DeAgostini Victory - Is it any good?

[nheather]

I have the opportunity to buy an unstarted Model Space (DeAgostini) Victory kit at a good price.

 

If I did get it, it would be put aside to give me time to get some simpler models under my belt.

 

But before I commit I have been trying to find out whether it is a good kit.

 

I appreciate that it has comprehensive instructions with lots of videos available and that it would have been very expensive if bought part by part at full price.

 

But that aside is it a good kit, quality and accuracy wise.

 

Thanks for any advice,

 

Nigel

[Bowsprit]

Hi Nigel

Others will have a better idea of quality.

However, let me say I have one of these all packaged up in a box in my garage.  What has prevented me from building it, so far, is the size - 49 x 33 x 18 inches.  We just don't have room anywhere in the house for a finished model of that enormous size.

Best of luck if you do go ahead - and please do start a build log to let all of us see your progress

[mtaylor]

I believe that kit is the same or a slightly modified version of the AL kit.    As to how good it is, I can't answer but I remember seeing some logs here on MSW.

[moflea]

I'm not sure if it helps, but here is the video log of a guy building the Deagostini version (a monthly magazine i believe). He's at the stage 60 of the build (many numbers to come) and he already has the hull planked and some deck fittings.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS-k5JeIudM

 

It may give you a hint about the building process, the materials provided, and so on.

 

I dont know if this link is allowed, if it doesnt then some admin should delete it.

[nheather]

Hi Nigel

Others will have a better idea of quality.

However, let me say I have one of these all packaged up in a box in my garage.  What has prevented me from building it, so far, is the size - 49 x 33 x 18 inches.  We just don't have room anywhere in the house for a finished model of that enormous size.

Best of luck if you do go ahead - and please do start a build log to let all of us see your progress

Good point about the size, it would probably be too big.

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel

[reklein]

I can't speak to the quality of the Deagostini kit but because of the size of the model you may want to donate it  to  a Library or museum when finished. Bill

[Siegfried]

Hello Nigel,

 

My father has build the DeAgostini Victory and I have to say it is of a terrible quality. Nothing matches really, the cannons and the carriages are just a kind of a joke. In the beginning it looks like a good price quality ratio. But in the end after purchasing all booklets with all pieces it was much expensive as a perfect kit you can by directly, especially after all material replacements. What's about the CC kit?

 

Sorry, I hate to disillusion you, but this is my personal experience.

 

Cheers, Daniel

Edited April 9, 2016 by Siegfried

[mtdoramike]

It's a fantastic kit, it is built using the Artesania Latina kit, which I just finished. I went to Model Space website and used some of their directions when building it. I love the quality of Latina kits from their castings to their quality of wood. Most folks here are biased towards the Caldercraft Victory kit, which cost the most at about $1200.00 and I'm sure the Modelspace kit would cost about the same once all the subscription packets have been received. The thing I didn't care for with the Caldercraft kit the preformed sides, these are a real pain the butt to deal with rather than just planking the sides, which is the way Latina did it.

 

But with all the above said, I'm a firm believer in no matter what the quality of the kit is, the kit is only the starting point of a build, the rest is research and dedication to building a fine representation of the subject you have chosen. What I mean is, you can or should be able to take a souse ear and make a silk purse out of it before you attempt a build like the Victory so materials quality isn't that important because those are things you can change. All you need is the bones of the kit to get started. Now, if you choose not to buy this kit, may I ask where and who has it in case I feel like building another Victory?  But it would have to be a real good deal since you can buy the Latina Victory for about $600.00 new.

 

Mike          

Edited April 8, 2016 by mtdoramike

[Siegfried]

Hi Mike,

 

I do really like your diplomatic words. Sensational. You should work as ambassador. 

 

I could learn from you.

 

Cheers, Daniel

Edited April 9, 2016 by Siegfried

[mtdoramike]

Thanks Daniel. It's just my point of view and I'm sticking with it> hahahahahahaha. The way I look at ship modeling is like this, it's not where you have been or where you are going, it's the journey that you take getting there that is the important part.

 

 

mike 

Edited April 9, 2016 by mtdoramike

[Dakwinner]

I bought their IJN Akagi kit. The Akagi kit is similar to any other kit in that there are always compromises. However, overall I am satisfied. I imagine that the victory kit is of similar quality. Do look for the you tube videos of its construction, they will give you a good idea of the kit contents. Since the final and only planking is basswood, I would recommend that the model be painted.

[Dakwinner]

One more thing you may want to consider: The Akagi didn't come with plans, only instructions. I suspect that the Victory may be without plans too.

