HMS Victory by nealefoulds - DeAgostini - Scale 1:84 - Trafalgar Colors - First wooden ship build

[nealefoulds]

Hi Everybody,

 

I started building HMS Victory from the DeAgostini wood build kit supplied in Europe (UK). I have been collecting the magazine issues since Q3 2010, but I only started the build on 31/12/2012, it's my project for 2013

 

I'll add some pictures below now, to show you my progress so far ... some eight weeks into the project. You can find a much more complete set of pictures of this build on Facebook ... over 830 so far and counting ... find them on the link at the end of this post. I have commentary with every picture in my HMS Victory Model Build set.

 

I have built many kit models in the past, but they have all been plastic kits - this HMS Victory build is my very first attempt at a wooden model. I do not have a workshop or studio to work from, so this model is being built in my sitting room. I'm having great fun doing it, I hope you all get some enjoyment as well, feel free to critique/comment.

 

 

The complete collection with step-by-step commentary can be found on my Facebook;

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151291206524651.493159.637009650&type=1&l=6948343979

 

I will continue to add pictures to both the gallery here, and my Facebook.

 

 

 

Thanks for reading

[maaaslo]

 

that is an awfull lot of sanding to be done by hand. i too am looking to get it done easier, as i havent got a belt sander i have used vibrating corner sander? to do the job, works lovely...

[xavjar]

Hi,

 

I'm in the same boat as you (pardon the pun!!) I've only just started building her last month as I've been busy with other things, still it has given me time to do a bit of planning.

 

Your builds looking good mate,

 

 

Cheers Phil,

[nealefoulds]

Oops, wasn't permitted to create an album for my work-in-progress ... perhaps there is a good reason for not having a WIP album section, but I can't think of one.

 

So here is my build log, I'm going to add the pictures in logical batches until I'm up-to-date. Due to the site limitations of attachments smaller than 2MB, and a max of ten at a time in the queue, I'm not going to post my full picture log, but I will add the milestone pictures and my highlights. The full collection can still be viewed at my flick account.

 

So in this post, the first picture is my starting point - HMS Victory in a box! That's after I detatched all the magazine issues and binders and parts bags. As I started only after I received issue 68, I have three and a half binders full to get me going.

 

The second and third pictures here are a couple of views of the ship ribs fitted.

 

I addeds a series of pictures of my troop boat construction, which is covered in early issues in the first binder. I think this little boat is covered early to introduce the concepts and some of the methods for planking the hull which are re-used on the main hull. I painted the troop boat, but I don't like the finish so I'm going to return to it at some stage and re-finish it.

 

Finally in this post, I returned to the main hull, and the first two gun decks, including the deck supports and floors.

[nealefoulds]

My last post covered the initial rib construction and the troop boat (which I must repaint!).

The next stage was "fairing" the hull form, a.k.a sanding and rounding!

The magazine build I am following suggested a plane/rough file/sanding block combination to do this, but I decided to utilise 20th century technology and use my belt sander

 

<Note> As I'm currently working on the hull planking (as of Feb 22), this process has demonstrated it's importance. For my next build, I will be paying more attention to the fairing process, but I'll still be using the belt sander

 

The stern is fine, and I've not had any problems there, but both on the troop boat, and the main hull, I have a nagging suspicion that I put ribs in reversed (fore/aft) or not properly seated. At my bow, below the waterline, one of the front ribs (rib 12, spot it ) is considerably lower than the others and causes a slight dip. I was correcting for this on the upper planking by fitting wedges and filling any gaps (1mm to 2.5mm), but I didn't do so on the lower hull because the difference was less, and the gap smaller (1mm to 1.5mm), and I figure once it's sanded smooth and painted it won't be visible in any case (I hope).

Edited February 25, 2013 by nealefoulds

[nealefoulds]

Having covered the fairing of the hull in my last post, in this post, I cover the start of the planking.

 

The very first plank laid across my gallery floor is one I'll be able to pick out in the final model I'm certain!

 

These first few pics cover the first three rows of planks laid. A couple of notes; Firstly my bending technique was all wrong, and I just about got away with it! I was reluctant to put the planks in water for some reason, and so I was heating a metal handle and "ironing" a curve/bend at the right part of a plank. Secondly, I did not know if the parts supplied included the possibility of wastage and breakage, and so I was making every plank count, in case there were not enough!

