HMS Victory by gil middleton - FINISHED - Caldercraft - 1:72

[mtaylor]

Those are some wonderful displays, Gil.    I'll assume the next ship might not be as large then?  

[Force9]

Beautiful. I do hope you can minimize the exposure to sun rays with the blind drawn... Perhaps a "turnaround cruise" each Trafalgar day to balance the exposure on each side?

 

You best not build the USS Nimitz - you and the admiral will end up sleeping on the patio!

 

Wonderful displays.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Force9

[John Maguire]

Gorgeous, Doc. My sincerest congratulations .  .  .

 

Respectfully,

John Maguire

[Remcohe]

Simply lovely!

 

Remco

[Kevin]

wonderful display for a fantastic build

[pompey2]

A great result Gil, loving it.

 

Nick

[gil middleton]

Many thanks to each of you for your visit to the log and for your comments.  Since I didn't build the case for the "Victory" no credit is due.  However, it's nice to be back in the loop catching up on the many new and better ideas in others logs. I relied heavily on the extraordinary scratch build log by Ed Tosti, a great source for anyone building the "Victory" or ship of that period.  I hope that my log will be of some help to newcomers taking on the task of modeling a full rigged ship.

 

Per, You've been here and understand the problem of large models in limited space. Sors seems to have solved that by placing his models in a local high school.

Ian, I've reread your Victory build and enjoyed your lovely choice of woods.

Mark,  Every log I read, I find your helpful hints and encouragement. Thanks for your support over the last few years.

Evan (Force 9), Your "Constitution" per 1812 is done with beautiful detail, but I enjoyed even more the historical references.  The USS Nimitz is possible if we knock some walls out.

Thanks John.  I think we are overdue for a cup of coffee or a wee dram.

Remco,  When I feel the need of a little inspiration, I go to your log for therapy.

Kevin, Haven't been to your log for some time, but amazing progress and attention to detail. You admitted to liking the rigging, a brave admission for a submariner.  I couldn't agree with you more.  The sails and rigging are the engines of the ship and are what separates the classics from today's ships. I think we were both born a couple hundred years too late.

Nick (Pompey 2), I wish I had thought of LED lighting, but by the time I saw others doing it, I was past the point of no return. Love your build.

Edited March 12, 2016 by gil middleton

[Phill Elston]

As I am looking at Coppering the hull of my build, can I ask... Did you run the pounce wheel onto the copper plates AFTER sticking them down? If so, was that after EACH plate was fixed or after each row?

I'm building in 1:60 so I guess I'll have to work out what width tape to get.

Last questions... Did you make your copper chopper or was it bought? If you made it, what from/how?

 

Sorry for being a pain but I want to do the best I can. I'd already thought that butted plates just didn't seem to be authentic and had considered copper tape - which I'm thinking is going to be far less expensive than buying pre-made plates, easier than using CA adhesive and in the long run, be more pleasing to the eye.

 

Looking forward to reading the rest of your build. It looks impressive as hell!

[alde]

Great displays neighbor. You have much to be proud of.

[gil middleton]

Phill,  Like you, I felt that copper plates with a slight overlap and a single row of "nails" looked much better and more authentic than the plates supplied by Caldercraft.  I used the pounce wheel after completing the coppering on one side of the hull.  I purchased the chopper from Model Shipways a number of years ago, but was surprised that it is no longer listed on Model Shipways' web site or at Micro-Mark.  Amazon sells a later version, "Northwest Short Line Chopper II" for $38.  Also at Model Train Stuff,  NWSL 69-4 "The Chopper II" at $34.

You obviously found that #3 Coppering in the table of contents of my log opened directly to coppering.  Using the chopper, with very light pressure on the cutting blade, one can feel and hear the cutting of the copper while leaving the paper backing intact.  This makes handling of the individual plates much easier.  Of course the key is pre-drawing the rows and belts for the carefull placement of each plate.

Good luck with the process.  Cheers, Gil

 

Alde, Great start on your "Glad Tidings"    We're just a ferry ride away.  When I visit my son in Bremerton, we could get together.  Gil

[alde]

 

Alde, Great start on your "Glad Tidings"    We're just a ferry ride away.  When I visit my son in Bremerton, we could get together.  Gil

Gil, It would be my pleasure to buy you a cup off coffe and have a chat. Al

[gil middleton]

Lawrence, I just had the pleasure of reading through your log on the Annie Parker. Such a beautiful result with so many ideas, metal work, sails and scratch yet.  Who's the teacher now?  I haven't the great grandfather or great uncle who captained a schooner, but having lived in Vancouver (15 yrs.), Edmonton, Toronto and  Halifax (as a midshipman in the Canadian Navy) I may just have to build the Bluenose.  I haven't decided yet whether it will be kit or scratch, but you certainly set the bar high. I can't remember where you found your "little" crew.

