HMS Victory by mfrazier - Sergal 782 - 1:78 scale

[mfrazier]

3 minutes ago, Edwardkenway said:

Lovely cabin bulkheads, Victory is coming along nicely 😁👍

One panel down and 4 more to go.😁

[Old Collingwood]

Looking good  I think we all have to do this as the kit  parts are just so bad.

 

OC.

[mfrazier]

1 hour ago, Old Collingwood said:

Looking good  I think we all have to do this as the kit  parts are just so bad.

 

OC.

Especially the Mantua. All the wood in this kit is poor.  It is very dry. If it wasn't so expensive and wasteful,  I  would replace all the wood.  I regret settling for this kit and I  had to pay more for it. But it gives me a nice challenge. I am just glad I  could come up with something better for these cabins. I am happy with this attempt. 

 

Mark Frazier 

 

[mfrazier]

The cabins are finished and I am reasonably happy with them. ( I  still have to trim the outside edges when glue dries. ) I printed them then glued tiny pieces of wood to the pattern. ( My problem is that I am a machinist and used to working with dimensions to .001 inches. That kind of tolerance just doesn't work with wood. )

I think these look great considering they will be very difficult to see the details  once everything is in front of them. Now I am ready to start the first layer of planking. 

Mark Frazier 

 

(Once the brass black arrives,  I  can make door handles. )

[mfrazier]

As I  look ahead for more things to watch for, I noticed the ships wheels.  They are way too thick and look bulky. These are twice the thickness they should be. I can order the correct scale ones but thought maybe these can be saved.  You can see in the next photo, I  thinned one down. 

This is an improvement.  I  probably could go a little thinner.

If I  thin them a little more,  I  think they will be okay. This wood doesn't take stain hardly at all. I will probably have to paint them wood brown. We shall see how they look when I  get them done.

 

Mark Frazier 

 

 

[Old Collingwood]

Mutch better.

 

OC.

[mfrazier]

I am putting filler blocks in the front mainly to hold the planking in form. I don't intend to fasten to them. They are rough shaped and I  will finish them in place.

 

Mark Frazier 

[mfrazier]

 I have started planking. 

This is going to be a long process.  The wood is so dry and brittle, I have to wet every plank and let it dry. To bend the ends at the bow, I have to soak the end of the plank. This dry limewood snaps so easily because it is so dry. I don't know if it is because it was sitting a long time or it is just more poor quality on Mantua's part.  I laid the first plank on each side mostly to the instructions.  They said to follow the gun port line, but that was forcing the plank to curve upward some at the rear, so I let it relax some to lay almost naturally.  If I force the first plank, I would have to force every plank into position and that doesn't seem right. This is going to be hard enough,  working with brittle wood. I don't want to make it anymore difficult. The walnut for the second planking is very dry and brittle also and the edges are not very smooth.  I now this is just crappy wood. I would like to replace it, but don't know yet. That would be a big expense. 

 

Mark Frazier 

[clearway]

looking good- brings back memories of the fun i have had (and still having) with my billings victory! to be honest the cabins on the quarter deck arn't really that noticeable when the rest of the hull is finished and your effect looks better than the original- would also say yep scrap the figurehead and get the caldercraft one- i bought the sergal castings set for some of the stern decoration and agree the sergal figurehead looks way over scale.

 

Keith

[mfrazier]

I wish I had gotten the billings kit.

[mfrazier]

1 hour ago, clearway said:

looking good- brings back memories of the fun i have had (and still having) with my billings victory! to be honest the cabins on the quarter deck arn't really that noticeable when the rest of the hull is finished and your effect looks better than the original- would also say yep scrap the figurehead and get the caldercraft one- i bought the sergal castings set for some of the stern decoration and agree the sergal figurehead looks way over scale.

 

Keith

I have already ordered the caldercraft figure head.  I also had to order cannon balls.  The kit has cannon ball racks, but no cannon balls. 

[mfrazier]

6 minutes ago, Y.T. said:

May be to have whole bunch of all planks provided with kit soaked in water?  I hope this may restore some wood splitting properties.