Edited April 12, 2016 by Dakwinner

[JeffT]

I have most of their Sovereign of the Seas Kit and I would say its comparable to the quality of most other kit manufacturers out there. As mentioned above there are no plans, just instructions.

[CDW]

Hello Nigel

 

I am currently building the DeAgostini Victory kit and am about half way through it. I can only compare my experience with it to other kits I have built, and it is a favorable comparison to any other similarly priced kit. It has been my experience with this and other ship kits that the hardware sometimes can leave me with something better to be desired. Not totally bad mind you, but it could be better. For me and considering the experience (or lack thereof) I bring to the table, it's good. Could it be better? Yes.

I can tell you with certainty the planking included in my kit is not basswood. Instead, it is birch. Is this better or worse? I do not know. However I can say that the planking will require some care and patience to properly finish. This could perhaps be said of any kit, in reality. But there is no secondary or veneer planking included to cover up poor work on the first layer of planking.

The step by step instruction booklets are wonderful, worthy of saving in a binder for future reference. 

If you can acquire this kit for something less than $600, it would be a good deal in my opinion. As it has already been said, you can buy the AL version of this same kit for around the $600 mark, so I would not pay more than that.

Again to repeat, I am satisfied with my kit to this point. It's a challenge (for me) to be sure.

 

Regards

Craig

[francisb]

Hi I built some of the Artesania Victory and I think it was the worse kit I ever bought castings were poor and many pieces over scaled,this was about 6 years ago so they may have improved, I gave the half finished kit to a friend,would not buy another Artesania kit!

[mtdoramike]

Hi I built some of the Artesania Victory and I think it was the worse kit I ever bought castings were poor and many pieces over scaled,this was about 6 years ago so they may have improved, I gave the half finished kit to a friend,would not buy another Artesania kit!

Francis, how many ship model kits have you built? An experienced modeler who would have built half of this kit or model would have finished it no matter how poor the contents were. Like I said in my previous post, no matter how good or bad a kit is really shouldn't make too much of a difference to an experienced modeler, who should have come across a number of kits great or poor before even attempting a model such as the Victory by which ever kit manufacture. They surely wouldn't have gotten it half built only to give it away due to poor materials to become someone else's problem, they would have replaced the poor quality components with better aftermarket components or scratch build your own materials. 

 

I'm not the best modeler in the world nor due I claim to be, but I could hold my own against most and up to now I have built about 30 ship models for myself as well as to sell and on commission basis. During this time I have come across most if not all of the major kit manufactures and I would admit that all of them have some issues. But all in all I have never come across a BAD kit from any manufacture no matter how cheap or expensive the kit cost. I have even built kits that were furnished to me that was found in dark wet basements from the 40'-60's and felt that for the time period they were good kits. But I also understand that a kit no matter who it's from is only a starting point and it is up to the modeler to take it and make as good a representation out of the subject chosen as possible.

 

mike       

[francisb]

Hi Mike thanks for the reply, yes you are right I could have finished the Victory but I was also doing a lot of painting ( pictures) and trying to run a framing business so things got a bit too much! Now I have reached the age where I can spend more time on model building ,a while back I finished the Bounty by Constructo  not historically accurate but it pleased me ,now I am working on the Corel Couronne

 best wishes from Mark

[mtdoramike]

Hi Mark, I also built the Constructo Bounty as well as their Pandora, Cutty Sark, Mayflower and San Mateo. All were fun kits to build. But not really accurate, but close enough for government work. One thing I would have to say about Constructo, is they supply some of the nicest wood in their kits or at least they used to. Their kits beg to be naturally finished, which is the way I built all of them. Good luck on the Couronne build, it's a nice model. 

 

mike

[heksanol]

Glad to see someone sticking up for AL kits

Edited June 23, 2016 by heksanol

[francisb]

Hi Mike I was looking at the Constructo Prince before I bought the corel Couronne  , hope to build another Constructo kit sometime ,I see their Victory is on Amazon reduced by £133 but I think my wife would protest a bit!

[mtdoramike]

Mark, there are a few builds on the MSW on the Constructo Victory. It makes into a nice Victory with quite a bit of modifications. I'm really itching to build the Constructo Prince as well. It looks like a fun project for sure, but like I have found with Constructo, accuracy isn't their main concern. So when it comes to Constructo, I build them mainly for the fun of it and the beauty of the naturally finished wood.

 

I was also looking quite strongly at the Artesania Latina Santa Ana, but after really studying the lines of this model, I came to the realization that all Latina did was to use the HMS Victory kit and made a few mods to the Vic kit and came out with the Santa Ana.

 

 

mike   

Edited June 23, 2016 by mtdoramike