HMS Victory by GrandpaPhil - Mantua - Scale 1:98 - Kit-Bash

[GrandpaPhil]

Sitting idle for as long as she has, and moving twice, has not done the Victory any favors.  
 

I had to secure the crown on the figurehead again.  It was hanging by a thread.

The gun tackles on the port side bow chaser and the carronades were both loose.  I used Tichy HO scale eyebolts, which look really nice, but are plastic, the first time around.  Those are what broke. 

I replaced them with ones I made from

steel wire.

 

[GrandpaPhil]

All damage (that I’ve found) is now repaired!

 

Game on!

[GrandpaPhil]

Step one is finish the fire buckets:

 

I am putting them on stick pins and painting them black with a gold “label” on the outside face.

[GrandpaPhil]

On 6/29/2020 at 5:48 AM, Sundt said:

My goodness, details, will you add some water in buckets  🙂 looks lovely

That is an excellent idea.  I will use gloss clear coat in it, as water.  I did that with face plates on armored infantry I painted a while back and it came out great.  I had not thought about applying that here.
 

Thank you very much for the idea.

[GrandpaPhil]

I really need to get this model done!

 

Most of what I have left for hull details is metal working (hammock cranes and other brackets), which I’m terrible at.  I still need to make a set of ships boats too (and the accompanying davits), a set of rails on the bow section of the upper deck and a chart cabinet on the quarter deck.

 

Then masts, rigging and sails!

 

I want to build this with studding sails, too.

 

The Admiral bought me the Victory Models Revenge plan set for my birthday, from Cornwall Model Boats.  They are beautiful!  I need to get the Victory done so I can build it (I know better than to build multiples in parallel, it just doesn’t work out for me).

[GrandpaPhil]

Forward progress for the first time in a long time:

The fire buckets are painted and I put a drop of gloss coat in each of them to simulate water.

Next up, several need new handles, and they need brackets, which will be made of annealed wire.

[GrandpaPhil]

One pile o’ buckets and brackets!

I made a couple extra brackets, just in case.

[clearway]

Nice to see Vicky back on the workbench phil- wow i forgot about the insanely small buckets of doom😁.

 

Keith

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Like the buckets and brackets.   Very smart.

 

Sam

[GrandpaPhil]

Thank you both very much!  Thank you to everyone for all the likes and just for stopping by!

 

The brackets are trimmed and installed!

The buckets have been hung and glued!

Once they are dry, I will use add some touch up paint.

 

Quick note: this model is 1:98 scale, which is pretty close to the 15mm war gaming scale. I am used to painting and modeling in 28-32mm scale which is approximately 1/56 and 1/48 scale, respectively.  This difference in scale has made a lot of difference for me for this model.

 

Next up, I need to build the chart cabinet.  That will be made out of card.

 

Quick question, would the front of that cabinet have been covered at sea, or would the front of that have been left open?

[GrandpaPhil]

Thank you very much @Morgan for the information!

 

These are flag lockers and they would have had a canvas cover on them.

 

I will portray them with a solid front then.

[GrandpaPhil]

Speaking of the flag lockers:

 

Once they dry, I’ll paint them.

[Old Collingwood]

Great seeing you back on Vic phil,   I missed reading your updates  - really great start back on her  - like we all know its the small details that make all the difference.

 

OC.

[GrandpaPhil]

Thank you very much, OC!

[GrandpaPhil]

The flag lockers are done and a few minor detail pieces have been added.

I rough made the Ensign Staff.  It started out life as a bamboo kitchen skewer.  It still needs the cap piece, to be painted and three sheaves added.

I am done with most of the deck furniture now.
 

I am going to start at the stern and work my way forward, finishing all the rigging fittings, boat davits, remaining hull fittings, hammock cranes, etc.  To that end, I’m going to start with the lanterns and a couple of fittings on the poop deck.

[GrandpaPhil]

The Ensign Staff is made and glued down now.

I figured out how I will make the lanterns.  

 

The lanterns are too small to make it worthwhile to make the sides from clear plastic (10/32” tall).  The framework would have to made from thin thread or equivalent to be in scale.  Also, any adhesive that I know of, that would actually bond with any strength would make a mess of the lantern.

 

Therefore, I am going to carve them and use war gaming painting techniques to make them look internally lit.

 

Edited September 5, 2021 by GrandpaPhil

[GrandpaPhil]

Thank you very much for the likes and just for stopping by!

I set up on the back porch today, to carve outside.  I could not pass up the weather.

