HMS Victory by Jeff-E - FINISHED - Panart - 1:78 Scale - Bow Section

[Jeff-E]

Hi Kester and Mobbsie,

 

Thankyou both for your kind words  

 

Kester, you are right the only part of mast step that will be visible is the back end of it with a torch  

[Jeff-E]

Hi All,

 

After filling and sanding the hull to get a nice smooth surface for the second layer of planks my next job was to mark out and cut the gunports. The instructions tell you to do this after the second layer of planks has been completed but I think that if I cut them now any small errors or minor damage to the planks while cutting them out can be covered by the second layer.

 

I made up a small tool to ensure the ports are all the same size. I got the sizes from the brass inserts that are to be glued into the ports

 

 

 

I also made up one of each of the cannons so I could get the height to the lower sill from the deck correct. Unfortunately the kit only supplies two sizes of cannon so the larger 32 pounder gun will go on the lower and middle gun decks and the smaller 12 pounder gun will go on the upper gun deck

 

 

 

 

The next pics are of the gunports marked out . I thought I had a picture with the gunport pattern attached to the hull but I can't find it, probably deleted it  

 

 

 

[AntonyUK]

Hello Jeff.

Looking very nice.

Lots of good construction tips and ideas.

 

Regards Antony.

[Jeff-E]

Thank you very much, Anthony

[mathewp]

G'day Jeff, your doing well. Very nice clean work. I saw some sinkers being used, so I'm guessing you fish up there somewhere. Ship building in the morning, and Barra fishing in the afternoon, I'm jealous.

[Jeff-E]

Hi Matthew and thank you for your kind comments. Yes you did see sinkers but unfortunately they haven't been used for their designed purpose for a while. The weather is starting to warm up now the build up is here so I hope to go fishing in the coming weeks     

[Jeff-E]

Hi All,

 

After they were maked out and I was happy with the positon of them the gunports were cut out. This was done as per the instructions by drilling a series of small holes inside the marked lines and then carefully  cutting out that section and finally finishing it to size with a file

 

 

 

 

 

[Jeff-E]

Some photos of all the gunports cut out

 

 

 

 

To get all the holes for the ring bolts for the breeching rope and side tackle in the same spot on each gun I made up the supplied tool, that will be used as a template for drilling the port lid opening ropes, and drilled four extra holes near the bottom of it. So when it is inserted into each port all the hole will be drilled in the same spot.  

 

 

 

[Jeff-E]

I then painted the inner walls white. Please note that the Upper gun deck walls will be painted yellow ochre after the false deck has been fitted

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Sailor]

Hi Jeff, that looks really nice.

[Jeff-E]

Hi Richard, Thankyou very much.

 

She is progressing slowly and I'm fairly happy with the progress so far

[Jeff-E]

Hi All,

 

Now it is time to begin the second layer of planking. The supplied timber for this is 1mm x 6mm walnut this will be the first time I have used 1mm thick planks for the second layer, my two other models used 0.5mm planks for the second layer, so we will see how it goes.

 

The first five planks were fairly straight forward to lay and I filed out the gunports to size as I went.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next two planks were then fitted. I found that the planks bent to shape fairly easily with my plank nipper. They were both soaked, as with the first layer planks, and then clamped into postion to dry, any small adjustments were then made with fine sand paper and they were then glued into place.  Both of these planks were untapered

 

 

 

 

[Jeff-E]

Because the gunports had already been cut out the next plank could be cut into sections and fitted in between each port, eliminating the need to soak it.  From this plank down I started to taper each plank so it would not ride up over the one above it

 

 

 

 

As the planking progesses down the hull past the Middle gun deck I no longer could use spring clamps to hold the the planks flat agaist the hull. So I had to resort to planking screws, which I had got from Modellers Shipyard a few years ago. As I did not want big holes on the inside of the hull I made up some spacers by gluing two pieces of 1.5mm offcut planks together this allowed the scew to bite into the first planking without going through it  

 

 

 

 

 

I must admit that I was a bit aprehensive at using 1mm strips for the second layer of planking but I think that the use of thicker planks for the second layer is better as they tend to hold their shape and can be adjusted to fit more easily than the thinner 0.5mm strips, this is just my humble opinion however

 

 So this is where I am up to as of today, the log is up to date. The updates may be a bit slower from here on in so please be patient with me. At my present rate I hope to have the sescond plaking complete in the next few weeks  

 

[Captain Slog]

Hi Jeff,

 

What a difference with the sides on and the gun ports cut out, real nice!

 

Cheers

Slog

[Jeff-E]

Hi Slog, Thank you very much.  

