HMS Victory by Yabuhebi (Chris) - Caldercraft - 1:72

[Yabuhebi]

I have the plans on an easel board and they run bow to stern (left to right), but my boat is on my work table in the opposite direction....to keep the bow from whacking things on the bench. This was making it difficult to apply installations as I always had to reverse things in my mind.

There is the set of braces that is visible on the quarter deck and the set that runs between the 2 decks. I had them reversed during my first attempt!
I finally just turned the boat around!

I took brad nails I had which are .7mm thick and drilled holes in the bottom of the bits. Since they are very pointy, they easily indented the deck for reference. I was able to drill precise holes to fit them.

I had glued the skid beams and the steam stunk assembly under the quarterdeck and that did not cause any issues during assembly.

However, it took some thinking to get the lower brace installed on the bit. At first I tried to install the quarterdeck and then slide the bits through the hole and use my tweezers to try and get it together, that was not going to work. Ultimately, I just slid the bracing through the holes while the deck was not installed and then slid it into place and added the lower bracing. Then it was fairly easy to then put it all together. Then I could add CA glue to base of bits and finalize it.

HOWEVER....somewhere I made a mistake in earlier construction. My thoughts that some of the camber beams seem to be on the wrong side is apparent.

The bits for the main mast should be on either end of the slots provided. There is a camber beam in the way and I just don't know why or what I did. I've reviewed other builder logs and most of my beams are correct, but some are on the opposite side.

Again, finding specific pictures of this area from other builders is tough. I do have a nice blog from Robert29 . I see that the base of the main mast has sleeve, paunch and a holding area for pikes. It doesn't look like it will be an issue....close, but not a catastrophe!

I did paint the tips of the bits grey....It looks like the real ones are capped....perhaps at one time with lead or copper?

[Yabuhebi]

Taking advantage of my granddaughter's nap time over the past week I was able to go down and do some work.

First I  cut off the stubs for bulkheads 1-5 and 10-13. I have one of those mini Japanese saws and it worked very well. A little sanding and I'll be right ok.

One of the gun ports did come a bit loose on one end because I was leaning on it and they are only connected by the long base. But nothing to worry about.

Cutting down the pillars for under the skid beam is straightforward, but you really take away almost all of the squared off ends when you're done. I almost wonder if it was really worth it to go to the trouble to square them when only about 2mm is going to remain on either end.....

The first two I did, I secured with CA glue and that was a mistake. The glue tends to quickly soak in and stain the walnut. After than I used white glue and a cotton q-tip to soak up any excess glue. The white glue dries pretty quick for setting purposes and dries pretty clear.

I did NOT attempt to drill holes in the pillars that act as stanchions for some of the life lines on the middle and forward companion ways. On the forward most set, I just tied the lines around the pillars and they look just fine.

I removed the 4 pieces for the quarterdeck screen and sanded them using a small file and these little sanding sticks to clean out all of the grooves. I will set them aside for when the decking is complete. I did not install the beakhead bulkhead. I think it will be easier to attach some of the other pieces that need to be applied before.

Finally, I laid out the plan for decking the quarterdeck. I am using a PDF from Ulises Victoria and it is very easy to follow and understand. I have attached it. I know some of the pictures show my center line is off. I did see that after looking at the pictures and corrected it.

Finally, looking way ahead, I saw a lot of discussion about the right material for the hammock netting. I cannot find any type of cloth mosquito netting that could be stained to look tea colored. All the tulle I looked at is synthetic. I did find a place on Amazon that stocks some 20-30 different color tulles. For $9USD you get about 300' of it! I opted for antique gold, but there was an ivory that might work too. I'll try it when I get there.

Per the planking manual, I again am opting for the plan that repeats every 5 planks. They suggest a length of 120mm.

I started cutting them out with my little cutting board, but it doesn't go out to 120mm so I was forced to lay a template piece next to each one. That was going to take all night!

So I went over to my little trusty band saw and jigged out 120mm and cut a few hundred in about a minute

 

 

I added pictures of the tulle with a pen to show the size of the netting.

[Yabuhebi]

Now I am up to date. I actually enjoy doing the deck planking. It's pretty straight forward and the results are very tangible and for the most part they look good. I did get lost a bit with the pattern on the port side. I may have moved too fast. At the fore end there are a lot of holes that need to be planked around. You also have to extend the planking over the access area created by the skid beam assembly.

It might be hard to explain, but once I have 5 rows of planking done, it is easy to place the next row. From a joint, I just count over 5 planks because that is the number of rows before a joint is in the same location. But with all the cutting and trimming on the fore deck, there isn't an easy ability to see natural planking breaks. I actually had to wait until the aft decking was 'fleshed out' more and then started laying planks aft to fore on the port side.

So far, cutting out access to the bitt holes, mast holes and access hatches has been straight forward.

I am coming up to the edges and will have to address how to terminate planking against the walls. I will take a look at the books I have and search for pics of live deck shots.

I'll post when I have completed the planking and decide whether I will add wood fill with a bit of stain to it as I did to the 2 lower decks.

I attached 2 pics from my previous work on the lower deck. I have that easy to sand wood filler that I added a bit of Jacobean stain to. It spreads on very easily and dries quickly. While it will create a lot of dust, once sanded, it provides a natural caulking look and fills in any gaps from my installation pitfalls. 

[kiwiron]

Nice work Chris, coming along real well. I was glad when I finished my cannons.

[Yabuhebi]

Hello!

