HMS Victory by Patrick Haw - Caldercraft - Scale 1/72

[Patrick Haw]

Here we go again then!  Just re-opening a build log for my Victory.  Will post whatever pictures I have in a little while.  As a re-introduction I started my Caldercraft HMS Victory at New Years this year.  Right now first planking is complete, lower and middle gun deck ports lined, middle gun deck is planked.  Today I'm going to get started on the stern galleries. 

 

I'm hoping all the other Caldercraft Victory builders will be back with their build logs up and running again soon...you guys are an inspiration and a fabulous source of problem-solving and technique.

 

Patrick

[WackoWolf]

Glad to hear your back. Will be watching for your post and pictures.

[ocean clipper]

Hi Patrick nice to see you here looking forward to your log DEREK S

[Shipyard sid]

Greetings Patrick

Good to see you back and look forward to getting your log up and running, which I said to you on my log ( well if you can call it that ) . Lets hope that lots of the victory builds will reappear. I have just finished all the galleries and am wondering to go next, it could be a start on the gun ports lids and tidy the hull paintwork as I go. Look forward to you uploading your log. DAVID

[Patrick Haw]

I'm going to try loading some past pictures up.  So, to start here's some general set up, workshop and early hull construction pics.  I'll keep adding more this afternoon

 

Patrick

[Patrick Haw]

More hull construction and first planking

[Patrick Haw]

First planking complete, lining gun ports.  I decided to line and paint the gun ports prior to doing the second planking as others have done.  I think this will make the 1mm set back for the gun port lids easier to do that trying to set the linings back 1mm after the second planking is on.  A simple jig will ensure that the second planking stops 1mm from the gun port openings...if that makes sense!  I wasn't happy with "gaps" between the lids and the gun port openings, so went back with filler and filled them in and painted again.  Happy with the final result.

 

This is also as far as I had got before the great MSW crash, so following posts are what I've accomplished in the last week.

 

Patrick

[Patrick Haw]

Middle gun deck planked.  This was an interesting problem.  On my old log I mentioned that I though that I'd maybe placed the gun port strips perhaps a millimeter too gigh but wasn't too worried.  When I went to put the middle gundeck planking down I noticed that the "drop" from the entry port sill to the deck was a bit too much and to scale would have been somewhere around 18"...resulting in a lot of sprained ankles.  So I took some 1mm x 6mm walnut scrap I had left over from a previous build and put down a false deck, then planked it over with the kit's Tnganyika deck planks.  It's a "double-decker"!  I think it came out OK.

 

Patrick

[Patrick Haw]

Started on the quarter galleries.  This wasn't quite so daunting of a task as I thought it would be.  Once I figured out the right position for the inner stern facia reverything else seemed to fall into place quite easily. In the second picture above, you'll notice that the bottom corner of the stern fascia has snapped off.  This happened on both sides in exactly the same place.  Because of the slots for the back of the quarter gallery frams, the bottom corners have a very tenuous attachment to the stern fascia...and I'm clumsy!  Other photos show the broken corners fitted back in place, so it all worked out.

 

And that's as far as I am 50 days into the build.

 

Patrick

[dafi]

What a difference in box-sizes :-)

 

Compared to mine yours is three times as big!!!

 

Nice to have you and your great build back too, Daniel

[mort stoll]

Hi Patrick,

 

In retrospect should you have slightly bent the stern facia thus giving it a slight curve?

 

Mort

[ocean clipper]

Hi Patrick its looking good ,regards the stern fascia you where not the only person to snap those bits of  i did as well easily done,will never notice  later on it is well hidden.nice size workshop you got there.

                                                                        DEREK S

[Shipyard sid]

Patrick

Your build is coming on fine and as for snapping off those corners, you are just copying others . You will probably find a few more as your build progresses. The alignment of the skins can be a bit tricky and you can always leave them till later, as you may of seen on Gil middletons log (alas no longer there) he fitted all the galleries at the same time later in he's build, anyway crack on,enjoy your build.DAVID

[rdsaplala]

Hi Patrick,

 

Just catching up with your Victory log, beautiful work there, planking and detail work is very neat and clean

[Patrick Haw]

Thanks Derek & David.  Glad we all made it back here.  Glad too to know that I'm in good company as far as breaking bits off the stern fascia, and you're right Derek, it will never show once the stern is finished.  I'm going to dry fit the quarter gallery skins and leave them off until much later in the build. 

 

Mort, it's probably the camera angle (and my poor photography) but the stern facia is fitted firmly against all the stern extension pieces and the aft ends of the quarter gallery patterns and has a definite curve to it following the pieces it is fitted to.

 

I should be good to start the second hull planking sometime this week although I'm building a fence in my back yard along with a friend this week so will have to see how much time that takes up.  It's February, in Maryland, it's freezing outside...and I'm building a fence.  I question my sanity sometimes!

 

Patrick

[Sjors]

Hi Patrick,

 

Great to see you back again.

I will follow you again in silence…..

From time to time I'll be dropping in.

 

Sjors

[romiol]

Hi Patrick

 

Great to have you back here too - and your Vic still looks great!

 

Cheers,

Rosmarie

[mort stoll]

Sorry Patrick, I meant should you have - and you may have - used heat to shape the stern before attempting to glue it to the hull, thus having it curved and fully shaped before it was glued there by avoiding the the corners snapping off. I am asking so I will be able to avoid them snapping off when I build my Vic.

