December 2008

So here we are with many of the shrouds and backstays in place.

Things are really starting to look jumbled so it is a good thing that this is all temporary and will be ultimately be moved out of the way for easy access to the deck.

Here is a nice view of the fore mast chain plate where all of the shrouds and backstays will eventually be attached using deadeyes.

Next, I begin moving the fore shrouds and backstays out of the way so that I can access the foremast for attaching the main stays. I draw a simple numbered diagram to specify where everything will eventually be tied off.

Now, each of the shrouds and backstays are numbered and labeled and I begin detaching everything in groups and coiling them up.

This is a very delicate process and it warrants taking the time to do it as neatly as possible. This helps to ensure that everything is properly labeled and that the coils don't become tangled when it comes time to unravel everything for final attachment.

Once I have all of the shrouds and backstays on the foremast out of the way, I will begin attaching all of the remaining main stays (fixed rigging that supports the main mast).

Starting the Rigging

I've finally started the rigging. First things first...start placing all of the standing rigging. The standing rigging was either permanently or sub-permanently in place and was typically dark in color becuase it was tarred often. The running rigging however, was used to control the sails and yards, and was much lighter in appearance.

I am attempting to rig this model according to the actual ship which as it turns out is far more extensively rigged than what the original kit provided for. In addition, most of the rigging diagrams with the kit are incorrect in many respects. As a result, I am using about four different books specifically detailing the HMS Victory in order to get the rigging correct. The problem is...as you can imagine, there is so much detail that not one book can capture it all so I find myself spending about half the time sifting through pages trying to figure out how things should be tied off, etc.

Near my initial descent into all of this rigging madness, I made sure to purchase tons of different diameter rigging so that I would be prepared for just about anything.

Here, I've started rigging in the mizzen shrouds. The mizzen mast was the rear-most mast of the ship and was always the smallest of the masts. The shrouds are the vertical standing rigging that look kind of like rope ladders.

The problem with the shrouds is that they are dressed around the mast underneath all other rigging. However, as you can see from the photos, their placement makes for some very precarious access to anything that eventually gets tied of on the deck. Note in the above photo the dressing of the shrouds around the main mast head (the largest mast). There is a very specific ordering to how they were dressed around the mast as you can see in the photo.


Remember how I said that the placement of the shrouds would make everything else difficult to reach? Well...to alleviate this, I am dressing all of the shrouds and stays around the masts but leaving the ends loose for now. This will allow me to move everything out of the way so that I can access all of the running rigging that gets tied off at the deck. You'll notice in this photo that I use sticky tack, the clay-like stuff that you can use to stick posters to walls to 1) temporarily apply tension to the shrouds and 2) to provide weighting to lines in order to remove any slack until they are permanently affixed. This stuff works great for this purpose.

Here, and in the next photo, we can see the fore stay and the main stay. These were the two largest diameter ropes on the ship (aside from the anchor lines). One of my references provides details on the diameters of all the ship's rigging. I am using a variety of rigging diameters on the model in order to approximate the relative diameters of the actual rigging in order to improve its look. There is nothing worse than seeing a large model with two or three diameters of rigging. It tends to look very chunky and one-dimensional.

Things really look a mess right now since nothing is tied off. However, the messiness now will really help out in the long run as I will readily be able to move things around as needed. The most important thing is that I get everything ties off starting from the inner most regions and work my way out to the most easily accessible areas.

2008 Recap

Here is a quick recap of 2008 up until about the end of summer.

Here I've added the railing, netting, and skid beams (for supporting the ship's boats) to the quarter deck.

Here is a nice view of the quarter deck in general. I have placed the main mast in this photo.

This photo shows the addition of the chainplate and deadeye assemblies. This is where the shrouds (the rope-ladder looking rigging) are eventually fastened.

Here is a picture of the overall ship. It is tough to fit the whole thing in one detailed photo becuase it is pretty large (about 40-some inches long). I am ready to start the rigging and I promise to provide much more detail in my subsequent posts now that I am all caught up.

2007 Recap

Here is a quick recap of 2007.

I've have started fitting out the deck extensively. Here is a photo of the railing, belfry, and hatches on the quarterdeck.

The signal flag lockers was an addition I made to the kit using leftover material from the hatch gratings. I was quite happy with the way they turned out.

Here is a good view of the upper gun deck from above. I added all of the rigging to the cannons, and painted small steal ball bearings black to fill out the shot garland (this is where the cannon balls were stowed for easy access). The rigging really finished off the look of the guns.

In this photo, I have added the figurehead to the stem, as well as a additional bow detail.

2006 Recap

2006 allowed me time to get my workshop set up at the new house so I was able to accomplish a but more that year.

Quite a bit of work was done on the bow.


Here, the stern gallery has been completed. I added window paning throughout the stern. The original kit called for blue plastic with pencil drawn lines for the panes in the windows. Not very realistic to say the least.


Here is a decent view of the rudder along with the stern.

2005 Recap

Here are some construction photos from 2005. This was a busy year being that we moved and all so it didn't permit for a lot of build time.

View of bow and stem.

View of gunports and wales.

View of bow and stem.

Here the quarter galleries are finished. I added paning to the windows beyond what the kit provided to achieve more realism.

2004 Recap

This post provides a recap of my HMS Victory model building activity in 2004. This model is built from Constructo's 1:94 scale HMS Victory kit. The kit was purchased (in Spain) as a gift by my Dad during his trip to Europe in Winter 2004. Wherever possible, I am attempting to make the model a bit more reflective of the real ship. Although I am not a purist with regard to scale, I do try to make things look good on the model. Luckily, there are plenty of resources available for the HMS Victory as it still exists today.

Here you can see that we pretty much start out with a basic frame upon which the planks will eventually be fastened.

Here is an example of one of my additions to the kit. The window detailing added to the exterior of the coach house to provide a more accurate representation of the real ship.

In order to make life easier later on with regard to planking, basswood blocks were added in between the frames to provide a good base for the planks.

Here you can see how the filler blocks were then sanded to the contour of the hull providing an excellent base for the planks. This especially helps planking around the curves of the bow and stern.

The first few rows of planking are added here.

More planking...one of the most difficult areas is the curvature of the bow. Here, each plank has to be tapered in order to match the curve of the bow.

Here the planking has been completed and the hull sanded and filled.

This shows a nicer view of the completely sanded hull.

Following completion of the planking, holes for the gunports (there are over 100 on the Victory) are marked and cut into the hull.

Each of the gunport holes are then framed in.

Here we have the completed gunports all framed in.

The quarter galleries were the next step. Here, I made another modification by creating darkened windows rather than the blue coloration provided with the kit (which in my opinion looks very unrealistic). Thin veneer planking was used to give the quarter galleries a nice finish.

Here I begin work on the stern gallery, again using darkened windows.

Here the stern gallery is finished with Sapelly veneer.

Now, the stem has been notched into the bow.

Here, the lower, middle, and upper wales have been added to the hull.