DeAgostini HMS Victory build by Mike Y

Joined
Jan 28, 2015
Messages
57
Points
68

Location
England
This is a picture record of my build of the DeAgostini part-work entitled "Build Lord Nelson's HMS Victory" which runs to 120 weekly instalments.
I began it in May 2015 and completed it a couple of months ago though I have yet to make the display case to house it. I used to make numerous
plastic AFV models of mostly World War II tanks but had not done any modelling for many years until starting this project at the advanced age of 69
so this was something of a challenge .... not least to the eyesight! I opted for the cut-away version and added the gun-crews at the later building stages.
I had expected that this model might have already featured on the SOS logs pages but it seems not so I hope these pictures will be of interest to members.
The pictures are (or should be) in chronological order, some have captions whilst others don't (but hopefully don't need them); these are some highlight photos
from a complete collection of over 600 JPGs taken over the course of the build - if anyone is interested in more there is a Flickr album they could look at.

VICTORY HIGHLIGHT56.JPGVICTORY HIGHLIGHT57.JPGVICTORY HIGHLIGHT58.JPGVICTORY HIGHLIGHT59.JPGVICTORY HIGHLIGHT60.JPGVICTORY HIGHLIGHT61.JPGVICTORY HIGHLIGHT62.JPGVICTORY HIGHLIGHT63.JPGVICTORY HIGHLIGHT64.JPGVICTORY HIGHLIGHT65.JPGVICTORY HIGHLIGHT66.JPGVICTORY HIGHLIGHT67.JPGVICTORY HIGHLIGHT68.JPGVICTORY HIGHLIGHT69.JPGVICTORY HIGHLIGHT70.JPG
 
Hallo and a warm re-welcome to you in our forum. Good to have a once more on board of our SOS vessel.

I just had also a look on your Flickr-album of the built of the Victory. A lot of interesting and detailed photos you are showing us and sharing with us.
Very impressive work.
I am everytime astonished when I see a modeler building this hugh 120 gun ship. Everything you have to make double, three or four times more often than a modeler building another smaller vessel. So therefore I have to congratulate you for working on his model. Great if you could show us the further rigging and masting works on the Vic....

PS: I realized, that you have also made a lot of very interesting photos on the 1:1 HMS Victory in Porthsmouth -> This would be a very good reference document !
 
BTW: I forgot to ask
- What is the scale of the DeAgostini model?
- Did you wait with starting the building until you had all anstalments, or did you start with modeling from the first one? I think this is a philosophy how to di it
 
Scale is 1:84. A very impressive and detailed model. They even supply lots of crew figures and Nelson. Really brings it to life.

Instructions are first rate. It is a build to savour and enjoy!
 
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Hi everyone,
Thanks all for the encouraging messages which I've just caught up with.
Just to try and answer a few questions first - I started the build with a subscription to receive monthly instalments of four issues per month but hit a snag when a particular issue (# 10 I think it was) was not available for several months and I needed a part from it before I could continue. Getting impatient and with no sign of It becoming available I therefore started looking at e-Bay and found a couple of part collections I could pick up quite reasonably so cancelled the DeAgostini subscription. I even found a guy locally selling some unopened issues plus a partly built hull which is now on the shelf and may become a hull only model in natural wood and not painted once I get around to it!
SilversaxMan is correct - the instructions are clear and well illustrated and the crew figures (though difficult to get hold of) were well moulded too. The 'England expects...' signal flags and the other flags & banner came separately from a company called BCC who do an excellent range of flags.
To answer Uwek - it is a big model - almost 4 feet long by 3 feet high and 18 inches wide - and there is a lot of work / time / effort involved in making it; I must confess there were times (especially knotting all the shrouds & ratlines) when I almost weakened and gave up but I'm glad I persevered now.
I have visited the 'real' Victory in Portsmouth but, sadly, it has no masts or rigging above the lower masts on it now due to a lengthy refit and maintenance; also the repainted colour is way different to the traditional well known yellow ochre and has much more of a pink tinge to it (which we're assured is authentic) so anyone planning a visit should keep this in mind. If anyone wants me to post photos of the real vessel or has other questions let me know. In the meantime thanks again and happy modelling to everyone.
 
Hi Mike

Well done on your build, very nice if you dont mind me saying.
You are correct about the pink paint, I was looking at a you tube prog on that issue.
I could not believe the amount of layers of paint it had on her.

Denis.
 
I subscribed to the build and the crew, over 40+, metal, were included so sorry you had difficulty in finding them.

The magazine was excellent as the articles on the history of the period, other Ship models and how the Victory was built and operated were fascinating and added to the enjoyment of the build.

I agree that at times the build was a bit repetitive, owing to the very large size and detail, cutting out and framing the gunports was my arghhh moment! But the absolute satisfaction when I finished each step was enormous and I would always just sit and admire the bits I had just built!!!
 
Hi Mike

Well done on your build, very nice if you dont mind me saying.
You are correct about the pink paint, I was looking at a you tube prog on that issue.
I could not believe the amount of layers of paint it had on her.

Denis.
Hi Denis,
Thanks for the message. Even though I'd seen articles on the new colour it still came as a shock to see it "in the flesh" as it were.
I'd recommend a visit to the dockyard if you can make it - as well as Victory of course there's also the excellent Mary Rose museum/exhibit plus HMS Warrior
which I'm saving for another time.
cheers,
Mike
 
I subscribed to the build and the crew, over 40+, metal, were included so sorry you had difficulty in finding them.

The magazine was excellent as the articles on the history of the period, other Ship models and how the Victory was built and operated were fascinating and added to the enjoyment of the build.

