Search the Community

Build log HMS Bellerophon Introduction A model of a ship of the line from the Napoleonic wars was something I wanted to build for a long time. From the range of kits available I ended up with 2 favourites. The selection of those two was because of kit quality (should be good), scale and size of the finished model. As my last 4 projects were all in 1/64 I tended towards the same scale. Finally I had to choose between Caldercrafts Agamemnon (64) and Victory models Vanguard (74). The decision for Vanguard was made because of the following points: - the 74 is the classical ship of the line -I can build the Bellerophon variant which I like for her direct connection with Napoleon (Here, in Switzerland, he had a much bigger influence (not all negative) than Nelson). - copper plates are of better quality - the scale is with 1/72 close enough to my favoured one and... - the overall size is 10% less. As additional information source I will use Brian Laverys book 'The 74-gun ship Bellona' from the Anatomy of the Ship series. After checking the available build logs and comparing them with the Bellona plans as well as with the Bellerophon plan in 'The Ships of Trafalgar' I think that I will check and perhaps alter a few points: - The bulwark of the quarter deck must probably be lower in its forward part to be similar to Bellerophon plans in the internet or to Bellona's profile. I will have to find out if the heightened bulwark was an later alteration and if it was in place in 1805. However in the book 'The ships of Trafalgar' is a plan for the Bellerophon which shows the lower bulwark variant. plan from the kit... ...and from the one available from NMM (on my wish list) The rail on top of the foremost gun ports is here interrupted. On other plans it is running through in one piece. As Bellerophone's skipper I will install a continuous rail (looks smarter). - The kit's gun carriages are very nicely cast and show a lot of details - but look different from all the examples available in books or the internet. I have no idea where they found a prototype like that. Replacing them would be a lot of work and money. I will try to rework them a bit. - The dummy guns on the lower deck are not quite satisfactory. Possible solutions would be replacements by full guns (again expensive and requiring a lot of work for an mediocre improvement) or the installation of 'dummy carriages' similar to those used by Michael (md1400cs) on his fantastic Vasa. - The stern should gain a bit more transparency. I could make lighter side galleries and leave a door to them open. I guess to change the whole stern construction to enlarge the visible part of cabin and wardroom would be too much work for a small and hardly visible gain. However the taffrail overhanging the skippers balcony seems to low - overshadowing the cabin windows. The Bellona model looks a bit different. I will try to cut back that overhang a bit. - The question if any, how and what sails will be bent on will be decided when starting on the masts. - I haven't decided yet if the colour scheme will be pre- or post-1800. The Nelson scheme has a dark elegance but hides the wood...

I've just joined up and introduced myself here You've probably seen it all a bunch it times, but here's the frame. I shimmed up the bulkheads with some thin card and they are all in nice a square. I used thick CA for gluing the bulkheads onto the false keel. It does look a little rough, but you won't see it. I glued the deck on with PVA, let it dry overnight and removed the pins. I used the pins in the kit with a nailer. The accuracy with the nailer was a bit hit and miss and I had a couple of goes with some of them. I think I would prefer some map pins or similar - maybe hold/push them in with nose pliers and tap them down... On inspection, I skewed the deck to starboard at the bow and to port at the stern, which was a little disappointing, but I think I can correct this with the deck planking. Off to port by a mm or so at the stern. So far so good (ish). I need to work a bit neater and take more care. Cheers, Stu

I’m going to take another stab at a build log, I have been eyeballing this kit since Chris Watton gave his little preview of it way back when.... I found a few build logs on here but I think only one of them has been completed. I plan on doing my usual kitbashing - replacing most of the kit wood with Pear, Castello Boxwood, Maple, Holly, Redheart, etc.etc. I will probably break down and use some white paint where it’s called for but I hope to come up with some alternative to the decorative paper decals that are on the upper hull - thinking maybe I can do some inlay work or use some inlay strips or something as I don’t want to use the paper and I don’t really want that much bright coloration on my Revenge. I purchased the kit from Ages of Sail - first time I didn’t use CMB for a kit - even with a 5% discount CMB was over $30 more delivered.... I must say that Ages of Sail was top notch, a human answered the phone every time I called, they were knowledgeable, competitive and efficient, called right at closing - they still took my order, packaged it very well and got it out the next day. I won’t hesitate to buy from them again. Not affiliated, just great customer service and earned a great shout out.I won’t show the kit contents- James H. Has a great review on here and several logs show what you get. I must say that the kit is very nice, the supplied strips and dimensioned wood is very high quality, the MDF is great, etched brass, cannons and embellishments are well done. I’m not a big fan of the African Walnut (Dibetou) they provide but the laser cutting is top notch and as long as you are cautious with the grain direction it will be just fine. I will probably be re- making most of it with other woods though.

