gieb8688

Hi,
I’m a new member to this forum and this is my first attempt at wooden ship building. I have some experience with plastic model before (airplane, tank, car) but never dare to attempt a ship build before. The rigging (even for modern ship) scares me away.  Yet I’ve always been a ship fan especially those sailing ships. 
 
Years ago I visited the San Diego maritime museum where they displayed lots of ship models and wished I could work on one. Well, after searching on the internet, I came across a lot of scratch builds or kits that required wood working skill, which is way out of my league.  So I gave up on making one myself - If I came across this forum then, a different outcome would have taken place
 
About a month ago, I came upon a wooden ship built log by chance and it sparked my interest again. With some modeling experience on my belt, I thought I could give it another try. Not knowing where to buy wooden ship kit, I searched on ebay and craiglist and came across a half built HMS Victory, a perfect chance to get my feet wet. 
 
The hull and deck have been built though there are evidences that it was damaged from a fall (dented hull, etc). It was offered for what I thought a great deal so I drove 2hrs to pick it up, and here I am. 
 
in an effort to find info on the ship, I came to this forum, stared my new member into and my first half build log.  I got warm welcome from several members, and they helped me identify the manufacturer of my model. 
 
Here are the pictures of the ship when it came to my home.  My plan is to clean up the damages, verify the available parts and decide how to proceed without a manual. 
 
Some of you will say that this is no project for a beginner and I’m well aware of that.  My goal is to being persistent and start learning to get this done. It might take awhile due to life obligations , but the ship is in a place where I can work on it whenever I got time, so that’s a good start IMO. 

Thank you John, Jim and Don for your advice and encouragement. Right now I’m fixing the gun ports since I have the parts and it should be straight forward. 
 
I noticed something strange in the back of the ship and would like to know how to remove this wood panel (see picture). Seem like someone not knowing the ship just put it there.  I tried to remove it but it was glued well and I am afraid of breaking the ship if pushing too hard. Thanks. 

Qu
Looks like gun port lids which I do not  believe would be there.  I am sure there are Victory experts here at MSW that can confirm or correct.  As a fan of Victory and Nelson,  I hope you sign up for the Trafalgar TV series    http://trafalgar.tv as in my signature below. 
Allan

 

Thank you all for your thumbs up  and for watching.
 
Still "quickly" made his right hand and spear.
I found the supplied spear/lance a bit on the coarse side, so I decided to make a new one.
 
First, I removed the old one, and then I pierced his right hand (sounds very dramatic, but it wasn't that bad 🙄🙄
 
Then made a new shaft from wood.
And drilled out the spear point, so that the shaft fits well.
 
And then placed the right hand.
Now I can place the shaft in the hand, or remove it to prevent damage.
Will adjust the length later if needed.
Below some pictures. 
 

Lots of nice little boats packed on the Mikasa. 

Progress: Continuing with the remaining pieces in the inner areas of the centre section. The funnels have a lot of nice details. I mostly followed the Pontos upgrade strategy with them, except I used the kit PE for the funnel caps and some piping, rather than the so-so Pontos pieces. The Pontos plastic is particularly bad, definitely not worth using in most cases. Had a foul up that delayed progress a day or two, classic bonehead issue. I was handling the ship and noticed something was rattling around inside. Turned out to be one of the big 6” guns which had come off its mount and fallen deep into the bowels inside. Seemed impossible to extricate at first, but after delicate surgery we got it back, reinstalled and the entry wounds stitched up.
Musings: This model is a great subject and will be a nice rendition with all the fine detail when it’s finished, but I can’t help feeling it is going to lack something as a built object. Seems a tad underwhelming to me, too small in scale for all the detail, doesn’t pack the punch I expected. Probably just what I’m used to in terms of the larger scale I’ve been working in lately I expect.

The hanging beams for boat storage complete. The Pontos upgrade provides a more refined result, if a little tedious to assemble. 

 

Just taking stock of all the superstructures and other details on this boat; this is such a rich subject. Think I’ll continue on with a little more amidships before starting the bridge structures. The Hobby Boss kit manual is very helpful for planning what goes where and the build sequence.

Thanks Mike. 
There are 16 - 3” guns that Pontos provides brass parts for. After preparing one and watching winter turn to spring as well as the eventual visibility on the ship when installed, I decided on a modified approach to the first eight, which are tucked under the centre deck. I replaced the plastic barrels on the kit guns with the Pontos brass, which is easy to do, and added a shield by modifying some of the PE from the base kit. It’s not exact but a reasonable facsimile of what the form of these guns were on the real ship, as helpfully illustrated by Jeff in his current build. 

