HMS VICTORY by Jerry - FINISHED - Caldercraft - Scale 1:72 - 1805 version

[Jerry]

Good morning Brian....

I appreciate your comments on my build.  You're so right; it's ambitious all right and has become the consumer of most of my time.  Lately I have learned that there are other things in life so my progress has slowed a bit.  Please stay in touch.

Jerry

[Jerry]

Here's a few pictures of the latest progress on my build.  It looks like things are shaping up again and it won't be long before this old guy will be squeezing in the quarter deck.  According to the construction manual I'm ready to build the Steam Trunk.  This something no one will ever see so what's the sense of spending precious time assembling it?  In any event, I'm ready to glue in the camber beams for the quarterdeck if I don't panic and think I misplaced them as before.  I'll be back again when additional progress is made.  Happy days everyone...

Jerry

Edited August 14, 2013 by Jerry

[Jerry]

Hi Lawrence..

As far as I can tell, the steam trunk is a 4- sided box that sits on the upper gun deck just aft of the foremast.  I'm really not sure of its use but I believe it was used for storage.  In this kit there is no top, just the four pieces, 2 sides, a front and a back.  Since the sides are attached to the outsides of the front and back, the box actually is not a square; it is slightly wider than long.  Believe me, I will not be haunted if I leave the trunk off the ship.  It will never be seen as most of the upper deck cannons.  And, you are right, I am looking forward to adding the "fun stuff" to the model.  Hope you are having a nice morning and thanks for your thoughts.  Regards,

Jerry

[Jerry]

Things are beginning to move along nicely again.  I'm happy that I'm ready to glue in the quarter deck.  You will notice that the camber beams are in place and that there really is a steam trunk on the upper gun deck.  BUT, this is also a time of bitter sweetness.  So much of the details of Victory are about to be covered up.  Thankfully I have the photos to remember what everything looked like.  I remember that before I started my build I gave a lot of thought as to a way to have a large opening in one side of the ship so as to see what kind of guts this model has.  I know that there is a model of a cross section of Victory and if I'm still around and have my vision and sanity when this model is finished, maybe I'll attempt to construct it.  Yeah, I know, they're not the same scale but really, what's the difference?  Just a thought anyway.  By the way, does anyone else agree with me that the attached photo of Victory, viewed from above, reminds me of a Manatee...We have a lot of them here in Florida.  So here are the pics taken today, August 15, 2013.  Later, everyone.

Edited August 15, 2013 by Jerry

[Shipyard sid]

Hello Jerry

Well done, excellent work. Keep it going and enjoy it. Steam trunk?????? Maybe it's a sauna. Regards DAVID

[Jerry]

Good evening, David...I have no idea what the steam trunk is or what it's for.  I tried the internet and of course what I got mostly ...a steam trunk was used by passengers yo carry their belongings while travelling on ships in the 20's and 30's and 40's.  I think you're right, it's a large sauna for the admiral and his girl friend.  Thanks for your compliments, I'm sure that by now, you know I appreciate them and you.  I hope the weather in NE England is still decent.  Ta ta...Jerry

[Jerry]

Good evening, Lawrence.. Thanks for your reply.  Actually, there's an opening in the quarterdeck right above the steam trunk so maybe a hatch or something will be added.  The steam trunk comes right up to the bottom of the quarter deck.  As sson as I find out I'll let you know.  How's your build coming along?  I haven't visited your log for awhile but intend to do so soom.  Take care,

Jerry

[Jerry]

Hello..

Latest progress  (not much)...Installed Quarterdeck, Skid beams, fore brace bitt pins and skid beam pillars.  As you can see the progress has slowed due to the intricacy of the work..More later..

