HMS Victory by clearway - Billing Boats - 1/75

[shihawk]

your committed now , there is no goin back , but i feel your pain !!!

[clearway]

Ty Boyd, the support helps m8

 

Keith

[jeff watts]

hi guys , just came accross your posts , (i know ive arrived a bit late ) , as i have just started to build the billings victory too , a bit mad i know but its my first build , im about 3 months in so far , and no disasters yet , lovely to see the progress  in pictures, and yes i agree the instructions are  vague at best,  but  i must admit i have been studying others builds to gain a bit of much needed knowledge , seeing what youve done in stages allows an insight for us newbies  thanks        jeff 

[clearway]

ty jeff- welcome to the party😋. will be starting her again after having a break for a few months!

 

keith

[clearway]

after a log break a bit more progress! finally got fore shrouds and t'gallant shrouds rigged- next job the ratlines.

as always thanks for the replies and encouragement with the build. take care all.

 

Keith

 

[Emmet]

This is my first exposure to rigging. It must take quite a bit of studying to do such great work.

It just looks so interesting.  One can imagine the sailors handling these huge ropes.

This is some time ago but you are probably still around. Thanks for the pleasure I get out of viewing your log.

[Emmet]

This is my first exposure to rigging. It must take quite a bit of studying to do such great work.

It just looks so interesting.  One can imagine the sailors handling these huge ropes.

This is some time ago but you are probably still around. Thanks for the pleasure I get out of viewing your log.

[clearway]

thankyou emmet- been taking some time off, but should be back with her soon☺️

[clearway]

Hello agian- yep still here! after what feels like a lifetime (side tracked yet once more!) finally got the ratlines on the topmast in place and t'gallant shrouds along with breast and backstays and foretop stays in place. The white card helps me stop going boss eyed when rigging the ratlines😵.

take care all and have fun- as an aside in a moment of lunacy bought the trumpeter 1/200 Titanic!!

 

Keith

[clearway]

Hi again all in these crazy times- work has had to close so a few weeks on 80% pay for me. One positive in a load of negatives is time to spend on vicky!

 

Got the driver boom , gaff and mizzen crossjack along with topping lifts, peak and throat halliards, crossjack trusses and lifts- the thread hanging down is for the topyard tye.

 

originally rigged the topping lift tothe mizzen chainwhale by mistake🤪- have had to  use longridge and steel as references as billings had them either wrong or missing in the case of the driver boom sheet.

have fun all and keep safe.

 

Keith 

 

[Emmet]

3 minutes ago, clearway said:

Hi again all in these crazy times- work has had to close so a few weeks on 80% pay for me. One positive in a load of negatives is time to spend on vicky!

 

Got the driver boom , gaff and mizzen crossjack along with topping lifts, peak and throat halliards, crossjack trusses and lifts- the thread hanging down is for the topyard tye.

 

originally rigged the topping lift tothe mizzen chainwhale by mistake🤪- have had to  use longridge and steel as references as billings had them either wrong or missing in the case of the driver boom sheet.

have fun all and keep safe.

 

Keith 

 

That sure is fine looking-nice work

[clearway]

Hello again all- thanks for views and comments everyone who has "popped by" as we say here. Work continues on the mizzen with the clewlines and sheets rigged on the topsail yard with the lifts next along with starting on the t'gallant yard. Also started work on the main yard- the bands are made from white card pva'd at the join.

take care everyone- till later 

Keith

[Emmet]

This is Emmet

Absolutely amazing. 

Sorry to hear your pay will be lower.  I am retired and behaving myself while I am stuck in Florida. The cases here are much lower than New Jersey so it is best to stay here. 

I look at your ship often and want to build one like it.  But I am not sure I have the room. I just love looking at your rigging. I am doing the rigging on La Nina and it is difficult enough for me as a first timer.

[clearway]

Thankyou Emmet- i actually have the Nina kit myself but havn't touched it for a few years- A ship like Victory is definitely not advised as first time build- crawl before you can walk is the old adage- i built about 10 ships before starting on Victory (amongst the railway and military modelling)!

 

Keith

[Emmet]

I am building the Santa Maria as my next ship. I will use that for my traveling ship.  At home in NH I intend to build the Victory. While I realize it is difficult I am 82 years old and will give it a shot.  Besides with guys like you around I have a lot of help. 

Thanks for your ideas-I appreciate it.

[gieb8688]

Thank you so much for posting these rigging pictures Keith!!  I am trying to decipher my Sergal HMS Victory rigging plans and it is proving to be a challenge!  I will continue to follow with great interest.

Thanks again,

Mark

[clearway]

thankyou emmet and gieb for the comments- there is a book by c n  longridge called "anatomy of nelsons ships" which is basically a step by step guide on the 1/48 victory he built which is an invaluable source of info- also james lees masting and rigging of english ships of war (picked mine up 2nd hand).

 

Keith

[Emmet]

I have "Anatomy of ships" by John Mckay-bought 2nd hand. I have only looked through at this time.  I bought "Historic Ship MOdels" by Wolfram Zu Mondfeld. Again I have just skimmed but I learned a lot of terminology with it.  Kindle books-Rigging by Lennarth Petersson, "The Ship Model Builders Assistant" by Charles G. Davis.  All of these I found within this website while looking at every log in the 'Wooden Ships .pdf' on this website.

Since I knew virtually nothing about model ships I had to try to learn what I can.  Learning by doing, however, has the greatest value.  I have enjyed the challenge of it all and input from folks like yourself make it fun.