Most of the deck level paraphernalia on. Lots of nice detail in the Pontos, although disappointingly nothing by way of an anchor upgrade. Got a load of 3” guns to fabricate and install before superstructure on the centre section. They look ridiculously finicky, would love to subcontract them out, but sadly I’ll have to get my ratline concentration mode turned on and suck it up. The kit provides rather cool looking gooseneck vents with PE grilles which look excellent. Pontos changes that to a truncated stack with a basic “X” outlet, which is less visually dramatic. Looked through a few Mikasa illustrations and decided a mix with goosenecks aft was an acceptable solution. 



 

 

Ok now that I have the microprocessor circuit board ready all I have to do is reinstall it and the photon torpedoes should be back on line. 

Progress: Deck is on, easy process as it’s self adhesive. Toned it darker with some tannin I had left over from my Fifie alchemy. This will be the base wood colour, will be aging it later, probably after it is plastered with a million PE installs. Decided on a Medium Sea Grey for the superstructure, should all make sense when finished. Tried it on the first few bits.
Musings: Speaking of aging, so will I before this sea dragon is done. Speaking of PE, my psychiatrist says it’s safe to go back into the demon Pontos box tomorrow so long as I maintain her recommended drug regimen. 

Progress: Enough on the hull for now, I’m fairly happy with what I’ve got so it’s in the parking lot. Started on the centre section of the superstructure, which first requires application of the upgrade wood deck. It looks a bit involved, removing a lot of the embossing on the kit and then cutting out the wood deck in a complex pattern like some sort of circuit board. In fact it’s pretty straightforward, the plastic is easily modified with a sharp chisel, and my fur cutting knife makes short work of carving out the preprinted deck. I’ve tested the self adhesive and it seems to work well. After finishing fore and aft I just need to come up with a staining solution before laying it down. May get out the old weathering chemicals from my Fifie build again!
Musings: the Pontos set is a bit of a hide and seek proposition. The instruction sheets are fine for describing the fabrication and installs locally, but they put zero effort in giving you the big picture. At this price point, I expect better. Takes a while to sort it all out and I find it kind of irritating spending time on that as opposed to crafting pieces. I’ve used many of the brass details on the hull, but dispensed with all the bracket assemblies which attach at the top at various locations. I made up a few, painted and installed them and thought they looked terribly fussy from a design perspective so have replaced with sections of brass rod that look more battleship-like to me. 

Progress: some more hull detail added, used a wash to darken it, which looks way better, and add visual interest/texture and definition between plate lines. Still much more work to do on that. It’ll be more subtle when finished, hopefully with the richness I’m looking for. Added a grey trim piece just below the black, and painted the deck trim grey, both to give more definition overall. I’ll play around with the hull a few more days then probably set it aside and begin on the deck for a change of pace. I’ll leave most of the weathering until later to tie it all together. 
Musings: my hat goes off to the PE enthusiast Swiss watchmakers out there. I’m good with doing it a while under the glass but after a day or two the tiny brass work gets a bit tedious to me, particularly if there isn’t a visible payoff. I suppose I’m just more at home with woodwork at present. I’ll probably do some PE editing on Mikasa, dispense with one or two things where it isn’t very visible or that different from the kit package after finishing. On the 4” fore and aft guns, for instance, I completed the Pontos upgrade on one, looked nice in my hand, installed it and realized the work is largely invisible. The brass props are nice, I aged them in gun blue for a few seconds just to take off the raw shine that wouldn’t work with the presentation I’m doing, repolished them with the dremel and painted the nacelles. I’m keen to get the 6” guns I finished earlier mounted in the hull I think it’s going to look sweet. 

Progress: Detailing the hull. This is not a two day project. 
Musings: I find on most modelling projects it takes a while to get in rhythm with what you’re up against and trying to achieve. I’m not there yet with Mikasa but starting to get a feel for where I’m going with her.