 

Needless to say, I learned after a while, and I have changed my technique ... more on that later

 

So enjoy these pictures, and remember, these are only highlights, and my detailed step-by-step pictures are all on my flickr account, you can find me there by name

Edited February 25, 2013 by nealefoulds

[nealefoulds]

My last post covered the start of the planking. Starting from the lower gun deck floor and moving up!

 

This post then, covers the first gun ports added for the lower gun deck. The magazine suggested I cut the ports in a diagonal pattern across the centre first, and then cut the edges, but I chose to cut the edges directly. I have plenty of new blades, but it was still a painfully slow job!

 

The pics also show the mini-milestone of the completion of the cut-away section. Up to that point, I had to differ what I was doing on either side of the ship, but after row 11, both sides were planked identically, yey!

 

I also show here the completion of the planking over the second gun deck. Marking up the gun ports, by the way, is a fiddly piddly job and I hated it! It takes almost as long as cutting them out!

 

As my markings show, I do realise the importance of the old addage "measure twice, cut once"!! My error in measurement was not on the side of the hull, but was in the inaccuracy of the tool I made to help. Once I corrected it though, things progressed nicely, if not slowly!

 

I can honestly say though, never mind measuring; cutting the ports is the least pleasant part of this build so far for me, my hands still hurt Having said that, once I had everything cut out and started looking through the ship (through the doorways...), I did feel that it was starting to come together, so to speak, and it gave me a feel for the kind of view I might get at the end

 

I'm also showing off my template for the stern planking here, I was very proud of it

Edited April 4, 2013 by Neale Foulds

[nealefoulds]

Ok then, on with the build. Last post I mentioned how I hated marking up and cutting out gun ports ... well of course there were more, and of course I could see them as I covered the second floor ... my hands were still hurting from the lower deck

 

So on with my build, the eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that I included a cut-away section in my model. This is an option in the magazine - the instructions cover both methods, and for a few days in the early stages I agonised over whether to have the cut-away or not. What decided me in the end was that the canon provided for the cut-away would otherwise be used on a diarama, and that doesn't feature in my display plans!

 

As I progressed with the build, however, I realised that I could create a cover for the cut-away. In the early days, I was not certain that the publication provided enough raw materials for wastage and breakage, but by the time I had planked 12 rows (to the top of the second gun deck) I had plenty of spares left over - two magazines worth (full packs of 20 planks) in fact!

 

So these pictures show my initial efforts at a cover for my cut-away. Whilst I'm generally happy with the end result (certainly more so that I am with the paint job on my troop boat!) I may at some stage decide to remake the part as a tighter fit ... alternatively, I could line the edge of the cover using surplus gun port lining wood, and that would give me the fit I envisage for it.

 

I also show here the planking as I completed it up to the balwarks in the middle of the ship, and then, of course, yet more gun ports cut in the top deck ... arghhhhh

 

Finally, I completed a major milestone here with the planking up to the front bulkhead, and the stern gallery (my whole template covered at last!). The planking to this point has taken me two weeks, from 17 Jan to 2 Feb, I'm extremely pleased with the pace and the progress, and also the ship as it is coming together

 

Once again, thanks for reading, and just a reminder that these pics are just the highlights. The complete step-by-step pictures and comments are to be found on my flickr account

 

<Note> Incidentally, the first picture in this set shows a correction I had to add to the starboard side at row 10 on the bow. The row 11 plank would have ended up .75mm below the forward bulkhead on this side, and so rather than add another row (the magazine's suggested correction) I cut a deep taper into the bottom of the row 10 plank a way down it's length, and added a tapered (and bow curved) wedge that raised the plank evenly over the remaining length. I was delighted with the result, more so when I read some of the techniques for planking the lower hull, and this specific method (which I decided upon without having previously seen or heard of it, just purely from my engineer's evaluation of the problem) was described for the stern area where the bottom of the rudder will be ... I have to say, I got a bit of a buzz. I may have an aptitude for this ship building lark ...