I was debating just soaking the whole bunch for a few hours and then let them dry, but don't know if that is a good idea or not. what do you more experienced fellows think?

Mark Frazier 

Edited April 14, 2020 by mfrazier
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[mfrazier]

While I wait for the glue to dry on the 4 planks I put on the hull, I  figured why not make something else. So, I decided to make the poop deck skylight.  Of course the kit version is no good,  but I  figured I  could use some of the parts and build from there. The kit say to put grating on the top. This is both wrong and ugly. I  used the kit sides and ends,  put a 1.5 mm frame around the bottom,  put a 1.5 mm X 3 mm frame around the top. I mitered the corners for good looks.  Then I  turned it upside down on a piece of painters tape.

This will hold all the little 5 mm long window stiles that were installed and glued together on the bottom side.

This is the finished skylight. I am very pleased with it.

I have acetate sheet to cut windows from and will glue it inside the top and sides. I am thinking about no finish on this as it kind of looks a little weathered which I think is a good thing. I will sand it just a little more after the glue has cured. ( I would hate to get in a hurry and knock it apart).

[Rob S]

5 hours ago, mfrazier said:

 I have started planking. 

This is going to be a long process.  The wood is so dry and brittle, I have to wet every plank and let it dry. To bend the ends at the bow, I have to soak the end of the plank. This dry limewood snaps so easily because it is so dry. I don't know if it is because it was sitting a long time or it is just more poor quality on Mantua's part.  I laid the first plank on each side mostly to the instructions.  They said to follow the gun port line, but that was forcing the plank to curve upward some at the rear, so I let it relax some to lay almost naturally.  If I force the first plank, I would have to force every plank into position and that doesn't seem right. This is going to be hard enough,  working with brittle wood. I don't want to make it anymore difficult. The walnut for the second planking is very dry and brittle also and the edges are not very smooth.  I now this is just crappy wood. I would like to replace it, but don't know yet. That would be a big expense. 

 

Mark Frazier 

Hi Mark.  I'm stared building the Mamoli Victory (1/98) last May and am now in the planking stage using the kit provided 5mm x 1mm walnut laths.  I bought the kit sometime in the early nineties and tried to keep it in the right humidity type conditions.  The walnut is rough and seems brittle, but so far, so good.  I've been soaking my walnut for 10-15 in warm water and find it fairly pliable. I'm also using a heated, electric plank bender by Model Shipways (MS7205) for the more serious bending that helps a lot.  You seem to be a seasoned modeler, so I apologize if I'm telling you something you already know/have tried. 

[mfrazier]

2 hours ago, Rob S said:

Hi Mark.  I'm stared building the Mamoli Victory (1/98) last May and am now in the planking stage using the kit provided 5mm x 1mm walnut laths.  I bought the kit sometime in the early nineties and tried to keep it in the right humidity type conditions.  The walnut is rough and seems brittle, but so far, so good.  I've been soaking my walnut for 10-15 in warm water and find it fairly pliable. I'm also using a heated, electric plank bender by Model Shipways (MS7205) for the more serious bending that helps a lot.  You seem to be a seasoned modeler, so I apologize if I'm telling you something you already know/have tried. 

I have tried various methods.  It just takes patience and soaking the wood and it is going, just slow as I can only do  a few planks at a time. I am edge gluing the planks also.

 

Mark  Frazier 

[mfrazier]

I made one of the gratings for the upper deck. I still have to put the poly on it and hinges and handles on the doors.

Mark Frazier 

Edited April 15, 2020 by mfrazier
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[Old Collingwood]

Some good work with the details Mark,    I remember the same experience with planks bending and fitting  - I nearly gave up more than once  - but  keeping at it is the key.   Read through my Greayhound build  you will se what I meant.

 

OC.

[mfrazier]

I am getting the deck furniture built while waiting for planks glued on to dry.

Maybe by the time I get done planking, everything else will be built.

 

Mark Frazier 

[Daliab]

Mfrazer... Your version of the Victory is looking really good. I'm building the 738 kit.  The only difference is the copper hull.  Will continue to follow your build.