Thanks for the kind comments.  Your log will be a new reference for me.  Cheers, Gil

[Valter64ita]

Hi, really congratulations for their work. It does justice to the great ship that is the Victory and its history.

Surely this work will be my most valuable guide for the construction of this model, I would like to begin work shortly.

Greetings.

 

Valter

[giocomail]

Hi Gil ,
I 'm building also HMS Victory by Caldercraft - 1:72 and I'm admiring forum
NRG 's Model Ship World
 the one you made ​​.
I want to download the photos . How to do it all together?
I'll leave my mail for the answer gioco.mail@gmail.com
Thank you

Giovanni - Italy

[spider999]

Hi Gil,

 

Am new to this forum and have been looking at a few Victory builds.  I saw the link to your's.  I have to say what a fantastic model.  I realised once I got to the post saying that you are a surgeon specialising in facial/hand reconstruction.. that is how you are able to get all the fiddly fine detailed work so realistic.

 

I take my hat off to you sir.  If I can get my rigging anywhere near as good as your's (no disrespect to the other victory builds on this site)  I will be a very very happy bunny.

 

I am an ex-Able seaman (i suppose there is no such thing as a EX sailor) in the British Merchant Navy and rigging/ropework/wirework/splicing etc etc are my favourite pastimes, which is the reason i started my build (mamoli 1:90 scale), to do the rigging.

 

I have bookmarked your log on my PC so that I will have an excellent set of detailed plans/pics to help me on my way. 

[Kevin]

16 hours ago, spider999 said:

Hi Gil,

 

Am new to this forum and have been looking at a few Victory builds.  I saw the link to your's.  I have to say what a fantastic model.  I realised once I got to the post saying that you are a surgeon specialising in facial/hand reconstruction.. that is how you are able to get all the fiddly fine detailed work so realistic.

 

I take my hat off to you sir.  If I can get my rigging anywhere near as good as your's (no disrespect to the other victory builds on this site)  I will be a very very happy bunny.

 

I am an ex-Able seaman (i suppose there is no such thing as a EX sailor) in the British Merchant Navy and rigging/ropework/wirework/splicing etc etc are my favourite pastimes, which is the reason i started my build (mamoli 1:90 scale), to do the rigging.

 

I have bookmarked your log on my PC so that I will have an excellent set of detailed plans/pics to help me on my way. 

Good afternoon Spider, Gil has other builds on this site, well worth having a look at, i also have just his Victory build a a brilliant reference for my build

[Jerry]

Hello Spider..

I hope Gil doesn't mind communicating with you on his site but I received a message from you and wanted to wish you good luck in building the HMS Victory.  It's been a long while since I have been to Model Ship World as we have been extremely busy planning and then eventually moving from Florida to South Carolina.  Hello to all my friends who may have wanted to know if I'm still alive.  YES, I am and still kicking.

Best,

Jerry

[fnkershner]

AS the president of the local modeling club that Gil is a member of, I can tell you first had that all of his models are excellent. He has the Flying Cloud, Constitution, and of course the Victory as mentioned above. He has retired from modeling and just recently completed a semi-scratch model of a sailing yacht. He may not see your posts here.

[spider999]

2 hours ago, fnkershner said:

AS the president of the local modeling club that Gil is a member of, I can tell you first had that all of his models are excellent. He has the Flying Cloud, Constitution, and of course the Victory as mentioned above. He has retired from modeling and just recently completed a semi-scratch model of a sailing yacht. He may not see your posts here.

Hi there FnKerschner,

 

Would you please be kind enough to pass on my very best wishes to Gil and tell him that if he sends me the tillers from his little boats I will gladly put him some 5 part 5 turn turks heads on them for real.  He might have remodelled people's hands/faces but I am a dab hand at knots and ropework!!!

 

My profile pic is just one of my knot boards that I make from time to time as a little hobby, as well as decorative bellropes.

 

I have been ashore now since 1986 but am still a sailor at heart..

 

Regards

 

Spider

[fnkershner]

Spider - I know how hard it is to get rid of the salt in your blood. As you can see from my profile pic. I used to race Sail boats. The knees don't like the diving under the boom anymore but the rest of me loves a good sail.

I will definitely pass on your good wishes.

 

PS Gil once told me that when he was in Medical School. He was told to tie knots inside a match box with tweezers & forceps. And yes his rigging is that good.