Edited April 4, 2013 by Neale Foulds

[nealefoulds]

Almost up-to-date now, my last post covered the completion of the upper planking and with all the gun ports cut out, the next stage in the build was to turn the ship upside-down and begin the planking of the lower hull. I started this work on Feb 8th.

 

The magazine covered dropper planks and how to create them. Little did I know I would use these skills repeatedly!

 

Anyhow, these pictures show the first stage of the lower hull planking, the first four rows of planks. There's a dropper at the front, and the first row at the stern was a real tricky one also. It was at this stage of the build I decided my plank bending technique was unsuitable for the job. There's no way I could get the sharp bend I needed on the stern planks using my hot handle "ironing" method.

 

I test-dipped a plank into boiling water, and pretty quickly it turned into a lovely pliable soft bendy thing problem solved!

 

For the first four rows, I was working individual planks - hot-dip, bend, fit. This was time consuming as you can imagine, and so after these four rows I decided to prepare for the next stage of the hull planking with some pre-bent planks. More on that later

 

My next post will bring you all fully up-to-date with my build. Most weekends I try and add to my progress, I hope to finish the build sometime in the summer, but we'll see ...

[xavjar]

Hi,

 

Great looking build mate,

 

I'm on the planking of the lower hull stage my self, I found the transom hard going at first but I've got the hang of it now.

 

Keep the pics coming,

 

Cheers Phil,

[nealefoulds]

Yee-Ha! This post brings you up-to-date with my build, and includes the work I did last (22 Feb) weekend

 

My posts after this will be shorter (probably) 

 

As I left the build in the last post, I had added the first four rows of planks to the lower hull. I noted that I had to change my plank bending method in order to get the tight bends required at the stern, but also that I worked each plank one-by-one; a time consuming process, which I was determined to try and avoid for the remaining work!

 

I had realised that dipping the plank into boiling water did not harm it, and in fact make the wood very pliable and compliant for me, but to prepare for the next stage (planking 8 more rows of the lower hull) I wanted to get a bit of stock, so to speak...

 

I cut templates that were a good average of the form of the curve at the bow and the stern. At various points around the curve of the hull, the template was a close enough fit ... arr

 

So these pictures show my first batch of planks on a pin jig and one of the templates I used to create them. I can say, having fitted them to the hull this last weekend, that the idea worked out very well for me

 

However, the pictures start with where I left things three weekend's ago ... having planked four rows on the lower hull. I then had to turn the ship upright and fit all of the gun port linings ... all of 'em It was at this point in my build (magazine issue 35) when I found that the pack contents did not match the listing, and I did not have the wood in the right size to line all of the gun ports!!

 

Issue 34 provided 11 planks (300mm by 4mm by 1.5mm) to line some of the ports, and said that issue 35 would provide an additional 8 planks of the same size to complete the linings. Issue 35 came with 20 planks of the size for the hull (300mm by 5mm by 2mm) but nothing else, despite the listing mentioning the missing planks

 

After a fruitless email exchange with "customer service" (an automated service, it seems), I decided that DeAgostini were not going to work to my timetable, and I therefore decided to dip into the reserve of planks I have saved up over the course of this build, and made the required planks by sanding and trimming hull planking down to the right size, using one of the 11 planks provided in issue 34 as a template.

 

This highlights the major flaw in waiting to begin my build - it's well over a year since that issue was mailed to me, and so am I wrong not to have checked delivery at the time?

 

Nevertheless, and without apportioning any blame, I have been able to form an initial judgement on customer services ... and they failed (by the way).

 

Anyhow, continuing with my build, that little problem cost me a weekend in making up the planks I needed, and so the following weekend (Feb 15) I was able to fit all the gun port linings. This took all weekend. Ugh!

 

And so onto this weekend just passed, during which I added the additional 8 rows of planking to the lower hull. That brings me to issue 37 and there's not much left to do to complete the hull planking (as you can see from the final pictures) - another two issues will complete the planking, and then I can add the keel.

At the start of the weekend I removed the 16 moulded and shaped planks I had prepared earlier, and then put in another batch - eight with a gradual bend for the bow, and eight with a tight bend for the stern. In the eight rows I added were lots of dropper planks, and of course, I had to do both sides of the ship, but with the earlier batch and the batch I prepared at the start (which were ready when I needed them after using up the first lot) I saved a huge amount of time.

