HMS Victory by dafi - Heller - PLASTIC - To Victory and beyond ...

[rdsaplala]

Beautiful work, Daniel, she's a real beauty

[dafi]

Hy dear victorian people,

 

look what I just unearthed from my vaults and shiver with devotion ;-)

 

 

This piece I got on my first visit in 1991 in the museums shop with certificate. Guess it is not 1765 but I still think where I could incorporate a part of it into my model :-)

 

Huurrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!

 

Finally after several weeks on having to concentrat onto the job I found some time to work on my Vic :-)

 

Here some before and after shots of the binnacle. Inbetween Mk1, a try that I did beeing tired after the job, witch turned out to be too big ...

 

 

Here is Mk1´s frame from Ureol ...

 

 

... compasses and lamp, then the great surprise, that the superglue does not affect the overhead-foil used to cover the front!!! Great to know for the stern!

 

The front cover is from 0,5 mils sheet. The chimney is 1 mm wire with the now famous copper foil around, the head is the foil pressed into a hole with suitable diameter.

 

 

Here are the plans for rebuilts ;-)

 

 

AND: As I used to be an art student the palette is - as it always was - the highlight of the working sessions :-)

 

 

XXXDAn

 

[dafi]

The great find that the CA-glue does not leave fog on the transparent foil led to the glazing of the stern-windows.

 

 

The glue holds very well, the lower row is already done, the middle is waiting to be glued, held in position by a clamp and spread by a toothpick for faster working.

 

Next was the outside of sidepockets and drop, here to remember the original on my model in 2004:

 

 

Perhaps one realised on some of the previous pictures that I already took off the lower part of the carvings ;-)

 

The small lower end I turned from wood. The rest is sheet 0,5 mm.

 

First task: The drop has completely different proportions and form than the original. So I had to adapt the design. Glueing the upper part with dichlormethan I realised how this glue softens the material :-)

 

So I used this effect on both parts to make nice mouldings into the material on all parts  ...

 

 

... put a little bit colour ...

 

 

... a little bit of ink ...

 

 

... and here we go :-)

 

The overview much more close to the original size. 

 

 

 

Grüßle, Daniel

[dafi]

Were/are they plain white or is this the same light mint-grey-petrol-tone used for the walls of the admirals day-cabin? I always thought them to by white (whitewash) but after looking at a lot of pictures I am not so shure any more. Lots of pictures show a slight greenish teint that I thought to come from the glazing.

 

One more etape finished on the final lap of the year! The side galleries are fixed again!!!

 

 

Looks immediately much more victorious. Had them fixed already before but operated them off to redo the glazing bars about a year ago. Even though some small touch-ups on the paint still to be done, they are now destined to stay on :-)

 

 

The window of the side gallerie is opened, will tell you why afterwards :-)

 

 

But opening that window prooved to be one of the toughest jobs so far, by cutting the bars out, I suddenly had three ...

Refixing the parts and building a fitting frame was just what a young lad needs - patience ;-)

 

 

Then I made some lanterns for that nobody - in the dark - ...

 

 

... does stupid things as sodomy was rewarded with a nice yardarm dance.

 

 

The top floor lantern is fixed on the side pocket.

 

 

And of course, while fixing the gap to the hull, some glue ran down on the inside of the gallerie, ruining the top window glazing ...

 

OK, low voice cursing, taking down the gallerie again - by now already routine - taking off the old spoilt window, replacing the glazing, refixing the gallerie and being more lucky this time.

 

Greetings, Daniel

 

 

Does any body has a clue for my enlightment?

 

Happy Christmas greetings, Daniel

Edited February 17, 2013 by dafi

[dafi]

Oh, I forgot:

 

I also reworked the mariners walk.

 

On the top gave it some structure around the gratings and some framing on the bottom suiting the original construction :-)

 

 

This made the walk slightly thicker which improved the appearance. The passanges for the stays are not adapted yet.

 

All the best, Daniel

[dafi]

Oh I forgot to tell you about the opened window :-)

 

Did you already spot him?

 

Who???

 

Sir Archibald of course, who would have made a mess with the air in the mess if his comrades would´t have asked him to enhace air quality inside the ship by opening the window :-)

 

 

So into the cabin, putting the coat onto the hook and sit down and hang loose ...

 

 

... and there he is sitting on his lower end at the lower and of the ship and enjoys life and being - and especially the thought, that he does not have to sit on the seats of ease at the head :-)

 

 

Him looking a little bit strained is due to the dignity and the sincerity of his task - and due to the fact that while being painted ...

