HMS Victory by shihawk - FINISHED - Billing Boats - 1:75

[shihawk]

I,ll start with a couple of pics i forgot to post the last time , the 4 ladders to lower deck 

 

 

 

simple enough to make and i think the brass handrails blend in ok . I,m not fond of the rope handrails as i find them clumsy looking if not done correctly so will try to avoid !!

I then moved on to the steps up to the quarterdeck (i think that,s what it,s called )and as usual i used the supplied ply parts to assist the scratch building of the new ones 

 

 

 

 

What i finished with , but again the rope handrails didn,t please me even when i drilled the posts to avoid oversized knots and i thought the wooden handrail looked oversized as well . I know i,m beginning to sound a bit loopy ,maybe i am but too many times i have looked back and said i could or should have fixed that at the time ,but it,s to late ?

 

So with my new found skills on the lathe ,lol, i made 2 more posts and replaced the rope with wood . Happy days ,im satisfied this time  . I,ll be building this Vic for 10 years at this rate ?

 

 

 

Moving on i have discovered another mistake i made . When planking i assumed that the all the slots in the upper hull were for external fittings and so carefully cut them out as i went along and then planked the inside covering them up ,BUT  it turns out that the 3 upper most were for the belaying pin rails and the small vertial one is to attach a post which i must assume will be under pressure from rigging as it needs to be so well secured . So i had to cut the slots through from the inside and will now have to patch the holes on the outside  . Maybe if i had paid more attention to the plans this botch could have been avoided !!!?

 

 

While i am in redo /repair mode i still don,t like the brass posts and rails on the main staircase and think i should replace them with wooden ones , more practice on the lathe ,Don,t know why they annoy me cause i like the brass in other places .Can,t wait to start the rigging ,possibly next year       

 

 

 

[Mike Dowling]

You are getting picky in your old age !! I look at your build and think to myself - if only I were that good - I can but try !

[GLakie]

A work of art to be admired Boyd! Very nice! Well worth the extra effort I think.

 

Cheers

[shihawk]

Thanks John , I bought the vice to go with the table and was having diffs figuring out how to work with bigger pieces ,how to attach them to the table .I bought a couple of books but they seem mainly for metal milling so not really much help . I haven,t spent much time yet finding out what exactly i can do with but you have given me some idea of how to start . Like all new tools it will take a while to figure out . It seems a lot of people use them to make jigs for window frames ,ladders and that sort of thing . I really like the table ,i used it on the drill stand and makes drilling holes in a straight ,evenly spaced line childs play .

I will start by making a jig like yours and try from there , Thanks for taking the time with the pics ,i,ll understand better when i try it myself .

 

Boyd

[knotty74]

Boyd, could you please give me some advice for curving the wood on the roundhouses. I've tried soaking and steaming but it just doesn't seem to want to bend that far without snapping! How did you do yours, please?

[shihawk]

 Roundhouses ,i assume you mean the ones on either side on the poop deck . I didn,t even attempt to bend the wood provided . I used the 2 slotted frames provided and built them up with 1x3mm strips running vertically ,then filed and sanded them to the rounded shape .  if this is not clear  let me know ,i,m not very good at explaining things but glad to be of help .

[shihawk]

Decided to go ahead and change the staircase surround ,maybe if the brass was painted it would have been ok but thats against my rules 

 

 

when i see it finished i,m glad i changed it ,fits in better with this type of build ?

 

 

I filled in the slots i had stupidly cut through and although not invisible i think by the time the rigging is on they won,t be noticable  . Thought on replacing the plank instead of filling the hole but matching timber was a problem so i took the easy route !!

 

 

Just a couple of pieces to fit on the poop deck,the skylight and flag lockers and as usual i will use the ply pieces as guides to scratch build them  and then i hope to move on to the channels,chainplates etc  might need to practice my soldering ,again something new !! 

 

Knotty74 , my apologies for saying that the roundhouses were on the poop deck ,( i assumed that was what it was called for obvious reasons ) i hope my lack of knowledge did not cause any confusion. Is there a name for the small deck at the bow where the roundhouses are ???

Edited February 13, 2015 by shihawk

[GLakie]

I don't think the brass was ugly by any means, but I think the wood's looking better! 

 

Cheers

[Mike Dowling]

I think that wood surround looks brilliant, well done sir !

[knotty74]

Boyd, I refer to that whole area where the roundhouses are as the "beakhead". Chris

[shihawk]

Finally got round to finishing the main parts of the deck furnishings . The poop deck skylight took a fair bit of time ,most of it spent figuring out the best way to make it . I still think if i was building this again i could do it in a quarter of the time ,when i knew what i was doing  . I finished up doing the top like gratings and the side windows in a similiar way to the gallery windows,piece by piece . i also messed about with the flag lockers and finaly settled on a trimed version of the grates provided . I keep forgetting that the parts  supplied can sometimes be used !! i used Clearfix for the window pains ,with care it works . No flags in the lockers yet . 

