HMS Victory by tedrobinson2000 - Caldercraft - 1:72

[tedrobinson2000]

It's been a while since I have posted here.  I had been making some progress in adding the mizzen sails, but decided to take small break to write up a practicum on how I made my sails, as I have gotten several inquiries about them.  As I was doing so, it became apparent to me that I had made some advances since I started the sail-making process, and that I was not completely happy with my earlier efforts.  In particular, I had wanted to be able to shape the leeches and feet of the sails to make them appear that they were full of wind, but the sail edges of my fore, main and trysails were not as compliant as I had hoped they would be. Also, several of them had edges that were wavy, or scalloped and didn't look quite right.  I agonized over the decision to swap them out, but ultimately decided to do so. AARGH!! This means that most of the work that I have done over the last 10 months went by the board. I will also have to remake several hundred feet of rope to replace the lines I had already installed and would now be too short.

 

Victory has 22 sails in her set, not including stunsails, which I wasn't including. I already had 11 of the sails made (the more difficult ones!), and having to remove and rework or replace them is daunting. I have learned a better way to add the boltropes that avoids the waving/scalloping effect (which was due to the rope shrinking in length as it was wetted by the PVA glue), and found a way to invisibly include thin wires to the leeches and feet to hold the curves. I hope that the result of reworking them will be worth the effort.

 

Cutting off that first sail was nerve wracking, but now the die is cast, and here we go!  Will post occasionally to show my progress.

 

 

[Old Collingwood]

Superb work  - so lifelike.

 

OC.

[tedrobinson2000]

Thanks for the kind words, OC - and thanks to all who have looked and "reacted" favorably.

 

I have now removed all the fore-and-aft sails (4 stay sails + the jib), plus the fore topsail that I had previously mounted.  Still have the fore course, main course and main topsail to remove.  I will add stiffening wires to the leeches and feet of these sails as I remove them, and then rehang them - a not trivial task!! I'll probably have to remake a lot of rigging line, because the ones that had been installed and belayed will now be too short.  I think I can get away with replacing most of the rigging lines, but am still unsure how to handle the main yard jeers, as they were previously belayed below decks - now that the quarterdeck in is place, the belay points are inaccessible and the existing jeers are too short. The loose rigging lines now look like a rat's nest!!

 

The rework means removing the boltropes and linings, adding the wires and then replacing the linings on top of the wires, then remaking and replacing the boltropes and cringles

 

 

 

I have been experimenting with different types of wire for the stiffeners, trying copper, stainless and coated wire in different gauges from 28 to 20.  the wires are glued to the foreside edges of the  leeches and feet, and then covered by the leech and foot linings.  My conclusions are that the copper and stainless are too dark, and show through the lining cloths.  The best results were attained with white, covered copper wire used in jewelry-making.  28 gauge is a little too light for the larger sails, so I use 22 gauge for them and 28 gauge for the smaller sails. It's virtually not detectible to the casual eye, yet holds a curve well.

 

Before removing the old sails, my prototype for using the wires was the mizzen topsail. Here are a couple of shots of that prototype.

 

 

 

I have now repaired the fore topmast staysail, here are some before/after shots.

 

 

Without wires-

 

and with them.

 

 

The big test will be how the courses come out; I want to show them clewed up, but couldn't keep the billow in them without the wires.  Here is the fore topsail as originally made; we'll see how it handles with wires.

 

Edited July 21, 2021 by tedrobinson2000
mistakes in original post

[mort stoll]

Back in the day if a line separated they would I believe graft  both ends together "as for splicing" and woven together and then seized. It's     explained and nicely illustrated in Chapter 10 in  " Young Officer's Sheet Anchor" by Lever. 

 

Mort  

[mort stoll]

PS 

Keep up the great work.

[tedrobinson2000]

Thanks, Mort.  I know that what they would probably have done is to bend a new line to the old one using a sheet bend, but I'd like to avoid that if I can because it will show.  As long as I'm going to all this trouble, I'll probably just rig new ones where they are needed.

[tedrobinson2000]

Update on Vic sail replacement:

 

This was a couple of weeks ago, after I had removed the most of the old sails to rework or replace them with ones that have had the stiffening wires added. Some of the old running rigging was salvageable, but most will need to be replaced because the lines are now too short to reuse.

I found that, when originally working around the foot of the fore mast with the fore course in place, the access to the belaying points was severely limited, using up about a month’s worth of cuss words.  This time, I’m trying something different – I’m going to do the belays first, and take up the slack at the standing ends as I add the sails and spars. This results in dozens (about 80 or so) untethered lines hanging around and tangling up with each other, but I believe that in the long run it will be better – we’ll see!

