HMS Victory by Malcolm Brown - Heller - 1/100 - PLASTIC

[Malcolm Brown]

I still have some questions to resolve around the bowsprit - notably, the Sprit Topsail Lift - and those described in my earlier post #57. WRT the Sprit Topsail Lift(s), on pg. 237 Longridge describes the Spritsail yard as having both “standing lifts” in addition to the  “usual lifts”. 🤷‍♂️ I dunno, so I parked these for now and have turned my attention back to some of the hull detail.

Installed the boarding pikes on the main and fore masts. They’re fiddly as all get out to work with but they really do add a nice bit of detail.

I laughed when one of the pikes slipped through the collar, dropped to the table and embedded itself in the piece of paper beneath it. Even at 1/100 scale, they’re obviously very well balanced and potentially lethal. LOL

The ensign staff is of natural wood but my attempt at painting the supplied plastic part to look like wood was less than satisfactory. As such, I made a wooden staff by ‘turning down’ a 1/8” wooden dowel in the chuck of my cordless drill. Coated it with some Sikkens brand outdoor varnish I had knocking around. I did the same for the jack staff, albeit, this was a whole lot trickier since the jack staff is that much thinner. On pg. 199, Longridge states the ensign staff, “has three small sheave holes cut in it”. At this scale, that wasn’t going to happen so I stropped a 2mm block at the top. As a side note: I made a total mess when I tried bending together the etched brass binnacle (sorry Dafi!) so I used the compass pieces (compass + backing) for the end of both the ensign and jack staffs. All in all they turned out pretty well and maybe the admiralty would have gotten a laugh that both staffs have direction finding capability. Either that, or I’d have ended up in the brig 😂 As per the real ship, I made a bracket from the etched brass frame and attached two slightly offset cleats on the port/sb sides near the base of the staff.

I continue to replace all of the hammock cranes and netting. I have to exercise so much care when drilling new holes for the etched brass cranes because those darned tiny drill bits keep snapping off. I’ve already gone through 2 sets 🤦‍♂️

It was more of a trial exercise, but I employed my Syren serving machine for the first time and seized a loop in the main stay collar. Main and preventer stay hearts installed. Clumpy wax persists!

A very good friend of mine in Nova Scotia spotted a model of HMS Victory online and mailed it to me. I had a good laugh when I realised it’s the Airfix 1/180 and, I presume, the model (perhaps at a different scale) that’s behind the Hackney book, published in association with Airfix. The box has a faded and weathered appearance so it would appear to be a vintage kit. When I finish the Heller kit ‘some time’ in the future, I’ll turn my attention to the Airfix kit 😁

 

 

 

 

 

[dafi]

On 5/2/2024 at 5:17 PM, Malcolm Brown said:

I laughed when one of the pikes slipped through the collar, dropped to the table and embedded itself in the piece of paper beneath it. Even at 1/100 scale, they’re obviously very well balanced and potentially lethal. LOL

I worked hard on that!

*ROTFL*

 

If you allow one hint: If possible use a thinner thread for serving shrouds and stays and all on your machine, the one shown appears too thick.

 

Great work as usual! All the best,

 

Daniel

Edited May 4 by dafi

[Malcolm Brown]

On 5/4/2024 at 11:51 AM, dafi said:

If you allow one hint: If possible use a thinner thread for serving shrouds and stays and all on your machine, the one shown appears too thick.

Many thanks, I appreciate your advice on thread size! 😁👍

[Ian_Grant]

Ship looking great, Malcolm!  Are you sure about the length of the jackstaff - it look a bit long?  Maybe mine was broken short and I didn't realize......

 

Yes the Hackney book was written especially for the Airfix kit. I predict once you finish your Heller, you'll want to make a different ship, though. 😉

 

ps I replied to your email when I returned from vacation.

[Malcolm Brown]

On 5/6/2024 at 10:19 AM, Ian_Grant said:

Are you sure about the length of the jackstaff - it look a bit long?

Thanks, Ian and good catch on the jackstaff! I think I know what happened. Way back when, I replaced the original Heller jack staff with carbon fibre. Apparently, however, I never adjusted its length so when I made the wooden version I made it the exact same length. I have no idea where the original plastic staff got to (or why I replaced it) but I just checked Longridge. He describes the jackstaff for his 1/48 scale model as being 5”. LOL, I’m close to 4” so a bit over scale. Should be an easy fix but again thanks for spotting that. Got your email, thanks! I responded with a couple of follow ups