Jerry

[Shipyard sid]

Greetings Jerry

Well there you go. As ever its excellent. Out into the daylight now. Well you would be on the real ship!!!!. You are going to enjoy this next phase, loads to do, and all visible!!!!! Sadly no shortcuts or improvision. I am in the rigging doing the foremast shrouds and lanyards with tweezers needle threader and bad language. Keep up the excellent work, planking next. DAVID Love the intricacy bit

[Jerry]

Good afternoon friend David...Thank you for your kind words.  It will feel good to be "out in the daylight."  First comes the Beakhead Bulkhead which puzzles me a bit as it leaves spaces at top and is lower than the ship's sides.  But in checking your site it looks like that's the way it's supposed to be.  The foto will explain what I mean.   School has started ehre again so that means my better half who is a teacher, is working all day again and that leaves me with a very quiet house to work in.  Let me know, please, if the beakhead looks wrong.  Many thanks again,

Jerry

Edited August 22, 2013 by Jerry

[Jerry]

• Good afternoon Lawrence and thank you for your very kind words.  I think you're jazzing me because I believe you're way ahead of me; makes no difference, we're not in a race anyway.  LOL...I'm about to assemble the quarterdeck screen assembly so it can me marked where it goes at the right bulkswarks.  As soon as that's finished, I'll start the "fondly" remembered planking a deck again..At least that's better than walking the plank.  You're right, as David, (Shipyard Sid ) has said, I'm out of the dark and back into daylight.  Too bad I had to cover up so much work..but on second thought I also covered up a lot of mistakes..LOL  Have a great evening and come visit again soon.

Jerry

[Jerry]

Hi Lawrence...I'm sorry that you feel you offended me,  Not so, in fact, you ahe always been kind and encouraging.  perhaps I used the wrong word when I used jazzing when I meant "kidding."  I appreciate your visits so please keep them up.  You mentioned that you finished the upper deck.  Do you mean the upper gun deck and therefore getting ready for the quarterdeck?  Here's where I'm at:

Have a great day and please keep in touch.

Jerrr

Edited August 25, 2013 by Jerry

[Shipyard sid]

Hello jerry

That deck planking looks excellent. It's really looking good. Well done. Keep enjoying it. DAVID

[Jerry]

Good afternoon David.  I'm glad you like the planking.. It's something, for some reason, that I enjoy doing.  I hope to finish it this week and get on to the other "daylight" fixings that need to be done.  Speak to you soon,

 

Jerry

[Jerry]

Hey Lawrence....

 

When you referred to the upper deck, I thought you meant the upper gun deck because technically the deck I'm working on is the quarter deck,  I hope I'm not being a smart *** but I just wanted you to know why I was confused.  You sure have a lot of patience to take apart what you already built but if it doesn't fit i guess that's what you ahve to do.  It'sso good that you knew how to handle the dismantle as I don't think I would have done anything  but start over again.

 

Are you retired and if not what kind of work do you do up in the north country?  I spent a lot of my life in the theatre.  I'm basically a techie but as my career took me into directing.  I haven't done anything for a year and I miss it but I suppose if I did do some theatre work the ship building would suffer.

 

Hope you've had a great weekend.

 

jerry

[Jerry]

Hello everyone.. The quarterdeck planking has been completed and has several coats of matte varnish applied.  Even if noone else likes the finish, I really do.  Here are a couple of pics to prove my progress.  Have a great evening...Respectfully posted..

Jerry

Edited August 28, 2013 by Jerry

[Shipyard sid]

Hello.

Well done, sparkling work. Lots of bits and bobs to fit on now. Keep enjoying yourself. Fit the doors and gunport lids etc on the beak head before you clag it in position . You prob know that. Well done Jerry . DAVID

[Jerry]

Thanks, David...As usual, I will take your advice and be on the lookout for the beakhead gunports.  I need to check that as I don't remeber reading about them.  Have a good night and a great day tomorrow.  I;ll also be checking your log to see how you're doing.

Jerry

[Jerry]

Good evening, lawrence... Thanks for looking in at my latest post.  It IS fun to get to this part and I'm sure looking forward to next phase.  I also checked your blog and left a comment for you.  Your build looks great.  Keep up your good spirit.  Until next time,,,,,Jerry.

[Patrick Haw]

Fantastic work Jerry.  You really are moving along and she looks great.  I just finally finished my coppering...summer and other things got in the way, so it took me two months working off and on.  Just need to do some clean up and then I'll post some pics.  Builds like yours are what keep me pushing on and are a joy to follow.