 

... ouch, have a look and feel with him:

 

 

Ok, we let him now concentrate onto his task, even though I have the feeling that he will be sitting there for a while ...

 

 

Three cheers for Sir Archibald, 

 

sincerily yours, Daniel

[zeptraderUK]

top work, really an inspiration.

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Daniel,

 

I am allway impressedif I see what you do with the old Heller kit. It's a fantastic model.

[dafi]

Thank you Colin and Christian :-)

 

 

Next I finished the starboard main- and fore chainplates.

 

So I finished all of them, huuuuurrrrrrraaaaaaayyyyyyy!!!!

 

 

 

And here it comes the side entrance. I wondered already for a while, why I did not refix the old one (see first picture post #3 http://mediaharmonists.de/bilder/640-victory-porticus.jpg). First tried better painting. Better but not yet there. 

 

 

Until I realised: Canopy 2 mm shorter and decreasing the thickness from 2 mm to down to 1,5 mm. 

 

 

 

Heureka :-)

The lead cover of the canopy´s top will still come as soon as I am happy with whitch material to use.

 

And something really mindblowing to end this post: the patented original Ikea-soldering-iron-holder :-)

 

 

Lieber Gruß, Daniel

[dafi]

And I manged to do some other minor things here and there :-)

 

This is what Heller provides to work the the fore sheet and the main tack ...

 

 

... that´s why I did build some rolls and their castings ...

 

 

... glued it together ...

 

 

... cemented it in ...

 

 

... intruding the rolls and a line.

 

 

Here a detail, the rolls stay in wood, as with the original black they would not be visible :-)

 

 

It is interesting that the main sheet is brought in by an oblique leadtube and not a roll:

 

 

The snatch blocks for ancre and main brace got rolls too, 0,8 mm high and 2 mm in diameter - what a fun to produce :-)

 

 

 

So now I have to do something bigger in scale to relax my eyes, ant counting would be an option ...

 

Greetings, Daniel

Edited February 17, 2013 by dafi

[dafi]

Here more about the origins of Sir Archibald, before I pressed him and broke his little knees and hips:

 

Here he is, in the middle of the bottom row :-)

 

 

The details are great as arms and legs are not as thick as usual in that scale and I think some nice crossdressing will be possible :-)

 

 

All the best, Daniel

[dafi]

... that it will still take some time before I start the rigging. But I wanted already start to reflect upon my deadeyes and the lanyards.

 

First thing was to construct the original and guinee dafi deadeye holder to fix the parts to be able to work properly.

 

 

 

Like this, the shroud is fixed, the height can be nicely adjusted, it has the right orientation but I am still able to turn it to reach the back :-)

The small wood with the two clamps are just holding with their own weight and so it is very flexible.

 

First the loop with the vertical first lashing, putting the deadeye in, adjusting the height, close the loop and put the other two lashings. A needle helps a lot :-)

 

 

And after putting in the lanyard ...

 

 

... it looks a little bit like this ...

 

 

... and with the a bit more of the surrounding area :-)

 

 

It still is the wrong rigging line, also the direction of the loose end has to be checked, the lashings most probably should be black and for shure there are other mistakes still in there. But it was a nice start of the evaluation period :-)

 

Amicalement, Daniel

[dafi]

Hy-ho,

 

last night did some small additions, among was this one:

 

Just to show, that it takes sometimes several versions until the wanted result is achieved. In the original built some 5 years ago, I already gave a green paint to the copper roof of the belfry. Now with the great material from the hull, I decided to go for the real thing :-)

 

 

Do not ask the work until it was bent around the corners ...

 

... but still it looked far too bulky ...

 

... looking at the pictures of Portsmouth it shows the roof less thick and with some chamfer ...

 

 

.. but still suboptimal ...

 

 

... and we are  finally little bit nearer :-)

 

 I left the form mark on top of the bell just to proove that this is really a plastic kit ;-)

 

All the best, Daniel

[dafi]

And to finish off the weekend, just something for the heart - no, not ginseng, just looking how a corner could look like ;-)

 

The preparations ...

 

 

... the built ...

 

 

... and the whole :-) 

 

Seeing those pictures, I am glad that I did put the moulding 2 mm lower, as the aft lines now look much smoother :-)

(first page of this thread, entry Sat Jul 10, 2010 2:51 pm)

 

 

The rigging line will still be replaced by a better one :-)

 

Amicalement, Daniel

[dafi]

... I finally found some material to represent the lead roofs of several parts of the ship: 

 

Aluminiumfoil TF2 from Hasegawa ...

