HMS VICTORY (HELLER) NEWBIE HERE

[KIMG]

Good afternoon, I am retired & live in the West of England.  I have had a late life crisis, and bought a HMS Victory kit!!  I don't do anything without considerable research and having toyed with a Caldercraft version I realised it was way beyond my skill level.  I have read loads of posts here and on FB, and watched sooo many YouTube videos.  I am really ready to open the box wider.  I have contacted  "Dafi" and started to paints, as per the instruction book.  There is a model shop in Royal Wootten Bassett, who I think I will be visiting of the next few years.

 

Thank you for allowing me in and please be patient if I have lots of sill questions

[Knocklouder]

Good luck on your adventure 

Bob  M.

[ccoyle]

Welcome aboard!

[Geordie Tyne]

Welcome to MSW!

[Bomber_County]

Welcome to MSW, I’m a newbie myself, the amount of information on here is incredible. 

[KIMG]

You know how people post pictures of how their build is progressing…….

[Keith Black]

 Welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard. 

[vvvjames]

Welcome! Best of luck on the HMS Victory!

[GrandpaPhil]

Welcome!

[ccoyle]

2 hours ago, KIMG said:

You know how people post pictures of how their build is progressing…….

 

I moved your original topic to this area because it was more of an introduction rather than the opening of a build log -- it's good to have a post here, too, cuz people want to know who you are. Naturally, we will be interested in seeing progress on your model as well, so please set up a new topic in that area -- be sure to check the build log guidelines pinned at the top of each sub-category. And good luck on your project!

 

Cheers!

[AJohnson]

2 hours ago, KIMG said:

You know how people post pictures of how their build is progressing…….

A capsized Victory can still style it out!

(Looks good so far!) 😉

anyway, welcome to MSW! 

[dafi]

🙂 🙂 🙂

 

XXXDAn

[Baker]

[Ian_Grant]

She is a challenging kit but the result is stunning. There are many builds here for inspiration and tips. Good luck and I look forward to following your progress!.

[KIMG]

Can I ask, as I gather the tools together apart from ochre yellow, does everyone follow the paint suggestions in the plans of follow other avenues?  I seem to have too many makes.  Thanks

[Keith Black]

 Myself, I'd use MSW's search engine to locate all the Victory build logs and see what those builders chose to do and then I'd Google search historical correct paint colors used on the Victory and for each specific date. Then I would decide what date I wanted my Victory model to represent and paint accordingly.  

[RVB]

Welcome aboard. With that said put on a life jacket and jump into the build full bore. Many enjoyable hours await you. Tons of help can be had in this forum all you need to do is ask. No question is foolish because we all have experienced the same problems.  Good Luck on Victory. 
Best Rick

Edited Thursday at 11:16 PM by RVB

[Ian_Grant]

5 hours ago, KIMG said:

Can I ask, as I gather the tools together apart from ochre yellow, does everyone follow the paint suggestions in the plans of follow other avenues?  I seem to have too many makes.  Thanks

Well, I made mine mine a decade ago and did indeed use yellow ochre for the hull stripes. Shortly thereafter, the HMS Victory restoration team announced that they had taken a core drill sample and separated out all the paint layers and found the "true" colours from Nelson's time. As they were in the middle of a 20-years restoration they painted the entire ship in these colours. The result was a bit surprising as the stripes had a distinctly pinkish tinge. At any rate, I believe they have since once again stripped off much of her outer planking after discovering more water penetration due to laminated planks used in previous restorations.

 

I would advise against using Heller's Humbrol "scorched earth" for things like the hatch coamings and ship's wheel......I did this and it is too reddish; a nice brown would be better. Here is a pic of my model during the build,  with the reddish hatches on the forecastle and the yellow ochre which it was too late to change.

 

Here is a video about the repainting of the real ship.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmNXRWtQ-P0

 

 

Edited yesterday at 12:16 AM by Ian_Grant

[Ronald-V]

Welcome

[dafi]

Not to forget, these instructions were done more than 45 years ago and base on the 1920 reconstruction. Thus said one understand the color "cadmium yellow" being indicated in the instructions. And yes, I have pictures of the ship in cadmium yellow as it once was 🙂

 

Yellow ochre, sunflower yellow or yellow ochre blended with red and white (latest result, but sure not last), also feel free a bit for your own taste. The correct shade of color will surely never be revealed as even "newer" ships like Bismark there are raging discussions about this topic ...

 

XXXDAn

[KIMG]

thanks, actually I like the yellow ochre, and will keep it, off to the model shop to buy bits and pieces, matt colours look favourite

[dafi]

Matt it is!

 

🙂

 

XXXDAn

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

  The 'original' color was exposed to a lot of sunlight, then sealed by successive pain coats,  so depending on the constituents of the oldest paint - subtle (or not so subtle) shade changes may well have occurred.  If cheaper yellow elements (like turmeric, but there are others) had been added to the mix for economy - after all the Victory had a lot of square footage to cover - that might explain what has been described as a 'pinkish' color.  Conjecture, of course, but another reason might be that there was a priming layer laid on first that had a little red ochre in the mix - followed by a top coat of a 'yellower' paint.  A Google summary is:

The true color of the yellow/ochre stripe on early 19th-century British warships, especially around the Napoleonic era (like the famous "Nelson Chequer"), was  a pale, natural yellow made from yellow ochre pigment, often mixed with white for a lighter, buttery or even lemon-yellow hue, sometimes described as "baby puke yellow," rather than a dark, brownish ochre, with modern analysis of ships like HMS Victory confirming it was a lighter shade, even a hint of salmon pink in earlier layers, though the iconic look was a distinct, pale yellow-buff. 

Key Details:

• Ingredients: The paint used natural ochre (a clay pigment), lead white, chalk, and linseed oil, with variations depending on availability and desired shade.
• Nelson's Preference: Lord Nelson favored a pale yellow, even requesting brighter mixes with white, but the Admiralty often stuck to standard ochre, though his preference for the yellow/black checkered look became famous after Trafalgar.
• Variations: The color wasn't uniform; some ships used darker ochres, while others might have had red ochre during the Seven Years' War, but the classic Napoleonic look was that pale yellow-buff.
• Modern Interpretations: Research on HMS Victory suggests earlier layers were pinkish, but the iconic yellow stripe was a pale, light yellow, distinct from deep, brownish ochres. 

Then again, ships of all sorts were often modified in their career (sometimes drastically), so it depends on which point in time the modeler wants to represent - just do the research, and as Daniel Boone said, "Go ahead."   I know I've been 'stuck in the weeds' on one or more projects for years - just trying to decide the place and time to be represented, then researching how to justify a particular impression.       Johnny

[KIMG]

making the 1st of many paint shop visits tomorrow. ty everyone