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

[Patrick Haw]

Belfry and forecastle breast beam assembly completed today.  Needs paint touch up but overall I'm pleased with it.  You might notice that the bitts by the mainmast have fallen over...I knocked them over so many times while planking the quarterdeck I figured I'd just leave them loose until I'm not doing things that are likely to make me knock them over again!

 

Patrick

[gjdale]

Looking good Patrick. For your bitts, you may wish to consider inserting a brass pin into the "foot" of each vertical post and drilling a corresponding hole into the deck, then gluing them in place with epoxy. This would ensure they don't come off again when tension is applied to the rigging lines that will eventually go around them.

[Shipyard sid]

Hello Patrick

Everything is looking as as good ever, and as I said earlier the glazing is excellent. At least the bits breaking loose are no prob, it's the bowsprit area that seems to suffer the most breakages. Mine has been broken twice. Thanks a lot for your post. Keep enjoying your build DAVID

[Patrick Haw]

Today's project was the quarter deck barricade.  21 separate pieces to this.  With the exception of the 1 x 3mm base piece and the top cap rail, I built the three sections off the ship and then installed them.  Pleased with the result.  As suggested in the manual, installing the hammock cranes at this point is inadvisable due to the potential for damage.  And if there's anything that can be knocked down or broken, I'm just the guy to do it!

 

Patrick

[Sjors]

Very nice Patrick !

That black looks great .

Nice contrast with the deck.

 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2014 by Sjors

[Patrick Haw]

Thanks Sjors.  Whenever possible I assemble the components of each assembly and then paint the completed assembly off the ship.  For all the quarter deck pieces (barricade, belfry, etc) I've been using regular household flat black spray paint.  I find it gives more consistent and smoother coverage than brush painting.  After installig the piece I then do any needed touch up with a brush.

 

Patrick

[Sjors]

It looks great.

I'm always using a brush but when I see this I maybe  try spray.

See how it goes.

 

[Patrick Haw]

Work continues on the quarter deck.  I must say I'm enjoying these one-off assemblies like the quarter deck barricade, belfry, etc.  It'll be back to repetitive tasks soon enough.  Got the main top bowline and fore topsail sheet bitts installed and lined the main mast rigging opening, and finally epoxied the fore brace bitt in place.  It's pretty solid now and shouldn't knock over any more. Then the first lieutenant decided it was time to spiff things up a bit so I put a couple of coats of satin finish clear varnish on the hatchways and gratings and the main mast rigging opening linings.  I think it gives it a bit of pizzazz!  On to the main companionway today...it's probably easier than it looks but the instructions in the manual are quite confusing and badly written...what else is new?

 

Patrick

[Glenn-UK]

Nice work Patrick, looking good.

 

I'm looking forward to moving away from the repetitive work, even though I'm enjoying adding the second planking.

[Patrick Haw]

Well, a minor disaster has struck.  While dry fitting the main companion way ladder it fell through to the upper gundeck and then, incredibly, went straight down the companionway ladder from the upper gun deck to the middle gun deck.  I couldn't have made it do that if I'd tried!  But it's lost forever!  Now what to do?  I don't trust my skills to make new ladder sides with the grooves cut in properly, and it seems a bit ridiculous to try to order two new ladder sides and ship them across the Atlantic.  One option is to cut the ladder sides from the companionway down to the Admiral's dining cabin to the right size and use them for the main companionway, then just build the companionway to the Admiral's dining cabin with the coaming and hand rails, etc, but without any actual steps.  This companionway is so hidden under the poop deck and behind the binnacle, wheel, and mizzen mast that no one would know there's no actual ladder there I think.

 

Maybe I'll work on the binnacle and wheel while I ponder this one.

 

Patrick

[Glenn-UK]

Amazing stroke of bad luck. I hope you manage to come up with a workable solution to this minor set back. I have full confidence in your abilities.

[Patrick Haw]

I decided to go the route of using the ladder sides from the admiral's dining cabin companionway to make a new main companionway ladder, and then do the 'faux' companionway for the dining cabin with no actual ladder in it.  I figure it will be invisible once the poop deck, mizzen mast, wheel and binnacle are in place.  Maybe I could put a fireman's pole in that companionway and have the admiral slide down it to dinner!!

 

Patrick

[dafi]

"I don't trust my skills to make new ladder sides with the grooves cut in properly,"

 

I do not believe you until you proved me wrong! Just try it - what is there to loose? A tiny bit of wood. Or two? Or three - YES you can do it.

