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chris watton
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Everything posted by chris watton
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It is a 64th scale Amati figure - I placed it near where nelson fell.... All the gun port lids have been profiled( All of the ones that require it, that is). All of the lower lids, (you can just about see it on the lower lids in my photos) the last four middle gun port lids and the last three upper gun port lids - They all follow the hull profile. I made the hinges in 0,25mm photo etched brass so that they could be manipulated to follow the steps in lid profile easier. . This brings the thickness up to almost 2mm for the lids with the wale detail, and 1mm for those that do not. As for the drip mouldings, I couldn't say 100%. All I know is that every drawing from the most well known and respected sources seems to show them, so it would be very remiss of me to leave them off. Like the stern davits, you don't have to add them if you don't want to - it's one of those sets of fittings that isn't structurally significant to the build. Since adding the scuttles to the lower lids, I have re designed them so they look exactly like the real ones. ETA - I should mention that all of the gun port lids are laser cut, and each one is specific to its particular gun port opening - so if you don't keep 'em in order, you're in trouble! -
I may have spent more time on this - don't forget I work on it all day, virtually every day - I also try and design my stuff so that all the mundane bits are cancelled out, meaning we can build them slightly quicker than other kits. Thank you, it is 1:64th scale
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I just 'tried' to take a few pics of the quarterdeck/poop area, to show it before the new bulkheads arrive, but they didn't come out too well. If you wanted yo, you could leave out the bulkheads and have the deck 'cleared for action', as the deck (all the decks, in fact) extend right to the end of the stern - no hacking and slashing required... Seems like I go out of the way to hide the fact that the hull is wood.... Gun port lids are as to scale as they can be. Too often I see way too thick lids in kits, usually at least 2mm thick! If you look at this picture I taken of the real thing, they are not that thick: Also note the lack of sill on the lower inside edges of the gun port openings.
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Hi robboxxx, Unfortunately, we no longer have time for the hobby site, as Chantelle (my wife) now works full time now we're back in the UK. It was initially set up for Chantelle, as something for her to do when we lived in Italy. She tried again, but her job recently changed, so not only does she work Monday to Friday, but is now on call-out, too.
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Cheers - although looking at Kirsten, it looks as though I pointed a gun to her head!
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OK, Someone asked if I could take a picture with someone next to Victory - I have just done that using my step daughter to model....
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Cheers! lol. I promised myself my new car before sorting out the garage (I spent most of my money tarting up our previous house to sell) - since we came back from Italy, all of my money has gone on house refurbishing. the line has to be drawn her - no further - I WANT my car before I do this one..). If there's one thing I love more than modelling, it's small 2-seater sports cars with big engines and track days.
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Thank you, Joe. Not sure when it'll be released, as I am still working on the development. I have been informed that my laser and PE files for the ship's boats and other stuff, including the 100 full length cannon are on their way to me from Italy. I hope I have designed it for those who really love building the kit (it is a long build, twice as long as anything I have done before) - but I think this is due to all of the deck detail, and nothing to do with having to make the parts, as it is all pre cut. Even every hatch combing and shot garland - I hated doing these on older kits, took ages and never looked 100% right anyway, and it was so mind-numbingly boring. With this in mind, I even did the gun port opening sills in laser cut wood, along with the lids. Same with the gratings - they are photo etched in this kit (and Revenge, Golden Hind and Bellona - this way, they can be exactly the right scale size, rather than having to make the combings (which themselves are restricted by the dimensions of the wood strip used) fit the off the shelf gratings - another little pet hate of mine. I hope I have designed it so that it's fun to build..
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Great thread! Styrene strip is an absolute godsend for both plastic and wooden models...
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@chris watton OK, I am in the middle of spraying the hull in matt varnish, before I add the rope railings. This is what I am using: A compressor, a crappy old spray gun (I do have a Badger airbrush, but all I want is a good overall spray of the whole thing) 75% varnish and 25% white spirit: The hull is still slightly wet, as I have just finished the third light spray: (Sorry about the state of the garage/workshop - we haven't long moved in and getting the large double garage sorted will be done next year...) The poop isn't fixed in place - am waiting for new poop bulkheads bits to arrive.... These are the old ones (hull shown before cleaning up and dusting...) Also, Although you can't see it very well, the sides of the gangway and steps are panelled as per the original - using PE parts. Sharp eyed amongst you will also see only 4 belaying pins on the forward most rack on the quarterdeck bulwarks. This is because I realised that with the cavil cleat in place, there wasn't room for the 5 holed rack - I have since redrawn the rack so the kit will have 5 pins, and not 4 as shown.
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Nice work. I find it funny that when building a wooden kit, I do my utmost to hide the planking when painted - so it almost looks as smooth as plastic. But plastic kit manufacturers do their utmost to show the planking, to make the surface look like wood!
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The quality of the materials and components in Corel kits is on the whole very good - up there with the best mainstream manufacturers.
