HMS Victory by Dan2021 - Mantua/Panart - 1/78

[Dan2021]

Welcome to my ongoing log of my build of HMS Victory by Panart. Although I have modelled in the past, this is my first model ship, working in wood and metal rather than plastics. Having taken on the project with zero knowledge of model shipbuilding and working with wood at such a small scale it has been a great challenge building this ship to the high standard I wanted. I've built up my skills throughout, learning a lot from fellow modellers on this website, and can say this is my favourite project I've ever worked on. At this current stage I'm really happy with the results and would like to share the images of the build as it progresses. 

[Dan2021]

The decking is such an integral detail of the real HMS Victory, so I wanted to do my best to replicate that in 1/78. Panart supply a laser cut deck piece with the model, but this is very basic and the plank pattern doesn't match the real deck onboard. I took the decision to add hours of work and pain to the project by cutting and laying my own decking! After cutting hundred of 80mm x 3mm planks on a custom jig and gluing each down individually, I'm more than happy with how it turned out overall. After a couple of layers of varnish it does the real ship proud.

[Daniel Kimmer]

I like the idea of using the wood planks compared to the laser option.  I enjoy model ship building and have purchased a slightly older version of your kit.  I will follow your build log. Good luck and please keep posting. Excellent start!

[Mercdaddy27]

Great Start!!!!

How did you compensate fro the additional thickness of adding planking over the the kit provided decking?

[Bill Morrison]

Wow!  You are doing a beautiful job with her! I will keep following this log!

 

Bill

[Dan2021]

On 7/27/2021 at 7:18 PM, Mercdaddy27 said:

Great Start!!!!

How did you compensate fro the additional thickness of adding planking over the the kit provided decking?

The planks are only .5mm thick so really it wasn't too much of an issue. The only adjustment I had to make was to the cabin walls underneath the poop deck, just need a light sanding to reduce the wall heights a little before they were installed. 

[Dan2021]

Afternoon all, 

 

The project has moved on a lot since the last photos I posted, so I'll aim to get those up as soon as possible. For anyone building a similar ship or are just interested in the process, I'll post them in batches with problems I've encountered and tips on how to overcome them and make life easier in build. Stay tuned for more!

[Dan2021]

The completed decking, with 3 coats of dark oak matt varnish and a few added details taking shape on the deck.

[Dan2021]

The outer planking starts to take shape. This was extremely tricky, especially as this is the first time I've ever done this. Overall the sides were simple, but the trouble came trying to shape each plank to fit the curve as it reached the bow and stern. Each plank required delicate shaving to create the right angles, using a plank bending tool to ease the process. Each plank was glued to the internal skeleton using simple PVA glue, held in place until dry using tiny nails (a big pain to remove once they were finished with!). Once the first layer was completed the whole ship was then sanded smooth. Inevitably this left holes and small gaps, but the second layer of planking would cover those all up!

[Dan2021]

The second layer goes on! This was much easier, as I now had a general shape to mould the planks on to. The same process was used, shaping each plank to create the smooth curves of the hull. Again the entire ship was sanded down, using more pressure in the areas that needed to have smoother lines. Inevitably this left weak points in the hull, where the sanded planks were thinner in areas. However once the hull was painted over with watered down PVA glue it greatly strengthened the overall structure. The rear cabin walls were also attached to finish the main shape of the Victory.

[Dan2021]

After creating such a smooth curved hull shape it was almost a shame to cut all the cannon openings in it, all 102 of them! The kit supplies a cutting template for you, a large cardboard sheet with each hole cut out. All you need to do is pin it to the hull, trace each cannon port out and then cut each one out. I wondered what the best way to do that was, and ended up just using a scalpel and slowing cutting each individually. I considered a drill and small saw, but just using the knife left a much neater edge with less clean up to do.

[Dan2021]

Additional hull features were added and then the complete hull was given 3 coats of gloss varnish. 