 

 

... glued and cut ...

 

 

... and with some layers of a transparent mixture of plack ink, white paint, cleaning solvent and water ...

 

 

... it looks quite charming. Even though the original is extremely matt light grey it looks rather comprehensive on the model as the silver slightly shines through :-)

 

Here are the round house tops, the netting is not the original of course  ;-)

 

 

As the region I come from is Swabia, so we are known to be are excessively stingy - some claim, that we are Scots, banned because to be even tooooo stingy for them - and also me beeing too impatient to wait for out of stock deliveries?

So I help myself ...

 

 

... know what is coming????

 

 

Now should be getting clearer ...

 

 

... yes, it is the 2 mm blocks ...

 

 

... the ones with the ring :-)

 

 

Looks less tattered in real life, I hate that macro ;-)

 

All the best, Daniel

[dafi]

And what is that for???

 

Until now she is a nice ship but as I mentioned already in a earlier post, it is meant to be a martial piece of war technology ...

 

... and I simply realized that I will not be able to push much further away the wonderful and lovely task of building the hundred cannons ;-)

 

First came bolts and some color shading: highlights and shadow - as usual. Then the apron for the secured one ...

 

 

... the flint look for the one in use and the breeching ropes.

 

 

Even though it looks short, it is long enough that the muzzel can be retrieved inside for about a meter. The rope will be replaced still by a better one :-)

 

For the rigging there are so many different versions found in the literature and in Portsmouth, so I decided to try that one for the secured one:

 

 

Now come the freshely build blocks ...

 

 

... but looks strange ... *think* ... *read* ... ok ...

 

 

... block and lanyard were the wrong way ...

 

 

... and here on the secured one.

 

 

And as it pleases here some more views :-)

 

 

 

 

Now welcome Hell-O-Kitty ;-)

 

Remark 1: The side lanyards are not meant to stay that tightly pulled to the back, they are meant to be loose on the floor. But it was less disturbing for the work :-)

 

Remark 2: No, even I will not do all the guns this way on the lower decks! But to work out simplifications, I have to know the real thing :-)

 

All the best, Daniel

[dafi]

So the old master of arts is back to see if you have done your homework and know by now the artists inspiration of "The Endless Column"???

 

What??? Not yet??? Even though I provided this useful link??? Yes I am talking about this piece of art -

 

 

So where did the artist get inspired from???

 

Do you know already???

 

... hihihihihihi ...

 

Amicalement Daniel, the finest Dafinism available :-)

[dafi]

I will solve the mistery

 

The classic way: a show in three acts:

 

Act 1: Introduction of the protagonists and the presentation of the problem

Act 2: The solving of problems

Act 3: The solutions and happy ending - Luckily a happy play and no drama as everybody survives :-)

Hope it is "ernsthaft" enough for a german play ...

 

Act 1:

The enemy

 

The timberheads on the forecastle ...

 

 

... looking at the old pictures of the parts, they were always a little bit uneven and it was not me ruining them :-) 

Also it represents the old version of timberheads - as shown too in Portsmouth - that Goowin "Construction and Fitting" mentions to be used in between 1750 to 1770 with just the front and back being shaped, and not the newer version that was used in between 1756 bis 1807 with all four sides being shaped :-)

 

Also the mean old hammock crane, that is protruding into the mockup shrouds.

 

 

First tries with using machines were completely failure as the parts are too small and also the try of gluing triangular parts onto the sides created most amusing results ...

 

Act 2 part 1

The hammock crane plank - Operation on the open heart

 

The smaller task was the hammock crane plank. Nicely to be seen at McKays and to support the hammocks in the netting and possibly too to protect it from spray. To be able to move the cranes more inwards, the upper moulding was removed - McKay shows it much smaller and in Portsmouth it even is just indicated by a small splitline.

 

This does not sound too complicated, if dear Daniel - in his diabolic wisdom - would have not put the deadeyes already before ...

 

So a couragous cut ...

 

 

... building planks ...

 

 

... and glue them on :-)

 

 

First tries with mockup cranes proove that with reduced hight they should be able to fit underneath the shrouds. Hurraaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy!

 

Small intermission ...

[dafi]

... Gong ...

 

... Gong-Gong ...