You can view my build at HMS Victory by Daliab.  Keep up the good work.

 

 

 

[Old Collingwood]

Loving those gratings    Mark  - really really nice   they look perfectly to scale also  (lots of kit ones are way over scale - not the ones you built)👍

 

OC.

[mfrazier]

2 hours ago, Daliab said:

Mfrazer... Your version of the Victory is looking really good. I'm building the 738 kit.  The only difference is the copper hull.  Will continue to follow your build.

You can view my build at HMS Victory by Daliab.  Keep up the good work.

 

 

 

Thank you Daliab. I have checked out your build even before I  got my kit when I  was researching builds for ideas and inspiration. I know the ship was coppered,  but I  just for some reason don't care for the copper.  I prefer the wood. I just hope I  can do this build in the quality league and standard many of you guys have set with your builds.

 

Mark Frazier 

[mfrazier]

2 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

Loving those gratings    Mark  - really really nice   they look perfectly to scale also  (lots of kit ones are way over scale - not the ones you built)👍

 

OC.

Thank you OC. I know what you mean. I was very happy that they appeared to  be very close in scale. I am amazed at the builds you guys make. I hope I  am up to the challenge of this project and can it justice. 

 

Mark Frazier 

[Old Collingwood]

You are doing a fine job Mark.👍

 

OC.

[mfrazier]

The planking is coming along. It is slow because I can only do 4 planks a day. I am edge gluing them and gluing to the bulkheads with wood glue and it has to mostly cure before adding more planks. 

But this let's me work on other parts and breaks up the planking job.

 

The above photo is Mantua idea of the bow grating. It is all wrong. They want the gratings glued on a deck and the deck placed on the bow. The photos I  downloaded of the real ship does not have a deck under the grates. I am building a frame the size and shape of this false deck and will place the grates in the frame. It will be much closer to what it should be. The next photo is how I  curved the walnut strip for this frame. I hope it doesn't spring back  after drying.

My brass black came today. I can start working on cannons  and hardware and hinges .

so far I  am enjoying this project despite Mantua shortcomings. 

 

 

Mark Frazier 

[mfrazier]

I did some work on the bow grating. I made the frame using the false deck as a pattern. 

I got the frame made, and even got the heads on.

I made a mistake on the curve. I think I  can fix it without having to make this piece over again. But it isn't difficult if I  have to. I will have to stop here on this piece until the hull is finished and it is time to fit it.

 

Mark Frazier

[Old Collingwood]

Have you got a hair dryer in the house  - that will speed up drying time no end?

 

OC.

[mfrazier]

8 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

Have you got a hair dryer in the house  - that will speed up drying time no end?

 

OC.

Yes, I  do. I thought about trying that. Thanks for the tip.

 

Mark Frazier

[mfrazier]

1 hour ago, Y.T. said:

Yes.  The gratings here are curving up along curved side channels. You may later reconsider design of grating  frame. 

I think you are referring to the front half of the grating tips upward? If so, I  thought about that. This attempt was to be a combination of  the Mantua design and the real design.  While it will work, I  find it to be slightly less than satisfactory.  I don't intend to use any of the Mantua parts in this area except the frame pieces that support the grates and frame. If I  go with the correct design, I  will have to make these from scratch also, which I am considering. I am not using the kit grate pieces either. I will make the grates also. I will have to get some photos of what this area should be and work from them. I am going to look at some other builds to see this area also. Was your build Caldercraft?

 

Mark Frazier

[mfrazier]

the grating frame appears flat but the front section is tilted up. I don't know if there is grating under that panel or not. I think I will remake the grating like this. i will make this first and make the framing underneath to fit. it seems backwards, but I think it will be easier

[mfrazier]

YT, 

I think this is more what you meant?

I fixed the curve to match the hull front. I angled the front more like the photo in the post above. The side trim matches pretty well. It is  hard to tell exactly until it is cut to fit. I think this is about as close as I can get.  I need to make the grating for this piece. 

 

Mark Frazier 

Edited April 18, 2020 by mfrazier
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