HMS Victory by gjdale - FINISHED - Mamoli - Scale 1:90

[gjdale]

Thanks Mark.

 

Sherry - thanks for the vote of confidence, but I won't be doing any subcontracting These things look difficult, but once you come to terms with the size/scale, they aren't really that hard to do. Having good quality stock timber to work with is a must though, and you can't do better than Jeff Hayes and Hobby Mill in my opinion!

(Disclaimer: no connection, just a very, very satisfied customer )

[gjdale]

Thanks Mick - all it takes is a willingness to step outside your comfort zone and have a go! You will surprise yourself at what you can achieve by just giving it a go. There have been no fancy tools used here (at least none that couldn't be done just a well with hand tools).

[Micklen32]

Thanks Mick - all it takes is a willingness to step outside your comfort zone and have a go! You will surprise yourself at what you can achieve by just giving it a go. There have been no fancy tools used here (at least none that couldn't be done just a well with hand tools).

 

So the superb work can be appreciated even more

Great job Grant

Keep it up   

Mick

[gjdale]

Minor setback today. I sprayed a Matte varnish over my little boat this afternoon. While the interior was fine, the band of yellow ochre on the exterior puckered up and started to lift off. I don't know whether it was a reaction with the yellow ochre paint, or whether I might have sprayed on far too much of the varnish. The only difference on the exterior was that the yellow ochre was painted over the top of the white paint, while on the interior it was straight onto the wood (the interior seems to be fine).. Don't know if that might have had something to do with it. After waiting for it to dry, I then scraped off the yellow ochre, using an Exacto knife. Interestingly, the white paint underneath seemed unaffected and the yellow ochre came off quite cleanly. I've since re-masked in preparation for another go at the yellow ochre tomorrow. No pics for now - forgot to take any of the puckered paint job. I'll re-post once I've finished fixing it.

[realworkingsailor]

Most likely incompatible, it's possible the yellow did not adhere to the white and as the varnish started to dry it pulled it up

[gjdale]

Quite possible Andy - I've probably committed a cardinal sin by mixing paint types here. The white is a Floquil flat enamel paint, the yellow ochre is a Humbrol gloss enamel, and the matte varnish is something I picked up in an art supply store as I didn't like the overpowering smell that came from the Tamiya flat clear. The art supply variant claims to be for use on both oil and acrylic paint, so I figured it should do the trick. Of course, I didn't do anything sensible like testing on some scrap first! Where would the fun be in that?

[realworkingsailor]

Best case, if you want to seal it, use Testor's Dullcote. You shouldn't have any troubles with the Humbrol.

[gjdale]

I actually tried to get the Testors Dullcote, but the Hobby Shop didn't have any in stock. The Tamiya was the only one they had, and man does it smell bad! You can almost feel your insides being stripped away.

 

Might have to search further afield to find the Testors. Hope they don't decide to discontinue it like they did with the Floquil paints.

[realworkingsailor]

I think, because it is under the "Testors" brand, it should be safe... I hope....

[themadchemist]

Sorry to hear your compatability issues, it sucks to see that fisheye crazying happen.

Just curious, is the smell issue worse then pre-surgery. Opening up the sinus like they did, I wonder. Mom was deaf since she was a kid, in one ear and had the bone surgery to correct the issue and it drove her crazy.

 

Paint job looks great, I'm sure you'll fix this and it'll remain excellent as before. and you'll be smarter and more experienced for it.

your comment  --- "Of course, I didn't do anything sensible like testing on some scrap first! Where would the fun be in that?  "    EXACTLY!

 

Push the Envelope, watch in bend.....

[augie]

Yes, an incompatibility somewhere along the line.  Sorry about that Grant.

[mobbsie]

Welcome to my world Grant, hope the fix works out.

 

mobbsie

[gjdale]

Thanks for the words of commiseration/encouragement guys!

 

Okay, so re-painting is underway. I used a new tin of Humbrol today, just in case the last lot was "off".  Spent a lot of time mixing the paint back into itself - don't know about you folks, but whenever I open a tin of Humbrol the paint pigment seems to set in a semi-solid ball in the bottom of the tin and its a B* of a job to get it to re-combine into the paint.  I was assisted in this by a neat little battery operated paint stirrer that I picked up from MicroMark some time ago but had not yet used.  Have managed to apply three coats today (thinned and applied with the airbrush).  I'll see how it looks in the morning but might need to do one more.

 

In the meantime, I've been working on some of the internal fittings.  To start with, I made up the thwarts using a combination of Pear with a Holly trim.  I then made a mast support from a piece of brass tube and some brass strap that I silver soldered together and then blackened with Casey Birchwood Brass Black.  The big news here is that I think I have finally passed my Chemistry Prac., as it actually seemed to work.  I discovered a huge secret - follow the instructions on the bottle!!!! :P Honestly, instead of all the variety of combinations of dilution strengths and soak times, etc. I just did what it said on the bottle.  Clean thoroughly (I used the Casey Birchwood cleaner), rinse in cold water, apply blackening solution straight from the bottle using a cotton bud (you might know them as Q-tips), wait for one minute, rinse in cold water, then repeat until you have desired depth of colour.  I ended up doing this four times to achieve a result that I was happy with, and it didn't rub off either!