[gil middleton]

Spider,  So very nice to hear from you.  Your "Victory" is coming along beautifully, getting better at each step.  You are rather unusual.  Most ship modelers love the work on the hull but are indifferent towards the rigging.  You and I seem to think that the rigging is the best part.  However, based on your knot/rope board, you could teach me a lot about marlinspike.  Good luck with your build.  I hope my model helps or inspires you to come up with a better rigging plan.  Warm regards, Gil

 

Kevin,  Hearing from old modelling friends makes my day. I'll go back and get caught up on the "Victorys" in progress.

Jerry, Glad to hear that you're alive and still kicking. Hard to keep those old geezers down.

Floyd,  I've missed the PSSM meetings. It's been a year of recovery following surgery in the neck to repair a nerve injury, with loss of strength in the left arm (left handed). Now back to about 80%. You are always so kind in your observations.  I haven't started another major project because I'd probably miss seeing the end result  Perhaps more small sailboats, skiffs or racing shells are in order.  I'll think about it while cruising the Gulf Islands this summer.  Cheers,  Gil

Edited April 2, 2018 by gil middleton

[spider999]

FnKerschner, thank you for passing my wishes on to Gil, decent of you.

 

Gil, thank you for your kind reply.  Knots in a matchbox eh??  am suitably impressed.  Mind you, did you need to use the tweezers? really?

I work on a fire station and am the oldest guy here.  I am the one they all turn to when it comes to tying knots, wonder why?

 

I was in the merchant navy for 6 years after leaving school and it is only cos the shipping companies flagged out and employed cheaper foreign crews that the British Merchant Navy, which was the benchmark around the world, died .  There were no ships left so I came ashore in 1986.

 

I keep my hand in by making bellropes for pubs in exchange for a few beers!! and have made a few knot boards for fun.

 

I am glad I found this forum site and know I will manage to get my boat finished now better than just slavishly following mamoli's "red herring lists"

People are right when they refer to your build as the gold standard.  You have already inspired me to keep going and get to where I really want to be - starting the string!!!

 

Like a lot of people, I am at my happiest when out on a boat, usually with diving gear about to drop into some nice warm clear shark filled water.  Bahamas for my 40th 14 years ago were probably some of my more memorable dives, am looking forward to going to South Africa to get in with some of the bigger ones, whites and tigers.  Not so warm or clear out there, but it is still on the water.

 

Happy retirement Doc

 

Kind regards

Spider

Edited April 3, 2018 by spider999

[Kevin]

On ‎4‎/‎10‎/‎2013 at 8:51 PM, gil middleton said:

As one approaches the smaller lines such as bunt lines and leach lines, things get congested and a bit confusing, requiring muliple sources to put things in perspective.  Even smaller lines such as reef lines and stuns'l rigging will likely be omitted to avoid clutter, however that decision can be made later.

Included in this post are: the Foremast lower yard bunt lines and leach lines, Mainmast lower yard bunt lines and leach lines, Main topmast yard bunt lines, Spritsail yard lifts and Spritsail yard braces.  Left to the next post are: the Spritsail bunt lines, Spritsail top sail yard braces, Spritsail yard lifts, Spritsail top sail yard lifts, Spritsail yard sheets and clew lines, Spritsail top sail Yard sheets and clew lines, Netting at the bees and Knotted rope walk. So many lines, so little time.

 

The port Foremast yard bunt lines and leach line can be seen.  While making the mast top, I had a senior moment and placed two single blocks where there should have been double blocks (for the bunt lines).  I can attest that it's more frustrating placing bocks under the mast top at this stage than when one could pick up the mast and turn it over. (Mistake number one).  The bunt lines pass behind the stuns'l boom, through two blocks under the top and terminate at the forecastle breast beam supports.

The mainmast yard buntlines are similar to the foremast yard buntlines but terminate at the main top bowline bitts (aft of the foremast).

The leach lines leave the blocks at the top, pass through the shrouds and catharpins to the forebrace bitts (aft of the mainmast).

The Main topmast yard bunt line passes through the yard block to a block attached to the lift block. The plans specified that the bunt line blocks were to be attached to the top of the lift blocks.  Having missed that, I attached them to the strop at the base of the lift block. However, I suspect they might have been rigged this way at some time during her career. (mistake #2). 

The Spritsail yard lift originates at the jib boom cap, passes through the lift block on the yard, returns to the block at the cap and terminates at the timberheads at the beakhead.