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That is a very neat job, especially when considering the relatively small scale. This has clearly been quite a labour of love for you, and it shows. Well done. Chris
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I use it mainly for bow rails and on occasion, the curved stern and side gallery rails, and upper hull rails too. I remember building a Billings Bounty - the ships boat was just a block of wood you had to carve out yourself! lol
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Thank you, and you are very welcome. If I had my way, I would use the profiled plastic ship in with the kits, as it is by far the best and easiest to use/manipulate, as well as paint. But some think that seeing nice shiny strips makes the kit worth more. I always used to throw it out when making kits. As far as I am concerned, it is the overall finish of the completed model, not what materials were used - more so with a model that is predominantly painted. (was the real thing planked with lime and walnut anyway, and were the rails made of brass/white metal)? It is always the end result that matters. For the poop bulkhead colour, (and other 'dark wood' colours on the decks) I used Vallejo leather brown (147), followed by Vallejo Woodgrain (Transp - 182). After studying the photographs of the real thing, this combination seems to get pretty close, scale-wise. I find that just using wood stain makes the grain show too much, even on good plywood, which then looks way over scale. The poop window frames were painted in the same way and colour. Chris
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This is my take on this area too. I am designing a 64th scale version, and this area has given me the biggest problems. Do I follow John McKay's drawings, or follow what I see on the real ship today? I think that the fact that the decorative pillars extend all the way down to the upper gun deck level confirms that this was the bow deck's original position - it makes no sense to take the roundhouses and decoration down two feet further than they needed to be. (The same profile in the book HMS Victory - her Construction, Career and Restoration by Alan McGowan show this also (although again, John McKay did the drawings in this book) One thing I have noticed with the bow deck at lower gun deck level is the run of the extended rail moulding, which extends to the underside of the catheads. On the real Victory now, it is quite a soft curve, due to the extra 2 feet in height of the bow. But on my model, the curve is slightly more acute, as the level is lower. Also, I am not sure if it's me, but I think that on the McKay drawings, the lower stern counter frames are angled too acutely, they seem to be a little more 'vertical' than shown, compared to the real version. Chris ETA - Almost forgot to say - Great work, a hugely enjoyable thread with great pictures.
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A fellow petrolhead! (Although for me it's little 2-seater cars...
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You could use very thin plasticard (as it's painted black anyway). I find that this material (and the strip) invaluable in a lot of instances. [ shaped strip is very good for the lower bow rails, as well and the one that curves and extends up to the catheads. I always think - why fight with inappropriate materials when much better solutions are available.
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I honestly cannot remember the last time I bought either Model Boats or Marine Modelling magazines! The only ones we see are when someone sends us one with a relevant review - and that's very rare.
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Keith Julier is my friend and we still keep in contact - although I have heard nothing since Christmas. He is a great guy, and is getting on a bit now and unfortunately, cannot really model any longer. It was his review of Euro Model's Royal William that inspired me to try the Sovereign of the Seas - and before that, it was his reviews that got me started with wooden ship kits - it is fair to say that Keith has been my biggest inspiration, and the nicest man you are ever likely to meet. @Mike Draper - Bellona was used as a 'test bed' for new design techniques, of which Victory is the result. Bellona will certainly become a kit, but I do need to implement substantial re designs after the further lessons learned from Victory. Bellona will be like HMS Fly on super-steroids!
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Thank you again, Nigel. I will have to build prince (third time!) all over again - but I don't mind. I also found some scans (when looking for SOTS scans) of my Panart Victory build from a later magazine article. Krick commissioned me to make it when I worked for jotika for their showroom - I think this was back in 1995/6:
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Thank you! Here you go: I think I completed this in 1994, the year I started designing for money (although not much money...). I remember saving up for this kit and paid £545 for it. I hid it in the cupboard for a while, but my then girlfriend (no ex wife) found it and went mad - but was quite happy at the price I got when I sold it... This was my forth attempt at a wooden ship model (first being Billing's Will Everard, then Billings Bounty, followed by the then just released Mantua Le Superb - by that time, I felt ready to give this a good kit-bashing. Regarding prince, I have re designed it from the original re designs, and I hope I can get my teeth into that one once Victory is complete. I think I will commission a whole ne set of carvings for it, too (Ideally the kit castings will be in high quality resin, I don't like the cast metal fittings so much)
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Whilst double checking everything for the poop bulkheads, I noticed that what I designed (from the sources mentioned) didn't quite tally with the pictures I had taken on the real Victory. I spent yesterday re-designing the poop parts to match as closely as possible to the photographs: The rear bulkhead has three window frames, and not 2 as I had first drawn: Notice the hinges at the top of the side bulkheads/screens, to allow the sections to be lifted up when not in use: My prototype will look slightly different, but the kit will have all the right parts as shown in the simple line drawing.
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Fantastic work - you have quite a talent.
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I think you have me confused with another company.
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