 

Patrick

[Jerry]

Hi Patrick...Thanks so much for looking in at my log.  I'm real excited as I progress through the build although the manual isn't as great as I hoped it would be.  Thank goodness for all the other Victory builders who have helped me so much.  I left some comments on your log as I just checked it out.  Have a great day..

Jerry

[Jerry]

I had hoped for a little more time today to spend working on Victory.  When my wife left for work early this morning she noticed that the headlights of my car were "on."  When I tried to start my brand new vehicle.....oops, dead battery.  No problem, I thought; just call my insurance company and they'll have a mechanic to my home in no time.  And I was right, a tow truck showed up in a half-hour and the operator dragged out his jump cables and raised the hood (bonnett for you Brits)  of my new Prius..........Uh oh!  no battery to be found.  He suspected that the battery was in the rear of the vehicle but  he couldn't open the rear hatch since there was no power from the dead battery to do so.  After crawling over the laid down rear seats and lifting up a hatch next to the rear floor covering, he found the battery and jumped it.  I was able to drive again.  So off to the dealership I went where I discovered that there is a contact for the positive jumper cable under a plastic cover sitting under the hood and one is to use any metal part found there for the negative connection.  But nobody was able to figure out why the battery went dead in the first place.  The guessed concluision was that I may have left the driver's door slightly open causing the lights to burn instead of automatically shutting off in 30 sconds after I left the car and "closed" the door..So why have I told all this?  BECAUSE I LOST 4 FREAKING HOURS OF WORK ON MY MODEL. 

But I did get somethng done later in the day.  I glued on the 1.5x1.5mm strips on the sides of the skidbeam and although the inside bulwarks needed a slight amount of sanding, they installed easier than I expected.   Oh yeah, the forecastle snatch blocks were glued in place too. Here  are some photos of today's progress:

Edited August 30, 2013 by Jerry

[Jerry]

Good morning Lawrence..

Nice to hear from you again and I appreciate that you like the pics.  One of the best features of the Jotika kit, I think, is that one doesn't have to cut out the gunport holes.  That in itself would probably be a deterant for many model builders. And it probably saves many hours of work.  The trick, however, is make sure that inboard and outboard gun ports are lined up properly with each other so that when lining them they are square.  As I mentioned before I had to slightly sand the bottom of the inboard bulwarks to make sure the two pairs matched each other.  I imagine in kits, like yours, where the builder has to cut out the gunports, that should not be a problem.  You mentioned that you plan to use profile brass insread of the wooden ones.  Is this an item that is regularly found?  Hope you have a great day..

Jerry

[Shipyard sid]

Hello Jerry

Hope all is well. I think the brass profile that Lawrence is using is they same as what you have with your kit. Lawrence will correct me if I am wrong regards DAVID

[Jerry]

Hello Lawrence and David...

 

Thanks, David, youi are correct.  I see the brass profiles shown in the parts list but I'm still pretty far off from thinking about the profile.  Right now I'm working on lining the inside of the quarterdeck bulwarks.  This has proven to be a tough job since there are several ports to work around.  I'm planking the very aft part of the ship first (behind where the screen assembly will be) so I can paint that area and then glue in the screen assembly before I plank the rest of the inner bukwarks.  I hope this makes sense.  Best to you both,  Jerry

[Jerry]

Hi Everyone...I know you're all waiting breathlessly for my next post.  Well here it is...All inner bulwarks are now completely planked and painted yellow ochre.  Now I'm getting ready to finish the outside planking of the hull all the way up to the top of the bulwarks.  I'm reall y excited to have gotten this far which took me approximately six months.  Happy day to everyone.

Jerry

Edited September 5, 2013 by Jerry

[Kevin]

well done

[Jerry]

Hi Kevin,

 

Thanks for checking my log and especially for your comment.  Hope you have a great day,

Jerry

[davyboy]

Hi Jerry,your Vic is coming along nicely. However, may I point out that you have glued the Snatch Blocks on upside down,they could not be used this way    

 

regards, Dave

[Kevin]

Sorry Dave, i Never spotted that, as i have not fitted mine yet

Edited September 5, 2013 by Kevin