 

Here's a picture of the completed support fixed to the thwart:

 

 

There is a little bit of glue residue evident in the photo, but that should clean up okay.

 

I have also completed making up the footwalling.  I used Holly for this and ran a pencil lead along one edge of each plank to bring out the joins.  I made this up on a paper backing, which was subsequently removed.  In the picture below it is ready for installing.

 

I have also completed the cap rails and painted them in preparation for installation.  And I have made up the risers to support the thwarts.  I did these on the Byrnes saw by temporarily spot gluing the two pieces together, marking out for the rebates for the thwarts and then running them through the saw.  These too are ready for installation. The thwarts are all assembled as blanks with one end finished and the other end to be cut to size on fitting.

 

 

All I need now is to successfully finish off re-painting and I'll be ready to move forward again.

Edited April 4, 2014 by gjdale

[augie]

Nice work on all the fiddly bits.  Very clean!

 

Glad you discovered 'Better Living Through Chemistry'.  When all else fails......read the directions

 

And hope you had good news when you awoke to the newly dried paint!

[themadchemist]

Did I hear the word Chemistry.....

[Micklen32]

Nine looking work Grant

Really impressed with your work

Keep it up   

Mick

[Blue Ensign]

Very nice Grant, well done

 

B.E.

[texxn5]

Very nice Grant, going to really look good when finished.

[mtaylor]

Grant,

 

Lovely work on the fiddly bits.   Hope the paint is looking better.

[trippwj]

Very nice detail work, Grant.  Hope your paint re-do came out well!

[Trussben]

Hey grant, it seems like you and me both have issues with painting, I'm having issues with acrylic on my Confed carriages, hope to figure it out next week with a new tube and different dilutions.

But my cannons turned out well.

Hope you get over the hump more easily than me.

 

Ben

[gjdale]

Thanks for all the encouragement guys.

 

The re-do on the paint job has been progressing slowly but steadily, and it seems successfully. After four coats of yellow ochre, I unmasked this evening and after a tiny bit of cleanup was able to apply a new coat of Dull Cote. I hunted down the Testors Dull Cote on Monday afternoon and, with some trepidation, applied the first coat this evening. So far, so good. No puckering or lifting. Will leave another 24 hours and apply a second coat. Will post some pics when that's done successfully, then should be able to add some of the previously made bits on the weekend.

[realworkingsailor]

Dullcote itself is a spray enamel, so you shouldn't have any trouble with the Humbrol. You can actually overcoat Dullcote fairly quickly (an hour or so), but there's no harm in waiting longer

 

One thing though... since you've found a source... buy as many cans as you possibly can.... because you never know.

 

One thing I've noticed, a once opened spray can has a shelf life of about 6 months at best. After that point you may find that the spray gives a sort of orange peel/fish eye effect.

 

Andy

[gjdale]

Thanks for that advice Andy - especially on the shelf life of an open can!

[texxn5]

Looking good Grant.  Glad your paint repair came out good.

[gjdale]

Hi all,

 

A bit of progress to report at last.

 

First up, the re-do on the paint job.  As you can see from these first few photos, I've managed to get it back to where it was, but this time with successfully applied DullCote finish (four coats).

 

 

 

 

Then at last it was time to install the previously made footwalling, along with the risers and some framework to support the grating in the bow and the stern platform:

 

 

I then made up some grating using some Boxwood pre-milled for me by Jeff at HobbyMill.  I gave the grating a contrasting border in Swiss Pear. Note the larger square hole in the grating - this is to take the bowsprit step and will have a matching hole in the thwart above it.  In the stern, you will see the step for the davit.  This was made from walnut, with a Pear frame around it.

 

 

Here you can see the first thwart installed, with the square hole cut into it for the bowsprit step:

 

 

And finally, the addition of the rest of the thwarts. Note the third thwart from the bow with the mast support and four holes for belaying pins.  All of the internals have been given a coat of sanding sealer.

 

 

 

 

That brings me up to date - with enough photos to keep you know who happy for at least a week!

 

Next job will be fit the stern sheets, knees (maybe!), windlass, and then the cap rail.  I made a windlass today, but I guess it says something about the size of this little beast that I now can't find it!!!!!

 

[Sjors]

Morning or evening Grant,

 

This is one for the WOW factor !!!!!!

Great little one!

Paint job well done.

Wonderful job on the grating and the couches??????( the pieces of wood where you sit on  )

This is really amazing, I'm impressed…...

 

[trippwj]

Very nice work on this, Grant.  As Sjors said - WOW!!!

[WackoWolf]

Grant,

 

   Excellent work, it is a kit in itself. Keep the pictures coming.

[augie]

Fabulous.  Glad to see the painting issue resolved.  And that dullcoat  can be quite useful.  I'm sorry I didn't find out about it until late in my build.  I use a slightly different one, also made by Testors in their Model Master series of paints.....it's called dull flat lacquer and it brushes on.  If they ever kill the spray-on, keep it in mind.

 

Love the use of the various woods.  Really makes this little boat shine (dullcoat not withstanding)    Especially the pear thwarts (seat thingys).