 

... Gong-Gong-Gong ...

 

Act 2:

Airheaded timberheads

 

As metioned before all machine trials went to the rubbish ...

 

So let me tell you one thing - trust your own hands! There is more satisfaction in their work than you might think:-)

 

As preparation I built a small jig ...

 

 

... longitudinal guidance on the bottom, 0,3 mm sheet for the distance holder protruding over the guidance and two bits in the right distance - 5 mm - ...

 

 

... as guidance for the saw. The first cuts all around as usual with given distance by the distance holder, the next ones the distance holder snapping into the previous cuts :-)

 

The material is of course my beloved Ureol :-)

 

And now the hands come into play - and a sharp blade - already Brancusi said that the sharp blades are a must - to shape the heads ...

 

 

... and here it is our small piece of art :-)

 

 

Two cuts for each surface and easy to control as the comparission is always beside. 

 

Also looks nice on the desk with all this "wooden" carving bits...

 

 

... and finally the not yet finished results.

 

 

And here already comes the next brave action: Point of no return - guillotine on the old timberheads ...

 

 

... glueing the prefinished heads onto a separate sheet that can be taken off ...

 

 

... taking this to the work bench to adjust heights and angles of the timberheads ...

 

 

... and put them back onto the right place. Uffz!

[dafi]

Act 3

Happy End

 

And here they are, our happy actors ...

 

 

... from the inside ... 

 

 

... and with a mockup crane.

 

 

Huuuuooorrrrrraaaaaaayyyyyy!

[Wintergreen]

It takes a special kind of mind to redo so much stuff of the kit...and I like it.

 

A "Hip hip, hooray" for you Daniel!

[Patrick Haw]

Great to see you back up and running Daniel.  And really good and detailed work.  Good job!

 

Patrick

[dafi]

On a model in a german forum I saw the copper held on the top by a thin wooden strip. Once discovered, it can be found on all ships still bearing their copper hulls, nicely to be seen on the HMS Triconmalee.

 

I was preparing this for a while as not to damage the copper. Trials with Polysterol did not work as it was difficult to cut and to flimpsy to glue. Trying wood on the circular saw did give just rubbish as the little thing was meant to be only 0,3 mm thick and 1 mm high - and about 50 cm long.

 

And the result from the last show said: Trust your hands :-)

 

So I found 0,4 mm wooden strips from the trials for the planking that was long enough, glued it onto the cutting board - with help of the cutting ruler - for that nothing can move ...

 

 

... and cut with a razor blade. Even though it resulted in different hights ...

 

... so I built a template with a guide 1 mm high, a movable guide in the front 1 mm high to hold, putting the strip vertically in and sand everythig away that sticks out. Gives a very even hight and very even apparence :-)

 

 

Glued it on immediately which worked fine ...

 

 

... at least at the bows. Aft it - have a look yourselves ...

 

 

... this Heller lump always existed, but now it sreamed HERE I AM, so I had to do something - as usual with me ...

 

 

... looked for the right trace with some tape, difference almost 3 mm (!) ...

 

 

... striped the strip down , cutting down the copper plates that stood over the stripline and glued the strip back on, this time straight :-)

 

And as it was so much fun, I solved the same ...

 

 

... Heller-bug at the bows too - luckily only 1 mm this time, ...

 

 

...  lifted the strip with a blade and repositioned :-)

 

And now there is a nice finish to the top border of the copper. 

 

 

 

Have fun, Daniel

[dafi]

As Rob the Rasper would say, I am just trying to avoid the 100 guns waiting for me around the corner, I found some more itzy-bitzy-tingies to still push the other task a little bit further

 

There I found the MASSIVE lugs of the side davits and the D-block - for the crossjack lifts - much too small to drill a decent hole; That is most possably why heller suggests to fix the lifts in the mizzen top ;-)

 

 

Made a new block, on a handle to be able to hold it properly, and made new lugs out of sheet ...

 

 

... and as usual, the rest of the untidyness is coverd up with black ;-)

 

 

And now my question is: Where and how are those lifts being fixed? On the lanyards? A ring on the channel? A ring on the hull?

 

Amicalement, Daniel

[dafi]

Thanks gentlemen for your nice comments, very much appreciated!

 

A little bit I kept working lately - just to avoid the 100 big guns - and I found something to keep me distracted ;-)

 

Luckily I found here the remark concerning the openings of the mariners walk. So stuck the parts together including mariners walk V1 ...

