HMS Victory 1805 by kiwiron - Caldercraft - 1:72

[kiwiron]

Thanks for the likes. I'll do this half of the keel, rudder then the other side then see how much I've got left for the gaps. Not bad so far, you will get gaps between plates as the angles change and offset of 50 percent changes. Some stick together or bond instantly. not the first time I have gone to work with a plate stuck to my shirt.

[kiwiron]

Half way through the other side. Then fill in the gaps.

[kiwiron]

Port side main plates done, keel next.

[kiwiron]

Port side done. It looks better the further away you get. I've learnt from mistakes on the coppering. Starboard side next just the fillers to do. 

[kiwiron]

Coppering done. Re work on the keel with the spare plates, a bit better now. I'll miss the slithers of copper sticking into my fingers. Onto deck work now, my favourite part of the build. 

[kiwiron]

Stairs next

[Sjors]

That looks real great!

The copper plates are just if they are there all the time!

It's a little bit to far for me otherwise I bring you a visit 🙂

[kiwiron]

Thanks Sjors, It's as good as I could get it. I have learnt a lot doing coppering. Welcome in New Zealand anytime. Ron.

[aliluke]

Hi Ron

That coppering and the whole model looks really great. I'm sure we crossed paths here in the past!? I have returned to MSW after an eight hiatus as I pick up my HMS Fly build. If you which to age your copper quickly I recently posted my (dodgy but free) technique for doing that in the planking and plating section of the forum and in my rebooted HMS Fly log.

 

I don't think I'd ever have the guts or stamina to take on Victory but it is always great to watch those who do.

 

Cheers from a sunny and very still Wellington,

Alistair

[kiwiron]

[kiwiron]

Hi Alastair, good to hear from you again. My last ship finished in 2016 but I still wanted to do a copper hull so here I am. Without others amazing work,  photos and advice I would be lost on nearly every step. Up to the cannons now. A still day in Wellington is nice, I grew up there. All the best. 

[kiwiron]

Cannon production line, lots to do.

[allanyed]

Your build is exceptional Ron!!

 

Do you, or does anyone following your log, know if any kit or after market supplier offers Blomefield barrels as they would be appropriate for 1805 long guns rather than what looks a little bit like the original Armstrong patterns.  Just curious for future builds even though most viewers probably would not notice the differences between Armstrong, Armstrong-Frederick and Blomefield patterns.   

Thanks

Allan

[kiwiron]

Thanks Allan, Sorry don't know anything about the barrels. Ron.

[allanyed]

Hi Ron

I found out from another member that had an issue finding proper pattern barrels for his particular build that at least one supplier sells Blomefield pattern barrels that have the crest/cypher as well as the pan at the touch hole and they are relatively inexpensive.  If this is of interest, please let me know.

Allan

[kiwiron]

Thanks for the info Allan. 

[kiwiron]

Time to put it away for the night before I go cross eyed. I used part 480 for the breech rope ring. I can get .75 thread through it. Rest of the trunnions before I blacken the barrels.

[allanyed]

Hi Ron

Will you be adding the cleats to the carriage cheeks?  I am not sure if they were on all size gun carriages but they do show up in contemporary paintings of Victory as well as on the drawings in Caruana.  I doubt many people would notice,  so maybe better to leave them as they are.  Just a thought.     Just in case, you can see these on the painting as well as the drawing from Congreve and also redrawn in Caruana.   

 

 

Edited May 3, 2023 by allanyed

[aliluke]

Hi Ron

That is an insane number of cannons. Cross eyed indeed. The cannons have become the least favourite part of kit building for me and sent me away from the ships for a while. You have a heck of lot to go.

 

Allan's image of a crew at work is great - the tensions, the chaos, the dangers and the mess of ropes.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by the lack of 'trunnions' in the kit  - that is just the pivot pin for the gun? And how can a hardware store help?

 

I have decided on my Fly model to only add breeching ropes for the eight remaining cannons. I went through the whole tackles thing for those that are concealed under the decks - never again. The breeching ropes I used were 0.6mm (Morope) which felt about right for scale.

 

Trust you are dry down there as we are here in Welly - no wind either. Bloody hell - who'd live in Auckland?

 

Edited May 9, 2023 by aliluke

[kiwiron]

Lol, I tried Auckland for a short time, hated the traffic jams. All dry here too. Trunnion nails were missing but I found some from a previous kit that work. Out of the 30 cannons for this deck you can only see 10, that will do for full rigging. The lower decks are dummy barrels, no carriages. Quarter deck has visible cannons but not many. The eyelets part 480 nearly need a microscope to see. Not a lot of work to go on these cannons. The breach ropes you used would be a perfect size. Take care. Ron.

[kiwiron]

Time to set up rigging on the carriages. Clear the block holes, line up hooks etc. Lots of work so far and I'm only fully rigging 10 cannons that will be seen.

[Charter33]

Looking very good, Ron. 👏 

Have you thought about using a brass blacking solution on those copper eyes?

[kiwiron]

Thanks, I'll dry fit the eyelets to see if I need to blacken them. I failed on the Birchwood Casey brass black for the barrels. It did'nt like to stick very well after 30 seconds and that's with the Birchwood Casey cleaning solution as well. I'll have another go with it on the barrels for the quarter deck. 

Edited May 14, 2023 by kiwiron
correction

[Charter33]

Birchwood Casey solution can be a bit tricky at times! Over doing the soaking time was an issue I struggled with initially. A couple of strategies I found helped:

- a short dunk agitating the components in the solution, rinse, repeat if necessary.

- slightly dilute the solution.

With those particular eyes I strung batches of them on a loop of cotton thread and treated them.

Good luck! 🤞

 

[allanyed]

Ron,

Your model continues to go beautifully.  The gun and carriage look good.  Lots of little blocks and such!   Will you be darkening the breech rope so it is more of a tan color and/or using miniature rope?    It is probably just me but the white color of the breech rope seems to be a bit stark.  

Cheers

Allan

[kiwiron]

Thanks Graham, I'll try that next time. Allan it's to late to colour the breech rope for this deck but it's a good suggestion for the quarter deck. Never thought of doing that. I have done that with sails in the past. 

[kiwiron]

A few touch ups to go on the cannons then onto the skid beams.

[kiwiron]

Quarter deck done.

[kiwiron]

Planking underway. 

[kiwiron]

Quarterdeck planking done.