Hi Hopefully i've set my title correctly. First time doing a build log of anything online before, hoping it will be itneresting to others and me. I've made a few plastic models of various things over the years but am using my incalculable time sat on my own at home to take up a new hobby, building boats out of wood and string. I started a few weeks ago with an 18th century longboat and was genuinely surprised at how well it turned out, so i've moved onwards and upwards and am now tackling The HM Cutter Lady Nelson by Victory Models. I've seen quite a few logs of this ship by new builders so hopefully it was a good one to chose, the box says 'A perfect introduction' so maybe it won;t scare me off I believe it is customary to show some pictures of the box and the contents It honestly looks like a pile of not very much at the moment and the instructions just say stuff like 'Using the drawings make up the bowsprit, bits and belaying racks' and if i'm honest i don't really know what any of those things are but i plan to follow the order of things from the Longboat and hopefully i'll figure out the other stuff as i go along

I'm going to slowly re-create my build log on Lady Nelson I published on another forum. I've left that forum never to return so I'd like to have an active version of the build log I completed there. The rest of this post and this log is my posting my off-line copy of that build log. I hope perhaps it might help someone new to modeling. For me this simple kit was a reintroduction after and extended absence. I'll throw a few [NOTES] in it as I go, the log was started originally in January 2020. So here goes: ------------------- I started all my ship builds with a purpose; I learned the process with the AVS practicum, developed technique and accuracy with the Granado, painted with exotic woods to achieve color differentiation with the fully framed Fair American, achieved what I could of historical accuracy with Pegasus with plans from the Maritime museum and Antscherl's books, built a “74” with Vanguard. After 8 models I was done, finishing the last in 2017. Ultimately though I missed the building part so I recently purchased the Lady Nelson. It’s a small ship but the process is the same, it’s a nice model to spend time with, without spending a LONG time building it. My detailed build logs for the Fair American, Pegasus, and Granado were lost due to infamous system crash on Model Ship World, though the somewhat abbreviated Vanguard log is still there. Sadly I wasn’t smart enough to keep offline copies then. So, in the hopes of providing some entertainment, help with building models, or demonstrating how not too depending on your viewpoint here’s my log for the Amati Lady Nelson. The kit, despite the small craft, is another well designed Victory model series designed by Chris Watton, although he informs me it was 30 years ago. The material, parts, plans, are all of good quality. I [then] only build from kits by Amati or Caldercraft, I am confident I’ll have a good start when I open the box. [NOTE: I'm since a bigger fan of Vanguard Models and Syren Ship Model company. My current build is the HM Cutter Cheerful, link below.] I’ve reached the point where I’m far more dependent on the plans than instructions. That’s good in this case because the plans are well done and the instructions are surprisingly brief. I’m not sure a beginning modeler would get what they need with them, so then the importance of a website like Model Ship World to seek additional help. Without being overly critical the MDF in my kit is a bit soft and the walnut laser cut part sheets are too brittle, I’ve already broken and repaired a few parts despite being careful in removing them from the sheets. I would still buy the kit, maybe my wasn’t stored in the best place at the store I purchased it from. It doesn’t deter my recommendation for Amati Victory series models. I have a kit and now a job to do, who says retirement is boring.

Not much to see yet - this is the first planking of the hull just about finished.

Greetings everyone -- Here I am venturing on a new log and a new build. First off, even before posting any photos, I want to mention that the reason I'm building The Fly is that back in August of 2011 (this was obviously in the Edenic days of MSW 1.0), I noticed an announcement that a kit had been donated to MSW and was available to anyone willing to make a reasonable donation. The requested donation was significantly less than the market price of the kit. And, well, I'm the person who made the donation and got the kit. So here's yet another reason MSW has supported Ship Modelling! To the build. First photo, The Box: This makes it official that I am modelling The Fly 1776. (Note the tidiness of my workspace.) As I took out all the pieces, I thought they looked pretty doggone good. I've been looking at the different sheets of drawings (Tavole? Excuse my Italian if that isn't the correct plural of Tavola). They seem pretty clear, though I began to wonder about certain details that I wanted to see. Ok, now I'm getting started: This is the plywood sheet of Bulkheads that I spent last evening cutting and snapping out. As I was doing so, two questions came to mind. The first has to do with the Captain's Cabin -- and this question arose largely from reading the logs of other builders of The Fly and Pegasus -- If I did want to have an actual cabin (and I do), and not just an external depiction of one, then I would have to do some refashioning of those aft-most bulkheads. Something to think about there, and maybe now's the time? Second question: Here you can see The Fly's stem piece alongside a prototype of sorts that I made for my previous build, The Rattlesnake. The stem for The Fly is walnut, and fits into the keel with all the ease of a work of nature. But it's a single piece. The stem I made for the Rattlesnake consists of multiple pieces of boxwood jointed together with scarphs, which strikes me as being more historically accurate. Now, I am thinking, thinking (and maybe too much) that at least some planking with boxwood would look nice. On the other hand, I have admired the coppered bottoms of several other builds, and if I went that route the scarphing joints would be covered. Since I don't have the actual plans of The Fly or any Swan Class Sloop, deciding how to mark and cut the pieces for the stem would entail a good bit of guess work. And guess work contradicts "historical accuracy." One more factor in this decision: I looked over Greg Herbert's account of building the stem, and saw that he used a mill. Well, my work bench is complete, and it's time to mount my mill. Here's where my decision stands at the moment: I have the boxwood stock, so I think I'll do some configuring, cutting, and gluing, and see how it looks. If it's a bust, I can always use the kit supplied piece. Cheers, for now, and please feel free to comment, make suggestions, warnings, etc. Martin

