Glenn-UK

Both gun port strips 270 now glued to hull assembly and just completing adding additional balsa supports at stern end to aid the planking process; here is some pictures taken during this building phase. Front end of strip 270 glued and clamped Full length picture of strip 270, note the additional gun port support strips in place to aid the gun port lining process later on in second picture. Also picture of strip 271 with gun port lining support strips added. Note the block of beeswax in third picture, which may be useful in a much later down the line when I start the rigging. Finally a couple of picture of the bow showing the additional balsa planking supports, one side shaped and one side work in progress.

Another job well done Jerry.

Hello Patrick Glad all the cannon balls are accounted for and look forward to the new pictures once the work is complete. It is a great feeling when you know you can move on to the next stage. Glenn

Once again David has come up trumps and given me the confidence all is OK to carry on. Starboard gun strip 270 glued in position bulkhead 18 to 10, Once dried I will glue the second half.

I have a question regarding the correct positioning of gun port strip 272 in relation to gun port strip 270 and stern extension 106. I don't want to go ahead without the advice fellow Victory modellers who have completed this task. I'm happy to align gun port strip 270 at 1mm between bulkheads 6 and 9 The manual states the gun strip 270 must be flush with edge of stern extension 106, and I have aligned the lower curve on 270 to align with the bottom of the same curve on the edge of 106, near my thumb in photos. I think it is important that the edges of the upper and lower gun port opening line up. Is this correct? I have to make sure there is a smooth line from the edge of 270 to 272. This seems to indicate I may need to file the shape edge of 270/106 because if I move 272 to create a smooth line I lose the gun port alignment. Is this correct? I have not faired bulkhead 18 so the gun port strips sit square on the bulkhead edge for maximum contact. I assume I will need to do this.

Thanks Jerry your comment is greatly appreciated. I'm trying be be thorough as I'm not the most experienced model boat builder and like to plan ahead before I committee given the initial problem with the bulkhead assembly. Just taking a few minutes looking at stern assembly to see how 270, 373 and 374 line up before I finally glue 270 to hull.

OK, spent best part of 4 hours fairing the bulkheads, I think the are OK now, my only concern is bulkhead18. I think its OK but until I start the planking I cant be sure if I need to adjust the steep angle faired. As can be seen slight adjustment still need on bulkhead 15 That's much better Slight adjustment need on bulkhead4 Bulkhead18, fingers crossed

The test piece idea was ok but I think it there will be problems with ensuring the accuracy of each piece. As Dave pointed out I will also have to contend with the hull curvature. It was worth a try but at the moment I will put it on the back burner as I'm more inclined to fitting each lining piece direct to port.

Spent 2 1/2 hours in the adding batten to starboard strip 270. Then made a rough gun port lining assembly which I hope will fit in the gun ports in one easy move when its time to install the actual linings. I will made a small jig to aid the assembly of the gun port lining if the test piece works out. I did not fit battens on the sides which were close to bulkheads. Also made sure the depth was OK for when the inner bulwarks / lining strips are fitted. The test lining is not perfectly made, I just want to test the installation method. I will test the lining later tonight - watch this space.

Hi Rob Just watched your second video. nice idea to assemble and paint the gun port linings before fitting to the gun ports. I can see this will made the installation much easier, assuming the assemblies are correctly made to fit the openings. Food for thought I was planning on fitting each lining strip in turn to the gun port openings, and am currently fitting support battens to aid the installation process before I fit the gun port strips to the hull.

Well done on completing the copper phase, a job well done, I have that pleasure to look forward to in a few weeks time, or maybe a few months time, depending on how my build progresses. Glenn

Hi Patrick Where are you based? I've been in Scarborough over 22 years now and think I may stay. I live out of town in a small village so can escape the holiday hordes in the summer months. Also I'm not to far away from Dave over in Hartlepool or the Hartlepool maritime museum which I have never been to but plan to correct in the next few weeks.

