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

[GLakie]

She's looking mighty fine Boyd, mighty fine! 

 

Cheers

[clearway]

Wow Boyd just keeps getting better.

Keith

[Gundorph]

Looks very very Nice... Going to be a great looking Victory...

[gjdale]

Well done Boyd. I think the diamond pattern netting looks much better.

[GLakie]

Happy Birthday Boyd! May it be a safe and memorable one.

 

Cheers

[Mike Dowling]

Didn't realise but Happy Birthday from me as well.

[shihawk]

thanks George and Mike .Memorable in that i had to work early till late due to incoming bad weather but have just started celebrating a day late .

[mtdoramike]

Fantastic work on her mate.

 

mike

[shihawk]

Tks Mike  . time has been scarce lately but hope to make some progress soon 

[shihawk]

May be rushing with pics of progress but as the better half finally set the i-pad down i thought i would use the moment ? 

I have continued work on the gun port lids and think i,m settled on my method, now need to spend the time fitting everything .I mentioned earlier about using the ply hindges provided ,but spliting them in half to thin them down ,although not perfect i believe they will do , the drip shields however i will replace and rather than buy them i will make my own from flattened brass wire ,the natural wood color of the ply did not look right against the wales !!

 

 

 

As you can see i tried the lid rigging with and without a liner in the hole . My preference is with the lining and it,s not much extra work , opinions welcome ???

The rest of the pics show the overall effect when dummy cannons and lids are fitted , nothing glued yet so some may be a bit of line , i still like to see the overall effect before glueing . One other thing i must mention is that i left my gunports much to deep into the hull and so when fitting the dummy cannons had to fill them out with Balsa painted matt black . In hindsight about 4-5 mm recess would have been enough to give the desired effect and i could have saved a lot of work if i had left them as they were in the kit , a lesson learned for the future !!!! some more pic while the sun still shines through my work window .

 

 

 

 

 

[GLakie]

Looks great Boyd. With you on the lining. Gives it more of that authentic feel. 

[clearway]

gotta agree Boyd the lining finishes it off nice- good luck with the rigols (eyebrows/ rain strips) i got away with the kit ones as i am just painting her.

Keith

[shihawk]

I,m looking for some advice and honest opnions are prefered !! As last post shows i am working on the gun port lids and have 4 options for the drip shilds , rigols , eyebrows ?

The top ones are the same wood as the wales , the ones nearest the steps are brass and the bottom right are the ones provided with kit , the 4th option is leave them off . All require a similiar amount of time to clean up or make ,unless i buy the brass ones  . Maybe it,s the position i have them placed but the leaving them off completely is a definate option  .ANY ADVICE WELCOME !!!

 

 

 

 

[Philg88]

It's a tough call, Boyd, but I think the brass gives the best contrast with the wood.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[Mike Dowling]

My opinion for what it is worth is leave them off, your work thus far looks brilliant without them !

[clearway]

Tough call Boyd but it is your ship me ole hearty and if you feel she is o.k. without then so it be #

Keith

[shihawk]

Great minds think alike . I had my mind made up to use the brass but no matter where i placed them they still looked to much like eyebrows so been looking at pics of Vics on the net and most have left them off, i suspect for the same reason . If painted along with the wales they seem to blend much better but for me thats not an option . Thanks again for making my mind up for me ????

[seamymcnally]

I would agree with mike ,Boyd.

Edited June 4, 2015 by seamy

[shihawk]

Just in case anyone thinks i have fallen out of a gun port i thought i would let you know how things are progressing . Slowly !!!! No matter what method i tried for the rigging on the port lids i can,t find a method that doesn,t look like 2 pieces of thread ,over scaled and pushed through holes in her side . I tied white thread , tan thread ,black thread , brass wire , black wire and none look right ? Conclusion !!!   leave them off as with the eyebrows  . This build will become known ,not for the detail added but for the detail left out ????

 

 

I know it don,t look to bad in the pic but when i did 3 or 4 in a row they just looked bad  . The 2 main problems are keeping the thread taught and connecting it to the lid ring without a knot or splaches of unsightly glue , that,s why i tried wire . this is the only pic i have of my efforts as i ripped everything else off and filled the holes . Weather good , build time limited , waiting on a few supplies ,but hope to have better progress soon . 

[GLakie]

Might have something you can try Boyd.  If you have any spare speaker wire laying around, the single strands from that might be a small enough scale to work for those lids. 