[clearway]

glad to have helped out in some way Emmet- i do still ask myself why do i do this to myself though🤪. slowly but surely making headway with the mizen mast with the topyard lifts and the t'gallant yard tye rigged.

take care all and thanks again for having a peek.

 

Keith

[mtdoramike]

Absolutely beautiful!

[clearway]

ty Mike- i seem to recall you built a model of her a few year back with a build log on here?

 

Keith

[mtdoramike]

Im enjoying your build of the Victory Keith. I have admired Billings kits for years and felt their kit would make into a beautiful representation and you are doing a fabulous job on her. I built the Atesiana Latina Victory about 3 years ago now, which was donated to my local library. I visit her often.

[clearway]

ty for the nice words Mike- thought the name rang a bell (not going totally gaga yet)!- i enjoyed the build of yours even though it wasn't billings.

 

Left the mizzen alone for a day and finished the basic main yard and progressed with main tops'l yard. also finished the caldercraft anchors i bought to replace the billings ply ones.

 

the stuns'l boom irons arn't 100% accurate, but a lot better than billings proposed. the booms arnt fastened in yet to ease painting the yard- as an aside if building the billings victory ignore around 60% of the rigging instructions and use longridge/ lees as a reference 🧐

take care all and keep up the good work everyone.

 

Keith

 

 

 

[mtdoramike]

The Latina kit had very good rigging plans, I also subbed with Anatomy of the Ship Victory. Since you are in the UK, it might be easier for you to get some actual Victory wood from one of their refits. I was able to locate a piece and had it shipped to me over here in the States. It cost me around $100.00 shipped for the wood, but I used it to make anchor collars, mast heads, davits and a few other things on the ship. I then took the left over wood and mounted it in the display stand next to the Victory display base with a letter of authenticity and a note explaining the areas in which the Victory wood was used. It's a really nice touch to a magnificent ship and model. 

[Emmet]

This is Emmet.

I live in New Hampshire but am in Florida now-stuck here with the Covid beast.  I will buy from Cornwall and I have to spend some time understanding what an ace means by buying extra wood.  The actual cost is not a big deal. I save money building ships. I cannot fit a 54" boat in my building spot.  I am looking at the 44" as a max.  Thanks for your ideas and guidance.

On 4/16/2020 at 2:53 PM, clearway said:

glad to have helped out in some way Emmet- i do still ask myself why do i do this to myself though🤪. slowly but surely making headway with the mizen mast with the topyard lifts and the t'gallant yard tye rigged.

take care all and thanks again for having a peek.

 

Keith

I decided to build ships to fill my time now that I am not able to do too much physically.  I did not realize this was such a huge hobby with so many talented people.  The virus thing came along to make it more interesting.  Work like yours is inspiring.   I enjoy researching everything about the subject.

While I am in the process of finishing La Nina I am in no hurry. I am not overly impressed with La Nina but it was still very satisfying and worthwhile. 

Currently I am possessed with rigging and it calls for imagining how the actual sailors did it.  I am trying to figure out how they could work on the quarter deck because it had to be overloaded with ropes.  I am rigging the ropes as though the sails would always be up. Otherwise it would be a complete mess.  PIctures do not show all of the mistakes I have made. Some I could fix while others had to stand. Move on the next ship.

 

[clearway]

Ty for the likes and comments guys- Mike i had thought of that after seeing it in your log🙂- Emmet i have had to buy or use extra strips of wood for things like the gunwales which billings didn't include- also took off cuts of timber (hawthorn) from my friend who was cutting bushes back and seasoned and cut to size. I think either cornwall model boats or the model dockyard in the u.k. do an etched replacement stern for the smaller scale models of victory.There is a pic of the 1/98 mantua kit i re-masted for a friend earlier in my blog and that would fit your space limitations.

 

Keith

[Emmet]

10 minutes ago, clearway said:

Ty for the likes and comments guys- Mike i had thought of that after seeing it in your log🙂- Emmet i have had to buy or use extra strips of wood for things like the gunwales which billings didn't include- also took off cuts of timber (hawthorn) from my friend who was cutting bushes back and seasoned and cut to size. I think either cornwall model boats or the model dockyard in the u.k. do an etched replacement stern for the smaller scale models of victory.There is a pic of the 1/98 mantua kit i re-masted for a friend earlier in my blog and that would fit your space limitations.

 

Keith

Cool-I should have bought different wood for the gunwales on La Nina. I had a hell of a struggle bending them to fit correctly. 

I found the Mantua Victory on Page 6. 

Cornwall has quite a few in my size. I am just now bookmarking all the ones that look interesting.  

Appreciate your input

Emmet

[clearway]

Hi Emmet- as regards bending wood i soak mine for at least 3 hours in a bath of warm water before bending (they use steam on the planks on the real ships)

 

Keith

[Emmet]

On 4/19/2020 at 5:16 AM, clearway said:

Hi Emmet- as regards bending wood i soak mine for at least 3 hours in a bath of warm water before bending (they use steam on the planks on the real ships)

 

Keith

OK Thanks Keith

Do you then dry them on the ship and glue later? Would you mind telling me what kind of glue and how you apply the planks? 

I am just now realizing how to look at other people's builds. Up to now I used a the wooden ships directory but that often did not have much for given listing.

[Emmet]

On 5/6/2014 at 3:49 AM, clearway said:

planking continues. Looking forward to making all those window frames!

Keith

This is great work Keith.  The devil is in the details.