Caldercraft HMS Victory Build

bf2019 said:
And so I start my journey. I have always been interested in wooden model ships, and have always wanted to build one. The attention to detail, the research involved, the meticulousness of getting every detail right and accurate. However, age precludes some of that (at least for me). I attempted the Artesania Latina USS Constitution about 25 years ago. I had acquired the kit from a hobby store that was closing, and figured why not? I finished the 1st planking, and decided to put it down because at that time in my life and age, I didn't have the patience to do it proper justice. Unfortunately, years later, it was utterly destroyed in a move.

I always said I would build another ship, but not until I had the patience to build one accurately and with the attention to detail that was required. I am now ready to tackle that journey. I guess, for me, with age comes more patience. When it comes to doing something, I guess I have always been the kind of person to go big, or go home. I don't think I have seen a single post of someone choosing the Victory as their first model; definitely not to the level of the Caldercraft Victory. That is definitely not why I decided on the Caldercraft HMS Victory though. I did about a month worth of research, reading reviews, watching videos, etc before I decided on it. And although I have a little experience from attempting the Constitution so many years ago, I truly believe I can do this. I have done months of research on the Victory. I have Alan McGowan's HMS Victory and John McKay's The 100 Gun Ship Victory (2 books that I think are a must have for this endeavor). For me, my due diligence started way before I received the kit.

I started building back in early September. I photo-documented almost everything, but wanted to wait a little before posting a build log. Currently, I am getting ready to start the 2nd planking, and thought it would be a good time to begin posting my log. Comments, suggestions, and history are definitely welcome. Doing and re-doing things that aren't right doesn't scare me. I have been following many Victory build posts, obviously focusing on the Caldercraft model, and have learned so much, and have learned what to watch out for. I have been following TonyH's journey fixing the Victory he got half-built from Ebay. I can't tell you how much I learned from his going through everything that was wrong or misaligned.

Anyways, here is the start of my build log:

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And so to begin:

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As you can see, my workspace is getting more cluttered as the build goes on. I do need to work on keeping a cleaner workspace!
Click to expand...
Hallo @bf2019
we wish you all the BEST and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Birthday-Cake
How is your work on the Victory going?
 
bf2019 said:
1st Planking:

I know the instructions say to plank both sides of the hull at the same time to keep the bulkheads from skewing, but I decided to plank one side completely before doing the other side. My thought was that I wanted to make sure I got everything right and the right finished contours. Hopefully it will pay off. The 2nd planking I will do together.

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Time to clean up my workspace!

Thank you for watching. More to follow soon!
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Planking both sides together keeps the hull from twisting or warping. Sure hope that didn't happen to you. Nice build and the Victory is a big model. I always thought the hull was too big for the amount of rigging the ship has. Someday I'll build that model. Nice work. Pete
 
bf2019 said:
And so I start my journey. I have always been interested in wooden model ships, and have always wanted to build one. The attention to detail, the research involved, the meticulousness of getting every detail right and accurate. However, age precludes some of that (at least for me). I attempted the Artesania Latina USS Constitution about 25 years ago. I had acquired the kit from a hobby store that was closing, and figured why not? I finished the 1st planking, and decided to put it down because at that time in my life and age, I didn't have the patience to do it proper justice. Unfortunately, years later, it was utterly destroyed in a move.

I always said I would build another ship, but not until I had the patience to build one accurately and with the attention to detail that was required. I am now ready to tackle that journey. I guess, for me, with age comes more patience. When it comes to doing something, I guess I have always been the kind of person to go big, or go home. I don't think I have seen a single post of someone choosing the Victory as their first model; definitely not to the level of the Caldercraft Victory. That is definitely not why I decided on the Caldercraft HMS Victory though. I did about a month worth of research, reading reviews, watching videos, etc before I decided on it. And although I have a little experience from attempting the Constitution so many years ago, I truly believe I can do this. I have done months of research on the Victory. I have Alan McGowan's HMS Victory and John McKay's The 100 Gun Ship Victory (2 books that I think are a must have for this endeavor). For me, my due diligence started way before I received the kit.

I started building back in early September. I photo-documented almost everything, but wanted to wait a little before posting a build log. Currently, I am getting ready to start the 2nd planking, and thought it would be a good time to begin posting my log. Comments, suggestions, and history are definitely welcome. Doing and re-doing things that aren't right doesn't scare me. I have been following many Victory build posts, obviously focusing on the Caldercraft model, and have learned so much, and have learned what to watch out for. I have been following TonyH's journey fixing the Victory he got half-built from Ebay. I can't tell you how much I learned from his going through everything that was wrong or misaligned.

Anyways, here is the start of my build log:

View attachment 416253View attachment 416254View attachment 416255View attachment 416257View attachment 416258View attachment 416260View attachment 416261View attachment 416262View attachment 416263View attachment 416264View attachment 416265View attachment 416266

And so to begin:

View attachment 416267View attachment 416268View attachment 416270View attachment 416271View attachment 416272View attachment 416273

As you can see, my workspace is getting more cluttered as the build goes on. I do need to work on keeping a cleaner workspace!
Click to expand...
What is the length of your main mast from the keel to the cap?
 
I am curious as well. The main mast for Victory from the step on the keel after her rebuild in 1803 should be right at about 118' 11"
(beam + length of the lower gun deck)/2 according to James Lees' Masting and Rigging English Ships of War for the period of 1794-1836. The foremast would be
107' 0".
Allan
 
Longridge (Anatomy of Nelson's Ships, pg 190) cites the main mast's total length as being 119'. That 1" may be due to natural wood expansion / contraction.... . :) The Corel cross-section model of the VICTORY has the mainmast being woefully short. I am having to correct this along with several other discrepancies. This correction will carry into the top- and topgallant masts.
 
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