 

 

 

Here's a shot of the replacement fore course (after side), with the stiffening wires installed along the foot and leeches. The clews are raised up a bit here, they will be shaped better after the lines have been run and made taut.

 

 

 

 

Reeving the jeers, loosely.

 

 

A little more snug.

 

 

Will update again in a few days as some of the rigging lines have been routed.

[tedrobinson2000]

Update on Victory's re-rigging of sails following the inclusion of stiffening wires.

 

I have now refitted and replaced all of the headsails (less the flying jib, which will be added later after the installation of the flying jibboom), the fore course and fore topsail.  As I said last time, as many lines as possible have been pre-belayed at their pins or cleats, and the standing ends are tied off as the sails/yards are installed. This results in lots of loose, tagged lines hanging about, but I believe that this has saved me a lot of aggravation in trying to reach the pins on the bitts with the sails in place. I was hoping that the sails would look more like they are drawing with the wind, and think that the result of adding the wires is a great improvement.

 

I still have to remove/refit the main course and main topsail, then replace them and the refitted main staysail and main topmast staysail to be back where I was in July when I decided to rip things apart. The spritsail and sprit topsail were salvageable as they were, so I didn't have to rework them.  Still a few unsecured lines hanging about, mostly for the fore topgallant hamper, which is yet to be put in place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kevin]

oh very nice

[Kevin]

if i was brave enough i would love to re-rig my Victory

[tedrobinson2000]

Here is the latest update on repairing/replacing the sails on my HMS Victory.

 

I have now hung the main course and topsails back on after refurbishing them with the stiffening wires. In these pix there are still many lines that need attaching, and the sails are not yet fully positioned nor adjusted.  Next will be the replacement of the refurbished main stay sail and main topmast stay sails,  Then I will be back to the point that I was in in July when I decided to remove the sails that I had hung, and fix them.

 

 

You will note that the focs'l  at the foot of the fore mast is a very congested area; lots of interference when trying to belay lines.  To future avoid problems here after the addition of the main stay sails (which will make this area all but inaccessible), I have pre-belayed the running rigging for the fore topgallant sail and yard. These will be added at a later date.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mort stoll]

Hi Ted,

Where did you get the netting for your hammock cranes?  It looks great.

 

Thanks,

Mort

 

[Malcolm Greig]

Magnificent built. Sails are looking very realistic. You don't see sails very often. And to do them twice is extraordinary. Rigging excellent.  

 

regards

 

Malcolm

[tedrobinson2000]

Sorry, I've been away for a while. 

Mort, thanks for the note regarding the Hammock netting.  To be truthful, I don't remember where I got it for sure!.  I think it was a piece of black tulle that I found in Joann's store. I made the nettings about 6 years ago, so the memory is a bit foggy!

 

Malcolm, Thanks for the nice note. I was ambivalent about doing sails, but now that I have gotten better at it, I'm glad that I made the decision. Still have about a dozen to go!

 

 

[tedrobinson2000]

I have gotten two more sails installed; the main staysail and the main topmast staysail.  The addition of these two sails pretty much precluded access to belaying points around the foot of the fore mast as well as the general waist area, thus the need to pre-belay lines to be run to the fore topgallant area at a later date.  This now completes the refurbishing of the sails that I had installed before and removed in July in order to install stiffening wires in their leeches and feet. 

 

Next, I'm on to the driver (spanker) and the mizzen topsail and a couple of the mizzen staysails. Then I'll be able to ship the three topgallant masts and their spars, and begin to complete the topgallant hamper of sails.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have had a few members inquire about my sails, if there is any interest I may post some pix and instructions on how I make them.

 

Thanks for looking,

Ted

 

 

Insert.url

[tedrobinson2000]

I have lately been working on making several new sails for Vic. Here are the results; ready to be mounted.

 

Here is the mizzen topsail; prior to bending to the mizzen top yard:

 

 

And, below, after bending to the yard:

 

 

A close-up of the robands that lash the sail to the yard:

 

 

The mizzen staysail:

 

 

The middle staysail:

 

And the driver (spanker), bent to the gaff:

 

[tedrobinson2000]

A few more sails have been added to the model. Most difficult was the driver - lots of competing tensions on the sail and spar lines. The mizzen topsail and the mizzen stay sail have also been hung and the lines run, but they are not yet tensioned More pix of them in a few days when they are completed.  Then on to the final stages; the addition of the topgallant masts, spars and sails.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tedrobinson2000]

Here are a couple of snapshots of my Victory.  I apologize for the quality of the photos; the background is less than ideal.  I have added a few more sails - the most recent one being the mizzen topgallant staysail.  Only one more sail to go - the flying jib, which will be added after I ship the flying jibboom at a later date.  There are still a lot of un-tensioned lines such as braces and bowlines, and I have to still rig some backstays. I'm presently working on a couple of additional launches to hang from the davits. Sorry about the last 2 shots - I haven't been able to find a way to rotate them.