The main lantern is carved:

It’s made out random square hardwood stock, that I had, that was the right size.
 

This is the second attempt, the first one failed catastrophically.

 

I’m not the greatest at three dimensional carving, but I’m getting better!

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by GrandpaPhil

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Hi Phil,

How big is that lantern  ??

 

Sam.

[GrandpaPhil]

The larger one is about 5/8 in or 16mm for the metric types.

The third and final lantern for the stern is roughed out and just needs finished.

 

Then I’ll paint all 3 and figure out how to mount them.

[GrandpaPhil]

All 3 lanterns are carved:

 

Making progress:

Next up: painting the lanterns!

[GrandpaPhil]

The lanterns are painted and installed:

I also damaged the flag locker while drilling holes, but it will be okay.  The damage is very minor.

 

Once the glue dries, I’ll paint the supports and touch up the stern, where I damaged it drilling holes.  The stern on this model is a brass sheet, and when I started this model, I didn’t have the skills to make my own.

 

I could make my own now (and will for all my future builds).  

My skill level has increased exponentially during this build.  A lot of those increases have been a result of things that I have learned on this forum.

[Old Collingwood]

Excellent work with those  (hand made)  lanterns Phil   - its a different level when you can do stuff like that  - she is coming on a treat mate.

 

OC.

[GrandpaPhil]

Thank you very much, OC!

[GrandpaPhil]

Working on boat davits and other deck fittings now:

Those davits don’t quite line up because the brass sheet, which makes up the stern, that I installed nearly 4 years ago isn’t quite lined up correctly.  Oh well, lol, it won’t be noticeable when it’s done.

Making a bunch of cleats for those and for other rigging attachment points.

 

The above davits are the ones that hang the ship’s boats off the sides of the quarterdeck.

 

Those won’t be installed until I finish the quarterdeck fittings to avoid making a mess of the last few rigging fittings, the hammock cranes and the netting.

[GrandpaPhil]

I officially need to finish Victory.

 

I bought an Orel kit of the French Ironclad “Solferino” in 1/200 scale.  It is a card kit.  
 

I think I will use it to build both the “Solferino”, from the kit, and  then her sister ship “Magenta” in 1/100 scale based off both the kit and her original builder’s plans.

 

The French Ministry Of Defense has been kind enough to post the plans of “Solferino” on their website and Magenta is identical except for not having a figurehead.

 

However, I do not like leaving anything unfinished, therefore I need to finish Victory before I build anything else.

[GrandpaPhil]

Thank you all very much for the likes and just for stopping by!

 

The first thing needed to get the Victory in motion are many cleats, which are used everywhere for rigging points.

 

So, I am mass producing cleats:

 

For those who would also like to make their own, I am making mine from popsicle sticks from a craft store.  This works quite well.

 

First, I measure them off and notch them

with a razor saw:

Second, I cut them apart with a razor saw:

Then I draw out the final shape:

 

Next, I trim off the “T” part of the cleat with a scalpel:

Then I cut them apart with a scalpel:

Before you know it you have a whole pile of cleats.

The last step (not done yet) is to trim them all to their final shape and paint them before installation.

[GrandpaPhil]

It has been a good day working on the Victory!

 

I made many cleats and eyebolts, which I’ll use until I run out again.

I mostly finished the quarterdeck boat davits.

For those who would like to make their own eyebolts, here is how I make mine:

I take blackened annealed steel wire from the hardware store.

I make a small loop.

I cut it off with a pair of cutters.

Then I finish making the eyebolt.

I use an old pair of needlenose pliers.

 

They are relatively quick and easy to make and you can make a bunch of them at one time.

[GrandpaPhil]

The poopdeck boat davits are painted:

The stern lantern brackets are painted:

I installed 6 more cleats and 20 eyebolts:

Here’s a side-on shot of the Victory:

 

The only fittings left on the poop are two snatch blocks on the tops of the bulwarks and two kevels on the insides of the bulwarks, before the hammock cranes, which I have been dreading making for the last two years.

 

After I make/install those, I’ll install netting and then install the poopdeck boat davits.

[SIDEWAYS SAM]

Enjoying the deck detail and, the tutorials.

I too am dreading the hammock cranes on my build.

Occres instructions for these are way beyond my capabilities

so I will be watching with interest hoping to pick up some tips.

Keep up the good work.

 

Sam.

[Kevin-the-lubber]

Same here. The hammock cranes would be way too fragile made from plastic so I'm keen to see what you do, otherwise I'll probably buy some from Daniel.