I have been working on Pegasus for a year and a half, and am just now starting the build log. Aside from the beauty of the ship, I chose Pegasus for the wealth of guidance available here on MSW (thank you in advance, I need a lot of help). At this point I have completed through the first planking and the build has progressed normally with few surprises. This is a very good kit, but like many, it begs for some scratch and sub kit “improvements”. My first choice is new capstans based on TFFM. Looking at these now, I need to finish some details. The main deck begged for cabins, which provided a distraction from assembling the “big bones”. Working from scratch allows some design work and creativity. Trial fit of cabin partitions. Dave B

So the journey begins. I'd been planning on getting into building model ships and what better excuse than the quarantine to start? After some online research, I picked the Amati Lady Nelson. Then I needed tools. I basically had nothing since I had downsized into a small cottage from a 4-bedroom house and had to sell/giveaway most every tool I had accumulated over 30 years. Boy, it wasn't cheap to restock and I included a starter airbrushing kit from Master Airbrush and a spray booth. Was not willing to brush paint all what needed to be painted. Also, it was a scramble to get tools; most of the modeling sites had a lot of out-of-stock for items. Guess a lot of folks are doing the same as me. Then it was looking for help. This site was fairly easy to find and has a lot of good stuff, especially the Build Logs. I also looked for build video logs. Those on Modelers Central were way too expensive. But I did find that Amati released free video build logs of the their Lady Nelson by Models Shipyard. There are 20 of them on Facebook, starting here: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=Amati Modellismo lady nelson&epa=SEARCH_BOX . The builder takes some different paths from the Amati instructions, such as beveling the bulwarks AFTER adding them to the false keel. After comparing his approach to what I found in the build logs and other tutorials here, I decided to follow his process, supplemented with tips from the MSW logs. The most comprehensive MSW log I found for this ship was by vossiewulf. Wow, he is one master builder! Anybody know why he didn't finish it? Too bad; I would have loved to see the final product. Anyway, as to my build. Below is where I am. One issue I ran into was while beveling the bulwarks: the false deck popped up at the edges, not by much, but it did flatten the deck somewhat. When I first glued the deck, it had a bigger curve to it, port to starboard. I didn't see a problem with that. After it popped up, I decided to leave it. It still had the curve, just not as pronounced. I looked at the the MS logs and he had the same gaps at the edges that I had, so I don't seem too worried. Here's the bow: And the stern: The MS builder used a marker to highlight the filler blocks and the deadwood before beveling to show what had to be taken off. I also had to take some of the deck off here since it overhung the last bulwark. I guessed that was needed based from what I saw from the MS logs. The only issue I had at this point was supporting the gluing of the outside stern counter frames into their slots. With the bulwark beveling, I had removed most of what those frames would stick to. So I glued 2 x pieces of the 1mm plywood sheet underneath the deck between the last two bulwarks. See below. Those frames are not going to move. So I'm off to attach the 3 x keel pieces and then move onto the first planking. Some observations: The MS builder avoided using balsa bulwark filler blocks between the bow and stern bulwarks. When I saw that technique in the MSW logs, I did think that was a bit overkill for this small ship. I figured two sets of hull planking would eliminate having to deal with the thick filler blocks. Surprised vossiewulf went there. Also, he and others had the tools to easily make those blocks; I don't. Comments anybody? The MS builder's plan for tapering the planks involves calculating how much to take off on either end based on mathematical formulae which I found easy to comprehend. When I looked at planking guidelines here, it appeared to involve drawing lines on the bulwark edges or lines, bow to stern, on a fully filler-block loaded hulls and then taking measurements. That seemed a little tedious so I'm planning on following the MS builder's plan. Also, he planes off what needs to go . Some of the MSW log techniques appear to draw a line on the planks and then utilize a craft knife to remove the excess. I'm going with planing the edge off a plank held in a vise. Final painting scheme is still fluid. My current thinking is (comments welcome): Hull: White paint from the bottom to the waterline. (Maybe tinged with a little green or maybe grey.) Walnut paint from the waterline to the main whale (maybe walnut stain) Black paint main wale Walnut paint from top of main wale to the top of the hull, including the upper wale (Again, maybe walnut stain) Black paint for capping rail. (Any reason I shouldn't paint the rails before attaching them? Obliviously need to deal with the pin holes, but not a big deal compared to painting the rails in place.) Deck: Carriage red for the bulwark side planks. Same for hatches and the frames walnut (flipped from what I see on the MSW logs, but the Italian version of MSW showed that and I thought it had a better look.) Red for the gun carriage, flat black for the guns. As for the rigging of these, I see vossiewulf tried but then abandoned to rig with them with 2 x side tackles and 2 x train tackles and went with just 1 x centered train tackle because there was no room on the deck for all that rigging. I will follow his lead on that. Natural for the deck, no paint. The MS builder used, as a deck scraper, a piece of thick glass and that gave it a nice look. I'm trying to find a piece of glass; may break a window! Off I go; wish me luck...John