 

 

 

 

 

[tedrobinson2000]

Finally finished my Victory, after 11 years and 5 months (including about 5 years of inactivity) and 5,400 hours of assembly (not counting endless hours of research, spreadsheet construction and rope-making). Here are a few quick snapshots of what she looks like, I apologize for the quality of the pix.  I will do a much better photoshoot in a few weeks when I get the proper equipment, and then post them to the gallery for those interested.

 

First, a few shots of the final task; the anchor buoys. Turned from a short piece of 1/2" dowel.

 

Now for the shots of the final results

 

 

 

 

 

As soon as I get some decent lights and a backdrop I will take better pictures to post here, and also open up a gallery folder. Thanx for looking!

Ted

 

 

[Bill Morrison]

I love it! Nicely done!

Bill

[allanyed]

Just tuning in.  A few things that jumped out at me and made me smile.

The blocks are really fine!  Are these from the kit or after market or did you make them?  I see sheaves so am guessing you made at least some of these yourself.

 

Your upper deck cannon are  rigged with two single blocks according to and as described by Caruana in The History of English Sea Ordnance, volume II.  It seems many Victory models erroneously show two double blocks for all sizes of cannon for this era.   

 

 I agree with you that the cloth and sewing of sails in most kits are awful so kudos to you for going your own way and improving in this.

 

Allan

 

 

 

 

Edited June 5, 2022 by allanyed

[GrandpaPhil]

Congratulations!  Well done!

[tedrobinson2000]

Thanks to Allan and Phil for your kind words.

 

Yes, the blox that came with the Caldercraft kit were pretty terrible, so early on I decided to spend a little to have them look period correct, so I bought them from Chuck at Syren. Stained them, opened the sheave holes and stropped each one according to size. The very large sheaves, such as the jeer and anchor cat sheaves, as well as some 7 mm and 9 mm items were scratch made. I'm glad I went with Chuck's blocks - they make a great difference IMHO.

 

I have been drooling over Chuck's Winchelsea for a couple of years  now, but pushed myself to finish Victory first. Am now jumping in with Winnie; have ordered a scroll saw and will be trying to scratch-build as much of her as possible. At 83, I don't even buy green bananas anymore, so I must be nuts to take on the Winnie, but full steam ahead!!

 

Ted

[mort stoll]

Meant to post Well done sailor, very well done.

Mort

[Malcolm Greig]

Great work, fantastic. Looking forward to your next batch of photo's. 

 

regards

 

Malcolm 

[CiscoH]

Really great build!  I especially like the sails which usually don’t add much, in my opinion, but in this case they are so well done it pushes your Victory up a level.  Well done Sir!

[tedrobinson2000]

Thanks to all who have replied - Allan, Phil, Malcolm nd Cisco.

 

Allan, thanks for noticing the gun rigging. Caldercraft’s version of Victory includes 32 each 32 pounders for the lower gun deck (dummy guns – barrels only), 30 each 24 pounders for the middle gun deck (again, dummy barrels) and 30 each 12 pounders (carriaged) for the upper gun deck.  The quarterdeck, admiral’s quarters and foc’s’l all have additional 12 pounders of different lengths, also carraiged. Then there were a couple of carronades at the foc's'l.

 

The upper gun deck guns are all rigged in place, even though they are not at all visible on the completed model.  The other weather deck guns are similarly rigged, and are the only ones still (slightly) visible among the sails and rigging. I know I’m a little anal (well, maybe more than a little), but I just had to rig all 30 of those UDG guns in place!

 

Here are a few shots of the process from 2012 when I was at that stage of construction. Note that the blocks used for the gun rigging were those supplied with the kit, prior to switching to the Syren blocks.

 

 

[Bill Morrison]

It's great to see a kit with the different calibers of cannons represented accurately.  This is an area that the wood ship industry has dropped the ball.  Even the plastic manufacturers have done a great job in this area. Cudos to Caldercraft!

Bill Morrison

[tedrobinson2000]

Now that I have essentially finished Victory, I am taking some better photos to send to the Gallery portion of the MSW, and in the meantime I'll post a few here for those interested.

 

 

 

 

[Charter33]

Beautiful model .... congratulations on a true work of art!