 

 

... and took the chance to tryfix the knightheads, fitting them with the ringbolts, putting the mock up stays and really - it does not fit ;-)

 

 

Fitting the stays the proper way on the starboardside, and also fitted the clamps for the knightheads :-)

To build these small things it is good to put them on the stick, this one also serves to fix it properly afterwards.

 

 

The knightheads completely fitted, the new stays fitted and also mariners walk V2.

 

 

Then I realised the knightheads have square a section. As the sides are parallel to the bowsprite and front and back follow the curve of the hull, the section should be a rhombus.

 

So the knightheads were taken out again, bolts and clamps were amputated and the timbers prepared for reshaping.

 

 

Then I realised the plastic is difficult to work on, and the result would be too thin, so I took a decent piece of Ureol ...

 

... scaled it to 4 on 5 mm sideslengh ...

 

 

... drilled first with 0,5 mm ... 

 

 

... and enlarged the hole to 2 mm. As the parts are rather small I did not want to take the machines, used tape to mark the line and came with the big file ...

 

 

... and the sanding paper ...

 

 

... fitted a bridge and ready it was :-)

 

 

And two more plastic parts for the spare box ;-)

[dafi]

And here is the short lived mariners walk V2 with the not used openings already closed ...

 

 

... and the heads on place ...

 

 

... and then the shock: The new holes do not fit :-(

Especially the main preventer stay just needs one hole! Great, good research dafi ...

 

 

... fitting the holes better and luckily the old cut-outs were still present ...

 

 

... being retrofitted, cleaned ...

 

 

... and we proudly present mariners walk V3 !

 

 

Putting back the stays ...

 

 

... brushed some highlights onto the knightheads ...

 

 

... and finally the stays fit :-)

 

All the best, Daniel

[dafi]

And now to something completely different:

 

Halleluja, praise the heavens!

 

Why? Because also small things can make me happy :-)

 

Looking back: A year ago I was already working on the improved gunport lids but had a grandious failure on the gunport tackles:

Looks like a ball of hair straight out of the shower plughole :-(

 

 

These days I broused through Gil Middletons wonderful Jotika-Victory and dicovered the splicing that he presents there:

 

We proudly present: The Powersplice

 

 

It is simple but effective:

 

Thread - here 0,3 mm - through the ring, neadle through the thread, it is more easy than it looks ...

 

 

... make tight, secure with a drop of glue ...

 

 

... and once more through it with feeling ...

 

 

... pull thight and ...

 

 

here we are!

 

 

Great, isn´t it???

 

All the best from a happy Daniel with thanks to Gil!

[dafi]

And these are the consequences for my little ship :-)

 

Here the old improved lid, with new fittings , ok looks a little bit scratched by now ...

 

 

... with the too wires to fix but still looking a bit thinny.

 

 

Increased thickness with 0,5 mm sheet ...

 

 

... the all new lanyards ...

 

 

... and much closer to what I want :-)

 

Using 0,5 mm sheet I can show the decreasing thickness nicely by using 0,25 mm for the second gundeck and by leaving the upper lids "à la nature"

 

Small detail, the two lower gundecks have two tackles on the outside and two rings on the inside, the upper gundeck lids have two tackles but just one ring on th inside, and the lids underneath the poop have just one tackle and one ring :-)

 

And now: Beat to Quarters!

 

 

Not as much protruding as often seen ...

 

 

... and if one sees this view better look for cover!

 

 

For me even more interesting: what can be seen of the fastened guns???

 

 

And one can look inside even better than with the guns run out :-)

 

 

 

 

"As an ϋber detailer I am wondering if you intend to represent the leather sleeves thro' which the port topping lifts run"

 

Hallo B.E., I think I will do a simple solution for this: just a little bit of white glue and black paint :-)

 

 

You mention leather, I thought these were lead pipes, or are you talking of something different?

 

All the best, Daniel

 

 

And to finish just a sum up ...

 

 

 

Mast, Stern, upper deck, beakhead bulkhead and the small bit of deck are just dryfit ...

 

 

... this is where the ship starts ...

 

 

... and here it ends :-)

 

Lieber Gruß, Daniel

[Blue Ensign]

You did an excellent job on those balusters Daniel, they really are a pain to get right, particularly as the mouldings are  often less than good.

 

One area that cries out for a bit of after market  brass etch.

 

B.E.

[dafi]

Noted :-)

 

...hihihihi...

 

XXXDAn