So finally i made up my mind and publish here my first ship blog of the HM cutter Lady Nelson By Victory/Amati i purchased this kit from cornwallmodelboats.com back in 2016 started to work only around January 2018 for a couple of months then stopped and came back to it a year later, and now i am finally getting closed to the finishing line (almost) so what i've decided to do, is uploading here kind of "retrospective blog" to get more involved in this wonderful forum and just maybe help other members with their kits! So here we go- first photo just the starting point, i won't repeat the unboxing again, but sharing here a few insigths: 1.This kit in my mind is wonderfully desgined by the one and only chris watton, and i truely think for the over all quality it is very well worth the price! 2. However i found it to difficult for the absolut beginner. 3. this kit bigest flaw is probably in the nonexsitent instructions and its rather scetchy drowings. 4. the fittings and second planking are outstanding, but for some of the parts a kind of wood which is rather crumbling and not realy solid is used. 5. i felt as i moved forward that the amont of some of the fittings is very limited i.e second planking, many o the fitting,AMATI please be more generous! 6. no sail plan! , i think a sail plan that could help modelers make sails on their on, could add a lot more to this kit! ok so here is the first photo taken in 1/2018 upon opening: To be continued soon, David i decided finally to add a few more photos that i found, showing the content of the box-or: the "unboxing" David

After completing some plastic model kits, I decided I needed to try a wooden model. Internet research pointed me to the Lady Nelson by Amati and I'm really happy with the quality of materials and clarity of instructions. Much better than the plastic model kits! This was a challenge for me also because I have no real woodworking experience at all, but I'm really loving it so far. I started this several weeks ago and only recently decided to join the forum, so most of the woodworking, finishing, and painting is out of the way, but to catch you up: I mostly followed the Modeler's Shipyard DVD that Amati has put online on their Facebook page. I found it to be a really helpful resource. I feel okay about the fairing job on the hull, but knowing now how planks lie I'm sure I'd take a bit more time and care with my next ship. One of the biggest mistakes I made was tapering the first layer planks from the wrong bulkheads, so there's a little bulge towards the bow. It didn't end up causing too much of a problem after sanding and filling. Not very proud of the first layer of planking, but it was sufficient in providing a solid smooth base for the second layer, which I took much more time and care with. The second layer went on like a dream. I was more careful with the tapering and also set up a rather crude jig to edge bend the planks with steam. I simply soaked the planks for a half hour and then used an electric iron as I bent them around the jig to steam the water out and lock the curve into place. I was a bit sloppy with the first two planks above the garboard plank (shoving splinters instead of spiling properly). I used wood glue/sawdust for filler, but WAY overfilled without removing excess and ended up sanding a layer of hard dried glue off the hull for a whole day. IMG_3090.HEIC I finished the hull with Tung oil, which was satisfying to say the least. IMG_3079.HEICIMG_3086.HEIC Here she is today, with most of the deck furnishings painted or stained and ready to be glued on. The masts and yards (which I had to taper and shape by hand) are finished and painted. What I want to do differently next time: 1. Find better ways to make sure the false deck lies at the proper curve against the bulkheads. I tried pins but they were extremely difficult to get through the deck, and many of them came out while the glue dried. So the deck is less curved than I'd like, and the gunports don't sit at an even distance from the deck. 2. Tapering the planks from the proper location on the first layer of planking 3. Not overdoing the filler that I used between the planks on the second layer of planking (or just making the planks fit tighter), so as not to leave glue on the surface of the hull. I sanded most of it off, but the tung oil revealed some missed spots. 3. I used CA glue with the second layer, which was fast and convenient as I didn't have to do as much shaping of the planks. It was an okay situation, but next time I'll try using wood glue and pins, which will help me get a tighter fit between planks. 4. Break up the deck planking into realistic lengths instead of having them run the full length of the ship. There's a lot more to add to this list, but those are the main issues I've run into so far. That, and just not having money or a car to go out and buy the tools that make things easier! Any constructive criticism or advice moving forward is more than welcome. Thanks for reading!

