HMS Victory by Ensign - FINISHED - Caldercraft - Scale 1:72

[paulb]

Hi Gary, love your work.

The shrouds are a subjects of a lot of debate: are they shroud-laid or cable-laid, which once are wormed, parcelled and/or served.

For the lower shrouds it's easy, and just like you mentioned. However McKay in The 100-gun ship Victory says all shrouds for the Fore Mast, Main Mast and Mizzen Mast should be wormed, parcelled and served. Clearly this is not the case on the present Victory where only the foremost shrouds are protected this way. But all the shrouds are wormed, parcelled and served a certain section down from the bight over the mast.

According to McKay the shrouds of the Fore Topmast and the Main Topmast also should be wormed, parcelled and served. Probably this only applies to the foremost shrouds. The shrouds of the Mizzen Topmast should be served and tarred.

None of the shrouds of the Topgallant Mast are either wormed, parcelled or served.

I hope this is of some use for you.

Paul

Edited April 27, 2016 by paulb

[Ensign]

Thanks Paul, yes, this information is very useful. I had decided that it made sense to serve the foremost shrouds on all except the Topgallant and your info supports this. Much appreciated, thank you.

 

Regards

Gary

[Ensign]

A short update. The masts are now fitted and the rigging underway. I have decided to work from the Mizzen mast forwards fitting lower shrouds then stays followed by topmast shrouds and stays etc. this way I hope to minimise any difficulties attaching the various lines to the deck.

 

A point of interest to others building this model, the Caldercraft instructions call for the Mainstay collar to pass between the Bowsprit and Knightheads before passing through the hole in the stem. This is a simplification and requires that the Knightheads be positioned a few millimetres away from the Bowsprit. In point of fact, reference to Longridge and photos of the ship show the Knightheads hard up against the Bowsprit with the Mainstay collar in fact passing through a hole drilled through the Knightheads on either side. I have followed Longridge and ship photos in this and assure you it can be done. I have attached photos of the current state of the build and close inspection of the Knightheads will hopefully illustrate my point.

 

I used BE's method of making Catharpins, his "cheat" method on his Pegasus build, and it works a treat.

 

Gary

[Heinz6672]

congratulation, Gary!

 

she looks so good. It´ s a pleasure to watch your model and your clean work. 

 

Best wishes to you!

 

- Heinz -

[Ensign]

Thank you Heinz, Mort & Seventy Net for the likes and kind words, much appreciated.

 

Gary

[Ensign]

I am at the point of fitting the Ratlines and have a question regarding the Shroud Cleats. I plan on fitting these to the lower shrouds prior to doing the Ratlines, but the information I have is sketchy. Longridge states they are fitted to the Fore and Mizzen lower shrouds and gives a size range form 18" to 8". The photos I have of Victory were taken in 1991 and don't show any Cleats on the Fore lower shrouds only on the Mizzen. If anyone could provide more detail or photos it would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

Gary

[Kevin]

I made the decision to do the ratlines prior to the cleats, presently looking as to where the cleats are fitted, The last thing i wanted was for them to be in the way of the spacing

[Ensign]

Hello Kevin, I have drawn up the template for Ratline spacing and found info on the cleats provided by BE in Grant Dale's Mamoli Victory log, so that will be a big help.

From memory it is post 673 in Grant's log, if that's any help to you.

 

Regards

Gary

[gjdale]

Glad you found that info Gary. It seems a long time ago now, but I do recall B.E. providing some extra info.

[Ensign]

Hello Grant, I still refer to your log on occasions, your innovative ideas are a source of inspiration as are a few other build logs on this site. The forum is a great resource and we are lucky to have it.

 

Regards

Gary

[Ensign]

Finally another update. The ship is completed, I am now working on the boats. My intention is to mount one of the boats on the Skid Beams one on the Davits and the other two on support cradles alongside Victory in the display case when that is made. I will need to tension the Main Stay tackle pendants when the boat is secured to the skid beams. I will post more photos when the whole task is finished. Meanwhile here are some photos of where I'm at now.

 

 

 

[Tim Curtis]

Fantastic. What an achievement! 

[gjdale]

Congratulations on completing a fine build Gary. You can be justifiably proud of this - a really significant achievement!

[vossiewulf]

There should be special "Victory Builder" license plates for people who complete quality Victories, and this is definitely one of them. Congratulations!

[Heinz6672]

Hello Gary, 

 

I would also like to congratulate you on your great work. And my respect for it!

 

You have every reason to be very proud!!!

 

Best wishes

 

-Heinz -

[Ensign]

Thank you all for the kind comments and the likes, they are very much appreciated. This forum is a great source of knowledge and inspiration, looking through the many fine build logs here spurs one on to try and continually improve ones own efforts.

 

Best

Gary

 

[Ensign]

Victory is finally finished and resting in her display case. I do still have a little tidying up to do, but don’t tell anyone, they’ll never notice. A couple of photos follow.

 

 

[Ensign]

Hello all,

 

I have a request. On a recent visit to Kangaroo Island South Australia the Admiral and I stopped in at American River, it was here that the Sealing Brig Union, captained by Isaac Pendleton from Stonington Connecticut, wintered in the year of 1803. Whilst they were here they built what is purported to be the first ship built in South Australia. The ship/boat was named Independence. A 45 foot Topsail Schooner of 35 Tons, she was built to allow access to shallower waters to aid in the capture and transport of seal skins. She was lost with all hands in 1805.

The people of American River are attempting to build a replica of Independence and this is where I come in. The Admiral informed the volunteers there that I was a model ship builder and we showed them some photos on the Ipad. Oh dear!

