HMS Victory by Daliab - FINISHED - Mantua/Panart

[Daliab]

Spent the weekend working on the bow section.  The trim was a pain in the neck to put on.  Learning a lot of little things that the multi-language instruction sheet didn't cover.... I guess they figured if there was a picture without mentioning it in the instructions would be enough.  Notice the notch cut out on the bow where the figurehead would go?  Anyone know why you notch the bow?

 

[GrandpaPhil]

Nicely done!  

The notch is to mount the figurehead.

[Daliab]

GrandpaPhil

I've looked throughout the instruction booklet, looked on this site, and even googled the subject on the internet.

For the life of me I do not see how this is mounted on the bow.  The figurehead comes in two pieces... don't see anything that the figurehead attaches to.

How and to what is the figurehead glued to?

Edited February 25, 2020 by Daliab
Deleted some of the text that after noaching the bow the placement of the figurehead would have been to high.

[Jeff-E]

Hi Daliab,

The figure head castings supplied by Mantua are very thick and need a lot of thinning on the inside of them to get them to sit properly, at least the ones supplied for my bow section of the kit did. I thinned the top one down until the crown sat fully on the stem post and glued it on with epoxy the second piece was widened until it sat underneath it. See the picture below.

                     

However I now believe this is wrong. The instructions in my kit did not mention notching the stem but it would allow the figurehead to sit back more on the stem and the bottom piece to hang straighter and fit tighter against the stem.

Hope this helps.

[Daliab]

3 hours ago, Jeff-E said:

Hi Daliab,

The figure head castings supplied by Mantua are very thick and need a lot of thinning on the inside of them to get them to sit properly, at least the ones supplied for my bow section of the kit did. I thinned the top one down until the crown sat fully on the stem post and glued it on with epoxy the second piece was widened until it sat underneath it. See the picture below.

However I now believe this is wrong. The instructions in my kit did not mention notching the stem but it would allow the figurehead to sit back more on the stem and the bottom piece to hang straighter and fit tighter against the stem.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for your input.  I too can not find any mention of notching the bow section or even how the figurehead should be mounted on the bow.  I went and notched the bow based on the picture in the instructions but,I still don't see how this fits.  I used a pair of needle nose pliers and used them inside of the main piece by spreading out the handles to open up the jaws of the pliers to spread the outer sides of the figurehead.  This help a little bit but don't want to over do it. If I don't figure it out, I may end up gluing a piece to the bow (hidden) that allows the crown portion of the figurehead to rest on it.  Your right the figurehead supplied by the manufacturer is really thick and very hard material.  Trying to use a dermal, files, you name it to clean up the parts that don't belong.  Again... thanks for everyone's input. 

Edited February 26, 2020 by Daliab

[GrandpaPhil]

I did not use the figurehead out of the kit.  I made my own out of basswood and card. 
 

I cut off the bow section and traced the one out of the AOTS which is why mine has a notch.  I ended up filling it in with a filler block after I made the figurehead.

 

It looks like you wouldn’t need to notch the beakhead if you use the figurehead out of the kit.

 

 

Edited February 26, 2020 by GrandpaPhil

[Daliab]

31 minutes ago, GrandpaPhil said:

I did not use the figurehead out of the kit.  I made my own out of basswood and card. 
 

I cut off the bow section and traced the one out of the AOTS which is why mine has a notch.  I ended up filling it in with a filler block after I made the figurehead.

 

It looks like you wouldn’t need to notch the beakhead if you use the figurehead out of the kit.

 

 

GrandapaPhil..... to late.  I already cut a notch in the bow but kept the piece in case I needed to re-glue it back in place.

As I stated above..... I used a pair of needle nose pliers and used them inside of the main piece by spreading out the handles to open up the jaws of the pliers to spread the outer sides of the figurehead. 

Still thinking it out and looking at the 3 Victory books I have and looking on the internet to see how other folks mounted there's.   I'm not in a hurry to mount it.  Once I get the bowsprint in place temporarily, I'll get a better idea of the space I have to work with.  Thanks for the input.