I started work on Pegasus in July 2018, but unfortunately didn't take any pictures of the early stages. I had just completed the Caldercraft 'Granado' kit, and enjoyed building it so much that I decided to go for this one straight away (I wish I had taken some shots of Granado during the build now, but didn't - anyway I shall put something in the Gallery for the finished model soon). Granado only took me six months from start to finish, but I haven't been able to spend the same amount of time on Pegasus. Still quite a way to go, but I hope that alternating work on my other current build, the Russian brig Mercury, with finishing off Pegasus will keep my enthusiasm up! The first two shots are the only images I have of the earlier stages. The others were taken outdoors on a wet Welsh Christmas afternoon.

My second build is the Pegasus by Victory Models. I wanted something a bit more challenging, but not something that would be out of my skill range. i also love the lines of the Swan Class ships. Some of you may remember that I modified the stern to be able to create the captains cabin. The rear bulkheads were redesigned to make this possible. I also wanted to fit out the forcastle and I have incorporated led lighting in both areas. Unfortunately I can't find the first set of photos, so this log starts with the first planking. With this build I decided to have a go at making a rabbet and bearding line:

My four year build log has alas fallen victim to the latest system upgrade, and like the ship she represents is now presumed lost, as Pegasus was in 1777. To re-instate all the information contained within the orginal log which ran for over 100 pages is a bit of an ask but where I can pick up the information quickly I will include it in this replacement log with priority being given to specific aspects where I have modified the basic kit, to produce the model which is now allbut finished. My log which was first posted in 2013 lacked much of the earlier stages of the build which had been going since 2010, and this revision will include aspects of the earlier build stages which may assist those embarking on a new Swan build adventure. I would like to thank all those members who have shown interest in my build over the past four years, and for the many appreciative comments and 'likes' I received. I still can't believe that over 257,000 visits were made to the log, but it is nice to think that it was of use to the membership. Also thank you to those who have messaged me with kind words about the loss of the original log, and with offers of help. Hopefully this revised version, risen from the ashes, will continue to provide useful information to the membership, particularly those involved with Swan Class Sloops. B.E. 5th March 2017

Hello all. After completing Bluenose this will be my 2nd build. This time I wanted something with guns. There is a lot of very tempting kits and finally decided to go with Mercury, which attracted me even when I was buying my first kit. The first impression is that this kit is of very high quality. Instructions are one of the best I have ever See, especially I like separate plan sheets for rigging which will be quite a job to do. My plans: -I like natural finish of wood as seen on NMM Greenwich models. This mean that most of the model is going to be unpainted, and I am going to change A LOT of materials provided in kit. For most of the build I am planning to use pear wood, maple And some walnut. As Ebony I will stain pear wood. Today I received wood from Germany (2nd picture) . -There will be no coopering on hull, reason is above. -Deck planking. Laser engraved plywood deck looks good, but not good enough for me. I will most likely use maple, but have pear For backup. As this is my second build and still don't wont to overcomplicate it I am thinking to use "normal" straight Pattern for planking like on brig Syrene for example, instead of curvature shape. -Armament. From personal aspect I like the look of guns instead of carronades on deck more. Don't ask me why, just like them . So I am still in research if there is any possibility that Mercury carried guns before carronades or has sister ship. This can be Seen on HMS Cruizer (guns) vs. HMS Snake (carronade) and Le Cyclope vs. Le Cygne. I have already purchased 6pdr Guns but will wait with that. If anyone could help me with this information I would very appreciate it. -Sails. I am planing to do Mercury with partially set sails Well, that's it for the moment.

So I'm back from a couple of weeks in the sun, and ready to tackle a new project after my great experience with the Amati Heritage 46. There have been a number of really great logs done on this ship, which are a great reference. What I can perhaps add to the party is some comments as I go on differences I encounter with this kit vs. my experience with the Revenge, which is the newest ship in the Amati Victory Models line -- the H.M.S. Fly is an earlier kit. I'll begin with the obligatory "what's in the box" pictures. In addition to the usual wood and laser cut and other parts, there is an instruction book, assembly pictures, and a set of large plans. What I notice right away is that the instruction book is not as richly illustrated (and may not be as detailed) as the one that came with the Revenge was. By the way, if you are looking very closely at the first pic, you might see a brass pedestal package. Those did NOT come with the ship -- I ordered them separately and just put them in the kit box to avoid losing them. I also had to order a base separately. The first pic is the upgrade kit, which contains more brass fittings, some flags, a lifeboat kit, and who knows what else. We'll see. Time to dig in. Regards, David

Hi Guys Starting a Granado build and thought a Build Log would be fun ... and helpful ! I've only built Panart models up to now ( Royal Caroline , Armed launch and the Open Whaler ) So a Victory model is my first kit away from Panart . I know there's been an awful lot of Granado builds on this forum, and from Modellers with an awful lot more skill than me, but really it's to get ongoing advice from you Guys and it just 'might' be of help to somebody in the future. Look forward to hearing from you Chaps and please if there is anything on my log that doesn't seem right I would welcome Advice . Panart "Armed Launch" Panart "Open Whaler" Panart "Royal Caroline"

Oh Dear - Back I came to start my log and whoops I had lost the site. I havent got much of the text from my posts but I do have some useful pics I will repost.