 

Thanks,

Mort

[Patrick Haw]

Mort, 

 

Now I understand!  Acually though, the curve of the stern fascia is very slight, although it definitely curves, so I don't think it's necessary to shape it with heat before putting it on the ship.  Others may have had a different experience. The fascia sits on the stern extensions very easily, givving the necessary curve.  The two lower corners of the fascia don't actually attach to anything when you first put it on the ship.  Looking at my pics of the fascia above, you can see that because of the full slot and half slot for the quarter gallery patterns the bottom corners of the fascia are only attached by tiny bits of wood at the upper and lower outer corners and it doesn't take much to knock them off.  So it wasn't the curve of the fascia but my clumsiness that was responsible for breaking the corners!!  Anyway, it's all fixed now and won't show at all once the outer stern fascia goes on...somewhere down the road a couple of years!!

[Artificer]

Patrick

 

I've just caught up with your build log. I like your first layer planking, clean, smooth and no filler, that will give a good base for the second layer planking.

 

Yours is not the first build log where the first layer stern facia has broken at the lower corner, I wonder if there is a quality issue with Jotika, my facia was fine and suffered no breakages even after some bashing.

 

Dave

[md1400cs]

Oh my! this ship has always made me sooo nervous. It is so beautiful. I don't think that I will ever have the skills to do it even poor justice. Your build looks to be excellent. Beautiful start. I will happily follow your posts.

I was lucky to board this stunning ship when I was in England. What an experience.

PS: I love your hobby work area (:-)

 

MJD

[Patrick Haw]

Thanks MJD. It's an intimidating project for sure, but the problem solving is all part of the "fun"! Besides, I have all the experiences of the other Victory builders here to  fall back on when the going gets tough.

 

A few years ago I attended the Patrick O'Brian weekend at the Royal Navy Museum in Portsmouth. The highlight of the week end was a formal dinner on Victory's lower gun deck. I was in heaven!

 

Patrick

[mort stoll]

Hi Patrick,

 

Thanks very much. Now it is clear.

 

Mort

[Patrick Haw]

No pictures with this post...I'm too embarassed! I've been making good progress and then took a big step backwards.  I finished with all the quarter gallery patterns and the stern fascia and dry fitted all the quarter gallery skins then removed them and put them away for later.  Pretty happy with the result.  So I moved onto beginning the second planking, that's when I had an "uh-oh" moment.  Those of you who read my log on the previous MSW version may recall that I elected to line the gun ports prior to doing the second planking as I'd seen someone else do, figuring it'd be east to plank up to 1mm from the lined gun ports with the second planking.  It isn't!  Trying to make the cuts in the second planking exactly 1mm back from the port linings is just about impossible and the results were U-G-L-Y!  Luckily I'd only partially planked over maybe six gun ports and learned from my mistake early.  The solution?  Knowck out all of the gun port linings and planks right up to the gun port openings, then line the gun ports again after second planking. Just ordered more 1mm x 16mm walnut strips for the job. I just finished taking out all the linings and cleaning up and squaring the port openings and I'm back to working on the second planking.  I have to say that I was pretty proud of how well fitted and glued the linings were, they were a pain to take out!!  Of course most of the lower gun deck linings fell down into the hold and when I move the ship it sounds like a baby's rattle - I just hope nobody decides to pick it up and shake it when it's done!

 

I have to thank many of the other Victory builders here for the inspiration to accept a mistake, undo a lot of work and re-do it.  If it wasn't for others willingness to do this and share their trials and tribulations with everyone else, I'd probably still be trying to make those ugly gun port cuts!

 

Cheers,

 

Patrick

[Shipyard sid]

Hello patrick

Yes I thought of lining the gun ports after the first planking, but thought it would be very tricky, also my planking was not all it should have been, and the sanding back of the second planking would have severely reduced the thickness of it. I note you were pretty happy with the gallery skins and had put them to one side till later. It might be an idea not to glaze the inside of the skins, but simply glaze each of the windows individually before you insert them. It's an idea for you to think about. Well good luck with your build, and I look forward to your next up date. DAVID

[keelhauled]

Hi Patrick,

 

I'd have four times the finsihed models that I have, if I didn't have to go back and take apart what I've already built due to some issue later on.  Post the photos anyway, we can all learn from your missteps.  And if you are like me, I won't learn anyway and I'll have your photos to look at and know that I'm not alone! 

[Kevin]

i did the same with the gun port linings, very hard to make all those exact cuts, some have done ti successfully though, both ways have pros and cons, im happy with my putting the linings on completion of 2nd planking

[Patrick Haw]

After the demolition of my lovely gun port linings I've been back at the second planking and cutting out gunports as I go.  I'm pretty pleased with how it's going although there were a couple of mistakes, mostly from planks splitting, that needed a bit of filler, but not bad overall and it's all going to be painted anway.  Critical lesson for anyone else embarking on cutting out the gunports through the second planking - put some super glue on the area to be cut, let it soak in, wipe it off, then make your cuts.  This will prevent the walnut strips from splitting at the cut.

 

Here's the work to date.  First pic is of my gun port inserts...all gone now!

 

Patrick

[Patrick Haw]

Well the second planking is going pretty well once I got past cutting the gun ports out as I planked over them.  I decided to take the approach of planking downward to about the waterline and then start upward from the keel as I like the effect when it's completed.  Not sure what this technique is called.  Never done it this way before so I hope it turns out ok.  I figure if it doesn't it'll all be coppered over anyway!  Still have to put stealers in at the stern and a bunch of sanding to do.  I've been doing preliminary sanding as I go and so far not too much filler needed. 

 

That's not filler, it's caulk...yeah that's what it is!

 

Patrick

[Rich.F]

Very Nice work so far will indeed like to see how she comes along as the Victory is possibly next on my build list,depending on how my currant build goes. 

 

Best of luck

 

Rich