 

Each plank virtually hugged the hull form, and the stern in particular worked out very well. I had to do a lot of chamfering to close the gaps in this part of the hull planking, so that did slow me down, but by the end of the weekend, I had completed eight extra rows of planking; shown below  :D

 

I take all the parts out in batches of 10 issues at a time, and so I have been working from issue 31 to issue 40 currently. I can see from the parts pile how much I have to do for each stage, and the magazines seem to be set up around 20 issues for each of the major milestones. Working them in batches of 10 seems logical to me. Issue 40 (which I can see the parts for now) starts to fit the gallery floors and walls, so that's something I'm looking forward to getting onto.

 

In the meantime however, I still need to finsh the hull planking, and then sand the hull smooth, and that brings me to the weather ... it's cold and wet and miserable right now, and as I mentioned at the start of my log, this is a build I am undertaking in my living room in front of the TV - as you can see from some of the pictures I like my comfort   - so it's perfectly conceivable that I may reach the "rain stopped play" point. When I need to do the sanding! I'll just keep my fingers crossed for sunny days with a light breeze ... anytime soon please Weather Gods, thanks

 

So you're up-to-date, that's as far as I have got with the build. I will note also, that the magazines have periodically provided other smaller parts (canon, anchors etc.) during the 36 issues I have covered so far, but I have been collecting them to one side un-made (apart from the troop boat) and so at some stage soon I'm going to have to put in a factory line to build ten canon for the top deck, because I saw that I'm gonna need them early in the next (third) binder!

 

As usual, more detailed pictures and commentary are included in the complete set of pictures on my flickr account, you can find them here;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nealefoulds/sets

 

And, of course, I hope you enjoy my log, thanks for viewing

Edited April 4, 2013 by Neale Foulds

[nealefoulds]

Hi,

 

Great looking build mate,

 

I'm on the planking of the lower hull stage my self, I found the transom hard going at first but I've got the hang of it now.

 

Keep the pics coming,

 

Cheers Phil,

 

Thanks Phil,

 

I'm really proud of how it's going - my whole family (dispersed across the UK and other far flung places) are avidly following my progress too

 

I'm up to date now, next issue has a little table for me to enter sizes for the final planks to taper properly, should be fun!

 

BTW; I lived a life in Blackpool (many years ago... ) just down the coast from you? My eldest daughter and stepson still live there.

 

Happy building,

Edited February 26, 2013 by nealefoulds

[xavjar]

Hi,

 

I know the table your talking about, it seemed a bit confusing at first but after a couple of read throughs it made sense!!!! Funnly enough I've actually just finished same issue that you talked about (issue 36) although I doing things a little bit differently to the series so I haven't started to plank the upper half of the hull yet.

 

Enjoy your build mate, 

 

Phil,

[zeptraderUK]

Hi Neal (foulds?) I recognise that name from the "other" forum???

 

any mate that looks superb, I like what you did to the cutaway section, your a first on that as Ive not seen anyone else do it.

Your planking is going to be great as well.

[nealefoulds]

Hi Neal (foulds?) I recognise that name from the "other" forum???

 

any mate that looks superb, I like what you did to the cutaway section, your a first on that as Ive not seen anyone else do it.

Your planking is going to be great as well.

Thanks dude, I hope it will look as good as the work you have done on your cross-section, fantastic stuff, and I like your workshop too, giving me more ideas 

[zeptraderUK]

Im sure it will neal..

 

yep the workshop..works for me..thanks.

[maaaslo]

 

hi, nice job, as for first.

for second, id like to ask a question if you do not mind...

i am currently in the process of planking the gallery support. in instruction there is step where you need to sand the planking so it go in the nice line with the frame... i do not understand this. how much am i supposed to sand off so it looks nice and neat? would you happened to have a close up picture of your gallery supports and showing sort of line i could follow?

[nealefoulds]

 

 

hi, nice job, as for first.

for second, id like to ask a question if you do not mind...

i am currently in the process of planking the gallery support. in instruction there is step where you need to sand the planking so it go in the nice line with the frame... i do not understand this. how much am i supposed to sand off so it looks nice and neat? would you happened to have a close up picture of your gallery supports and showing sort of line i could follow?