They asked me if I would build a model about 3 feet long for them to use in their fundraising efforts. I made no promises but feel that it would be an interesting project. Therefore I'm asking if anyone knows anything about this ship or has any documentation on it or could suggest a model kit that is close enough to be used/modified for the purpose could you please let me know. I will attempt a scratchbuild if necessary but a kitbash would be quicker.

 

I have included a copy of the drawing they gave me which is as close as possible to what the ship may have looked like as there are no plans and probably never were any.

 

Thanks

Gary

Independence Schooner.pdf

[JohnReid]

Very nice Victory build Gary. Cheers! John.

[klaus]

On 19.12.2017 at 12:58 AM, Ensign said:

I have a request. On a recent visit to Kangaroo Island South Australia the Admiral and I stopped in at American River, it was here that the Sealing Brig Union, captained by Isaac Pendleton from Stonington Connecticut, wintered in the year of 1803. Whilst they were here they built what is purported to be the first ship built in South Australia. The ship/boat was named Independence. A 45 foot Topsail Schooner of 35 Tons, she was built to allow access to shallower waters to aid in the capture and transport of seal skins. She was lost with all hands in 1805.

The people of American River are attempting to build a replica of Independence and this is where I come in. The Admiral informed the volunteers there that I was a model ship builder and we showed them some photos on the Ipad. Oh dear!

They asked me if I would build a model about 3 feet long for them to use in their fundraising efforts. I made no promises but feel that it would be an interesting project. Therefore I'm asking if anyone knows anything about this ship or has any documentation on it or could suggest a model kit that is close enough to be used/modified for the purpose could you please let me know. I will attempt a scratchbuild if necessary but a kitbash would be quicker.

Hello Gary,

this is Klaus from Königswinter, Germany. Since more than 5 years I am a silent but dedicated follower of this site and of some build logs, including your Victory build. Actually, I should introduce myself in the New Member Section. It’s upcoming.

I response to your post with respect to the schooner Independent, see above. I don’t know anything about that ship, nor do I have any idea about a kit which is suitable for kit bashing. But I have a suggestion.

Based on your small plan, I have modeled the schooner using DELFTship. And these are my results (created within some hours). The first figure shows the different views derived from your plan, the second one a stern view of the ship, and the third one the underlying control net. Finally, the last figure shows the contours of the main frame and each one frame in the fore and aft section of the ship, including the bevels and the deck lines.

So, if you decide to go for a scratch build, I can provide Bulkheads (directly from the existing model) or even frames (which requires additional design work) and any other bits and pieces for the build. You don’t need to loft plans and thereby avoid all associated inaccuracies, because DELFTship provides us with a consistent and smoothed lines plan. Moreover, you can easily adjust the DELFTship results and outputs to your special needs.

For rigging and belaying, the chapter ‘The American Schooner’ in Lennarth Petersson’s book ‘Rigging Period Fore- and-Aft Craft’ would provide valuable informations.

Perhaps an exciting joint project is evolving?

Greetings

Klaus

[Ensign]

Hello Klaus,

Thank you so much for your information and drawings, you have gone to a lot of trouble and have been extremely generous in providing this data.

The people at American River requested an estimate of the time to build this model and how much it might cost. I provided them with an estimate based on kitbashing an existing model kit including mounting it in an Acrylic display case for protection. They tabled my estimate, which I thought was very reasonable ($1300 AUD), at a committee meeting and decided their budget would not extend to building the model at this stage but that they might take it up again at a later date.

If I hear from them again, and they have a bigger budget, I shall consider either a scratchbuild or a kitbash at that time. So for now the project is on hold.

 

I shall probably buy Peterrson's book also, I have his book 'Rigging Period Ship Models' so your suggestion will make a great addition to my library

 

Thank you once again, you are most kind.

Warm regards

Gary 

[klaus]

Hello Gary,

 

thank you for your response and your information. My offer is standing, we will see how things evolve. By the way, if you would opt for the kitbash, the DELFTship model is well suited to disclose the deviations in hull shape between the Independence and the kit just by feeding the contours of the bulkheads provided with the kit into the model. Thus necessary corrections are easily identified.

 

But I have a question with respect to your display case, shown in your post from november 2017. I like that case and the underconstruction very much, its minimalistic design directs the attention of the viewer to its content - the (wonderful built) Victory. I am looking for something equivalent for my Billing Boats Vasa, which is still under construction. So I would especially like to know, where the acrylic case can be purchased. Is it 'scratch-built' or is it configurable and available from a company?

 

Thanks in advance

Klaus

[Ensign]

Hello Klaus,

With regard to the acrylic case, it was made to order by a Plastics fabrication company near my home here in Australia. I'm sure there are plenty of these companies in Germany and all over the world. May I suggest contacting another member of this forum in Germany, Heinz746, he may be able to help you in finding one of these companies. If you send him a PM via the forum he may be able to assist. Alternatively look online for Plastic Fabricators in your local area.

When I ordered my case I took photos of the finished model and a drawing showing dimensions for the case, be sure to allow extra space around the model so that it fits nicely in the case. Refer to my Victory photos to see what I mean.

My case was made from 6mm Acrylic because Victory is so big, you can get by with a 3mm case for a smaller model, the plastics company should be able to advise you on what you need.

 

I hope this helps

Regards

Gary

[Blue Ensign]

From one Ensign to another Gary, congratulations on completion of your Victory, a very fine model, very well done. 

 

B.E.

[Mirabell61]

Gary,

 

congratulations to this super and well built ship model. You cam be proud of her as she displays in her large glass casing...  

 

Nils

[Ensign]

Thank you B.E., Nils, John Reid and all others who have commented much appreciated. The next challenge awaits.

 

Gary