Edited February 26, 2020 by Daliab

[Daliab]

Well this is how I spent my day... building 1 deck gun.  I didn't like the suggested way the instructions wanted you to construct the gun so I turned to "the Anatomy of Nelson's Ships" by C Nepean Longridge.  This book shows a little more detail and the correct way the cannon should look, although I did claim some artistic license to get it to look more like it should be.

Still.... this is a far cry of carving all of the guns like GramdpaPhil's Victory Build.  If you haven't seen them,  you should check these out:  HMS Victory by GrandpaPhil - Mantua - Scale 1:98 Kit-Bash.

 

 

Edited February 29, 2020 by Daliab

[GrandpaPhil]

Thank you very much for the vote of confidence.

Well done on the carronade.  I like the modifications and the added detail.  It looks good.

Edited February 27, 2020 by GrandpaPhil

[Daliab]

Cutting, building, and painting the inside gun port lids.  This is going to take a little bit of time.

[Daliab]

I thought cutting, building and painting the gun port lids was going to take some time.  Mounting the gun port lids is going to take even longer.  I thought putting the copper pieces on the haul was a long process.... this is going to take even longer.

 

Edited March 4, 2020 by Daliab

[Daliab]

25 gun ports completed with 16 left on the starboard side then it's off to the port side.  These micro drill bits from  Harbor Freight worked out great so far.  $7.99 minus 20% coupon.  Will come in handy for the rest of this build.

Edited March 8, 2020 by Daliab

[Daliab]

My happy place.  Looks disorganized but it's all within arms reach.

Starboard gun ports are complete and have started on the port side.

 

Cancelled our trip in April to Ireland to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary and now moved it to October.

Family members returned from vacation in Austria and Germany and have self quarantined themselves for two weeks.

[Daliab]

Cannons in Lisbon Portugal 2020.

 

Cannons from Malta  2020

 

 

[VTHokiEE]

Very cool pictures, thanks for sharing!

 

23 minutes ago, Daliab said:

My happy place

It doesn’t look all that disorganized (maybe that says something about my area though...). How do you keep sawdust from getting everywhere?

[Daliab]

9 minutes ago, VTHokiEE said:

Very cool pictures, thanks for sharing!

 

It doesn’t look all that disorganized (maybe that says something about my area though...). How do you keep sawdust from getting everywhere?

Believe it or not I use this $40 disk sander from Menards and a shop vac that attaches to it.  The wife hasn't gotten on me for any sawdust at all in the den.  Great tool. Search "Bench Top 5" Disk Sander" on this side. Great tool for the price.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 15, 2020 by Daliab

[VTHokiEE]

3 minutes ago, Daliab said:

Believe it or not I use this $40 disk sander from Menards and a shop vac that attaches to it.  The wife hasn't gotten on me for any sawdust at all in the den.  Great tool.

I agree, I actually picked one up based on that thread and have been doing my best to use it more and more. I suppose I meant larger sanding, mainly the hull after planking. I made a saw dust mess in my garage doing that. 

[Daliab]

20 minutes ago, VTHokiEE said:

I agree, I actually picked one up based on that thread and have been doing my best to use it more and more. I suppose I meant larger sanding, mainly the hull after planking. I made a saw dust mess in my garage doing that. 

I have larger sanders for regular woodworking projects but they are overkill for my model even though the Victory is 50+ inches long.  I get by with that little 5 inch sander with the shop vac in the house and the wife is amazed there is not sawdust anywhere.  I did hand sand the hull after the first and second planking.  Planks are just to thin for power tools.

 

 

Edited March 15, 2020 by Daliab

[Daliab]

Finally got both sides of the gun ports made, painted, and installed.  Almost took as long to do the gun ports as it did putting copper on the hull.

Still need to work on the rudder (next) and install.