I never posted a build log of this model on this forum, but as it may help future builders, I'm posting some images. It was my first kit build an am now working on the Wasa.

I have been closely following Martin and Dennis's REVENGE build logs - actually, their work was the reason I bought the ship. Awareness also exists that Apollo, Titanic87 and Malcolm are also building. Minimal experience on my part is the reason for this log. With so many advanced builders ahead of me it is my sincere hope that showing my work will invoke critiques and advance warnings for difficulties/traps that lie in my next to come steps. My kit was purchased from the California distributor the week before Christmas. Next there are comments following an inventory of the large components. Comparison to kits already in the field might indicate if changes are being made by Amati.I am not sure if I'll try to inventory the tiny pieces. Here are my notes: Inventory item 38: can’t find the part and can't find it in the step by step instruction. Inventory item 251: should be 1x5x600 but is 1x4x600 Inventory item 39: supplied as two pieces not one - 39A and 39B Inventory item 49: calls for 2 pieces but only one required Inventory item 121: calls for 4 but find 5 Inventory item 149: calls for 14 but have 16 Inventory item 153: calls for 14 but have 16 Inventory item 174: calls for 4 but have 5 Inventory item 188A and 233 are the same Inventory item 197: supplied as 2 pieces not one - 197A and 197B Respectfully, John Total Time 8 hours