Finally, the braces for the spritsail yard are seen in the first two photos.The spritsail yard braces originate at the forestay collar. The brace was seized to the collar as a typical splice, and then the splice itself seized to the forestay collar. The brace then passed through the brace block from the yard, through two blocks under the top and terminates at the forecastle breast beam supports.

Ah, I see the eyes glazing over. Enough rigging for one post.  Cheers, Gil

I waited for this opportunity lol, exactly the photo I needed to work out where the spirit sail yard braces start,

[ronald305]

HI Gil

   I know the Victory has been finished for some time but would like know how did you figure out the height for the 

  dowels for making the jig in order to hold the victory up side down for planking and plating  the bottom I want to 

 do that for the Victory I'm doing do they have to be a little bit longer so the ship sits on the support base like in the photos 

                               Ronald 

[giocomail]

On 23/2/2013 at 01:25, gil middleton said:

4.    DECKING

 

I chose to weather the decks, each slightly more weathered than the one below.  "Weather-it" was used , experimenting with different concetrations and time of exposure.

There are some beautiful decks on models with prominent trunl's (tree nails).  They add a "wow" factor and make for a great presentation. However, they are really artistic license.  Please don't jump on me.  I love to see them and we all take artistic license from time to time since ship modelling is really three dimensional art.  However, if one is trying to mimic reallity, trunl's would barely be seen except close up, or on a newly decked ship. The grain of the trunl is generally lined up with the grain of the plank, they weather the same from salt and sun and while they are visible, they usually don't stand out. The following is a photo from the real ship.

 

Preferisco assi singoli piuttosto che lunghe strisce di legno con incisioni, in modo da ottenere l'aspetto varigato di diverse consistenze e colori tra le assi. Esposizione agli agenti atmosferici del piano superiore del cannone (fatto con tavole lunghe in quanto prevalentemente nascoste).

 

Tornerò al piano superiore del cannone ma per ora proseguo con il piano di calpestio sul quarteck. Quarterdeck prima di decking.

 

Le assi individuali per il piano di calpestio sono state esposte alle intemperie. Una striscia di legno naturale vista sotto il righello. Fondo della foto, sperimentando il tempo di esposizione e diluizione.

 

Tavole assortite in base alla larghezza

 

Inizio del fasciame con tavola di riferimento della linea centrale.

 

Planking finito. (non è stato usato nessun oscuramento del bordo)

 

Il rivestimento in poliacrilico sul ponte ha prodotto una lucentezza indesiderata. Questo è stato seguito da una mano di acrilico piatto trasparente per un effetto migliore. (Non mostrato)

 

Differenza segnata vista tra il ponte di cacca non rivestito (planked prima degli agenti atmosferici) e il quarterdeck stagionato

 

Mascherando per l'invecchiamento.

 

Ponte di poppa e ponte di poppa.

 

 

 

Hi Gil, I'm seeing your vip, my heartfelt congratulations. I wanted to ask you what technique you used for the aging of the bridge. By

[GrandpaPhil]

Congratulations and well done!

[Emmet]

While I am late to the party I am enjoying watching experience pop off the page. 

I am stuck this '19 Christmas morning studying this work.

[tomganc]

Hi

Such a great build. It will be my inspiration for some of the rigging details I couldn't get right from the books. It is always good to look at the example when it's done right.

You must be very proud of your build and you well should be. Fantastic craftmanship.

 

Regards

Tom

[gil middleton]

Tom, Thanks so much for your kind remarks.  I was surprised since it has been around nine years since I finished the model of HMS Victory.  At 88, my modelling days are over since we haven't the space for a dedicated room to work in, although I did a smaller scale of a Dragon class sail boat.  I've always felt the Dragon had the most beautiful lines.

What I enjoyed most with the Victory was researching the original rigging through numerous sources.  Perhaps you already have it but I found a reprint of "The Elements and Practice of Rigging and Seamanship"  by David Steel written in 1794, by Ecco printing.  It gave the details of nearly every line, splice and hitch aboard a ship of the line in the Royal Navy.  An example, the 27" circumference (about 9" diameter) of the Anchor rode.  I think I found it through Amazon.  Needless to say, the kit did not supply lines of proper scale. I became a regular at the fabric store sourcing thread to match the scale of the original.

Again, many thanks.  It's nice to know the model is of interest to others and may be of help to those who haven't been to sea.

Warm regards,  Gil Middleton

[Patrick Haw]

Gil,

 

Don't sell yourself short! Even though you completed your Victory so long ago, it's still the hallmark of how to build this model. I'm on the standing rigging of my Victory at the moment (yes, it's taken me forever!) and I have your build log open in my shipyard to guide me all the time.

 

Best wishes,

 

Patrick