[Dan2021]

The next series of photos showing the painting process, a long long job! It took 3-4 layers of paint to really get a nice finish I was pleased with. Since I knew I would be copper plating the hull I only had to paint the black partially down the hull. Once that was done it was time to install the cannon port surrounds. Each of the 102 surrounds had to be painted red on the inside edges and then lightly glued in to place. 

[Dan2021]

Painting and installing all the main cannons. Each slotted into a hole drilled in the internals frame, a really nice design feature I was impressed with. 

[Dan2021]

The holes you can see above each cannon port are when the rope will be inserted that holds up each of the cannon port doors. 

[Mercdaddy27]

I've started this kit and i hope my planking comes out s good as yours!!!

Excellent Job!!!!!

[Bill Morrison]

OUTSTANDING JOB!!!!!!!!

 

Bill Morrison

[Dan2021]

On 8/31/2021 at 6:00 PM, Mercdaddy27 said:

I've started this kit and i hope my planking comes out s good as yours!!!

Excellent Job!!!!!

Thank you! Good luck with yours, endure the hours of fun haha. 

[Kelp]

Dan,

 

You're doing a great job on this kit!  Very nice planking and painting.  What type of paint did you use?  Is the yellow a yellow ochre?

 

Don

[Dan2021]

On 9/24/2021 at 9:37 PM, Kelp said:

Dan,

 

You're doing a great job on this kit!  Very nice planking and painting.  What type of paint did you use?  Is the yellow a yellow ochre?

 

Don

Hi Don, 

 

Thanks for the kind words. The paints are Admiralty paints and the yellow is their Yellow Ochre. They required a few coats to give the right finish but overall I've really liked using them. 

[Dan2021]

3D printed parts from Shapeways.com have really started to add an extra level of detail to the model. Although the ladders leading up each side of the hull are a little too big for the scale, the look so much better than just a strip of wood. The same can be said for the amazing detail on the port and starboard entry doors, with a little dry brushing of gold to bring out the design. 

[Dan2021]

The upper decks no longer look bland now that some of the details have started going on. The ships wheel was a definite favourite part of mine. Incredibly fiddly and almost impossible to install under the deck roof, but looks fantastic now in place. Again, another bonus of 3D printed parts compared to the chunky wooden wheels provided with the kit. 

[Dan2021]

A few pictures of the long and difficult process of copper plating the hull. Using the slightly sticky super glue supplied with the kit, i applied a light amount on to the back of each tile with the end of a toothpick, and then held it to the hull using tweezers until it held tight. This was repeated OVER A THOUSAND TIMES and took about 3 weeks to complete both sides. I wasn't happy with how the tiles looked at the water line, so I applied 2 strips of tiles along the top to neaten the look. 

[Dan2021]

One of my favourite parts of the ship are these two highly detailed parts. The original kit supplies you with some thick cast details for the figurehead and stern cabin details, so I replaced these with 3D parts once again. I got my tiniest paint brushes out for these and I'm so happy with how they came out. 

[Dan2021]

Rudder time! After a fiddly time with the rudder fixings and covering up a few messy super glue marks it slotted right in to place. With the addition of some hooks and chain the hull is now officially complete!

[Dan2021]

Some final upper deck details. It's really rewarding starting to see what was just a few skeleton parts and paints start to look like a real detailed ship. With the cannons all fixed in place I had the fiddly task of tying each one down with the correct ropework, and then had the little jobs like the stairways, classic HMS Victory buckets and binnacle, and a couple of classic naval barrels tied down to the deck. 

 

We're now reaching the final stage of the hull section before we move on to the masts. Left to do are the canon port doors and a few little details. Stay tuned for more! 

[Jeff1978]

Beautiful work so far I’ve started building the same one and was looking at the 3d print side steps you got are they the 1/72 scale?

[tomganc]

Great looking build, I'm little ahead with my build but I can't wait for more

 

Enjoy...