Victory figure head

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janos

janos

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Hi,
I carved the original Victory figure head a while ago and I would like to carve the actual fh (the white shield with the 2 white angels) but I can't locate a properly detailed drawing of it (at least a front view and 1/ 2 side elevation). Would someone have an idea where to source it from?
Thanks in advance!
 János
 
Thanks!
I've got a number of pictures too, I would rather need true drawings (or pictures) from the front and sides.
János
 
As you probably know, the figurehead has been removed from the ship and resides in the National Museum of the Royal Navy just across from the Victory. Because it's so large, good "orthographic" side view photos are very difficult to take, which probably explains why I have no photos (taken by myself) in my library.

I know it's been 3D scanned and, while it's a long shot, it might be worth asking these people if it's possible to get any kind of copy https://www.gca-consulting.com/hms-victory-figurehead-display/. The answer will probably be no, but there's no harm in asking.

You could also try contacting this chap david.pulvertaft@ukgateway.net, who seems to be a specialist on figureheads. I have no idea if he's still around, but noticed his book on RN figureheads during my travels.

If you have no luck, message me and I'll see what I can do when I'm next visiting. That will probably be in the spring, when the weather is a little better. I should add that the dockyard does not make life easy for photographers, as they won't even allow you to take in a tripod these days.
 
Kevin the Lubber said:
As you probably know, the figurehead has been removed from the ship and resides in the National Museum of the Royal Navy just across from the Victory. Because it's so large, good "orthographic" side view photos are very difficult to take, which probably explains why I have no photos (taken by myself) in my library.

I know it's been 3D scanned and, while it's a long shot, it might be worth asking these people if it's possible to get any kind of copy https://www.gca-consulting.com/hms-victory-figurehead-display/. The answer will probably be no, but there's no harm in asking.

You could also try contacting this chap david.pulvertaft@ukgateway.net, who seems to be a specialist on figureheads. I have no idea if he's still around, but noticed his book on RN figureheads during my travels.

If you have no luck, message me and I'll see what I can do when I'm next visiting. That will probably be in the spring, when the weather is a little better. I should add that the dockyard does not make life easy for photographers, as they won't even allow you to take in a tripod these days.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Kevin!
I used to be in contact with David a while back but he did not respond to my emails recently. And the newest annotation on his site is dated on 2014 - I assume he is not there any more.
The site you suggested did not respond either.
I was not aware that the figure head is not attached to the ship any more - under these circumstances it is understandable that no true views can be taken from it.
There are quite a number of different photos of the figurehead on the Net so I will use them and I will try to compose a close to the authentic picture of it.
Best regards
János
 
Still in the thinking phase...
The plan is to make this figure head of Victory (in the mean time I read about the mishap of the original) but I am not sure about the size of it because it would be great to have a scale drawing of it. I want to make it comparable to the original figure head which I carved a good while ago so they can be presented in each others companion. And another plan to carve Balchen's Victory's figure head too. Plans are plenty...
János
 
Hi Janos, sorry but I missed your last October post. As it’s spring now I’m starting to watch the weather for a nice, warmer day for revisiting Portsmouth - it can be mighty cold in the dockyard if there’s any wind. I’ll try to remember to look at the figurehead and see what’s possible photographically. I hadn’t realised it was chopped up with a chainsaw, that explains why it looked so ‘broken’ in the museum.
 
Thanks, Kevin, it would be great if you could take a few pictures. Looking forward to it!
János
 
Allan, yes, the scaffolding is still covering most of the ship as the outer planking has all been removed. The masts have been gone for ages. My understanding is that it'll be a good few years before we see a 'complete' ship again and for now, the interior is the draw. The stern is still untouched but, paradoxically, it is starting to look like it too is in need of some urgent TLC.
 
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