HMS Victory by Bill97 - FINISHED - Heller - 1/100 - PLASTIC

[Bill97]

“Voila”  Futtock shrouds and catherpins done on the foremast. 

[Bill97]

Have spent the time since my last post continuing working on the foremast rigging. Got the futtock staves and topgallant shrouds with their thimbles installed. Still have to lash the ends to the corresponding thimbles tied behind the top mast shroud deadeyes. 

[Hubac's Historian]

On 4/2/2022 at 10:46 PM, Ian_Grant said:

Hello Twahl; you're on the same path I followed - a Heller Victory after 30 years away from models!

 

You're right, some of the wood blocks on the market are very square-ish and unrealistic. Have you looked at Syren's offerings? They make very nice blocks which I used on my Victory.

 

Having said that, they do add a fairly high cost to the build.

 

RJ's filing method will make the Heller blocks usable as far as stropping goes, but IMO the sheaves are molded far too small and the openings are too large. They are nicely shaped blocks though. When/if I get to my Soleil Royale I will weigh the time and trouble of modifying and painting Heller's blocks vs the cost of wood blocks.

 

Bear in mind that Heller's deadeyes are also unusable so there will be an after-market expense to replace them anyway!

 

Looking forward to another Victory build log! 🙂

Ian, as I consider your thoughts on modifying Heller’s SR blocks, I am already regretting throwing mine away.  I am not un-familiar with them.  The biggest issue was not having a stropping groove.  Still, though - really good scale blocks are expensive.

[Ian_Grant]

Marc - To be honest I haven't actually looked at the blocks in my SR; mostly the sprues are still in the plastic bags. I was just assuming that they are similar to those provided in the Victory. If they are, and if you like, I could send you my Victory blocks for postage.

[Bill97]

Main mast rigging to include top mast and top gallant shrouds, futtock shrouds, and catherpins complete. Still postponing adding the ratlines. Also have not permanently tied off all the lanyards perchance a little tightening may be necessary after adding the ratlines. Starting the rigging of the mizzenmast which will follow the similar process. I realized the other day that I had forgotten to add the snaking to the main and fore masts stays and preventer stays, so I have completed that as well. 

[Veszett Roka]

Very clean work Bill. I'm glad i can see the progress.

[Kevin-the-lubber]

The snaking is very neatly done, in fact it’s all looking very accomplished Bill. Good work!

[Bill97]

Thank you gentlemen. I appreciate the kind words. 😊

[Bill97]

After thousands (exaggerated) of deadeyes I finally hav all the shrouds tied to the mast. I have finished all the shrouds, to include futtock and catherpins!  Got the futtock shrouds and catherpins put on the mizzenmast. Still need to put the lanyards on the mizzen top mast an topgallant shrouds. Will look so much better once I do a final snug of the lines, add a touch of white glue to each knot, and trim off excess. In fact, my entire model will look so much better once I feel comfortable enough to glue and trim all the excess off my various lines I have left adjustable. The many many lanyards are the majority of lines that remain not permanently tied and glued. Some may think I have lost my mind, but I am actually anxious to get started on the ratlines so I can see how it will look and finally finalize all my knots. 

[Kevin-the-lubber]

Knowing your work rate, Bill, I’m decidedly daunted by what lies in store for me on the Cutty Sark, as you must have spent maybe 2 months to get this far on the rigging? But I guess a lot of that is probably down to the great care and attention to detail, which shines through in every photo. It’s looking great, the rope work really does look like rope rather than threads, if you know what I mean.

 

On that subject, I ordered a set of Amati ropes this week, is that what you’ve used?

[Bill97]

Thanks Kevin. No about the rope. I found model ship rigging thread on Amazon. It does not come in as many sizes as Amati but enough variety that I am satisfied. They have no sizes above .85 mm or below .35 mm but I have everything in between. I found another source for my largest, which is 1mm, and I just use black sewing thread for the smallest size I need. I am very wasteful with my thread when rigging. I cut off lengths longer than I need so they are easier to work with and I have no concern of them being to short. I then trim off the unneeded excess. Will have a bunch of 2, 3, 4 inch threads in a little trash pile when I stop working. No way I could afford to be that wasteful with Amati 😊.

[Ian_Grant]

8 hours ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

Knowing your work rate, Bill, I’m decidedly daunted by what lies in store for me on the Cutty Sark, as you must have spent maybe 2 months to get this far on the rigging? But I guess a lot of that is probably down to the great care and attention to detail, which shines through in every photo. It’s looking great, the rope work really does look like rope rather than threads, if you know what I mean.

 

On that subject, I ordered a set of Amati ropes this week, is that what you’ve used?

Hi Kevin, I used Amati thread.  They have a larger size range, which is needed for things like shrouds and the main- and fore-stays. The thread cost a bit, but with brass etch, wood blocks, and deadeyes to buy already, you just tense your stomach muscles and pay up 😃

 

Great work on your Cutty Sark!

[Kevin-the-lubber]

7 hours ago, Ian_Grant said:

Amati thread

I’ve bought it (Amati) from Hismodel, think I get something like 7 sizes tailored to the Cutty, and it really wasn’t that expensive at about £22 for the set plus a little bit of postage. It’ll take 2 or 3 weeks to arrive but I’m fine with that. Thanks for the compliment,  this model really lends itself to little tweaks, being a relatively simple kit.

[Bill97]

Finally all the shrouds, futtock shrouds, futtock staves, and catherpins finished. All the lanyards will get final tighten and a drop of white glue in the future. Now to the stays!

[Ian_Grant]

Bill, she's looking great!  keep up the good work!