Edited March 19, 2020 by Daliab

[Daliab]

Looking for suggestions.  I think the figures and scrolls look to thick on the stern.  I'm thinking of removing them and sand them so they don't look so bulky.  To me they look to thick and it has been bothering me every since I installed them.  Thoughts?  Thanks for the inputs.

 

 

 

[VTHokiEE]

I don’t know that I would’ve picked up on the thickness if you hadn’t mentioned it, but now I think it does seem thick to me.

[David56]

Daliab   Your ship is looking great. hope mine turns out just as well. Have a question for you on the gun ports. What size thread did you use for the gun ports. Also  are there any tips you can pass along on getting them done correctly.  any help will be appreciated

 

[Daliab]

 

54 minutes ago, David56 said:

Daliab   Your ship is looking great. hope mine turns out just as well. Have a question for you on the gun ports. What size thread did you use for the gun ports. Also  are there any tips you can pass along on getting them done correctly.  any help will be appreciated

 

Hey David56.... glad to see you back.

Thread: Went to JoAnn Fabrics and got a threat that is good for coats (a little heaver than regular thread) Coat and Clark Art: S950, Color 8010.  It was left over from a previous build and just used it.

My lessons learned from building, painting, installing the gun ports. 

1. Use the jig that comes with the kit to pre-drill holes on the port and starboard sides.

2. Install the eyelets which hold the lids, in the holes just over each opening.

3. I cut the outside planks to length and then cut the inter part of the gun port and glued them up per the instructions.

4. Painted them

5. Glue the hinges to the outside of the lids and then using the holes in the hinges as guides, pre-drilled holes through the outside for the gun port lids to install the eyelets but don't install the eyelets yet.

6. I took my alligator clip holder and put a eyelet in one end and ran the thread from the other.  I built up 2 each thread and eyelets for each lid and left enough thread length to trim at installation.

7. I took a little CA glue between my fingers and coated the threads to stiffen them up to help guide the threads into the side of the hull.

8. I took a little CA on the end of the eyelet and inserted them in the holes.

9. I then installed them between the 2 eyelets using a thin piece of wire through the hinges.

10.  I then took the thread and ran them through the holes using tweezers.

 

I also found the a small drop of CA on the wire and hinge helped keeping the lids in place.  Until the CA dried and to keep the lids at the same attitude throughout, I used one of the unused lids between the cannon and the lid until dry.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 24, 2020 by Daliab

[David56]

thanks for the help  will let you know how it goes

[Daliab]

43 minutes ago, David56 said:

thanks for the help  will let you know how it goes

The big time saver was making the cords separately, then adding them to the lids, then mounting the lids on the ship, then taking the cords and guiding them into the holes.  The time saver was also taking a little bit of glue and coating the cords... it will drive you crazy trying to take the cord and get it into the little hole.  A piece of cake if you coat it with a touch of CA.

[Daliab]

Although from the pictures it doesn't look like there's been much of a change but, it's the little things.

Made some advances to the bow section but haven't painted or  installed them yet.... I know as soon as I glue those little dowels in, I'm going to shear one of them off.  I'll hold off for now.

Completed the top of the rail, painted and installed the channels and made the dual railings on both sides of the model.

 

Edited March 26, 2020 by Daliab

[Daliab]

Productive day.  Finished dual parbuckles and single parbuckles on port and starboard side.  Completed sea doors and gangways on both sides.  Started to build cannons.

 

Edited March 28, 2020 by Daliab
Modified cannons and reposted

[Jeff-E]

Great job! The entry port and access ladder look fantastic.

 

[Daliab]

Making grates, hatches and stern skylight.  Ran out of grating material and had to order more.  Waiting.....

 

[Daliab]

Well the Vic is sitting it out for a little while while I catch up making cannons and the blocks for each of the cannons.
I have found a very helpful You Tube video that has helped me with mating hooks on blocks for securing each of the cannons.
Metal hooks and strops for model ship building by Tom Lauria  

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IXIElThY1E&t=163s

 

 

 

Edited April 6, 2020 by Daliab