First, once again thank you for the kind remarks from everyone. 

 

Ron...I have all your pics from your log saved and they have been a tremendous help and a perfect addition to the kit's instructions. I doubt I'd be as far as I am without your log!

 

So, I finished planking the quarterdeck. While the starboard side laid out as I wanted, the port side went a bit astray. Because of the hatch openings on the forward part, I lost my way keeping track of plank breaks. Instead of a break every 5 planks, it ended up being every 4 and in some cases 3.

 

It's not something you will notice unless you're a rivet counter, but it is there and bothers me because this model requires a higher level of concentration, especially when I begin to tackle areas like the stern, bow and finally the rigging. If I can't get the decking right, I shudder to think what will happen when I get to those points (which are coming sooner than I think!)

 

I did add the wood filler/stain again and while it looks bad at first, I can tell you it is not bad as of today (which is about 9 days after these pictures were taken). The only bad thing is the amount of dust I am creating doing this. I have an air compressor, just hope I glued those cannons down!!!!

 

I ran the decking up to the side bulwarks so when I add the interior planks it will cover them. 

I did misread the instructions and thought I was going to coam/trim around the skid beam with a 3mm piece, but after the fact I saw it was only the longer sides and it is a 1.5x1.5 piece. I did leave a little too much space while laying the deck. I think I'll be ok as the belfry and barricade will cover that!

 

 

[Yabuhebi]

The next step was adding the gun port liners to inner bulkheads.

 

I did break off one of the forward gun ports when I rested my hand on it. I ended up gluing a piece of the original planking to it and then using that extra piece to re-glue it to the hull. 

 

The problem was that the deck tapers at the bow and it was hard to get that bend in the piece. I ended up using some clamps, paint cans and more to get it in tight. I think I may need to do some sanding when I begin working on the bow. We shall see!!!!

 

The gun ports actually lined up pretty good and there weren't any issues. 

[Yabuhebi]

Lining the gun ports also went easier than the lower decks. Perhaps a development of a skill set or they're just higher up and closer to my eye level?

 

I have a little re-chargeable dremel like tool and that allowed me to sand them flush pretty quickly. 

[Yabuhebi]

Adding the side planking took the most time.

 

I would add a few rows to either the inside or outside. Just enough to leave the opening of a particular gun port visible.

Once dry, I would cut away the planking covering the port.

 

Then I would add another row or two.

 

I did lose my way (again) when cutting out the gun ports. With the exception of the 3 at the stern, all the gun port liners should be flush to the side planking. The 3 at the stern need to be recessed by 1mm. On one side, I cut the planking so there was a recess where it shouldn't be. I'll see if paint will cover it.

 

Once they were done, I squared them with a small flat file and small square file.

 

[Yabuhebi]

Next were the caps for the bulwarks.

 

There are 3 on each side. The forward piece (393), the stern piece (391) and the piece that lays on the deck between to fore and poop decks (392).

 

I had them numbered, I just wish they were installed in numercial order....stern 391, mid 392, fore 393. But it was not to be and I mis-installed them.

 

I suppose that will be the greater benefit of my log...."Tales of a builder who doesn't follow simple instructions"

 

I ended up putting the mid cap on one of the stern rails and because it was so much longer, I cut away the excess. Now I had installed the forward caps correctly and there is a but of extra that I cut away, so while doing the stern, I just assumed the same thing.

 

Once I saw my mistake when laying the middle pieces, I was able to pull away the stern and fix the installation. I did have to add a small piece which won't be visible once painted.

 

There seems to be a LOT of extra width in these pieces that needs to be sanded flush. Honestly, it looks like they would like a bit of overhang, but the directions and all of the builder logs I have looked at show them flush. That's a lot of sanding.

 

Either way, it's done.

[Yabuhebi]

Working on the forward coamings and the fore bitt/bracing.

 

I didn't think I had enough grating material to do these. I thought when I did the lower ones, I had made extra and tore my work shop apart looking for them to no avail. I ended up ordered more from Jotika.

After I built what I had and it was enough. So I probably never did build extra, but there is just enough for these hatches. Thankfully, my US based credit card didn't work in the UK so no worries! 

 

They look ok. Some of the gratings broke and I am not 100% happy with the coaming work. I opted NOT to install them to the deck and trim around it. I think it's easier to build them in full and then fit them onto deck. 

 

I also added sheaves to the bitt/bracing. I drilled 3 holes and then carefully cut away until I had a hole large enough for two 4mm sheaves. I'll use a small piece of styrene in between. They look pretty good.

 

I also added handles and a bit of wire to the chimney to look like the push rods that open the front. Once painted it looks fine, the handles are a bit out of scale, but will do.

[Yabuhebi]

Getting close to current (as of 10/30/24)

 

I taped off the interior deck and painted all of the raw decking. I thin the paint a bit and put on 2-3 coats where needed. I did this to keep any brush strokes to a minimum.

 

I installed the coaming and the stove chimney. I will take a close up pic of that detail....

 

I plan on adding a small piece of black trim to base of interior bulkhead, just thinking about what I'll use. It would be nice if I could make it into a 'quarter round' piece of shoe molding. I suppose I could cut something about 1mm in width and then scrape it into that shape....hmmm.

 

Once I do that, I will had a few coats of matt finish to this deck and then blow out all of the dust once it dries.

 

I started gathering the pieces of the belfry and barricade. A lot of very small pieces that require patience to cut out. Like the mast base rings, a lot of them are VERY delicate and will break if pushed too far.