1/72 HMS Vanguard 1787 Victory Models/Amati Catalogue # 1300/04 HMS Vanguard was a 74-gun, third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 6 March 1787 at Deptford. She was the sixth vessel to bear the name. Vanguard was built as an Arrogant Class vessel. Arrogant-class ships of the line were a class of twelve 74-gun third rate ships designed by Sir Thomas Slade for the Royal Navy and were designed as a development of Slade's previous Bellona class, sharing the same basic dimensions. During this period, the original armament was the same across all the ships of the common class, of which the Arrogant-class ships were members. The first of the twelve ships of this class were HMS Arrogant and HMS Cornwall, both completed in April and September of 1761, respectively. The kit I apologise if we seem a little late to the show with this release, with the kit originally being release around 2007, give or take a year or three.. However, unlike the world of plastic modelling that I usually frequent, these sorts of kits are pretty timeless and stand the test of time far, far better. It’s also a pretty premium product and it really does make sense to be able to see a full review of it before you shell out not an insignificant amount of money on it. There are numerous builds of this online, with a good number here on Model Ship World, but there are no actual reviews that I can see anywhere, so I thought I’d try to redress that here. If you order this kit, you really need to make sure that you have bench space for it. Sounds obvious, but this is a very large box and weighs in the region of 14-15kg (30lbs+). Thankfully, the box is also of a pretty rigid construction to hold all the weight contained therein. Amati/Victory Models’ presentation is flawless with a port side profile of the completed ship on the lid, adjacent to a bow and stern image of the same model. Text says that the model can be finished as either Vanguard, Bellerophon, or Elephant. More colour images adorn the sides, plus some small captures of some of the plans. Lifting the lid off shows that this is merely a decorative lid and the actual corrugated box has a built-in lid that’s locked into place with three large tabs. At least if you sit another kit or two on this one whilst in stash, it shouldn’t crumple under the weight. Inside the box we have all of the strip and dowel timber that is bundled together and bound with small lengths of elastic string, three large boxes of components, one smaller box of components, several packs of various flat timbers with laser-cut parts, king-size instruction manual, and a whopping 20-plan pack with a heavy gauge photo-etch fret of embellishments for the stern quarters etc. The first and smallest of the boxes I come to contains some thick rope for the anchors, a bag of grating pieces, a sheet of what appears to be thick tin foil, and a large bag of cast metal gun carriages that have an antique finish to them. I find the inclusion of the latter quite a puzzle as kits of this standard would normally have these parts given in timer, which would be my preference. Detail on the carriages is actually quite nice, but they also have staggered sides, and I’m not 100% sure how accurate these would be. I think I’ll replace these when my build begins. Onto the next box. I know it’s not the done thing, as we say, to add sails to this sort of model, although many do and make a superb job. If you do wish to go down that avenue, then a large piece of sail cloth is included for you, as are two sheets of plans which pertain to adding these. We have two laser-cut pieces of timber in this box, notably with parts for the masts and bitts. I’m sure all will become clearer when it comes time to build this. Of course, there are no parts numbers on any wooden components, and you will need to refer to the five sheets of plans that identify what these elements are numbered as so you may locate them to the construction sequence. ELEVEN sheets of brass photo-etch parts are included too, with everything apart from the stern decoration and quarter details. Notice that the launch oars are provided as photo-etch too, but you may want to replace the oar bodies with something less flat in appearance, such as dowel. Two sheets have the ships name included, as well as other décor, and the ships stove that will be mostly hidden below deck. These sheets also include the stern and quarter windows, lanterns etc. Many hundreds of parts are included here, such as the cannon port hinges, hammock frames, channel brackets, chain plates, boom irons et al. If that’s not enough metal for you in this box, then add to that the two packets of copper hull plates that are presented as sheets. These can easily be gently scored and snapped off before fitting. These contain the nail fastening details too. I believe there are around 2500 plates which are needed, and you should, in theory, have some to spare too. Two patterns are included, for port and starboard sides. You’ll need to consult with the plans to determine which is which. A sheet of black paper is also included. At the moment, I’m unsure as to what this is, but I’m thinking it could be something to do with the interior of the rear officer’s quarters. A sheet of acetate is included for the stern windows too. Our second large box of fittings contains two trays of components. One tray contains some wooden components, deadeyes and rigging blocks, plus some small anchors and carronades. I believe the latter may be for use if you choose to build HMS Elephant as some weaponry was slightly different to Vanguard and Bellerophon. The next tray is given over exclusively to the many rigging cord spools you’ll need, in various sizes and in two colours. Some rope is also supplied. Onto the last box of components. The first tray of parts are all cast white metal, including the figureheads for all three versions of this model, plus some trim, main anchors and the stern decoration for Vanguard, cast in three pieces. Now, whilst Bellerophon is in white metal, Vanguard and Elephant are cast in grey resin and they look spectacular! I believe that initial kits had all of these in white metal but coaxing the parts to fit the curvature of the stern proved tricky, so resin was substituted. Strange that this wasn’t included for all three options though. My original intent was to build Bellerophon, but I think this will now be Elephant because firstly, I haven’t seen one yet done, and secondly, because I can use a resin stern décor and add some amazing colouration to it. Two stern fascias are supplied in this kit, with Vanguard being shallower than that of Elephant and Bellerophon, so as to accommodate the carvings. The last tray contains PE parts, more rigging cord, brass nails, brass wire, cannon and gun carriages, cannon shot, and a number of other metal castings. All metal castings here are antique in finish. Being a large kit means you need plenty of strip wood stock, especially as this is a double-planked model. First planking timber is lest numerous that second because of the upper bulwarks being supplied as plywood parts. Timber quality is excellent with no stringy or split wood. Bundles are kept together with elastic string. I used a little extra tape on some of the thinner stock, to stop them bulging out in the middle. Various diameters of down are included and of different hues. As these will generally be painted, I think the colour is inconsequential. Again, quality is superb, with no splitting or roughness. All of the various packages of flat sheet components are stored in thick plastic sleeves, and the first here contains three sheets. One of these is for the various keel parts, plus the rudder. Another of the same material is included with various rigging bitts and anchor stock parts etc. A ply sheet is also included with the strips to mount the false cannon on the lower deck and parts for the stern quarters. Moving onto the next packet, we are presented with a laser-cut sheet of MDF for the ship’s launches. Here we have the keels and bulkheads for these vessels, all cleanly cut and with minimal effort needed to remove. I’m a little surprised to see this material for this purpose, but the homogenous nature of it is perhaps better suited than plywood and should provide an excellent basis for these miniature builds. More sheets of thin ply provide the main deck components, stern fascias (two options), bow gratings, upper bulwarks with cannon openings, and formers for the quarter galleries. Moving onto heavy material, several sheets of MDF provide all of the ship’s bulkheads, false keel (broken down into two parts) etc. Another sheet of timber contains laser-cut channels, carved mouldings etc. Some of these would benefit from a little carving in themselves to profile them a little better. Flags? You definitely need them for a ship like this. A set of silk-screen printed flags is included and these appear to have a self-adhesive backing. Lastly, for parts, we have a relatively thick-gauge photo-etch sheet what holds all the parts for the stern and quarter decorations, including railings, arches and other ornamentation. Under a coat of primer and paint, these look very good in place, as seen on numerous building logs on Model Ship World. When it comes to paperwork, this kit won’t leave you wanting. Inside the box, as well as a large assembly manual, is that pack of 20 plans. Most of these are A1 in size with one plan being a whopping A0, so make sure you have some wall space to mount it to for reference. Out of these plans, 5 provide parts maps and identification for the materials supplied, 2 plans deal with the optional sails, at least three deal with rigging Vanguard, 3 concern masting, and the rest for the hull and details etc. Two building instruction books are supplied. The first one deals with the main areas of construction using line drawings and text. This is quite a large book and has 32 pages. Accompanying this is a smaller A4 book of 20 pages which is generally text-driven and deals with construction in more detail, plus finishing etc. Some very nice history of Vanguard, Bellerophon and Elephant is included. Conclusion It must be 10 to 12 years since this kit first hit the shelves, and here we are a decade or more on, and I finally get to take a glimpse at Chris Watton’s masterpiece. I remember him designing this at the time and saw a few online photos, and I have to say that the contents of this kit are pretty much what I expected, save for the inclusion of the cast gun carriages. I really like the inclusion of MDF for the main structure (bulkheads, horizontal former and false keel) as this has almost zero tendency to warp. Indeed, mine are die-straight and will form the basis of an accurate and trouble-free build. All timber stock is first rate (for this third-rate ship!), and fixtures and fittings are high quality. Having the upper bulwarks as pre-cut parts with their jigsaw fit and pre-cut cannon port is also a time saver and a big help in ensuring that all guns will mount in their correct place and the correct height/elevation. A comprehensive plan pack ensures that every constructional angle is covered, and with 20 plans, Amati haven’t cut any corners. This isn’t a beginner’s model, and I’m sure you’ve heard that phrase many times before, but in this case, you really must have a number of builds under your belt and be able to exercise a degree of project management and prerequisite modelling skills to cater to and overcome the challenges that a complex model like this will demand. In all, a super kit of a formidable class of ship and with all the bells and whistles to build any of three vessels. You can’t do better than that! My sincere thanks to Amati for sending this kit for reviewing on Model Ship World. To purchase directly, check out your local Amati model stockist or online Amati retailer.