 

 

 

 

 Now i can move on to the channels ,and again thought on making my own but i was worried about joining 2 strips of 7 mm in case when i put pressure on from rigging i could have problems ,so i decided to use the ply parts but covered the edges with darker strips . A coat of varnish shows they blend in ok color wise , i think ?and saves a lot of work !!

 

 

I try to look in front of myself all the time so am now wondering if the fact that i messed about with the gunports so much will it affect the run of the chainplates , I will have to spend a bit of time lining them up before i commit to anything . Can,t decide yet how to make up the chainplates ,i did see a method using thread for the last link to keep everything nice and tight ,but will see how the soldering goes ?

Edited February 21, 2015 by shihawk

[GLakie]

She's looking better all the time Boyd! I like the edge-banding around the channels. Nice touch!

 

Cheers

[clearway]

all i can say is niceeeeeeeeeeee Boyd

Keith

[shihawk]

The next stage is one i have been thinking about for some time , the channels and chainplates . As usual i will dry fit as much as possible and was glad the channels are a tight fit as i don,t want to glue them until i have to ,just in case . In my last post i had lined the ply edges to cover them and i still intend to go this route ,however i removed the outer one and trimed the channel back a couple of mm and then cut into the holes premarked for the chainplates  .At this stage i checked to see if my messing with the gunports had distorted my alignment for the chainplates and thankfully they seem ok . 

 

 

I have never soldered before and after a few tries was searching CMB for some ready made ones , but i couldn,t find anything that i could use . So back to learning to solder and finally managed to make a succesfull link . I mentioned before that i read on some ones log about making the top link from thread the advantage being that the whole linkage can be tightened with the deadeyes . A pic will explain better than i can .the brass link will be blackened and the thread painted to look hopefully more like metal .I hope to fit a fine nail into the channel between the chainplates and the deadeyes , the intention is to spread the pressure when rigging .When the trim is added it will cover this pin and the knot in the thread . thats the plan anyway ????

 

 

For all you non Billings builders i thought i would show the supplied parts 

From what i can figure out ,and i could be wrong the wide brass strip on the left is the main strap under the channels .To big me thinks . The fine strip in the middle is the chain plate . To plain me thinks . The piece on the left is is the chainplate cut down and will be used to replace the wide strap and the piece cut from will be used to secure the bottom of the chainplate Waste not want not!!

 

 

Now all remains to do is make another 70 or so links by which time my soldering should have improved .

[GLakie]

It's looking like you've planned it out good Boyd. I notice the angle from the pencil marks on the hull to the notches in the channel and it looks like you've accounted for and matched the angle of the shroud. Nice!

 

Cheers

[shihawk]

Tks GLakie .One of the things i learned the hard way on my last build  ,was to make sure the shrouds and the chainplates ran in line , it looks so much better., and if the gunports ain,t in the right place the gunners could blow the rigging to shreads ,so it will be double checked before drilling 

[clearway]

To make chain links boyd you can shape a piece of wood to the shape of the link then wrap your wire around it a few times then cut of links as needed if that makes sense. Also have posted a pic of the deadeye jig i mentioned and another with a stropped deadeye in place ready for soldering on my Vic log.

Keith

Edited February 24, 2015 by clearway

[shihawk]

Some progress made on the chainplates  I thought i had it all figured out in my head before i even started ,but putting it into practice has been a different story . 

 

 

the thread theory just didn,t work out when painted and my link soldering couldn,t take the strain ,So then i considered using the plain straps provided with the kit and to be honest with the pin into the channels to hold the deadeye they didn,t look to bad , but because i was using the same ones for the straps under the channels i felt it might not look right .

 

 

Bought a new soldering iron !!!!! Keith suggested that the links might not need soldering and as i prefere to keep the brass color this got me thinking that if i could at least form a strop that the pin into the channel would hold it would take the pressure of the links .

 

I think with a little tinkering this method may work ,the trim on the channel will hide the dodgy soldering and when i get some 0.75 mm wire the links may hold their shape a bit better,at present i am using 0.5 ,tried 1mm but it was to thick looking 

Thanks Keith !!

 

I figured i should fit any of the gunport hatches which will be covered by the chainplates so as a distraction from the soldering i tried making one using bought brass hindges .,also ordered a few walnut deadeyes to see how they look ,might come to-morrow . 

 

 

[clearway]

Your welcome Boyd glad to be of service. in the world of model railways Alan Gibson does some nice brass wire in different gauges but it is very "stiff" to work- normally used for handrails and brake rodding. I get mine from Mainly Trains.