 

Happy modelling'

 

Ian

[Bill97]

Ian HELP!  Now that I have completed the shrouds I ant to go ahead and do the jeer blocks and jeer blog strap before moving on to the stays. I have read Longridge’s paragraph The Jeers on page 241 and studied Plan 8. I get the general idea what it is supposed to look like when finished but I am a little confused about the long and short legs of the double strap, as well as a couple other confusing things in that paragraph. Would you mind translating that paragraph as if you were writing a “Model Ship Rigging for Dummies” book? 😊

I would certainly appreciate it.

[Ian_Grant]

The lower yard is suspended by two sets of jeers, each formed using two large 26" blocks. The lower blocks, attached to the yard, are double sheave. The upper blocks, suspended from the mast, are triple.

 

The lower blocks are double stropped ie a spliced rope loop is doubled around them and seized, making sure to leave one long "leg" and one short "leg" protruding from the seizing (each of these legs is a little loop). The legs are wrapped around the yard, with the longer loop passing aft of the yard, just within the two cleats on the front of the yard (the sling collar is placed at the centre of the yard, between the jeer block straps). The two legs are lashed together with a rose lashing where they meet at the front of the yard.

 

The upper triple block is also double stropped, making sure to leave a long leg which passes up through the lubber's hole and is suspended by seven turns of 4-1/2" lashing from an elm cleat attached to the opposite side of the masthead. The two sets of jeer lashings cross each other on the front and back of the mast.

 

The actual jeer fall is a 7-1/2" rope timber hitched to the yard just inside of the straps of the lower block. It leads through the inner sheave of the triple block from fore to aft, then through the inner sheave of the double block, and so on until all five sheaves are full at which point it passes down to the deck and is made fast at the bitts.

 

Hope that is clearer; Plan 8 is better than 10,000 words though!  😀

Edited April 29, 2022 by Ian_Grant

[Bill97]

Thanks Ian.  Plan 8 is pretty good and I have an idea what it is supposed to look like when completed but just could not get a complete grip on the process. 

[Ian_Grant]

You're welcome.  Longridge's detailed description was, for me anyway, too complicated at 1/100 scale. My model has no rose lashings anywhere. I just used single strops on the jeer blocks, albeit with large thread. I did timber hitch the falls to the yard, though, thanks to my trusty book of knots. 😄

[Bill97]

Now Ian that is what I am looking for. What you actually did. 

[Ian_Grant]

Bill, here is  a shot I took of the fore yard once jeers and sling were done.  Comparing to Plan 8, my upper blocks could have been higher up. 🤔

 

Edited April 27, 2022 by Ian_Grant

[Bill97]

Thank you Ian. That is very good and helpful. Going to print your photo for quick reference. I think when I finish my Victory and put it in the display case, the name plate I put in the case will have: “Assisted by Ian Grant” under my name as the builder. 😊

[Kevin-the-lubber]

Ian, your photos are usually of a very high quality - are you focus stacking? I ask because mine are generally a bit rubbish and it grieves me that my daughter gets better results with her dinky phone camera than I get with a nikon and posh glass!

[Ian_Grant]

Kevin,  uhh,...focus wha-at?? 😉

 

No, I still use a palm-sized Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom camera my wife bought many years ago. It's a great little camera although there now seems to be an issue with it draining batteries very quickly for some reason. We were on a plane heading on a trip when she pulled out a little booklet to read. I asked her, "What's that?", and she replied, "The manual for our new digital camera".  First I'd heard of it; up to that point we were using an old Canon AE-1 which I loved. She has now moved on to a digital SLR but it's way too complicated for me. I like the ease of connecting the Olympus to a laptop via USB to download photos, but I still have no idea how to use most of its features. 🤪

 

Here is an image of the Olympus model.

[Ian_Grant]

5 hours ago, Bill97 said:

Thank you Ian. That is very good and helpful. Going to print your photo for quick reference. I think when I finish my Victory and put it in the display case, the name plate I put in the case will have: “Assisted by Ian Grant” under my name as the builder. 😊

I laughed heartily when I read that.................😀

[Bill97]

Top mast stays for all three top mast installed following Longridge’s instructions. In keeping up with my plan to add a bit of bling to my build I used a pearl bead for the mouse on each of my stays. I think I will use the same pearl beads for the parrals when I am ready to hang the yards. 

[Kevin-the-lubber]

43 minutes ago, Ian_Grant said:

No, I still use a palm-sized Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom camera

Photo stacking is when you take a series of photos focussed on different points of the object (front to back) from a fixed viewpoint i.e. a tripod. You then 'stack' these in some software whirligig which combines them to produce a single image with everything in focus. Apparently it's quite common in macro photography such as we all do on our models and, which I don't understand, landscapes. I suffered a one hour monologue on why I should spend at least £1500 in order to do this from a sales assistant in a camera shop last weekend, but will try the zero cost but my time and patience method first. You can probably afford to skip the bother of learning this as you already seem to get everything in focus effortlessly 😊. But you may want to hang on to that Olympus. BTW, proper film photography is apparently back in fashion though quite niche.

[Bill97]

I am still sporting my Canon AE with a few additional lenses. Gets the job done for me. However I lazily find my self just grabbing my iPhone for quick shots of my ship. Makes for easier post to MSW. 

[Kevin-the-lubber]

There’s the irony; I often get better shots myself using my cheapo Chinese phone, but know I should be able to knock spots off these with a dslr.

[Ian_Grant]

5 hours ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

<snip..snip>   BTW, proper film photography is apparently back in fashion though quite niche.

But where the h-e-double-hockey-sticks does one find film now? 😃