Seems to be a required rite of passage to publicly flail your way through a first build. For introductions, name is Jay and I'm director of production support for the MAP division at Visa that includes Cybersource and Authorize.net. That means I'm on call 24/7. So, no stress or anything. When it comes to the subject at hand I'm something of a ringer though, as I have extensive experience making small precise stuff in many materials, and I have two entire rooms dedicated to workshop. One is for medium-sized power tools and a small scale machine shop (mini-lathe, mini-mill, etc.), other is primarily a woodworking area for hand tool work (this is where ships will be set up). Well three rooms because the semi-finished "bonus room" has my full-sized table saw and I have plans for a Laguna bandsaw to go in there too. And I've already spent a couple years reading extensively on the ships and the building techniques while working on my game, which also needs to continue to make progress, called Line of Battle. Anyway, I have a crapton of tools and my home is arranged around my workshop areas, so you can assume I am divorced and have no constraints The plan for now, and I already have all the kits, is to go Lady Nelson -> brig Syren -> MS Constitution -> Victory HMS Revenge -> Caldercraft Victory. But I also want to do some very small scale also, we'll see. Since this part is uninteresting, only a couple photos - one of squaring up the transom bulkhead and the assembled frame. In case you're wondering, all my little brass flat sanders that are used with PSA paper were machined perfectly square so I don't need to fiddle with heavy machinist's squares except for outside 90s. In case you're wondering, it's being held in a GRS engraver's block. But anyway all clean and straight and square and ready to go to next steps. Planned next step is balsa filler blocks at bow and stern, and to make things super easy on myself I'm probably going to fill in the first three gaps on both ends, so everywhere significant bending is occurring I'll have a surface to work against. However, need some advice on wood. I bought the Crown Timber boxwood package for this, so I have a bunch of boxwood coming. However, I have my own wood and don't want to do it 100% in boxwood, whatever I don't use will get used later in something else. Right now what I'm thinking of is cocobolo for the keel, wales, and rails, lightly stained boxwood planking, and a holly deck. BTW these 1x1x12 American holly turning blanks are available at Woodcraft for $10, good deal if you can resaw to scale timber. However, I'm not sure about the cocobolo, the color of course is great but it has pretty strong grain and figure and may not look good in this small build. Also I'm not sure about the idea of having a keel/stem darker than the main planking. Anyway, advice appreciated, as I'll have this ready for the keel and planking soon. I know, I'll plank it in snakewood. Cut this into 4mm strips, cut in half (it's 5/16" thick) and then plank both sides with strips in the exact order we see here Just kidding of course. That's a $150 guitar fingerboard blank and will be used for that purpose in the future.

Hi. I started the relations of the model HMS fly. I try to make caulking with the black cotton thread. Two first rows of the planks are bad, but on this will be deck and it will not be seen. http://www.koga.net.pl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=47195&p=84654#p84654

Just started The Revenge by Amati a couple days ago, after I build my new work bench. the frame is done and now I m proceeding to planking the lower deck . I Have a very basic experience and hopping to find any kind of help of support from anyone willing to do it. I just would like to apologize in advance for my English which I know is not the best being Italian my first language, so please do not shoot on the piano player 🙂

Welcome to my new build log the HMS Pegasus. After some very nice builds that i've seen here, I decided to have a go and I hope I will not mess up a very nice ship... With this ship I also changed the manufacturer, from Mamoli to Victory Models and it looks like I made a good choice. I opened the box and the stuff inside looks like good quality, hope that will also be the feeling after i'll start building. Hope you will enjoy the build and as always all advice and comments are welcome For the moment a quick look to the items inside the box