Keith

[foxy]

Surprising how much strain there is on the deadeyes/chains if you want the shrouds to be taunt.

 

Learnt that the hard way. .

 

Like the last pictures, they should do the trick.

 

Frank

[shihawk]

Been trying out numerous versions of stroping deadeyes and chainplates . Soldering the links just didn,t work for me by the time i filed them down there was no solder left and tried painting over the solder but still wasn,t happy.  Fussy or what !! Forgetting the solder i tryed upping the thickness of the wire to 0.75 which held it,s shape better but looked big to me and was more difficult to bend and shape  .  The following pic shows what i have come up with and would welcome any improvement suggestions ,sometimes when i get a idea in my head i miss the obvious solutions ?? The aim is to strop a deadeye without soldering and still be certain that when rigging the deadeyes don,t start poping  .I could buy them but many of them also need soldering or are etched and squared . Now working with 0.5mm brass wire .

 

 

Click on pic to enlarge . I tested the strength of the strop and think it is strong enough and will be even stronger when wedged in the channel . Because the pin holds the deadeye there is very little pressure on the links so soldering should not be necessary also rather than split the link half way i split it near one end which means the join is less visible and also by closing the end of the bottom link the join is covered by the bottom plate . I,m not happy with the bottom plates and may buy more rounded replacements . What i,m thinking now is i will fit the deadeyes and leave the chains unfitted utill i get the precise line of the shrouds ?  Next pic shows a few fitted and also   shows another reason for leaving the chains till later , if they are out of line the drill holes will need filling !!!!  the strip along the edge of the channel will hide the pin and keep it from coming out , I did try soldering a few of the first strops but now don,t think it,s necessary .I did cosider cutting the pin down to 5mm but thought the longer the stronger ? The bottom plates don,t look right and are a pain to drill so will probably change them . I,ll be building this ship for ever ??????????????????????????????????

 

Edited March 1, 2015 by shihawk

[clearway]

Looks ok to me Boyd- To mark the chainplates use a piece of dowel and mark where the top or crowsnest is the tie a piece of thread and run this from the makeshift mast and over the channel and mark off the drill point. Hope this makes sense!

keith

[shihawk]

tks  Keith , did this and ran the thread through the notches in the chainplate but being cautious by nature thought that rather than make mistakes and have to redrill i would leave them untill fitting the actual shrouds .

Edited March 1, 2015 by shihawk

[foxy]

All looks fine to me, best glue the bottom chain on deadeye to the channel for strength.

 

But I expect you have done that already.

 

Cheers frank

Edited March 1, 2015 by foxy

[shihawk]

Would you believe that i have still not finished the deadeyes and chainrails . My indecision is beginning to worry me !!! 

 

 

 

I had one side almost finnished and couldn,t figure out why i didn,t like it .I think it,s the fact that my hull is a light color and when i looked at the brass chainplates they don,t stand out enough ?? Anyway i decided to try the other side with the  black wire i had first used and have come to the conclusion it looks better  . A long the way i found a simpler and possibly stronger method of securing the deadeyes to the channels 

 

 

I made the strop the same as before but instead of cutting a slot in the channel i drilled the existing hole bigger so that the ends of the strop were a tight fit 

 

 

 

This left just enough room to hook the top chain link into it and then i drilled through the hole just above the link and put in  a 0.5 x10 mm pin which will keep the deadeye secure and take the pressure of the chainplate.

 

a .5 strip will cover the pinheads and the edges of the ply

 

 

 

 

the links were made by bending the wire around a nail file , i found them easier to form on this than on wood .

 

I needed a break so fitted the steps and fenders . The steps were shaped on the mill , glad i finally found a use for it !

Now all i have to do is replace the brass strops and chains i spent the last 4 days fitting , it,s a good job i,m getting paid by the hour ?????????

 

Edited March 7, 2015 by shihawk

[GLakie]

I like the darker version better as well Boyd. And nice job on the steps! 

 

Cheers

[shihawk]

Thanks George, I feel that had the hull been black as it,s supposed to be the brass may have looked alright ??

[olaleon]

hello im leonardo are an italian boy, i'm doing your same model and i arrived i also have to realize the moors.

how come your not using the kit ones??

 

this is my victory

 

 

[shihawk]

Hello leonardo,  I am not quite sure what you mean by the moors . If you mean the straps under the channels i thought the one,s provided were too thick , if you mean the chainplates i thought that linked chain looked more authentic . Your build is looking great ,i like the coppering .

[shihawk]

Cheers john,  it,s good to hear that you and George also prefere the black  . I don,t feel so bad now replacing the brass!!  Also the brass was very soft and difficult to keep in shape compared to the black coated wire . Some times i think i,m making the build more difficult for myself but am determined to do this one to the best of my ability no matter how long it takes . Next one will be speedier ,when i know better what i,m doing ??????