HMS Victory by kruginmi (2x) - Airfix - 1:180 - PLASTIC

[kruginmi]

With my 9 year old son now having three models under his belt (two ships) with my help:

 

 

He asked what was next on the horizon.  I was actually given an Airfix 1:180 HMS Victory model recently and I realized I now had two in stock.  So.....we are going to do dual builds.  The models are packaged differently but contain exactly the same kit components.

 

 

We are laying things out and mapping out our plan.  I am planning to do this one out of the box with no 'improvements.'  His model will be all him.  It will be interesting to get back into painting.  The paint in both boxes is quite old so I will buy new acrylics locally (as close as possible in color).  He is the only kid so far (fifth of six) that has had any interest in models so I am doing whatever I can to fan the flames - how can you do wrong with the Victory?

 

 

Looking forward to spending the time together,

Mark

[cwboland]

Mark, looks like a nice build for the two of you. I will enjoy watching the progress. Have fun

[kruginmi]

And we are off.....

 

Peter has really learned not to just grab the glue bottle and get the model assembled in one or two days which really helps.  First step was to wash the parts directed for use today, the main hull and decks.

 

 

This model is not the easiest to position the two main decks into the hull halves (already talked about in a separate build log).  Last night, knowing this, I did some practice assembly to figure out the best approach for us.  Additionally, I wanted to provide the clearest guidance to Peter on where to paint and especially where not to (glue line for decks onto hull).

 

I finally came up with a modified path that I think will work.  The two hull halves are to be glued together by themselves (no decks).  Tomorrow the lower deck will be glued in by itself to be followed a day or so later (after the lower deck is painted) by the upper deck.  This seems to keep everything in control and accurate.

 

 

In the pics I just put in the deck, the hull providing the grip to keep it in position.  Peter can be let loose painting soon enough with not too much concern on my part.

 

There are deck to deck beams near the middle of the lower deck.  These are the only 'sticky wickets' as they say.  I am not too worried about them.

 

Now off to allow the four year old some painting on other crafts.

 

Stay Building my Friends,

Mark and Peter

[kruginmi]

Getting my head back wrapped around plastic AND working with a younger kid.

 

After gluing the lower deck in independently we painted then set the gun carriages in.  Yes it would have been much easier to paint the deck prior BUT....effective gluing down of the carriages required plastic to plastic.  The instructions show the carriages installed after the upper deck - who follows instructions?  Now, Peter was able to put them in with his fingers.  We had put some cannon barrels in previously to determine how far in the carriages should go (consistent with the dummy cannons).

 

 

A little extra glue here and there but nothing paint (now) wouldn't cover up.  I forged ahead a little with mine to show him what to do on his.  After painting the gun deck satisfactorily I now installed the upper deck.  A good squeeze to get in which mostly held it in place, with some help from some rubber bands.

 

 

Trying to follow the instructions and get the two decks glued in concurrently with the hull halves would be quite the feat.  With the process above everything is aligned and secure.  Painting all looks good and everything proper.  There are still two ships boats to host on the frames.  

 

 

Will I put the deck to deck posts in?  Still considering.  Relatively easy to do, just don't know if they are visible at all and worth the effort.

 

Stay Building my Friends,

Mark and Peter

[cwboland]

Looks great!! I don't know how you would have gotten those cannon trucks in place with the upper deck on

[kruginmi]

Slowly slogging forward.  My son has a lot of stuff going on so I have to wait and not get too far ahead.

 

During a slow evening while watching my four year old I hand painted the hull on the port side.  This is hand painted because that is what he is able to do, no airbrushing or spray painting here.  I was slightly surprised that the hull follows the true planking for the most part, meaning their are no specific guide lines for the yellow bands.  You basically have the gun ports for alignment.

 

 

I had started with acrylics but for the hull switched to enamels.  The acrylics required too many coats for a solid coat of paint and the bands were too much to keep the straight lines going multiple times over.  I did affix the rear bulkheads underneath the quarter deck and paint a first coat of deck color around the outside edges.  Cannon carriages will be next for plastic to plastic adhesion prior to painting the rest of the deck.