Progress:
Delay waiting for supplies, paint etc and due to various domestic duties but I’ve punched back in at shipyard now. The 14x6inch guns are all done and look mighty good I have to say. I’ve removed all the hull detail to allow for the Pontos upgrades, pre painted the base hull and finished with a satin acrylic topcoat to fix it. I will be applying most of the brass detail after bluing to add realism and retain a metallic patina. I’m hoping this will give the model an interesting texture and visual appeal, retaining all the Pontos complexity. I scribed the lower part of the hull to etch in a series of plates before painting, which I wanted to do in a white grey tone originally. Didn’t really care for how it looked, a bit too dramatic for my taste so I sanded it down and reluctantly went with the traditional red oxide. The plating is much more subtle now, although not sure it shows as well in photos as it is in reality. I’ve gone for a true black above the water for contrast with all the later fittings. It all looks a little stark at the moment but when all the detail and weathering goes on it will be a different kettle of fish. 
Kit Musings:
After looking through the Pontos box it all looks like a piece of cake and I should be launching this Mikasa by about mid century. My plan is to do most or all of the attachments on the hull, and then set that aside and work on the deck and superstructures, and only marry the two much later in the build. If any of the Mikasa alumni are reading this and know of a flaw in this strategy please let me know.

Well i hope everyone is staying healthy and safe these days. My little sloop has not been neglected. 
 
First, I managed to stick on the shoulder piece(?) or whatever the heavy timber that protects the bow against the anchor stock is called, as well as the after trim. 

 
Then I got around to priming the model and painting the bottom “white stuff” which I airbrushed on with a mix of Tamiya acrylics.  And finally one day I got out the oil paints and painted the hull sides and deck. 

 

 
Then, upon discovering that only oils should be painted on top of oils, I bought some oils to paint the trim and wales: 

 

 
Finally after much oxidation was allowed for, I took the Bob Ross bravery test as per Ab Hoving’s process and covered much of my model with Van Dyke Brown:
 
..and immediately set to wiping it off with a small host of paper towels and q-tips. 

 

 

 
Oh, also I painted the inner gunwales a red color I mixed. The top of the gunwales will be home to bollards and stanchions which I have yet to build, so I am leaving that part unpainted for now. 
Channels and deck fittings next, I imagine. Thoughts or revelations?
 
Meriadoc

I started to work up at the sharp end. The upper and lower cheeks supplied with the kit were a little thin and didn't quite fit onto the model. I used the drawings contained in the AOTSD to generate a 3D version which was printed out and then used as a 3D template to cut new ones out of some lime wood. The lime was a bit too soft and didn't carve that well. I wouldn't mind a do-over for these but it I fear that it is too late for that. I added the hawse bolster and filling piece using the dimensions in the AOTSD. I also resorted to the CAD to mock up the bowsprit step and manger boards. Here I added a block to help me get the correct angle for the bowsprit. This is not an authentic part but I had a peek through the gunports and it is not really visible so I can sleep easy.

 

 

 

 

 
I drew up a new profile for the gammoning knee and head timbers. I then printed this out and made up one using a combination of timber and 3D printed parts. The end result is only marginally slimmer than the kit supplied parts but I think that it is an improvement as it takes care of the exposed plywood edges. I printed out the lower rails and then used them as a template to shape some maple efforts. I mocked up the entire head structure so that I could work out the dimensions of the main rails. Once printed out these were used to construct timber ones. I kept the 3D printed part for the false rail as it proved too fiddly to make out of timber. The revised parts have a bit more definition than those supplied with the kit but are still missing some fine detail that I struggled to add.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I built the catheads from scratch out of walnut as I didn't like the laminated kit part which was also the wrong size. I carved the cathead supporter from a block of lime. I added the trailboard and gammoning bolster to fit between the cheeks. I had to increase the length of the gammoning slot as it conflicted with the position of the head timbers. I also had to rearrange the order of the small decorative animals as there was not enough room to fit the tall one (sheep?) under the gammoning slot.
 

 

 

 

 
I constructed the ekeing more or less in-situ to fit between the cathead supporter and the lower rail. The transition between these is quite clumsy but I was losing the will to live by that point. The catheads were finished off with the addition of the cathead knee, various eyebolts and a thumb cleat for the cathead stopper which was carved out of styrene.
 

 

 
The wash cants were formed out of a block of lime using a sanding drum on the dremel. These are a bit ropey but luckily they are painted black so are not that visible. Looking at the model head on you can notice some wild asymmetry happening but I can claim wabi-sabi. I will leave the gratings, seats of ease and iron horse for another day as they look quite fiddly and I need to recuperate.
 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Little update..
 