[Mike Dowling]

Sorry to be boring and you have made a very nice try but my advice again would be to leave them off. You have done such a marvellous job so far I would hate you to spoil it now with things that don't really need to be there.

[shihawk]

George. i have tried 0.25 mm brass wire and it still don,t look right . Maybe it,s the way i,m doing it , i don,t know but some how i think it looks better with out them . It,s a pity cause i had so many plans in my head as to how i would do them ???

Mike . thats exactly what i,m worried about , pushing to far and spoiling things 

I was a bit worried about the brass rings ,thought they looked a bit oversized.  Recieved some black 0.5 wire in post to-day and have some brass ,same size on the way to try out . 0.25 was to small for the rings . It,s getting a bit OCD but i keep reminding myself it,s a learning process !!!! 

 

Bob have you found me yet ??????

Edited June 13, 2015 by shihawk

[gjdale]

Boyd,

 

I could have sworn I posted something here yesterday, but it seems to have been lost in the ether. If the knots on the rings are what is bothering you, try using a fake "splice". They are not hard to do and look convincing.

[shihawk]

Thanks for the suggestion Grant . i tried several methods ,even threading with a needle ,tried CA and wood glue . I just couldn,t get anthing that i was happy with . 

[shihawk]

It,s been so long since i posted i almost forgotten how . Not a lot new to report ,any time i had has been spent reworking the hammock netting ,finishing the gun ports and getting ready to start the masts and rigging . I also fitted a stand as once the gun ports are on i no longer can place the model on it,s side , this was made from an old piece of mahogany window sill i found . I am now working on the plan not to post untill i have deffinately finished with a stage as i change my mind constantly and some may find it misleading , apologies !!  . As you may notice from the pic of the Bowsprit i am thinking of only building the masts to the first stage , reasons ? Time saved . Much less work . Much smaller case. I don,t know how this will work ,time will tell . I am replacing the provided masts with a light walnut which i find look better than varnished white wood .Again not painting causes it,s own problems . Short masting will undoubtly cause problems with the rigging so i may have to cut a few corners to get the correct look but i,m slowly getting used to that  !!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope to make more progress soon ,been fighting the urge to start another build ??

 

 

[Mike Dowling]

She really looks superb. Not sure I quite understand the half mast thingy but I can appreciate it will take up less space. Goodness knows how you half rig her or are you only doing half the standing rigging? Regardless you should be really proud of your work, like I said, superb.

[GLakie]

What you've done so far looks fantastic Boyd, so I'm sure whatever you decide on the rigging will look great. 

 

Cheers

[Philg88]

Hey Boyd,

 

Beautiful work! Fight the urge to start another build in the same way that I'm trying hard to. The Billing's HMS Warrior (1860)  should not be attempted, even if it was the first real iron clad and has a lot less rigging and will look dead cool when complete and will give you hours of pleasure and we can compare notes  ...

 

The timing of your latest pics couldn't have been better considering where I am now with the Vic, so thanks for that.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[clearway]

looking great Boyd m8- you will find the walnut will most likely tone down to a more yellowy shade after it is exposed to light for a few weeks which i think looks nice. Know what you mean about the heights of the masts- i did the top masts and cross trees today and they are nearly as high as me with the vic on the bench, When i have the topgallant masts on i will have to stand and reach up to rig it!. Also when you start to rig her i advise starting with the mizzen mast first. Keep up the great work.

Keith

[shihawk]

Thanks all . 

 Mike i don,t understand the half mast thingy either ,but i,think i will give it a try ,it will mean leaving of any rigging above the first stage of the masts but not sure yet how it will work or look ???

 

George , that,s my problem i can,t decide !!!

 

Philip , Been considering the Confederacy ,no rigging ? or maybe redo my Cruiser ,or even thought about a scratch build POF ?????????.  If you need help go to Kevin,s build log , i spent a couple of hours there to day trying to figure out the masts and rigging ,Billings guide is to basic . His log is better than any instructions .Great work and a very helpfull log .. 

 

Keith . , The white wood provided is fine for painting but i thought the walnut looked better with varnish ,although there is a big variation in the colors of the different lengths i ordered so may have to order more . Brass rings also look good over the walnut !! The non painting rule means i will have to scratch the platforms etc which is another reason for the" part rigging thingy "  Of course there is always the chance it won,t work ?????