yourself, it is very much appreciated to know a little about yourself and your goals.

Hi Markus, What scale is your model? High thread count cloth might work for a very large scale, 1:12 or maybe even 1:24. Smaller than that, there is no woven cloth that will be to scale so you may want to consider some other material such as silk span. If you decide you must use woven cloth, at normal scales, keep in mind that sewing seams will ruin the look as there is no way to make these to scale. There are lot of well made models that are ruined when rigged with sails and sewing that are not to scale. This has been discussed extensively lately here at MSW so you will find a lot of good information if you do a search on sails and silk span in the various forums here at MSW.

Another method is to copy the drawing and save it in any file, then insert it into a drawing program and size it to whatever scale you need if it needs to be sized. Barring a CAD program, scan the drawing with your printer/scanner, save it in a file, then print it on label paper which you can get at any office supply store or on line. Once printed you can then just peel off the backing of the label paper and stick on the wood. Be sure the wood is free of dust, etc. A quick wipe with a tacky cloth or even a damp cloth (then let it dry) will make it sufficiently clean to allow the label paper to stick to the wood. If you go this route you still have your original drawing to work with should you need it.

Thanks Jean Pierre, Perhaps one day we can meet and share stories on ship modeling. We have NEVER had a bad experience in France. This include Paris, Normandy and the south of France from Marseille to Nice. My French speaking is enough to get by, but I am lucky that my wife is fluent in French so when I stumble, when speaking she makes sure I buy one baguette and a little foie gras instead of ten baguettes and the entire goose!!!

Erik, The anchor rope situation appears to be resolved for you, but I wanted to comment that your build is very nice!!

Wet and heat combined seem to work best for me when done off the model. I cut a simple form, the thickness of which is close to the width of the pieces to be bent. Soaking the wood in water takes about 15-30 minutes, depending on the thickness and species of the wood. Once clamped in place, a variable temperature hot air gun will heat the wood, quickly drying it and getting it to hold to the new bent shape. Heat guns with variable temperature control from 100F to over 900F and multiple speed blowing are available from less than $50 to $150 (and higher for industrial grade). In a pinch, her hair dryer works well, but maybe best done in secret. (I speak from experience) I would not use this method if a soaked piece of wood has been temporarily clamped in place to the model to take the shape/form while it dries.

I contacted PSME and received the following response in less than an hour. Thanks for the inquiry, and please accept our sincere apologies. We are out of our printed catalog and will no longer publish a print version. Currently we are working on a new web site and a web based catalog with no anticipated issue date at this time. PSME is a supplier of tools, materials, hardware, and components for the scale model builder, restorer and detailer, to the electronics technician, the mini/micro mechanical technician and to the robotics field. To assist you with your modeling/robotics pursuits we do have copies of many of our supplier's catalogs for distribution and/or we can send you an e-mail with an attachment of selected products and sections of our "on-line catalog in progress" for your information and use in ordering. Just let us know your area(s) of interest and we will e-mail you the current information. Currently we stock more than 65,000 line items dedicated to the scale model-maker, robotics, electro-mechanics, and related craft fields. Please use our web site ( www.psmescale.com ) as a guide to the types of products we stock to request info on the product areas you are interested in, and feel free to contact us regarding your specific requirements via E-mail ( psme@psmescale.com ) or by phone ( 508-478-3148 ) or FAX (508 478 3590). We look forward to hearing from you and to being of service and assistance.

I was never a fan of using these, but if they are as well made as you show Greg, I have changed my mind. The best small military figures I have ever seen in person were made by Ed Tosti (Naiad and Young America books and builds). If I recall correctly, when I saw them in his display at home, he told me this was his passion before ship modeling took over.

Welcome aboard Jean Pierre. My wife and I LOVE your part of the world. It is heaven for the senses. One of our favorite spots is the daily market in Aix. Best oysters I have ever eaten anywhere in the world, and the melons were the sweetest we ever tasted. Can't forget the lavender scent in the air!! Again, welcome to MSW

Mr. L has given a good source. There are several options for 7/8" OD brass tubing at McMaster Carr including the heavy one with 0.065 wall thickness. If you have one, you can take off .03 on a lathe and you will be right at 13/16. https://www.mcmaster.com/tubing/brass-tubing/

Gray, Are you sure it has a bearding line and not a stepping line with the bearding line just in the aft most few feet? As this a POB, the steps versus bearding line may not make sense anyway as it will all be covered with planking so never to be seen again. Same goes for the deadwood forward. Cheers

Gray It sounds like you are talking about the deadwood or rising wood aft which has the bearding line. Frames normally sit on the bearding line and the planking goes over the frames of course and continues onto the deadwood down to the keel. I don't know how this works on your kit which I assume is POB. The deadwood is tapered from the bearding line down to the rabbet line on the keel as if the frames went all the way to the keel which they normally don't do in the aft area. The rabbet on the inner post has the same depth as the thickness of the planks. There is a lot more to this so it would be great to get a book or two that illustrates this area clearly. Others with experience with double layers of planking may be able to give you more details and alternative solutions. There are excellent illustrations in Construction and Fitting of English Man of War, Frigate Euryalus, Frigate Naiad, The Fully Framed Model, et al.

Ryland, You only need non-sterile blades unless you are planning on a little home surgery. Amazon has a number of different SM blades with free shipping if you are a Prime customer. You can find them on Ebay as well. I get them in boxes of 100 for about $25 . I have two handles and load each with a different blade but mostly use 10A and 11, but occasionally #10 blades come in handy.