 

Cheers, Daniel

[Patrick Haw]

Thanks Daniel,

 

Maybe I'll give scratch ladder making a try.  Like you said, what do I have to lose?  And your efforts give me inspiration!  Let's see what happens.

 

Patrick

[gjdale]

Hey Patrick,

 

Bad luck with the ladder mate, but I agree with Daniel - have a go at scratch building one. There is nothing to lose, and you just might surprise yourself!

[Sjors]

Patrick,

 

You have to see it this way....

Your ship has a extra ladder in the belly of the ship 

Strange that it is nothing coming back.

You should think that when something falls down it has to be back at the serves.

With your skills you can scratch a new one that is better ten the one who is somewhere in the ship......

I have all the faith in you !

 

[Patrick Haw]

Thanks Glenn, Daniel, Grant, Sjors, and Lawrence.  Thanks for your confidence in my ability to scratch build new ladders, and I tried, I really did.  Spent a lot of time yesterday cutting out blank ladder sides and trying to cut the grooves for the steps, but I just couldn't get them lined up and all at the proper angle.  I found that Cornwall Model Boats has some 1:72 scale wood companionway ladder kits (not Caldercraft, but any port in a storm right?).  So I ordered some and will do a bit of bashing on them to make them fit right.  I have plenty of other things to work on while I wait for them to arrive, so will be posting some new pics soon.

 

Patrick

[gjdale]

Good news that you've been able to source some new ladders Patrick. At least you had a go at scratching them first, and that counts a lot.

[Sjors]

 

 

 

I found that Cornwall Model Boats has some 1:72 scale wood companionway ladder kits (not Caldercraft, but any port in a storm right?).  So I ordered some and will do a bit of bashing on them to make them fit right.  I have plenty of other things to work on while I wait for them to arrive, so will be posting some new pics soon.

 

Patrick

 

That's also a way to do it   

Instead of scratch just buy them !

 

 

[mobbsie]

Hi Patrick,

 

You never know what you can achieve until you give it a try and at least you tried, that's the important thing.

 

Your doing some amazing stuff here Patrick and if I can do half as well I will be a very happy man.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

[Kevin]

Sorry Patrick, 

 

I seam to have stopped seeing updates for your log, i will catch up with it in the next day or so, but yours is not the first log that has stopped me following

[Patrick Haw]

Hi Kevin,

 

Don't know how that happened, but glad you made it back to my build.  Your insight and advice are always invaluable.

 

Patrick

[Patrick Haw]

Quarter deck pin rails, shot garlands, kevels and staghorns installed.  Need a bit of paint touch up but I'm happy.  Quarter deck screen and binnacle are dry fitted. The shot garlands required 62 cannon balls, I had 63.  Dropped two of them amd spent half an hour on my knees to find one.  Got it!  I decided to paint the shot garlands yellow instead of black as I think it highlights the cannon balls better.

 

Patrick

[Shipyard sid]

Hello Patrick

Thanks for your post on my log, and as you say the repair work no prob at all. Your build is coming along fine, and all so crisp and clean, but lacking any dust !!!!!!!!!! You must be constantly cleaning it. Yes the quality of your build is excellent.. Keep enjoying it ... DAVID

[Patrick Haw]

Thanks David.  I go through a lot of cans of that computer keyboard dust spray they sell in office supply stores to try and keep the ship as clean as I can.  And of course I clean it up before I take photos...you wouldn't want to see it beforehand!

 

Patrick

[Patrick Haw]

In between re-decorating a bedroom and waiting for my new companionway ladder to be deivered I've had some time to keep moving ahead on my build.  Finished the beakhead capping assembly and am now building the roundhouses and hopefully will get the beakhead decked and finished in the next couple of days.  So here are some pictures, the quarterdeck screen, wheel, and ninnacle or just dry fitted right now.

 

Patrick

[pompey2]

Looking very nice Patrick.

Lovely work

 

Nick

[Glenn-UK]

Looking good, keep up the good work Patrick

[Sjors]

Excellent job Patrick !!!!!!

 

I hope I can get mine this way ( Aggy )

 

[Shipyard sid]

Hello Patrick

Yep once again excellent work and not a speck of dust. You will enjoy this phase with lots going on. I remember yon fitting out the full bulkhead before fitting it to the ship, which made things a lot easier. Keep enjoying yourself, you are doing a cracking job. DAVID