[Jeff-E]

Hi All,

 

 Just a small update on the planking it has been slow progress but I want to get the second layer as smooth and as tight as possible so there will be minimal sanding and filling when it is completed.

 

As you can see by the following photos I have nearly reached the point where the planks start to curve under the hull. I will lay three more planks on each side below the last plank shown and then start to let the planks take their natural course, adding stealers and drop planks to fill the gaps.

 

 

 

 

[Captain Slog]

Hi Jeff,

 

Your second planking layer is definitely showing the effort you are putting into it. Looks very clean and tight.

 

I hated doing second planking with a passion 

 

What is the dimensions of the planking strip?

 

Cheers

Slog

[Jeff-E]

Hi Slog,

 

Thankyou for your kind comments.

 

The strips ar 1mm x 6mm walnut that is why it is taking a while, each plank has to be tapered then roughly bent and then soaked and clamped into position, once it is dry any minor adjusments are made before it is glued into position. A time consuming process but so far I am happy with the result   

[mathewp]

 Nice planking Jeff. What glue are you using/

[olliechristo]

Very nice planking Jeff. Great to see how it happens. . Really liking the look of this model... Regards Ollie

[AntonyUK]

Hello Jeff.

Looking very nice. As the others have said Very nice planking.

A interesting cross section.

 

Regards Antony.

[Jeff-E]

Hi Mathew, Ollie and Anthony,

 

Thank you all for your kind words, the planking does get a bit more challenging from now on as the it curves under towards the keel  

 

Mathew, I'm using Shellys Aquadhere white PVA glue it works well and allows you a bit of time to adjust the planks into position

[Jeff-E]

Hi All,

 

The planking is still progressing slowly, I have started to plank around the curve of the hull and have let the planks run fairly close to their natural line this has resulted in them terminating on the plank above and not the stem, but they seem to be laying nicely on the hull and not buckling.  

 

I have laid five planks on the starboard side to see how they would look and if it was no good I only had one side to remove. I think they look OK so I have started with the same pattern on the port side.

 

Sorry about all the clamps but I only laid these planks about 20 minutes ago. I will post some better pics on the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 I have also been thinking about what to do with the gunports the kit supplies a preformed brass gunporrt linning that, to me, looks a bit tacky. They look more like an open window frame than a gunport linning.

 

 

 

 

So I was thinking of discarding them and lining the ports with timber, I have some strips of 3mm x0.5mm sapillea left over from the 'Swift' which can be trimmed to size but as the thickness of the hull is only 2.5mm I was wondering if it would look alright  becuase they would also have to be stepped into the port so that when the lids close they would be flush with the hull  The port lids are 1mm ply which are supposed to be lined with I'm not sure what because the plans or instrucions don't say, I am guessing the outside would be the same 1mm x 6mm walnut I'm using for the second layer of planks, if so I will have some sanding to do .

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated

 

Any way I have a while to think about how I'm going to do them while I continue with the planking     

 

[patrickmil]

I'd have to agree with your assessment of the supplied gun port linings. I think you will have a better looking model with using timber to line you gun ports. Your Victory bow section is looking very nice so far.

[AntonyUK]

Hi Jeff.

I would go with the timber idea.

BTW love the build looks very clean and tidy.

 

Regards Antony.

[mathewp]

Have to agree with Patrick, wooden liners would look good with a contrasting colored timber perhaps?.That buckling you mentioned is a problem with bluff bows like Bounty, Victory , Endeavor etc I've had problems myself..

[Captain Slog]

Hi Jeff, I agree with the others.  Would be a shame not to go the extra yard with making the ports yourself to compliment your excellent planking.

 

Cheers

Slog

[Jeff-E]

Hi Patrick, Anthony, Matthew and Slog,

 

Thank you all for your kind words and input with regard to my small dilema about the gunport linings. I have decided to line the ports with timber and will use the 0.5mm sapellia, mentioned earlier. It will be a bit fiddily to do but as all of you have rightly pointed out the extra effort will be worth it.

 

I hope line one port tonight and I will post some pics tomorrow  

[Stockholm tar]

Hi Jeff,

 

Very nice work on your planking, very neat.

 

I'd agree with what others have said – ditch the gunport linings, and make your own. I don't know why manfacturers make these from metal, as they stick out a mile. There are also a few other fittings I'd ditch as well!

[JPett]

Ahoy Mates

 

I like the brass

 

As a newbie I can see where they allow a small amount of adjustment to get all the ports in a proper line

 

They also add a little class to what is a really display piece