I agree that at times the build was a bit repetitive, owing to the very large size and detail, cutting out and framing the gunports was my arghhh moment! But the absolute satisfaction when I finished each step was enormous and I would always just sit and admire the bits I had just built!!!

Hi,
Yes, some parts of the build were more enjoyable than others to say the least but you're right that the satisfaction gained outweighed the negative parts. I agree the magazines were enjoyable too. I managed to get the crew figures thanks to a very helpful guy at Model Space who tracked them down for me - very kind since I'd stopped my subscription long before then. I'm about to build a display case for it - did you make one too?
cheers
Mike
 
I have one question related to the DeAgostini Version of the HMS Victory,,,,,
....as I understood is the model in scale 1:84, so the same scale like the version of Artesania.
Did DeAgostini used this Artesania kit as basis for their subscription? They are looking very similiar in the details.
And if yes, does somebody knows the differences between the two kit if there are any?
Many thanks in advance
 
hello Uwek, Artesania Latina apparently does not sell the Victory anymore; but at Cornwall he is still available, I think the only difference is the price, at Cornwall 775 € and at De Agostino 839 € (if you paid him in one time and 958 € if you paid him in 12 times.)
Greetings
dj56
 
Hi guys.

sorry if I cross posted

The AL victory & Santa Ana appear to have been given distributor rights to De A, FYI for the first part of the build,they are almost identical. The De A has much better instructions than the AL kits. You appear to be paying more for the magazine. Al seem to be heading down a cheap. kit alternative path.

I AL them about a victory 1:72 cross section they had\have in their printed catalogue, De A sells as a add on to the victory subscription, bu Al denied it existed./ ( wanted for my CC Victory as is same scale).DE now see it as a separate kit, but postage to AU is 90 pound( 150 AU) for the 140 pound kit !. Being in AUS sucks for this stuff.

I think the current kits are just pre agreement left over stock.
 
Hallo Mike,
just went once more through your thread and I am not sure, if the Victory is already finished or under construction.
The last photos you shared were the standing rigging of the masts, so I am curious about seeing here with the running rigging.
 
Hi Mike
well done on your victory build may I pick your brain for a minute for information it pertains a part of the build in the early stages as in page 139 after tapering and bending plank 7 the instructions and video mention not that you do not need to taper plank # 9 but it does mention plank #8 if it needs tapering or not, did you have issues with that area as well, or did I miss something in the instructions some where I can not wait for Alan or anyone to reply I need to know very soon I'm very close to that part of the build, if you can shed some light on that area I would appreciate thank you
Ronald
 
Hallo Mike,
just went once more through your thread and I am not sure, if the Victory is already finished or under construction.
The last photos you shared were the standing rigging of the masts, so I am curious about seeing here with the running rigging.
Hi Uwe,
Sorry to have taken so long to answer your message but I'm afraid I've not been following the forum as closely as perhaps I should so I've only just come across it now!
Anyway, the answer is that it has been completed and I made a display case in which to keep it from acrylic sheet ('perspex' - much lighter than glass) and wood moulding strips. This part alone took several months with a few 'false starts' and problems along the way not to mention some heart-stopping moments when getting it into place with the able help of my wife!
The final photos are at:- https://www.flickr.com/photos/150129132@N02/albums/72157680185458033/page7 if you'd like to see the finished article.
I've decided on a rest for a while from ship modelling but may attempt another in the future.
Best wishes
Mike
 
Hi Mike
well done on your victory build may I pick your brain for a minute for information it pertains a part of the build in the early stages as in page 139 after tapering and bending plank 7 the instructions and video mention not that you do not need to taper plank # 9 but it does mention plank #8 if it needs tapering or not, did you have issues with that area as well, or did I miss something in the instructions some where I can not wait for Alan or anyone to reply I need to know very soon I'm very close to that part of the build, if you can shed some light on that area I would appreciate thank you
Ronald
Hello Ronald,
Thanks for the kind words but I'm afraid I can't really be of much help with your question.
From what I remember I was at that stage in the planking maybe almost three years ago and a lot of that detail has gone from my ageing memory! I do recall that the planking was a long process and took lots of effort with trial and error, each plank needed individual sanding & shaping and (though maybe I shouldn't admit it) I still needed some filler in places though the painting process hid a lot of minor problems at the end.
I also remember the huge amounts of dust created by sanding the hull and I kept a small rechargeable vacuum cleaner close by to help deal with it!
I hope you can find an answer to your question, sorry I can't be more helpful but this is a good forum for support so maybe another builder may be able to assist.
Keep on working on the model, the end result will repay your efforts and good luck,
Best wishes
Mike
P.S. If you want to see my final photos of the build (and you've not already seen them) they're at :-
https://www.flickr.com/photos/150129132@N02/albums /72157680185458033/page7
 
I had expected that this model might have already featured on the SOS logs pages

HI Mike. I assume that you are referring the the old Ships of Scale main website ? I know for many years, I used to "feature" completed models on that front page and also I had that Gallery of about 130 ships. If you are referring to that, I sincerely apologize if I somehow overlooked putting your ship online there.
When I got the new forum up and running - it took up a lot of my time and energy and I had not updated my Main Website in a long time. I finally brought that site to a close (it is not gone, it is just disabled).

I am delighted that you chose to include your work here.
 
Hi Mike
well done on your victory build may I pick your brain for a minute for information it pertains a part of the build in the early stages as in page 139 after tapering and bending plank 7 the instructions and video mention not that you do not need to taper plank # 9 but it does mention plank #8 if it needs tapering or not, did you have issues with that area as well, or did I miss something in the instructions some where I can not wait for Alan or anyone to reply I need to know very soon I'm very close to that part of the build, if you can shed some light on that area I would appreciate thank you
Ronald
Hello Ronald! Who is Alan you waiting for to reply?
 
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