My 'new' garage conversion is now more or less complete. I now have a good electricity supply going into the workshop and have a good amount of sockets, so no more extensions snaking all over the floor. The final job was the insulated roller shutter doors. I took a couple of pics, but realised I took these after I just finished maintenance (cleaning) of the laser machines. In this room, the parts are produced, both laser cut sheets and castings.
 
I have also added a couple of pics on my Indy prototype progress. This is the third hull since starting, and the final designs. All beams and decks above the gun deck are just dry fitted in place, to check general fit of all of these parts, the beams especially. The upper deck and poop you see are sub decks only, and they will require planking (no pre etched decks for the final kit). But I will include the etched planking on the sub decks as shown, in case some want to use as a template. Decks can be fully planked or part open, as shown. I would suggest you don't deviate too much from these openings, however, as there are 10 guns per side on the quarter and forecastle deck..
 
Gun deck inner bulwarks have been added (all pre-cut) as well as spirketting. Most of the outer hull will be planked in the traditional manner, though.
 
It has been a lot of long hours to get to this stage, but I can relax a little once all critical structural parts are finalised - but these very early stages of the pre-prototype will give you an idea of what I am aiming for, for this kit. I will keep on building using this hull until I get to the stage, like my Sphinx 'throwaway' (which I still have...) where I know everything fits as it should, then over to Jim!

More pics: pilothouse, aft deckhouse, deck hatches.....

Some more superstructure pics.

Superstructure construction begins! Again with the multitude of photos and the variations within them it was hard to pinpoint exactly how to design the pilot house and aft cabin house. I decided to take some artistic license and combine various features that worked well with the model and construction. Lots of thought went into what steps had to be taken, such as sanding, painting, details etc. before continuing on with the next level. I used my 3D printer to make doors and windows for the cabins (more pictures later will show some detail). Not having a fittings kit available I had to scrounge around to figure out ways to do some detailing such as the hawse pipes - I found some brass plumbing inserts at the hardware store and had to flatten them in my vise, reshape them, and cut them down. More pictures coming soon!

I really like the ease of using a preformed FG hull, however, I wasn't thrilled with having a smooth surface on the hull as this was a wooden ship. After carefully planning out my planking scheme and laying it out on the hull, I began gluing balsa strips to the FG. I used epoxy for this and was only able to do a few planks at a time. I used painters tape to hold the planks in place until the epoxy cured. Obviously this took a little more than a weekend to complete!
 
When the planks were all on I used a stiff wire brush to distress the planks, giving a nice weathered look, and then applied a few coats of Verathane wood hardener which worked very well. Need lots of ventilation using that! Finally I applied a few coats of Duralux marine grade bottom paint: Sub-Trop Red Metal Primer M740. I have to say I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out!

I am really enjoying the research aspect of this project. I grew up sailing on the great lakes and always loved seeing the big freighters going by. I wish I could have seen ships from this era! Oscoda was relatively small at 175' in length and 32' beam. She was 529 gross tons. Built by Simon Langell in St. Clair Michigan in 1878 she worked mostly Lake Michigan and Lake Huron hauling lumber and timber. There were several owners over the years with Edward Hines / Hines Lumber Company of Chicago being the last owner before November of 1914 when she ran aground and sunk in a storm off Pelkie Reef in northern Lake Michigan, just off the coast of the upper peninsula of Michigan. The Oscoda was towing 2 schooner barges: A.C. Tuxbury and Alice B. Norris. They were loaded with lumber from Georgian Bay and were headed for Chicago through the Straights of Mackinac when the storm hit. No lives were lost but Oscoda found its final resting spot. The schooner barges went on to serve for many more years.
 
Here's some more pictures showing work on the main framing and decking of the single deck. I made a section between 2 hatch openings removable so I could access the motor if necessary. 
 

A project I originally started in 1993 but had to put on hold until recently. It was March of 2021 when I built my work table, dusted off the few documents I had, and began figuring out exactly how I was going to do this! I had originally purchased a 60" long fiberglass hull and this would be the foundation for the project. Many hours have been spent scouring the internet for information, stories, pictures, etc. as well as trips to local maritime museums and many subject matter books. As I have no real plans for the vessel I have relied on the photos I've found for the construction. Over the years modifications were made to the ship and as such my model may be a mix of various eras, but still maintaining accuracy. Over the past year I have made a great deal of progress but only now starting this post. I have hundreds of build pictures and will  filter a few in from time to time if anyone is interested! For now the original Oscoda and a few pics of the laying of the keel.
 
I hope you all enjoy this as much as I do!