I believe this refers to the slight downward angle of the gallery support as it meets the transom. I do indeed have a picture of it here;

 

Thanks for your kind words

[Shipyard sid]

Neale

Everything looks crisp and clean, an exellent build going on here. I look forward to your next posts and will certainly

Follow your log with real interest . Crack on and enjoy your build. DAVID

[nealefoulds]

Neale

Everything looks crisp and clean, an exellent build going on here. I look forward to your next posts and will certainly

Follow your log with real interest . Crack on and enjoy your build. DAVID

Thanks David, I appreciate the comment

It's an addictive thing, this ship building, I have plastic models (carriers/battleships), I may post a pic or two of them at some stage, but I am proud of Victory.

Thanks again for viewing

[maaaslo]

 

thank you Neal

that was the picture i did need. ive trimmed it and now have started todo planking.

when there is at least a few layers done, i will start the build log too...

keep up good work./

[nealefoulds]

 

 

thank you Neal

that was the picture i did need. ive trimmed it and now have started todo planking.

when there is at least a few layers done, i will start the build log too...

keep up good work./

Excellent stuff, I'm glad I could help, and I look forward to seeing some pics when you post, best of luck with your build Pavol

[nealefoulds]

Just spent €110 on tools and consumables for my model!

 

With the hull sanding task coming up, and with a growing pile of mixed surplus parts, I needed to organise. Here's my shopping list;

• More wood glue
• Black&Decker "Mouse" sander (and medium and fine sanding sheets)
• 0.5mm and 0.8mm drill bits (I couldn't get a 0.5mm so I'll make do with the 0.8mm) for work coming up on the masts and canon
• A4 sheets of medium sanding paper
• Plastic storage box with dividers

Another weekend and I hope to finish the hull planking. I did some work last night, and I'm gonna do more today.

 

Pictures will follow at the end of the weekend

Happy modelling people

 

[nealefoulds]

Hi everyone, here's my build log update reporting my progress this weekend (Mar 1)

 

I left things in my last entry with a further eight rows of planks added to the underside of the hull; issue 36 in the series I am building. This week I have added a further eight rows of planks, but I didn't get as much done as I wanted to, so I may add a couple more rows this evening!

 

Before proceeding with adding planks, I had to fit the "garboard" plank, which runs the length of the hull down at the keel. This is added now to make the final stages easier (so the magazine tells me!). In order to add the garboard plank, I needed to add fillets to the frame at the bow, and so the first pictures below show this.

 

Whilst I was at the bow adding those fillets, I was looking at the planking work I had done, and decided that the tapering on one side of the bow was not level with the other side, so I added a further fillet in the planks to fix the taper (shown next).

 

Later then, with the fillets dried and sanded (faired) to the shape and the curve of the bow, I added the garboard plank on both sides of the ship. Starting in the middle, two short planks, and then the front planks twists across sideways instead of following the curve down. The rear planks twist from horizontal to vertical at the stern, and so I soaked them in boiling water to make them more pliable, and my 100mm clamps came in handy once again I left a 1mm overlap with this plank to the keel, for sanding flat later.

 

I needed to let the garboard plank dry properly, so I prepped up more curved planks (I can say that my pin board is getting some heavy use, and is one if my better ideas for this build ) and then left things to dry fully.

 

So onto adding eight (or so...) more rows to the hull. With my curved planks dry and ready I proceeded to add droppers at the bow (got lots of them there now) and a new technique (for me) some droppers at the stern. So apart from a few detail pictures of the stern dropper technique, the remaining pics show my progress down the hull and around the curve onto the bottom of the ship (finally!).

 

I have the other side to do  (and more planks bent and ready to go ) so I'm gonna see how I get on this afternoon, and if I can get all the planks to within 50mm of the garboard plank, I will be ready for the final hull planking stage (next week)

 

As usual, more pictures and detail (and the hi-res images) are available on my flickr set here http://www.flickr.com/photos/nealefoulds/8525445096/in/set-72157632399309392

 

As always, feel free to comment/critique the work, I welcome any suggestions.