Night at the gym plus still waiting for delivery from CMB for balsa wood supplies so a night off from the boat build. I did find time to check fixings of the gun port strips now that they have dried. I noticed that if I set the strip 270 so it was perfectly aligned with the shape of the stern extension the first gun port opening of Strip 272 does not clear bulkhead 17. This is not problem as I can trim the bulkhead so the gun port opening is clear. However I then noticed the gun port strips 271 and 272 fell a bit short of the end point of the bow supports. I did then reposition gun port 270 so that the other two strips 271 & 272 terminated correctly at the bow and has the added bonus that the gun port was clear at bulkhead 17. The down side is I would the need to trim the stern extension pieces 105 and 106. I did cut out the walnut inside stern fascia piece which seemed to fit very well on the stern extensions. Couldn't see any reason for the weird cut out on the end of the keel between the inside stern extension pieces. On balance I think the best way forward is to position 270 correctly against the stern extensions and trim bulkhead 17 as necessary and then use some filler or small wood offcuts to patch up the bow end which of course will be covered by the planking and copper tiles. This is because I don't think it is a good idea to mess with the stern shaping.

Hello Jerry Nice work on the platforms. Dave is very good at spotting potential problems and offering sound advice. Glad you were able to correct without to many headaches. Glenn

Looking good Patrick and I trust you found the missing cannon ball. I think it will take a year before I get to this stage of the build.

Hi Jerry I do have a build log, please see: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/4636-hms-victory-by-glennard2523-caldercraft/ I had an initial set back with the incorrect numbering of the 5mm ply sheets but resolved this with JoTika. Just at stage of fitting battens to gun port strips 270, 271 and 272 to aid installation of the linings prior to fitting the gun port strips to hull assembly Glenn

Hello Jerry I have enjoyed looking through your build log to date, I'm just starting out the Caldercraft HMS Victory journey, so will continue to check you log as I progress through my build. Glenn

Glad to see you are making good progress, great to see your pictures as well.

Hello Gary Look forward to watching your progress, enjoy your build. I have learnt such a lot from this forum and can also rely and getting help and advice when needed. Glenn

Your are doing a great job and the rewards are worth the effort.

Managed to get another hours work done tonight, soaked and bent port side gun port strips, also clamped to hull to dry overnight.

Ordered some balsa supplies from CMB first thing this morning so hopefully they will arrive tomorrow or Thursday. This will enable me to add additional material at the bow end for fixing the gun port strips. Also ordered some balsa strips for completing the gun port battens. Don't expect to be able to finally complete the final fixing of the gun port strips until the weekend but will continue to work carefully, taking my time to ensure I get this part of the assembly correct. Spent a couple of hours tonight in the shipwrights workshop. I fitted gun port strips 270 on both port and starboard sides and checked position between bulkhead 6 to 9. Also made sure the gun port openings were clear of the bulkheads. Then checked I was happy with position of gun port strips 271 and 272, their gun port openings were clear of the bulkheads so all seems OK. I then put starboard gun port strips bow ends 271 & 272 in hot water for a long soak stood up in a flower vase. Whilst they were soaking I faired the port and starboard bulkheads 1 to 3 and 15 to 17 using an old plank strip to check then repositioned starboard gun port strip 270. After soaking for 75 minutes I started to bend the starboard gun port strips bow ends 271 & 272, still had to run the strips under hot water for a few minutes to complete the bend process. Once both strips were positioned they were pinned and clamped and will be left to dry overnight so the strips should retain the bend. I hope to get the port side soaked and bent tomorrow night before or after my visit to the gym.

Hi David I'm checking the battens against bulkheads for clearance and plan to adjust size or not fit where space is tight. At moment I have glued strips of 5mm by 1.5mm planking strips together, left over from last build, to make the 3mm deep batterns as I'm unable to get to model shop for balsa supplies at the moment as they shut long before I finish work for the day. I will try to see if I can leave work early one day this week otherwise it will be end of week before I can get there. I'm not going to rush this phase of the build as I can already see the knock on effects if I get it wrong.

Monday night I normally go to the gym so time in shipwrights office is limited. I added more black paint to the dummy barrel strip / deck area as recommended by Patrick & Shipyard Sid, thanks again for the heads up. I then started the mass production of the gun lining batten strips,I decided to make each strip 5mmL by 3mmD by 5mmW. Took a break from the mass production and fitted the first set of gun port battens to gun port strip 272. I will not fit battens to bow end of the strips until the strip has been soaked in water, bent to shape and then allow to dry in bent position. I think this will greatly aid the installation of the gun port linings. Finally here's an extract from the captain's log where I am keeping a record of the time spent on this build, You may think from my handwriting that I'm a doctor, well I not I just don't write very neatly these days.

The problem with the marking was partly my fault as I did not check the cut-out shapes on the sheets with the manual. JoTika were brilliant and sent the replacement parts quickly and these were correctly etched. I suspectthey my have adjusted the tooling to avoid this error in future