Glenn-UK

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

Hi David Thanks, they don't cost a lot of money, and came with some other bits and pieces I had bought, including the Mantua 8151 plank bender.

Tested small washers and found they are 1mm thick using my measuring new tool from CMB. These washers are ideal for checking gun port strip 270 correctly aligned 1mm above quarterdeck between bulkhead 6 & 9.

Hello Derek I have been looking through your build, well done so far, I will continue to look through your build as I progress on with my build. I'm at the start of my build and noted on the first page of your log you fitted battens to the lower gun ports on the back of the strips, but these seem to be below the gun port opening is there ant reason for this? I'm about to start fitting battens around my gun port lids prior to assembly of the gun port strips (270, 271 and 272) and would have thought the would battens fit flush with the gun port opening. Glenn

Hi I to have plans to visit the Victory sometime this year.

Hi I opted for the Caldercraft (JoTika) kit after much research. I have been impressed so far although I'm only a few hours into the build. I did have a problem, and found JoTika to be very supportive. Glenn

Hi Gary Thanks for the heads up once, hopefully we can help each other along the way, do you have a build log? Once I have the gun port strips fitted I will look at the fitting for the dummy gun barrels and note your comments regarding using a 1.7mmm drill. Glenn

Hi Gil I've just start on my build of the HMS Victory, just getting ready to fit the gun port lining strips (270, 271 & 272). Its the wealth on information from the experienced builders like yourself on the MSW build logs which provides me with the confidence to tackle the challenges ahead that this boat build will undoubtedly throw up along the way. Many Thanks.

Hello David You have done an outstanding job so far, keep up the hard work and you'll soon be over the finish line. Glenn

Hi David I plan to take my time with the first gun port strips as you suggest as I know it is very important to get right. I could have pushed on with it tonight but realised it would have been foolhardy to do so. I note your comments on the rear bulkheads, as any excess can be filed away.

Hi Patrick Many thanks for the advise, I will revisit the black painting as I continue to test fitted the gun ports strips to check what bits I have missed, as you say probably the floor areas. I also need to pay a visit to the local model shop to get some balsa strips for the gun port battens, trouble is the shop shuts at 4 and I finish work at 5 and its too far away to get there in my lunch 30 minutes. So I will also check the local late opening DIY store to see if they have suitable strips of wood. Also looking for some 1mm shims to confirm final position of top gun port strips at bulkheads 6 to 9. I have filed down a strip of wood to approx 1mm but need to borrow a micrometer from our engineering dept. to confirm dims.

Managed to get 90 minutes in the shipwrights office today. Started off fitting the stern extensions, checking they were square to bulkhead 18. Then fitted the bow supports, but had to reshape the top bow supports (40) to ensure the bow spirit would fit correctly. Also removed the excess from the dummy barrel strips and painted them black and bulkhead sides. Finally located quarterdeck (temporary) so that position of the top gun port strip could be determined (1mm above quarterdeck between bulkhead 6 to 9. Once the fist gun port strip was positioned I checked the positioning of the middle and lower gun port strip, to ensure the openings were clear of the bulkheads. Will work on this in earnest in my next session in the shipwrights workshop, where I will probably fit battens to the strips to provide a better contact area when the gun port linings takes place.

Hi David Thanks for that. Not going to get much time tomorrow as we have family coming for a visit but I hope to trim dummy barrel strips and fit the stern extensions and bow supports in morning before they arrive. Later on in day I hope to find some time to get gun port strips lined up so I can start fitting batterns and strips to hull during the week.

Thinking further ahead in the build I have noted some things in some build logs which are not in the manual. The first thing is the painting the dummy barrel strips and surrounding bulkheads black. This seems a good idea to me, are there any reasons not to do this prior to fitting the gun port strips? The second thing is related to the lining of gun port linings of the lower and middle gun decks. It strikes me there will not be much contact area for the linings especially the lined one's which are set back 1mm front edge after 2nd planking. I think it will be good idea to fix some small support batterns to the back of the gun port strips, around each gun port, prior to fixing the strips to the hull assembly. This means there will be better contact area for the linings which will be fitted much later in the build, as per the instruction manual. Does this makes sense as I can't see there being a problem, noting I will not be able to fit batterns to sides of gun ports which are close to bulkheads.?

I did find this bit difficult to understand when I built this model last year, I remember I had trouble sorting out the position of the gunwale, and over trimmed the pre-cut pieces and then had to add some filler pieces. I'm not sure mine was 100% correct when fitted but looks OK. Have a look at my pictures http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/4646-scottish-maid-by-glennard2523-al-kit/page-1