 

And finally, thanks again for viewing my log, and I hope you enjoy the pictures

Edited April 4, 2013 by Neale Foulds

[xavjar]

Hi,

 

You're certainly cracking on with the planking pal, It's looking great,

 

You'll have to let me know how the mouse sander works out for you in regards to sanding down the hull I was looking at getting one of those my self for the same task, I'm sanding by hand as I go at the moment and I've got the blisters to prove it!!!!!!

 

Enjoy your build mate,

 

Phil,

[nealefoulds]

I browsed the site today looking at other models. One thing that struck me, particularly with more experienced guys, is this so called "contemporary planking", and the lack of stealers and droppers. It seems, to do the job properly, one should avoid these techniques ... and after I spent so much time learning how to do them too!!

 

[One of] the recommended way to plank a hull, so I read, is to cut your own planks. In this way, you gain control over the number of rows of planks, the plank widths, and (in accordance with the recommended, or contemporary approach) even cut curved planks. Pre-curved planks, once bent, will follow the curve of the hull closely if done properly, and negate the need to droppers.

 

Stealers, using the same method, are avoided because the hull sides are broken down into segments and tapered according to a planking template (which looks like a lesson in perspective in an art class (btw)). The maximum width of each plank at each rib point is carefully calculated in a table for each segment, with the amount of taper noted at each rib. Stealers can be plotted out by applying the maximum width to the end of the keel.

 

The end result looks fantastic, really - I'm very impressed. But I'm not a student of the craft, and I do state that this log is my first build, and so in time I may want to build a model using this method, perhaps even for my next build.

 

In the meantime, I'm specifically following a detailed step-by-step set of magazines for my first build, and so, as much as I like the end product, I won't change my planking for this build. I have droppers galore at the front of my ship, so a real aficionado won't be at all impressed with my efforts, and as I approach the point where I need to add stealers (I have read-ahead to that part in the magazine!) I'm going to carry on with the same enthusiasm and learn as much as I can as I go.

 

As far as other elements of contemporary model planking, I'm using supplied parts for this build, and they are a fixed size in advance, so I don't have the benefit of using a planking template, and neither am I able at the moment to cut my own planks to size. Having said that, I would first buy stock sized planks and see if I can set them in the required curve before bending (and tapering) them to the hull. Having studied the technique documented by site Admin Chuck http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/user/2-chuck/ (sorry Chuck, I don't know how else to credit/link you) and his very useful planking guide here http://modelshipworldforum.com/resources/Framing_and_Planking/Lining%20Off%20your%20hull%20for%20planking.pdf I think I could pull it off

 

Anyhow, on with the build, happy modelling everybody

[Patrick Haw]

I'd say you have far more than just an "aptitude" for this ship building lark!  Your precision and attention to detail are very impressive.  I'm looking forward to following your build, and especially seeing what you do in the cut-out, that has great potential for some excellent detail.  Great work!

 

Patrick

[xavjar]

That style of planking would look very nice on a natural hull......

 

thanks for the links, I really must have a propper look around this site one day!!!!!

 

Cheers Phil,

[nealefoulds]

Hi everybody,

 

Last post I detailed adding a further eight rows of planks to the underside of my Victory hull. I only managed to get one side done over the weekend however, and so during the week I added a couple of rows a night to get the other side up to the same stage.

 

So here are six pictures; the first one was taken on Monday, and shows my starting point, and the second photo was taken yesterday once I had added the eighth row

 

Both sides of the ship hull are now ready for the final step in the planking. These last few rows (9 on either side) taper from bow to stern, without droppers. The taper for each plank on each row is plotted on a table - I'll show that later.

 

There is actually a 1mm difference in the gap on either side, but I can live with that. Uber Eagle-eyed amongst you may see it in the fifth picture below

 

The 4mm (approx) gap at the bow will be tidied up when I enlarge it to fit parts, and the view of the transom shows it's virtually covered now, but I have prepared two more tight bend planks, because I think I need to fit another row to cover it completely.

 

And so, on with the build, so as always, thanks for reading, comments welcome etc., see my flickr etc. etc. blah blah

[Shipyard sid]

Hello Neale

Yep everything looks spick and span to me. Well done, just enjoy your build and I will follow your progress.

Regards DAVID