 

The guide lines for the bulkheads do not totally align with the bulkheads so be careful if you attempt this kit.  I assembled the walls off ship and glued to the deck as a unit.  Probably a 1/4 inch or so between the rear bulkhead and its associated alignment ledge.

 

 

One big issue I had to resolve was how to paint the stern windows.  There is a slightly raised boundary but again, a 10 year old.  The solution I finally arrived at was to use a fine tip pen.  Yes, the color will probably fade but there is a chance Peter will affect something that resembles a window.  These windows are obviously plentiful on the stern.  I also opted to avoid painting individual pillars and just painted the section yellow.  I do have copper paint for the bottom.

 

My review of the kit:  These are old molds but still have a lot of detail that comes out.  If you are looking for every seam to be seamless and be an accurate representation of the Victory, this is probably not the model for you.  If you are looking for a fun project that people will recognize as the Victory then have some fun.  I look forward to the yard arms (curved and bent in all sort of angles).  No idea of how I will get them usable, but with a little heat I am hoping for the best.

 

Stay Building my Friends,

Mark

[cwboland]

Beautiful work on the paint job. I have noticed on some of the plastic kits I've built that walls don't always line up with the alignment area. They usually sit in front and rarely right on top.  Keep up the good work. Look forward to seeing her complete

[Thomas benson]

I am thinking of getting a 1/180 scale Airfix kit of the Hms Victory, does anyone know where I could get brass cannons for a ship in this scale?

[kruginmi]

Thomas,

 

Those would be mighty small cannon!  I am not sure how much exchanging the supplied cannons with brass would help but each person is their own captain. I would also try some of the newer brass paints to see the effect you can get with the provided plastic.  I am 'assuming' you would also replace the gun carriages, the table saw is definitely out for that.

 

Can you provide some more description / thoughts of what you are thinking for the whole build?

 

Mark

[kruginmi]

BTW:  My son is focused on school and on swimming right now.  As you can see the build is somewhat on hold.  Still hopeful for sometime this year to re-ignite it......   Mark 

[Thomas benson]

Thanks Mark, to tell you the truth I have not given much thought to the complete build. I have just been trying to get around having just the end of cannons sticking out of the holes provided. I had given some thought to opening them all up and building shelves on the inside for complete cannons to be visible.

A lot of work but I don't even have the kit yet, just brainstorming a little. I have already built the Revell victory a couple of times, once when I was 12 and then about 10 years ago. I want a larger scale model but I don't have room for a Heller 1/100 kit. So unless their is something else put there it looks like the Airfix kit.

 

Thomas

[docidle]

Mark,

 

It is great to see Peter building the Victory. He also did a great job on the Constitution and Arizona. It is always nice to see kids take an interest in building models nowadays. My son and I did the same Revell Constitution for a 2nd grade project and I let him do the majority of the work. It was amazing how many kids in his class thought it was SO cool and wanted to know all about how he made it.

 

Anyway, tell Peter to keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing more posts on his kit.

 

Steve

[DSiemens]

Looks like a fun build. I'm hoping to get my son's into model building as well. What do you think is a good age to start doing plastic models?

[kruginmi]

It is hard to give a hard answer, but I would  venture in the 8-10 age group (and plastic).  I gave him flush clippers instead of a knife but still needed to be coaxed through how to use them.  Also gluing is an ordeal.  We spent some time talking about clamping and waiting for things to dry.  He really enjoys the application of the decals and after showing him one or two times he took off.

 

I think the hardest part is refraining from jumping in and taking over.  There is definitely an ebb and flow (as this build shows) but he proudly shows his friends his completed models on his dresser.

 

I have made a simple put the dowel into the boat shaped 2-D cut out for my five year old....

 

Anything to keep them off of digital stuff.....

 

Mark